The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898. Volume 18 of 55. Unknown
to send more ships to his aid. The bishop asks permission to resign his see, and more salary as acting archbishop; recommends Pedro de Heredia to the king; asks that an ad interim appointment in the cathedral may receive royal confirmation, and that the Cebú church may receive a grant for repairs and further income. He requests that the ecclesiastical cabildo of Manila may be authorized to rule the archbishopric, in case of the death of the archbishop. It is reported that the Jesuits are endeavoring to oust the other orders from Japan, which Arce deprecates, advising the king to confirm the appointment of the Franciscan Luis Sotelo as bishop of eastern Japan. Arce’s requests regarding the archbishopric of Manila are seconded by various papers appended to his letter, embodying the opinions of the auditors and royal officials thereon, who support Arce’s claims.
A letter from Fajardo to the king (August 10, 1619) gives his report on various matters of importance. He has received certain reënforcements and supplies from Mexico, but urges that these be sent every year. He describes the last incursion of the Dutch in Philippine waters, and his military preparations by which they were obliged to retreat thence. His resources for defense are small, and he cannot depend upon India for aid, as the Portuguese there are themselves in straits; accordingly, the king must send a fleet from Spain for the aid of the islands. He has aided Ternate to the best of his ability, and will send more when he can. The governor there has resigned his post, after many complaints of his rule; Fajardo has made a temporary appointment, and asks the king to provide further for this post. The English in the archipelago are engaged in conflicts with the Dutch, and it is rumored that the former would like to ally themselves with the Spaniards to fight their mutual foe. Fajardo is perplexed regarding the king of Ternate, who is still held a prisoner at Manila; and asks for instructions. He makes various recommendations and requests concerning the appointment of certain subordinates, desiring to secure persons most fit therefor. He has attempted to correct abuses in the government, which he recounts in detail. Fajardo has been annoyed by constant quarrels in the Audiencia, but, with the somewhat reluctant aid of the old auditor Alcaraz, has been able to quiet them in part. He has found in both Alcaraz and the archbishop Serrano, most judicious and helpful counselors; but the other auditors are on bad terms with him, and one of them has a scandalous reputation, both public and private. A scandal has occurred in the seminary of Santa Potenciana, but the guilty have been punished. Conflicts of jurisdiction have arisen between Fajardo and the Audiencia, especially in regard to the trials of soldiers and sailors for crimes. The governor complains that retired officers refuse to serve in the regular companies; and asks that extra pay be allowed them as an inducement for such service. He asks for directions as to his sending the usual gifts to the emperor of Japan. The loyalty and bravery of the Spanish citizens of Manila are warmly commended, especially in the case of Juan Ronquillo and some others who are named. Certain intrigues and frauds have been detected, which are recounted. Fajardo recommends that more Jesuits be sent to the islands; he complains that the Dominicans are too ready to leave their work, but commends the Augustinians. A short document appended to Fajardo’s letter concerns the relative merits of the routes to Filipinas via Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn respectively.
A group of papers dated 1610–19 shows that an encomienda of Indians was granted to the seminary of Santa Potenciana for its support, in consequence of the destitution suffered by its inmates.
An important document is that sent—in two memorials, of 1619 and March, 1620, respectively—to the king by Hernando de los Rios Coronel, long procurator-general of the Filipinas, on “reforms needed” in the islands—of which he has been despatched by the citizens to inform the king. Accordingly, he writes (apparently at Madrid) a detailed statement of the “matters that demand reform.” Serious losses of life and property have been caused by the delays in despatching the trading ships from Manila; the governors should be compelled to send them at the favorable season. The officials on these vessels should be appointed from among the deserving citizens of the islands, and not be the relatives or servants of the governor or other royal officials. The citizens have been greatly defrauded in the assignment of lading on the galleons, and too much of this is granted to charitable institutions. The trading ships should not be used for any other purposes. The Manila authorities buy ammunition and other supplies in China, which, “in order not to anger the Portuguese in Macan,” they buy from them rather than from the natives, but the supplies thus cost three times their value; the agent who buys them should buy wherever he can do so to the best advantage, and directly from the Chinese. The royal ships should be built in India, and the burden of enforced service in this work should be removed from the Indians. Commerce from Japan to Nueva España should be stopped; and Spaniards should not be allowed to man Japanese vessels. An enemy can close Manila harbor to all vessels desiring to enter; another route to it should therefore be devised and made available. The Moro pirates must be prevented from harassing the islands, and the best means for this end is to proclaim that any one who will may capture and enslave those pirates. No royal official should be allowed to attend the session of the Audiencia in which a case concerning him is tried. When Filipino natives serve as soldiers, their families should during their absence be relieved from tributes and other impositions. The ecclesiastical affairs of the Malucas should be under the jurisdiction of Cebú, not of Goa. The commanders of the trading ships should not be allowed to carry on the trade that they now do; and the officials at Acapulco should be checked in making extortionate charges. Ignorant and inefficient men should not be placed in the ships as sailors. The common seamen therein (who are Filipino natives) are inhumanly treated, and many of them die from hunger, thirst, or cold, on each voyage. Slave women are carried on the ships, in spite of the royal prohibition; and thus arise “many acts offensive to God,” and much cause for scandal. No sailor or passenger (unless a person of rank) should be allowed to take with him more than one male slave. Numerous other abuses are mentioned, regarding the traffic in slaves, the treatment of seamen, and the overloading of ships. The Chinese at Manila are oppressed by the royal officials—who, moreover, appropriate their own household supplies of food from the royal storehouses at the lowest possible prices. Municipal officers and other leading citizens should not be compelled, as now, to live on their encomiendas. Flour, rigging, and many other supplies should be obtained in the islands, instead of being imported from Nueva España; a great saving of money would be thus effected. The oppressive acts of the friars toward the Indians should be checked; and no more orders should be allowed to establish themselves in the islands. The Chinese immigrants in Luzón should be collected in one community, and induced to cultivate the soil. No relative or dependent of any royal official should be allowed to hold a seat in the cabildo of Manila, or to act as inspector of the Chinese trading vessels. More religious are needed in the missions. The Chinese residents should be treated more justly, and relieved from burdensome exactions. The Japanese who come to Manila should be compelled to return to their own country. No more ships should be built by the natives, and they should be paid the arrearages which are due them.
The other memorial by Rios Coronel (March, 1620) is additional and supplementary to the former one. He asks that regidors of Manila be chosen by the Audiencia, and allowed some compensation for their services; and that the governor be not allowed to compel the cabildo to meet in his house. He blames the friars for transferring Indians from the encomiendas to settlements near Manila, where these natives are kept merely for the profit of the friars, and, moreover, become greatly demoralized. The grant of licenses to Chinamen to reside in the islands should be more carefully regulated; and they should in no case be allowed to sleep within the walls of Manila. The Japanese are also an undesirable element of the population, and their coming to the islands should be restricted. The “commons,” or reserve supplies of rice, contributed by the Indians do them no good, for these are plundered by the Spanish officials; and the number of these oppressors has been unduly increased. Other injuries are inflicted upon the natives, for whose protection the writer pleads; and these unjust acts are committed by both the officials and the religious. Rios Coronel objects to the practice in vogue of giving the Indians military training; and to the traffic in slaves from Malacca, which brings to the Philippines dangerous and criminal blacks. Public suits should be tried and decided in the Audiencia, and not sent to Mexico. The governors should not be allowed to treat the citizens with insolence; and should be obliged to send the trading ships to Mexico at the right season, in order to avoid the present frequent loss of property and lives in wrecked vessels. Another cause of these losses is the culpable neglect and recklessness of royal officials and governors. Various