ANNO DOM. 1739.
The Administration of Don Gaspar de la Torre.
Senor Don Gaspar de la Torre, born in Flanders, of Spanish parents,
arrived at Manila, and found, among other cares that would devolve
upon him, a suit which had been carrying on against Senor Arroyo,
the royal fiscal, upon an accusation preferred by Senor Tamon. An
attempt having been made to apprehend and imprison the fiscal upon
this occasion, he was too much on his guard to fall into the snare,
and took refuge in the Franciscan convent, preserving, in this secure
retreat, the liberty of his person, though he could not save his
property, which was all seized, that small portion excepted which
he was able to take with him. The matter was in this state when Don
Gaspar de la Torre took possession of the government. The archbishop,
who was the angel of peace in these islands, persuaded himself he
could succeed in accommodating the unhappy difference, and proposed
to the new Governor his mediation in favour of the fiscal; but this
was opposed by the Governor, on the ground that Arroyo ought to show
his respect for the laws, by submitting to be imprisoned in the fort,
and undergoing the usual forms of trial. The archbishop was inclined
to think that the accused would enjoy more liberty in the fort than
he did in the Franciscan convent, and all his friends being of this
opinion, Senor Arroyo was at last persuaded to quit his retreat. This
unfortunate determination subjected him to fresh hardships, for he was
immediately seized, thrown into a dungeon in the fort, and accused of
several new crimes. He was asked if he was aware of the cause of his
confinement; he answered, that he conceived he was imprisoned because
he would not, unnoticed, pass over the sums of which Senor Tamon, and
many of his particular confederates, had defrauded the royal revenue,
amounting, he believed, to about three millions of dollars: he declined
saying any thing further, as he was in a state of confinement.
All these proceedings were forwarded to his Majesty, and in the
mean time Senor Arroyo's imprisonment in the fort was accompanied
with circumstances of the greatest rigour, which had the effect of
reducing the mind of the archbishop to a state of profound melancholy,
considering himself as the author, however innocently, of the fiscal's
miseries. He sickened and died in a very short time, to the great grief
of all, on account of his affability and many excellent qualities.
Through the connivance of the Oidors, Dr. Neyra, professor of laws in
the college of the Jesuits, was made fiscal ad interim, and by this
means an addition was made to the number of Senor Arroyo's enemies. He
was now accused of having married without licence. Examinations were
taken on the subject, and a number of witnesses produced, who were
all of the clerical order, and among them particularly was the person
who had performed the ceremony. Arroyo endeavoured, by every means,
to refute this charge, but as the Governor was his decided enemy,
the clergy threw their weight likewise into the scale against him. In
a very short time he fell sick, and died in a few days, borne down
by the accumulated miseries to which he had been subjected. He was
the best and most faithful minister his Majesty ever had in these
islands, and his person ought to have been held as sacred as that of
a Roman tribune.
The King, fully informed of the harsh treatment of the fiscal,
and the violent proceedings against him which had been resorted to,
became convinced of the truth of the allegations preferred against
the conduct of Senor Tamon, and acquitting the fiscal of the crimes
imputed to him, forwarded an order, permitting him to return to
his office, enjoining the arrears of his salary to be paid up, and
directing that the two lawyers who had appeared against him should be
fined two hundred dollars each. Before this order arrived, however,
the fiscal was no more; a result commonly looked for in this climate,
where the difficulty of recovering, in cases of a depression of
spirits, is generally insuperable [5].
About this time war was declared between Spain and England, an enemy
more to be dreaded on account of the injury formerly done by this
nation to the Philippines. On this occasion, Admiral George Anson
passed Cape Horn with a squadron, in which passage he lost some ships,
but with the remainder he run down the coast of America, doing all
the mischief in his power. He arrived at Acapulco, where, finding
that the ship Nuestra Senora de Cobadonga, had not yet sailed to the
Philippines, he prosecuted his voyage thither, with the two ships
which remained of his squadron. He refreshed at one of the islands of
the Marianas, and put into Canton river to refit his ships, which had
been considerably damaged in the progress of the voyage. In Manila all
the operations of Anson were known, and to prevent him from capturing
the Cobadonga, the Governor despatched a galiot to give notice of
this powerful enemy, with directions for the Cobadonga to change her
route, and send information respecting it, in order that a galleon,
which was fitting in Cavite, might proceed to her relief. The galiot
discovered, near the straits of St. Bernardino, an enemy's vessel,
and not doubting that it was Anson, gave notice to the armed galleon
in Cavite, which immediately put to sea, but grounded on the island
of Ticao, and made so much water that she was compelled to return. The
Cobadonga arrived at the Marianas under charge of a Portuguese pilot,
and sailing from thence in perfect confidence of safety, arrived
at Cape Espiritu Santo; where the English, upon the alert, and in
greater forwardness than it was expected they could be, were waiting
with their ship the Centurion, after having refitted her at Canton.
When the Cobadonga perceived the enemy, there was no alternative
but to yield, or boldly encounter a superior force. They chose the
latter, and fought so desperately, that they did not strike till they
had sixty killed and seventy wounded, among the number of which were
the first and second captains. Admiral Anson took possession of the
vessel and property, amounting to one million five hundred thousand
dollars in silver alone, and carried the ship to Macao, where he left
the Cobadonga, proceeding to Canton to careen his own ship.
The merchants of Manila felt this loss most severely, and to be
revenged, in some measure, requested the Governor to allow them to fit
out a squadron with a view of pursuing Anson, and intercepting the
China fleet. Four ships were accordingly equipped at the expense of
the inhabitants of the town, and Don Antonio Quijano was appointed
commander. He arrived at China, but Anson had already sailed for
Europe, when not being able to return on account of the monsoon, he
wintered at Macao, and without doing any thing returned to Manila the
following year. A strict enquiry was instituted before a court martial
into the conduct of the commander and officers of the Cobadonga, and
on view of the allegations brought against them they were acquitted,
and only compelled to pay the charges of the court martial.
In consequence of this capture, however, a ruinous lawsuit commenced
between the merchants of Manila and the pious establishments, whose
property was embarked in her. The loss was declared total, and there
appeared no doubt that the pious establishments were liable to that
extent; but it was ascertained that some merchants had left their
property in Acapulco, and of course there was no real total loss, as
all the produce of the original adventure had not been embarked. The
pious establishments, therefore, asserted that their property, or a
portion of it, still existed in New Spain. The merchants on the other
hand alleged, that if the Cobadonga had arrived at Manila, the risk of
the pious establishments would have been at an end, and the merchants
must have paid them their original advance, although they must have
run the risk of bringing to Manila the property left in New Spain.
The Royal Audience determined this suit in favour of the pious
establishments, but the merchants petitioned the council of the
Indies, which gave it in their favour. This, as may be supposed,
has given rise to several lawsuits in like cases, such diversity
of opinion prevailing on the subject, that it were to be wished
the system was either wholly abolished, or altered considerably,
as it at present gives rise to numberless frauds and impositions,
to which the existing laws furnish no check [6].
Don Caspar de la Torre entered with a bad grace on his government,
in his violent proceedings against the fiscal, which drew down
on him the hatred of the public, and the disasters of this period
contributed to inflame their resentment. His whole conduct, indeed,
was apparently directed rather to reconcile himself to this prejudice,
than to remove it. Convinced of the general disgust against him,
he fell into a profound melancholy, followed by dysentery, which is
rarely cured in the Philippines. It was aggravated by an account which
arrived of a disturbance in the town of Balayan, in the province of
Batangas, and he at last fell a sacrifice to a false report which
was in circulation, that the Chinese were entering the city, when
notwithstanding his illness, he determined to oppose them in person,
but was prevented by his friends, who very soon discovered the fallacy
of the report. The effect, however, which it had on his frame was such,
that he died in a few days after, on the 21st of September, 1745.
Senor Arrechedera, of the order of St. Domingo, bishop elect of
Ylocos, succeeded him, conformable to the order of his Majesty. Upon
enquiring into the alleged defection of the Chinese, he found no such
thing had been even attempted, and that the report had been circulated
merely to annoy the Governor. Arrechedera was not slow in quelling the
disturbances in Balayan. He sent an officer, with one hundred regular
troops, and a considerable body of Indians against the insurgents; and
although this officer was not able to disperse them, as the Indians
under him fled at the first onset, he succeeded in checking their
attack, without having suffered in any other respect than a wound
from a musket ball, which he himself received from one of his own
new raised recruits. He applied to the Governor for further aid, and
two hundred men being added to his force, he attained his object. He
left a small detachment in the province to overawe those who might be
ill disposed, and the rest of the troops were embarked for Cavite,
as accounts had been received that the English had arrived with a
squadron at Batavia, and the Alcalde of Ylocos reported, that two ships
and two smaller vessels had been seen on that coast, supposed to be
enemies. The Governor immediately put Manila into a state of defence,
repairing the fortifications, purchasing arms from strangers, and
casting cannon. All these preparations, however, proved unnecessary,
as the English never appeared, but it was eventually discovered that
they had captured a brigantine and another vessel.
Before this time a dreadful persecution commenced against the
Christians in the province of Tonquin, and generally in the empire
of China. In Tonquin many suffered martyrdom, and among others
two Philippine missionaries, the Friars Gil de Federich and Mateo
Liciniana, both Dominicans, who had left Manila for the purpose of
assisting the missionary establishment which the Dominicans had in
China. They were imprisoned separately, and at different times, but
they had the happiness, before they died, of being lodged in the same
dungeon, where they mutually consoled each other, and by bribing the
soldiers who had the charge of them, they were permitted to say mass,
and preach and administer the sacrament to the Christians there. In
these sacred duties they were occupied continually, until the day on
which they were to suffer death for the propagation of the Christian
faith, by being bound to a log of wood, and having their heads struck
off. This took place at four o'clock in the evening of the 22d of
January, 1745. The Christians received their bodies, and delivered
them over to the Dominicans, who gave them honourable burial. In
the empire of China, the determination of the emperors to oppose the
propagation of the Christian religion seemed daily to become stronger,
and the Viceroy of Tonquin, who knew that in his province there were
many concealed missionaries, persecuted the Christians in every way,
in order to induce them to discover them, when, on the imprisonment
of several with this view, the missionaries voluntarily came forward
and delivered themselves up to the tyrant. There were in all five,
of the order of St. Dominic, and belonging to that establishment in
the Philippines; viz. the most illustrious Don Friar Pedro Martir
Sanz, of the province of Catalonia, Bishop of Mauricastrense, and
Apostolical Vicar; the Friars Pedro Francisco Serrano of Jaen; Juan
Alcaber of Grenada; Joaquin Royo of Hinojosa, in Aragon; and Francisco
Diaz. They were examined frequently, and suffered severely from being
beaten and otherwise tormented. The Viceroy at last sentenced Senor
Sanz to lose his head immediately, condemning likewise the rest to
the same punishment, but deferring their execution till the ordinary
time. The court of Pekin confirmed the decree, and immediately it was
made known to him; the Senor Sanz rejoiced exceedingly, and sung Te
Deum, confessing fully, and waiting impatiently for the period of his
becoming a martyr, which took place on the 26th of May, 1747. After
a lapse of six months, his body was found as fresh as the day he was
beheaded: it was taken up, burnt, reduced to powder, and thrown into
a well, that the Christians might not collect his ashes. The other
four friars remained in prison, where they were afterwards strangled
privately by order of the Viceroy. Many attributed this persecution
to the Jesuits, who bore no good will to the Senor Sanz.
Two ships about this period arrived at Manila from Acapulco, very
richly laden, bringing the accustomed relief, of which the colony
stood much in need, and which gave new life and activity to the
whole settlement. By these ships came the new Archbishop Pedro de
la Sona Trinidad, who, when counsellor of the Indies, had taken
the habit of St. Francis, and now brought with him a royal mandate,
for the absolute expulsion of the Chinese, and the appointment of
himself as Governor ad interim. This mandate for the expulsion of
the Chinese had often before this period been sent to Manila, but
had never been carried into execution, the interest of the Governor
being too deeply involved in the suspension of it, the Chinese paying
him a contribution for his forbearance. The Archbishop found that
Arrechedera was strongly attached to this nation, and he became so
far a convert to his sentiments on this subject, that he did not put
the royal order in force.
This seems to have been the only error committed by this illustrious
prelate during the time he held the government. In all other respects
his conduct reflected the highest honour on him. An insurrection
in the island of Bohol compelled him to send Captain Lechuga there
with an adequate force, who succeeded in reducing to obedience all
the towns on the sea coast of the island, but in the interior and
mountainous parts they retain their independence to this day.
The Jesuits having urged Philip the Fifth to send letters to the Kings
of Jolo and Mindanao, the Governor sent ambassadors with these letters,
and with proposals either to acknowledge the Spanish government, or to
enter into alliance with us. These chiefs were so delighted with the
honour which so great a King as that of Spain had thus conferred on
them, that they agreed to admit missionaries into their territories. A
Jesuit was accordingly sent to Mindanao, but soon observing the little
subordination of the chiefs, and the very inadequate power the King
possessed to restrain them, he began to entertain apprehensions
for his life, forsook his mission, and escaped to the garrison of
Zamboanga. In Jolo two Jesuits attempted to enter upon the object of
their mission, but were so violently opposed by the Moorish priests,
and the chief men in the country, that their progress was very limited.
Under these circumstances the King of Jolo, Mahomet Alimudin, resolved
on a visit to the Governor at Manila; but this was opposed by the two
Jesuits, on the ground of the ascendancy, which, during his absence,
his brother Bantilan would acquire, and who was the determined enemy
of the Christian name. The King's intention being whispered, Bantilan
raised such opposition to it in the court, and among the chiefs,
that the irritation became general, and the Jesuits consulted their
own safety in retiring to Zamboanga. A short time afterwards the
King likewise having been attempted to be murdered, fled to Manila to
request the aid of the Governor. On his way he arrived at Zamboanga,
and by the assistance of the Spaniards proceeded to Manila, which
he entered with seventy persons in his train, and was accommodated
at the charge of the King. He afterwards made his public entry,
was received with great ostentation, and visited by the principal
people in Manila, who brought him presents of gold chains, diamonds,
ornaments, rich apparel, and many such things of that nature, as
might be expected from the generosity of the Spaniards, and himself
and suite were supported at the public expense.
The Archbishop was desirous of making him a convert to the Christian
faith, a proposal which he embraced apparently with great fervor, and
he was accordingly instructed in the leading principles of our holy
religion; but as the general idea was, that he felt little attachment
to our religion, and only expected by that means to secure our aid
in reinstating him on the throne, his baptism was postponed.
This delay mortified the Bishop of Ylocos, who was particularly anxious
for it, and not being able to bend the Archbishop to his views, he
persuaded the King to go to the town of Panique, the first town in
Ylocos, in order to be baptized there, a Spaniard accompanying him
to act as godfather. Besides his own he had a Spanish guard, and he
was received with distinguished honour in every part through which he
passed. In Panique he was baptized by the name of Fernando, with great
solemnity, by a Dominican, assisted by many others of that order, on
the 29th of April, 1750. On his return to Manila, the Governor received
him with a general salute, and ordered entertainments of comedies,
dances, fire-works, and bull-fights, in honour of his arrival.
In Jolo, Bantilan, the brother of King Alimudin, assumed the supreme
authority, after having compelled his brother to take refuge in
Manila. He was the worst enemy the Spaniards ever had, on account
of the great depredations he committed on the coasts of all the
islands. The Archbishop was extremely desirous of repressing these
attacks, but the means he possessed were equally inadequate to this,
as insufficient to attempt the reinstatement of the King of Jolo on
his throne.