Of the Capture of Manila by the English, and its Capitulation.
The suspension of the enemy's fire appeared to the Spaniards a
favourable omen, instead of its being considered as a prelude to an
important operation, and no one entertained an idea of capitulation
except Monsieur Faller, who had waited on the Governor at an early
hour, and endeavoured to persuade him to that measure. He there found
the Oidor Senor Galban, who opposed it strenuously, and while they were
in the midst of a warm dispute on the subject, intelligence arrived
that the enemy had entered the city. In fact the English general had
despatched in the night forty Frenchmen, of those he had made prisoners
in Pondicherry, with orders to fill up the ditch with the ruins of the
works, to examine the breach effectually, clear the way as much as
possible, and give due notice of their progress. They performed all
this to his entire satisfaction, for there was no one to interrupt
them, and about six in the morning they made the signal that all was
ready; upon which four hundred men were despatched under the command of
Major Fell, who not being able to mount the breach in line on account
of its steep ascent, they effected it with shouldered arms, and in such
order as they could, apprehending nothing but the springing of mines;
for such silence and tranquillity, in a place assaulted in breach, must
have appeared incredible, except as the result of stratagem. Meeting
with no opposition, Major Fell divided his troops, ordering one half
by the curtain of the sea, and the other towards the royal gate, where
the guard was very quietly enjoying their ease until the centinel gave
the alarm, which was immediately followed by a volley. Thus surprised,
they all took to their heels, and the English redoubling their pace,
they overtook the stragglers, and not one of them escaped. A detachment
filed off from the wall, and opened the royal gate for those British
troops to enter, which approached in that direction. General Draper
entered with his column, with two field-pieces in front, which, with
the incessant fire of the musketry, completely cleared the Calle Real
as they advanced. The same mode of attack was observed by the two
columns, which enfiladed by the city walls, with this precaution,
that in turning the corners of the streets, or public edifices, a
temporary halt was made to observe if there were any of our troops
at hand. The city continued in such a state of consternation, that
the major part of the people thought of nothing but escaping, and as
the gates were shut, they climbed over the wall by the side of the
river, at a place which offered every facility, and by embarking in
boats or swimming, they escaped to the other side. One of the English
columns marching along the wall, when it arrived at this spot, saw
a great many people passing over the river, or waiting to embark,
and discharging a volley at them, made very great slaughter. General
Draper advanced through the Calle Real as far as the palace with
considerable risk, for in Fort Santiago there was a field-piece which
commanded the whole street, and being loaded with canister shot,
might have swept down immense numbers; but the Archbishop, who had
retired to this fort with the Oidors, would not allow them to fire
it, apprehending that the English would afterwards revenge themselves
on the inhabitants of Manila. Colonel Monson, despatched by Draper,
presented himself at the fort, intimating, on the part of his general,
that the surrender of the place was expected. The Archbishop presented
him a paper, containing the terms of capitulation which he proposed,
and requested him to be the bearer of them to his commanding officer
for his approbation. The Colonel declined so doing, having no orders
to that effect, and threatened that hostilities should proceed if he
did not immediately surrender. The Archbishop seeing no other remedy,
and taking the word of honour of the Colonel for his personal safety,
resolved to leave the fort, and accompanied by the Colonel of the
Spanish troops to present himself to the English general, who was by
this time in the palace. On his arrival there he was about to kneel,
but the General, Draper, would not permit him. He then delivered
himself up as a prisoner, and presented the paper, which contained
the terms of capitulation, and which chiefly consisted in the free
exercise of our religion, the security of private property, a free
trade to all the inhabitants of the islands, and the continuation of
the powers of the Royal Audience, to keep order among the ill disposed.
The English General retired to consult on these points, and very
shortly returned an answer accordingly to all of them, with certain
restrictions and additions, which were suggested on the part of his
Britannic Majesty, and the capitulation thus arranged was signed by the
General Draper and his Excellency the Archbishop. The Colonel took it
to the fort, in order to have it counter-signed by the Oidors, which
being done, they immediately delivered up the fort to the English, and
retired to the palace to pay their respects to the conqueror. When the
enemy's ships perceived the British flag displayed on the fort, they
made a most tremendous and confused noise, by repeated cheering, and in
the midst of it a nephew of Admiral Cornish, in his attempt to reach
Manila, was overset on the bar. This expedition cost the English more
than a thousand men, if the diary of the Archbishop may be credited,
which says, "They have not been able to ascertain exactly the number of
killed on the part of the enemy; it is only known by the circumstance,
that in reviewing the troops two days after the taking of the place,
the enemy missed more than a thousand men, of which number sixteen
were officers. Among these was the first major of the regiment of
Draper, who died of a wound by an arrow, which he received on the
day of the assault, and the commandant of the regiment of Chamal,
who was killed by a musket shot while reconnoitring with a glass
from the tower of Santiago. The vice-admiral was drowned coming on
shore in a boat." On our part, a major, two captains, two subalterns,
and fifty soldiers of the regulars, with thirty militia, fell.
Before they delivered up the city to plunder, the English general
ordered all the Indians to be sent away. These consisted of such as
had been collected from the country for the defence of the place, and
of servants or others, who, in the general confusion, found themselves
under no control, and were committing great excesses throughout the
different divisions of the city.
At the request of the Archbishop, guards were placed at the convent
of Santa Clara, and the other nunneries, to prevent the soldiers from
committing any outrages on them. These dispositions being made, the
city was delivered up to pillage, and the soldiers spreading themselves
over the town, plunder and robbery became general, and was accompanied
by those atrocities which are usual with victorious troops, although,
to say the truth, there was no reason to complain of the English
soldiers, as they were sufficiently moderate, in comparison to what
generally takes place on such occasions. The Indians were much worse
than they, for they discovered where the riches of their masters lay,
in order that they might participate in the plunder. The Indians, who
had been sent out of the town, with those who lived in the suburbs,
and the prisoners whom the English had the imprudence to liberate from
the prisons, spread themselves through the quarters of Santa Cruz and
Binondoc, and exercising all the rights of conquerors, plundered them,
murdered all that resisted, ravished the women, and committed every
species of atrocity; but the greatest cruelties were exercised upon
the highways on an infinite number of people, who, flying without
knowing wherefore, fell into the hands of these banditti, and were
with impunity murdered for the sake of what they possessed.
The time allowed to plunder was only three hours, but the following
day it continued as at first, which the Archbishop representing to the
English, and intreating them to have some compassion on the miserable
city, the General gave orders that those found pillaging should be
punished with death, and actually some Chinese were hanged. General
Draper himself killed one, whom he found in the act of robbery, and
he ordered that every thing that had been taken from the churches
should be restored; but some priests' vestments only were found, in
which the seapoys having dressed themselves, had paraded through the
town. On the 6th of October, the English presented to the Archbishop
and magistrates the capitulation, duly arranged, and among other
things they required that Cavite should be delivered up to them. The
Spaniards agreed to this, but the commanding officer of the castle
not being of that opinion, was determined to hold it. The Archbishop
sent the major of that garrison, who had been made prisoner at Manila,
with orders to surrender the fort, as the English had shut the gates
of Manila, and put their troops under arms, threatening to murder all
the Spaniards if Cavite was not given up, and the other articles of
the capitulation fulfilled, which the Archbishop had acceded to. The
major went accordingly to Cavite, openly declaring that it was to
be delivered up to the English: he presented his despatches to the
commanding officer, who called a council of war, but on being informed
that the troops had quitted their posts, and that the Indians were
plundering the arsenal, he embarked in a vessel, and left the major
to make the surrender.
The British also demanded in their terms of capitulation a contribution
of four millions of dollars: this proposition made to a city which had
been just delivered up to a plunder of upwards of twenty-four hours
was tyrannical; but as our people perceived they were at the mercy
of the conquerors, they at last consented to make up two millions in
specie, and draw bills on the royal treasury at Madrid for the other
two millions.
They immediately began to make contributions on the inhabitants; and
the result was, that with all the silver which the pious establishments
could furnish, together with the ornaments of the churches, and the
Archbishop's wrought plate, including his rings and breast cross,
they could only make up the sum of five hundred and forty-six thousand
dollars. The English officer intimated that he would be satisfied with
one million down, and that the rest should be drawn from the cargo
of the Philipino, in case it should prove that the English had not
got possession of her previous to the day on which the capitulation
was signed; even one million, however, could not be raised. The day
before the capture of Manila, a royal messenger had been despatched
with one hundred and eleven thousand dollars, with orders to secure
the money in some place of safety near the Lake Bay. The Archbishop
being hard pressed to make up the million, sent orders to the
Marquisses of Villamediana and Monte Castro to bring that money to
Manila. But on this being intimated to the Franciscan friars, who,
in fact, governed that part of the country, they armed the Indians,
and compelled the officer who had it in charge to convey the money to
the province of Pampanga, furnishing him with Indians to carry it,
who took it over the mountains, and succeeded in securing it from
the English, lodging it in safety with the missionaries of Ytuy,
bordering on Pampanga, Cagayan, and Pangasinan. In the end, every
thing of value which could be discovered, either public or private
property, was delivered up to the English, but notwithstanding there
was much discontent and misunderstanding on this subject.
The principal feature in the capitulation was the surrender of the
whole of these islands to the English, an article in it which the
Archbishop and Oidors were compelled by circumstances to accede to,
though reluctantly; but this was not so easily accomplished, as Senor
Anda was charged with the defence of them, and he was not disposed
to submit without an appeal to arms. General Draper being informed of
this, thought himself justified in availing himself of stratagem. He
issued a proclamation, in which he commiserated the fate of the
Indians, on account of the tribute which they paid to the Spaniards,
giving the assurance that the King of Great Britain would not exact
it of them, and thus endeavouring to excite them to open rebellion. He
then persuaded the Archbishop that he was the proper Governor, and as
such got him to despatch an escort, to induce the Spanish families,
who had taken refuge in the provinces, to return to Manila, and to
appoint an Englishman as Corregidor of Tondo, who had been some time
married and established in Manila. General Draper treated the religious
orders with much respect, and granted permission to the monks to return
to their convents, in order to draw over to his interest this body,
which, from what the Franciscans had done, he judged must have great
influence in the interior of the country. Above all things, he was
desirous of bringing over to his views the Friar Francisco Remigio
Hernandez, who was at the head of the Augustines in the provinces,
in consequence of the recent death of the provincial. He pressed him
repeatedly by letters to come to Manila, but he could not succeed,
that father adhering firmly to his first answer, in which he told him,
that if he had any thing to communicate to him, he might do it in
writing. As General Draper saw that no progress was made in this way,
he ordered the Archbishop to assemble a congress of the principal
people of the city, and to propose to them the cession of all the
islands to his Britannic Majesty; but Senor Viana, the royal fiscal,
opposed it most strenuously. The day following, however, in consequence
of threats held out by the English, the Spaniards had the weakness to
sign this cession. Monsieur Faller, who had been suspected of treason,
conducted himself more honourably, as he would on no account accept
the government of Zamboanga, where the English commander wished to
send him with a sufficiency of troops to take possession, in case they
were unwilling to receive him; and a similar conduct was observed by
a poor but honourable Spaniard, named Don Louis Sandobal.
Unsuccessful in his plans, the English general resolved to return
to Europe. He left Major Fell as military commander, and Drake as
governor, with Smith and Brock as council. Breton was left in charge of
Cavite. When on the point of embarking, he gave orders for two frigates
to be despatched in search of the treasure on board of the Philipino,
and that the Oidor Villa Costa, and the royal Fiscal, should embark
in them, in order that their influence might be exerted in attaining
the object; but on the intimation being conveyed to them they both
declined it, and were in consequence imprisoned. At the request of the
Archbishop, Draper afterwards gave them their liberty, and named in
their room two merchants and two regidores. The frigates sailed, but
were very long in making the island of Capul, where an English Jesuit
was the residing priest. The currents and foul winds contributed much
to retard the expedition, but seeing them determined to prosecute
their voyage, and insisting that a pilot should be given them for
that purpose, threatening they would raise all the Indians in case
of refusal, a Meztizo, in whom the Spaniards could confide, was sent
for that purpose, but he was enjoined to detain the frigates in the
harbour mouth as long as possible. So well did the Meztizo fulfil the
charge given to him by the Jesuit father, that they had time to save
the treasure in the provinces of Albay and Camarines, the galleys which
conveyed it passing in view of the enemy's frigates, which, however,
soon lost sight of them in a squall. The English commander, suspecting
the plate to be placed out of his reach, and in safety, returned to
Manila, where he was ill received by his commanding officer.