Of the internal Commotions raised by the Indians and Chinese
during the War.
The provinces of Tondo and Cavite, during the war, were in
general in a state of tranquillity, submitting patiently to
the law of the strongest, but still retaining their bias to the
King of Spain. Notwithstanding which, however, many robberies and
irregularities occurred, and even murders were perpetrated; for those
who had been released so imprudently from prison by the English,
joining with others who had been thrown out of employment, or whose
inclinations led that way under the shelter of such a convulsed
period, committed great atrocities, with impunity, on such Spaniards
and Mestees as had quitted Manila, and were scattered about the towns
and country; and these disturbances at last attained such a height,
that regular parties were formed, which infested the highways, and
plundered the estates, even murdering, in some instances, the poor
ignorant peasantry, till eventually this class of people, wearied
out by such attacks, abandoned their farms, leaving their cattle and
effects in the power of these wretches.
In the province of Batangas, one of the principal inhabitants of the
town of San Pablo collecting a body of Chinese and Indians, murdered
the friar, in revenge for some supposed injury. Even the commandant
of the troops in the town of Rosario, having collected some of those
whom the English had liberated from prison, satiated his fury on the
resident minister, (who had complained that he was not allowed the
number of servants which the King ordered) by setting fire to his
house in the first instance, and murdering him in the act of escaping
from the flames.
Another party in this province was commanded by a mulatto, who styled
himself a King. His first attack was on Liyan estate, belonging to
the Jesuits, upon which were some Spaniards and monks, who made terms
with him on his granting them their lives, and delivered up the house
to be plundered. Some of his people went to rob the prior of Tanavan,
who was an Augustine, and had retired to the granary in order to avoid
the English; but finding on him only two rials, they murdered him in
a most cruel and wanton manner.
In the province of Lake Bay the Indians made many attacks on the
Spaniards, who had retired to that country, particularly on the
alcalde mayor, with whom they had before been on very bad terms, and
on the monks, because they had favoured the conveyance of the money
to Manila, which the Franciscan friars remitted to Senor Anda. The
Archbishop issued an order, in which he desired that if the English
went into that quarter they might be well treated, and not to make
any resistance to them, as, by that conduct, less mischief would be
done. The alcalde sent this order over the mountains to Pagsanhan,
but the officer commanding there issued a counter-order to that of
the alcalde, designating him as a traitor, who wanted to deliver up
the province to the English. The alcalde being informed of this,
contrived to put him in confinement, and had him publicly whipped
under the gallows. This enraged the Indians, and collecting in
considerable numbers, they attacked and ill treated the alcalde's
family; they killed his cousin, his son in law, and a German who
lived with him, and they took the alcalde himself to the gallows,
where, after flogging him most cruelly, they stabbed him to death.
The aggressors presented themselves before Senor Anda, suing for
pardon for this offence; and he not deeming this a proper season to
show due severity, let the matter pass unnoticed.
The provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga firmly adhered to their
allegiance, and, indeed, were the only districts on which the Spaniards
could place reliance, although there were not wanting some malicious
spirits, who, taking advantage of the times, by menaces extorted money,
robbed and plundered the estates, and even murdered a poor Dominican,
who resided at Pandi. These, however, were the crimes of individuals,
and not chargeable on the body of the people: it may therefore be said,
that these provinces, which were in the immediate neighbourhood of
Manila, were tranquil, and preserved their allegiance to the Spaniards.
Although the Senor Arandia had sent away all the Pagan Chinese,
others replaced them after his death, and the augmentation of their
numbers which took place in three years was incredible. There were
besides many Chinese Christians in Parian, and scattered over the
provinces, and almost all of them declared for the English. The moment
they took possession of Manila, these Chinese gave them every aid,
and accompanied them in all their expeditions. They had it, indeed,
in contemplation to make a general rising, which would have caused
much bloodshed had it not been discovered in time, for it was their
plan to murder Senor Anda and all his people in Bacolor church,
on Christmas eve, 1762; and by committing every description of
outrage in the churches that same night, they expected to render the
Spaniards incapable of resisting the English, with whom they had a
secret understanding.
The authors of this most atrocious scheme were the Chinese of the town
of Uava, in the province of Pampanga, where many of that nation had
fixed their residence, and fabricated a species of cannon which they
made of large cane, well tied together with tarred rushes, and which
bore two or three discharges. They deceived the officiating clergyman
of the town, telling him they were preparing all those things against
the English, but Senor Anda had his suspicions of them. In this state
of things a poor simple Chinese, who was going to marry an Indian
of a village, called Mexico, advised Senor Anda not to go to mass,
and in the end discovered all the plot. The Indian girl likewise
made a full discovery to the Augustine curate of that town, and he
communicated her story to Anda, who went to Uava with some troops on
the 23d of December.
The Chinese went out to meet him in two detachments, with their
cane guns, by a discharge of which one of his people was killed; the
Spaniards returned the fire, and obliged the Chinese to retire to the
convent. Senor Anda sent a Spaniard to propose an amicable arrangement
with them, but, blind and obstinate in their rebellion, they refused
it. Our people then advanced, seeing they must have recourse to arms,
and made an immense carnage among them; many of them likewise were
taken alive, and hanged next day in Bacolor. Senor Anda gave orders
that those who escaped should be tried for their conduct, in whatever
part they were found; but having found some letters which proved that
they had an understanding with those of Parian on the subject of these
commotions, he ordered that all the Chinese in the islands should be
hanged, which orders were put in execution very generally, but where
the order had been disregarded, he readily overlooked the omission.
In the province of Cagayan the disturbances had commenced as soon
as the capture of Manila was known, and in the town of Yligan, the
Indians, whom we call Timavas, had flogged the commandant of the
place. They presented themselves to the chiefs, who were appointed
receivers of the royal revenue, declaring themselves no longer
tributary to the Spanish government: other towns followed their
example, and the rebellion thus gained ground. The chiefs called in
the aid of the infidel Indians, and some skirmishes took place; but
not being able to succeed in reducing the insurgents to submission,
they applied to the fountain head, imploring the assistance of the
Spaniards. Don Manuel de Arza had just arrived in the province with
the title of Captain-general of the three provinces of Cagayan,
Ylocos, and Pangasinan (the two latter being likewise in a state of
insurrection); and collecting a number of loyal Indians and some
Spaniards, he overpowered the rebels, hanged the ringleaders, and
restored tranquillity in the province. His presence being no longer
necessary in Cagayan, he went to Ylocos, where sedition had taken a
still deeper root. Diego de Silang, an Indian, very quick and artful,
and who being a native of Manila, spoke the Spanish language well,
began to revolutionize this province, by telling his countrymen,
that in order to maintain the Catholic faith, and to preserve the
country in obedience to the King, it was requisite to join together
and arm against the Spaniards, and deliver them up to the English,
against whom they had no means of resistance. These specious arguments
made an impression on the minds of the chiefs, and many plebeians,
particularly those of Bigan, which is the capital of the province,
and residence of the Bishop. The seduced Indians presented themselves
armed, and demanded that the Alcalde should give up the staff of
government, and deposit it in the hands of the Vicar-general. The
majority advised the Alcalde to defend himself against this attack;
but instigated by his fears, or swayed by the opinion of injudicious
friends, he resigned the command to the Vicar-general, and with
no inconsiderable share of hazard of his life, effected his escape
from the province. Emboldened by their success in this instance, the
rebels demanded of the Bishop elect, Senor Ustariz, a Dominican, an
exemption from the tribute, declaring that they acted justifiable in
deposing the Alcalde. The Bishop pledged himself to lay before Senor
Anda a favourable representation of their claims; but Silang being
determined on acquiring the command, and little satisfied with what
he had done, began to collect troops for more extensive operations.
The house of the Vicar-general was too well fortified for the rebels
to attack it, but they presented themselves armed on the hills in the
vicinity. The Vicar-general ordered the loyal Indians to assemble
at Bigan, armed and accoutred, from whence the whole sallied out,
and surprising the rebels, they took some of them; but discontinuing
the action too soon, and separating in their usual unsoldier-like
manner, they thus gave the rebels an opportunity to rally, and a day
or two after they set fire to and burnt down part of the city. The
Indians from the south, who came to the defence of the town, seeing
it in flames, returned, as did those of the north, by which means the
rebels were enabled to take possession of the Vicar-general's house,
and the arms it contained.
Silang, rendered vain by these successes, despatched emissaries towards
the north, who, raising all the native towns, committed many robberies
and atrocities, directing their vengeance in particular against some
of the chiefs and Augustine friars, insisting on its having been
their fault that the tribute had not been abolished; but in the end
their avarice prevailed, and they agreed to accept a consideration in
money by way of ransom for their lives. The authority of Silang being
acknowledged by the towns of the north, his emissaries proceeded to
those of the south, directing each of them to name a chief as their
representative, who was ordered to Bigan, where their powers were to be
ratified. By this means he levied considerable sums of money. In a few
days he found himself master of the whole province, and he appointed
Jesus of Nazareth to be Captain-general of it, he himself assuming the
title of his Alcalde Mayor for the protection of the Catholic religion,
and of the dominions of the King of Spain. He published a manifesto,
which breathed the true spirit of Christianity; always wore his rosary;
and obliged the Indians to hear mass, ordering them to confess, and to
take care that the children went regularly to school. In the midst of
all the sepious actions, he, by means of his emissaries, robbed the
estates of cattle, and obliged the proprietors to ransom their lives
with money: he levied a sum of one hundred dollars from every friar,
but reduced the fine to eighty dollars, on the petition of one of them
who had formerly done him favours. Under the pretext of defending the
province from the English, he had centinels placed in all directions,
with a view to prevent information being conveyed to Senor Anda
of what passed. An Augustine friar, however, contrived to forward
a despatch to that effect; but Senor Anda having scarcely troops
enough to defend himself, merely sent an order to Silang to present
himself at Bacolor in nine days, to give an account of his conduct,
under the penalty of being considered as a traitor, and arrested, for
which purpose he threatened to send a force to Pampanga, if necessary.
This order was published, accompanied by many vague reports that the
Spaniards were coming against Ylocos; in consequence of which, and
the friars refusing to grant absolution to the rebels, many of them
deserted from Silang, particularly those of the northern towns, and on
this account many of the clergy were made prisoners and conducted to
Bigan, although Silang very soon liberated them; for he still affected
to respect the Catholic religion, whereby he deceived the clergy, and
many Indians who put confidence in him. This rebel had sent to Manila,
as a present to the English, two junks, loaded with various effects,
which he had plundered in the provinces. A letter accompanied this
present, in which he acknowledged the King of Great Britain to be
his legitimate Sovereign, and offered to deliver up the province
to them. The English government sent a vessel bearing despatches,
and a present to Silang, and conferred on him the title of Alcalde
Mayor, which he directly made public, to the great regret of the
Indians, who had urged him to deliver them from the English, and now
saw themselves subjected to them under the orders of the despot,
Diego Silang, who exacted from them contributions, and subjected
them to more vexations than they ever suffered before; at the same
time that they no longer dared to express their sentiments. As the
chief magistrate of the English, and in their name, he ordered some
soldiers whom he had raised from the mountaineers of other provinces,
who had taken refuge at Ylocos, to make all the friars prisoners;
and that there might be no resistance on the part of the towns,
he promised them that the English should send them other clergy to
administer the sacrament to them. The monks, who were Augustines,
made no resistance, and with all possible despatch joined their Bishop
in the convent of Bantay (which is merely a short walk from Bigan),
waiting the ultimate determination of the tyrant. The Bishop declared
Silang excommunicated; and he, pretending to be sensible of his error,
granted permission to some of the clergy to return to their towns;
but they had received intelligence of arrangements he had made for
murdering them all, and that he was in expectation of the arrival
of some infidels from the mountains to execute his wicked designs,
for the Indians not only refused to lay their hands on the clergy, but
were determined to die with them. They all prepared for death, without
further hopes than what arose from the intentions of the principal
Indians, who were making dispositions to come to their assistance;
but this was delayed so long, that a Spanish mestizo, named Vicos,
presenting himself to the Bishop, said, "Senor, I am going to make
an end of that vile Indian; give me your benediction, that I may
go and kill the tyrant." He went out of the convent, accompanied
by Captain Buecbuee, with a blunderbuss in very bad condition, and
reaching the house of Silang, discharged the contents in his side,
which caused his immediate death. In consequence of this his party
became completely broken and dismayed, and the same evening the bells
were set a ringing, and the evening service sung, to the satisfaction
of all, and in the midst of exclamations of "Long live the King of
Spain!" The Bishop wished to appoint Vicos chief justice, but the
latter advised him to name Buecbuee, who had a considerable party, and
could therefore the better overawe any ill disposed persons. The friars
immediately returned to their towns, and through their persuasions,
seconded by the authority of Don Manuel Arza, who had just arrived,
they tranquillized such as were in any way discontented. The death
of Silang happened the 28th of May, 1763, and he had commenced his
rebellion the 14th of December, 1762.
The most obstinate rebellion of the Indians was that in the province
of Pangasinan. The sedition broke out at the town of Binalatongan on
the 3d of November, 1762, in consequence of the Alcalde Mayor having
sent a commission to collect the royal tribute. The news spread over
all the towns of the province; a general request was made that the
tribute should be remitted, and that the Alcalde Mayor and judges of
the different towns should be replaced by others. About the end of
November arrived Don Antonio Panelo at Pangasinan, with the title
of lieutenant-general, and with orders from Senor Anda to confine
the Alcalde, who was a creature of the Archbishop, and suspected
of tampering with the English, although nothing like this was ever
proved. As soon as Panelo arrived, the revolted Indians presented
themselves, demanding that the tribute should be abolished, and that
the Spaniards should quit the province. The latter were fourteen in
number, with muskets and pattereros, and the Dominican friars advised
them to defend themselves against this mob; but they were alarmed
at their numbers, and abandoning the province, the Indians continued
their rebellious proceedings.
The Dominican friars assembled in the town of Asingan, and wrote to
their respective parishioners that they would forsake them if they
did not submit to the King of Spain; the result of which was, that
the Indians came from all quarters, supplicating them to return to
their towns, and promising to go to Pampanga to beg of Senor Anda,
an Alcalde Mayor; however, they performed none of their promises,
so that our Governor and Captain-general was obliged to send troops
to reduce them to subjection. Don Fernando Araya went out with
thirty-three Spaniards and four hundred Indian archers; they took
with them five hundred cartridges, which was all the ammunition that
could be spared, in consequence of the scarcity of that article at
Pampanga. These troops arrived in Lent time at the river Bayamban,
on the opposite bank of which the enemy had entrenched themselves
with some cannon and pattereros. The firing commenced on both sides;
our people passed over the river, took the entrenchments, and put
the Indians to flight, although they were ten thousand in number,
and followed them up a short distance; but before they expended all
their cartridges they thought proper to retreat, which they did in
good order; on our part four Spaniards and four Indians were killed,
whose heads the rebels carried off to the towns, where they amused
themselves with dancing, according to their custom, and became bolder
than ever. The Dominican friars, in endeavouring to escape, often ran
the risk of their lives; some were, however, enabled to get away,
but those who remained were obliged to refuse the sacrament to the
Indians, and for which they intended to murder them, until the voice
of the women, as also of those who had not entered into the rebellion
by choice, prevailing, it was resolved to spare their lives. To
add to all their troubles, those poor friars had the additional
regret to find their fidelity suspected, merely because they were
not murdered by the Indians. Miserable, indeed, was the situation of
the missionaries in those times; if they abandoned their duty they
were blamed, because it was said the flame of rebellion became more
extended; and if they remained among them, and were not killed by
the Indians, out of respect, or because they wanted a confessor in
the hour of death, they were deemed accomplices in their crimes.
The Dominican friars completely vindicated their honour by means of
their discourses, and by the aid of the Bishop Ustariz, who, having
tranquillized the inhabitants of Ylocos, came to give his assistance
in the pacification of the province of Pangasinan. The rebels were
in some degree quieted, and, at last, were induced to proceed to
Pampanga to solicit an Alcalde Mayor of Senor Anda. They were very
kindly received, their former crimes were pardoned, and he gave them
Azevedo for their Alcalde, who took possession of his magistracy on
the 5th of December, 1763.
Senor Azevedo was not long in discovering that the flame of rebellion
was only smothered, and not extinguished; and he gave information
to Senor Anda to that effect, requesting him to send a force to keep
the deluded in awe. Senor Anda despatched one hundred and eighty men
from his camp to Pangasinan, and gave orders to Don Manuel Arza to
extirpate the last remains of the rebellion from Ylocos, that he might
form a junction with the troops going to Manila under command of Don
Pedro Bonardel. As soon as the rebels knew that troops were going
from Manila, they assembled tumultuously in the town of Calasiao,
where the Alcalde was with two Spaniards and two Dominican friars in
the convent. The Indians besieged them, but they defended themselves
with their muskets; and the rebels not daring to make an assault on the
convent, chose the alternative of setting it on fire. The unfortunate
party besieged had no other resource but to take refuge on the tower
of the church, with the little provisions they could find at hand,
where they maintained themselves five days, until our troops learning
their unfortunate situation made a forced march to their assistance,
routing the rebels in their way.
Bonardel pursued his march to Lingayen, the capital of the province,
and putting every detachment of rebels to flight which came in his
way, he fortified that town, and was joined by Don Manuel de Arza
with a body of Indians which he brought from Ylocos, both by sea and
land. Bonardel leaving the remainder of his people in Lingayen, took
fifty men, and went to St. Fabian to liberate the Bishop and some
Dominicans, whom the rebels detained as prisoners; he routed them,
and although they had possessed themselves of the passes, he managed
to join the rest of the army.
In the beginning of the year 1764 nobody opposed our authority in the
towns, the rebels had retired to the mountains, taking with them the
friars who were not able to join the Spaniards: each troop of rebels
had its particular chief, and the rebellion could not be quelled
merely by one battle. It was therefore determined upon to distribute
detachments over the country, and subdue it in detail. They proceeded
by hanging the leaders of the mutiny as they took them, pardoning
the great mass of their followers; but they were so very obstinate,
that although sensible they could offer no resistance, and that it
was easy for them to obtain a general amnesty, they still continued
in rebellion, nor was it effectually quelled till March, 1765. On our
side we lost in this expedition seventy Spaniards, and one hundred and
forty Indians, and of the rebels more than ten thousand perished. Many
of the rebels too died of hunger, or passed over to other provinces,
and the first enumeration that was made of the province after the
rebellion, it was found that twenty-six thousand nine hundred and
twenty-seven persons were deficient of the proper number, composing
nearly half the population. All the other provinces of the islands
were restored to tranquillity, and maintained in their allegiance to
the King of Spain, under the orders of Senor Anda.