Philippine Dependencies, Up To 1898
The Ladrones, Carolines and Pelew Islands
In 1521 Maghallanes cast anchor off the Ladrone Islands (situated
between 17 deg. and 20 deg. N. lat. by 146 deg. E. long.) on his way to the
discovery of those Islands afterwards denominated the Philippines. This
group was named by him Islas de las Velas. [18] Legaspi called them
the Ladrones. [19] Subsequently several navigators sighted or touched
at these Islands, and the indistinct demarcation which comprised them
acquired the name of Saint Lazarus' Archipelago.
In 1662 the Spanish vessel _San Damian_, on her course from Mexico
to Luzon, anchored here. On board was a missionary, Fray Diego Luis
de San Victores, who was so impressed with the dejected condition
of the natives, that on reaching Manila he made it his common theme
of conversation. In fact, so importunately did he pursue the subject
with his superiors that he had to be constrained to silence. In the
following year the Governor, Diego Salcedo, replied to his urgent
appeal for a mission there in terms which permitted no further
solicitation in that quarter. But the friar was persistent in his
project, and petitioned the Archbishop's aid. The prelate submitted
the matter to King Philip IV., and the friar himself wrote to his
father, who presented a memorial to His Majesty and another to the
Queen beseeching her influence. Consequently in 1666 a Royal Decree
was received in Manila sanctioning a mission to the Ladrones.
Fray Diego took his passage in the galleon _San Diego_, and having
arrived safely in the Viceregal Court of Mexico, he pressed his views
on the Viceroy, who declared that he had no orders. Then the priest
appealed to the Viceroy's wife, who, it is said, was entreating her
husband's help on bended knee, when an earthquake occurred which
considerably damaged the city. It was a manifestation from heaven,
the wily priest avowed, and the Viceroy, yielding to the superstition
of the age, complied with the friar's request.
Therefore, in March, 1668, Fray Diego started from Acapulco in charge
of a Jesuit mission for the Ladrones, where they subsequently received
a pension of P3,000 per annum from Queen Maria Ana, who, meanwhile,
had become a widow and Regent. To commemorate this royal munificence,
these Islands have since been called by the Spaniards "Islas Marianas,"
although the older name--Ladrones--is better known to the world.
When the mission was fairly established, troops were sent there,
consisting of twelve Spaniards and nineteen Philippine natives,
with two pieces of artillery.
The acquiescence of the Ladrone natives was being steadily gained by
the old policy of conquest, under the veil of Christianity, when they
suddenly rebelled against the stranger's religion, which brought with
it restraint of liberty and a social dominion practically amounting
to slavery. Fortunately, Nature came again to the aid of Fray Diego,
for, whilst the natives were in open revolt, a severe storm levelled
their huts to the ground, and the priest having convinced them that
it was a visitation from heaven, peace was concluded.
Fray Diego left the mission for Visayas, where he was killed. After
his departure the natives again revolted against servile subjection,
and many priests were slain from time to time--some in the exercise
of their sacerdotal functions, others in open warfare.
In 1778 a Governor was sent there from Mexico with thirty soldiers,
but he resigned his charge after two years' service, and others
succeeded him.
The Islands are very poor. The products are Rice, Sago, Cocoanuts,
and Cane-sugar to a small extent; there are also pigs and fowls in
abundance. The Spaniards taught the natives the use of fire. They
were a warlike people; every man had to carry arms. Their language
is Chamorro, much resembling the Visayan dialect. The population,
for a hundred years after the Spanish occupation, diminished. Women
purposely sterilised themselves. Some threw their new born offspring
into the sea, hoping to liberate them from a world of woe, and
that they would regenerate in happiness. In the beginning of the
17th century the population was further diminished by an epidemic
disease. During the first century of Spanish rule, the Government
were never able to exact the payment of tribute. Up to the Spanish
evacuation the revenue of these Islands was not nearly sufficient
to cover the entire cost of administration. About twenty years ago
Governor Pazos was assassinated there by a rebellious group.
There were nine towns with parish priests. All the churches were
built of stone, and roofed with reed thatching, except that of the
capital, which had an iron roof. Six of the towns had Town Halls made
of bamboo and reed grass; one had a wooden building, and in two of them
(including the capital) the Town Halls were of stone.
The Seat of Government was at Agana (called in old official documents
the "City of San Ignacio de Agana"). It is situated in the Island of
Guam, in the creek called the Port of Apra. Ships have to anchor about
two miles off Punta Piti, where passengers, stores, and mails are
conveyed to a wooden landing-stage. Five hundred yards from here was
the Harbour-master's office, built of stone, with a tile roof. From
Punta Piti there was a bad road of about five miles. The situation
of Agana seems to be ill-suited for communication with vessels, and
proposals were ineffectually made by two Governors, since 1835, to
establish the capital town elsewhere. The central Government took no
heed of their recommendations. In Agana there was a Government House,
a Military Hospital and Pharmacy, an Artillery Depot and Infantry
Barracks, a well-built Prison, a Town Hall, the Administrator's Office
(called by the natives "the shop"), and the ruins of former public
buildings. It is a rather pretty town, but there is nothing notable
to be seen.
The natives are as domesticated as the Philippine Islanders, and
have much better features. Spanish and a little English are spoken
by many of them, as these Islands in former years were the resort
of English-speaking whalemen. For the Elementary Education of the
natives, there was the College of San Juan de Letran for boys, and
a girls' school in Agana; and in 7 of the towns there was, in 1888,
a total of 4 schools for boys, 5 schools for girls, and 9 schools
for both sexes, under the direction of 20 masters and 6 mistresses.
When the Ladrone Islands (Marianas) were a dependency of the
Spanish-Philippine General-Government, a subsidized mail steamer left
Manila for Agana, and two or three other ports, every three months.
An island was discovered by one of the Spanish galleon pilots in
1686, and called _Carolina_, in honour of Charles II. of Spain,
but its bearings could not be found again for years.
In 1696 two canoes, with 29 Pelew Islanders, drifted to the coast
of Samar Island, and landed at the Town of Guivan. They were 60
days on the drift, and five of them died of privations. They were
terror-stricken when they saw a man on shore making signs to them. When
he went out to them in a boat, and boarded one of the canoes, they all
jumped out and got into the other; then when the man got into that,
they were in utter despair, considering themselves prisoners.
They were conducted to the Spanish priest of Guivan, whom they supposed
would be the King of the Island, and on whom would depend their lives
and liberty. They prostrated themselves, and implored his mercy and
the favour of sparing their lives, whilst the priest did all he could,
by signs, to reassure them.
It happened that there had been living here, for some years, two other
strange men brought to this shore by currents and contrary winds. These
came forward to see the novelty, and served as interpreters, so that
the newcomers were all lodged in native houses in twos and threes,
and received the best hospitality.
They related that their Islands numbered 32, and only produced
fowls and sea-birds. One man made a map, by placing stones in the
relative position of the Islands. When asked about the number of the
inhabitants, one took a handful of sand to demonstrate that they were
countless. There was a King, they explained, who held his court in
the Island of Lamurrec, to whom the chiefs were subject. They much
respected and obeyed him. Among the castaways was a chief, with his
wife--the daughter of the King.
The men had a leaf-fibre garment around their loins, and to it
was attached a piece of stuff in front, which was thrown over the
shoulders and hung loose at the back. The women were dressed the
same as the men, except that their loin vestment reached to their
knees. The King's daughter wore, moreover, tortoise-shell ornaments.
They were afraid when they saw a cow and a dog, their Island having
no quadrupeds. Their sole occupation consisted in providing food for
their families. Their mark of courtesy was to take the hand of the
person whom they saluted and pass it softly over the face.
The priest gave them pieces of iron, which they prized as if they
had been of gold, and slept with them under their heads. Their only
arms were lances, with human bones for points. They seemed to be a
pacific people, intelligent and well-proportioned physically. Both
sexes wore long hair down to their shoulders.
Very content to find so much luxury in Samar, they offered to return
and bring their people to trade. The Jesuits considered this a capital
pretext for subjecting their Islands, and the Government approved of
it. At the instance of the Pope, the King ordered the Gov.-General,
Domingo Zabalburu, to send out expeditions in quest of these Islands;
and, between 1708 and 1710, several unsuccessful efforts were made
to come across them. In 1710, two islands were discovered, and named
San Andres. Several canoes arrived alongside of the ship, and the
occupants accepted the Commander's invitation to come on board. They
were much astonished to see the Spaniards smoke, and admired the
iron fastenings of the vessel. When they got near shore, they all
began to dance, clapping their hands to beat time. They measured the
ship, and wondered where such a large piece of wood could have come
from. They counted the crew, and presented them with cocoanuts, fish,
and herbs from their canoes. The vessel anchored near to the shore,
but there was a strong current and a fresh wind blowing, so that it was
imprudent to disembark. However, two priests insisted upon erecting
a cross on the shore, and were accompanied by the quarter-master and
an officer of the troops. The weather compelled the master to weigh
anchor, and the vessel set sail, leaving on land the four Europeans,
who were ultimately murdered. For a quarter of a century these Islands
were lost again to the Spaniards.
In 1721 two Caroline prahus were wafted to the Ladrone Islands, where
D. Luiz Sanchez was Governor. The Caroline Islanders had no idea
where they had landed, and were quite surprised when they beheld the
priest. He forcibly detained these unfortunate people, and handed
them over to the Governor, whom they entreated, with tears--but
all in vain--to be allowed to return to their homes. There they
remained prisoners, until it suited the Governor's convenience to
send a vessel with a priest to their Island. The priest went there,
and thence to Manila, where a fresh expedition was fitted out. It
was headed by a missionary, and included a number of soldiers whom
the natives massacred soon after their arrival. All further attempt
to subdue the Caroline Islands was necessarily postponed.
The natives, at that time, had no religion at all, or were, in a
vague sense, polytheists. Their wise men communicated with the
souls of the defunct. They were polygamists, but had a horror
of adultery. Divorce was at once granted by the chiefs on proof
of infidelity. They were cannibals. In each island there was a
chief, regarded as a semi-spiritual being, to whom the natives were
profoundly obedient. Huts were found used as astrological schools,
where also the winds and currents were studied. They made cloth of
plantain-fibre--hatchets with stone heads. Between sunset and sunrise
they slept. When war was declared between two villages or tribes,
each formed three lines of warriors, 1st, young men; 2nd, tall men;
3rd, old men; then the combatants pelted each other with stones and
lances. A man _hors de combat_ was replaced by one of the back file
coming forward. When one party acknowledged themselves vanquished,
it was an understood privilege of the victors to shower invectives on
their retiring adversaries. They lived on fruits, roots and fish. There
were no quadrupeds and no agriculture.
Many Spanish descendants were found, purely native in their habits,
and it was remembered that about the year 1566, several Spaniards
from an expedition went ashore on some islands, supposed to be these,
and were compelled to remain there.
The Carolines ("Islas Carolinas") and Pelews ("Islas Palaos")
comprise some 48 groups of islands and islets, making a total of about
500. Their relative position to the Ladrone Islands is--of the former,
S.S.W. stretching to S.E.; of the latter, S.W. Both groups lie due
E. of Mindanao Island (_vide_ map). The principal Pelew Islands
are Babel-Druap and Kosor--Yap and Ponape (Ascencion Is.) are the
most important of the Carolines. The centres of Spanish Government
were respectively in Yap and Babel-Druap, with a Vice-Governor
of the Eastern Carolines in Ponape--all formerly dependent on the
General-Government in Manila. The Carolines and Pelews were included
in the Bishopric of Cebu, and were subject, judicially, to the Supreme
Court of Manila.
These Islands were subsequently many times visited by ships of other
nations, and a barter trade gradually sprang up in dried cocoanut
kernels (coprah) for the extraction of oil in Europe and America. Later
on, when the natives were thoroughly accustomed to the foreigners,
British, American, and German traders established themselves on shore,
and vessels continued to arrive with European and American manufactures
in exchange for coprah, trepang, ivory-nuts, tortoise-shell, etc.
Anglo-American missionaries have settled there, and a great number
of natives profess Christianity in the Protestant form. Religious
books in native dialect, published in Honolulu (Sandwich Is.) by the
Hawaiian Evangelical Association, are distributed by the American
missionaries. I have one before me now, entitled "Kapas Fel, Puk Eu,"
describing incidents from the Old Testament. A few of the natives
can make themselves understood in English. Besides coprah (the
chief export) the Islands produce Rice, Yams, Bread-fruit (_rima_),
Sugar-cane, etc. Until 1886 there was no Government, except that of
several petty kings or chiefs, each of whom still rules over his own
tribe, although the Protestant missionaries exercised a considerable
social influence.
In 1885 a Spanish naval officer, named Capriles, having been appointed
Governor of the Islands, arrived at Yap, ostensibly with the object
of landing to hoist the Spanish flag as a signal of possession,
for it was known in official quarters that the Germans were about
to claim sovereignty. However, three days were squandered (perhaps
intentionally) in trivial formalities, and although two Spanish
men-o'-war--the _Manila_ and the _San Quintin_--were already anchored
in the Port of Yap, the German warship _Iltis_ entered, landed marines,
and hoisted their national flag, whilst the Spaniards looked on. Then
the German Commander went on board the _San Quintin_ to tell the
Commander that possession of the Islands had been taken in the name of
the Emperor of Germany. Neither Capriles, the appointed Governor, nor
Espana, the Commander of the _San Quintin_, made any resistance; and
as we can hardly attribute their inactivity to cowardice, presumably
they followed their Government's instructions. Capriles and Espana
returned to Manila, and were both rewarded for their inaction; the
former being appointed to the Government of Mindoro Island. In Manila
an alarming report was circulated that the Germans contemplated an
attack upon the Philippines. Earthworks were thrown up outside the
city wall; cannons were mounted, and the cry of invasion resounded
all over the Colony. Hundreds of families fled from the capital and
environs to adjacent provinces, and the personal safety of the German
residents was menaced by individual patriotic enthusiasts.
In Madrid, popular riots followed the publication of the incident. The
German Embassy was assaulted, and its escutcheon was burnt in the
streets by the indignant mob, although, probably, not five per
cent. of the rioters had any idea where the Caroline Islands were
situated, or anything about them. Spain acted so feebly, and Germany
so vigorously, in this affair, that many asked--was it not due to
a secret understanding between the respective Ministries, disrupted
only by the weight of Spanish public opinion? Diplomatic notes were
exchanged between Madrid and Berlin, and Germany, anxious to withdraw
with apparent dignity from an affair over which it was probably never
intended to waste powder and shot, referred the question to the Pope,
who arbitrated in favour of Spain.
But for these events, it is probable that Spain would never have done
anything to demonstrate possession of the Caroline Islands, and for
16 months after the question was solved by Pontific mediation, there
was a Spanish Governor in Yap--Sr. Elisa--a few troops and officials,
but no Government. No laws were promulgated, and everybody continued
to do as heretofore.
In Ponape (Ascencion Is.) Sr. Posadillo was appointed Governor. A
few troops were stationed there under a sub-lieutenant, whilst some
Capuchin friars--European ecclesiastics of the meanest type--were
sent there to compete with the American Protestant missionaries in
the salvation of natives' souls. A collision naturally took place,
and the Governor--well known to all of us in Manila as crack-brained
and tactless--sent the chief Protestant missionary, Mr. E. T. Doane,
a prisoner to Manila on June 16, 1887. [20] He was sent back free to
Ponape by the Gov.-General, but, during his absence, the eccentric
Posadillo exercised a most arbitrary authority over the natives. The
chiefs were compelled to serve him as menials, and their subjects
were formed into gangs, to work like convicts; native teachers were
suspended from their duties under threat, and the Capuchins disputed
the possession of land, and attempted to coerce the natives to accept
their religion.
On July 1 the natives did not return to their bondage, and all the
soldiers, led by the sub-lieutenant, were sent to bring them in by
force. A fight ensued, and the officer and troops, to the last man,
were killed or mortally wounded by clubs, stones and knives. The
astonished Governor fortified his place, which was surrounded by the
enemy. The tribes of the chiefs Nott and Jockets were up in arms. There
was the hulk _Da. Maria de Molina_ anchored in the roadstead, and the
Capuchins fled to it on the first alarm. The Governor escaped from
his house on the night of July 4 with his companions, and rushed to
the sea, probably intending to swim out to the hulk. But who knows? He
and all his partisans were chased and killed by the natives.
On September 21 the news of the tragedy reached Manila by the
man-o'-war _San Quintin._ About six weeks afterwards, three men-o'-war
were sent to Ponape with infantry, artillery, a mountain battery, and
a section of Engineers--a total of about 558 men--but on their arrival
they met an American warship--the _Essex_--which had hastened on to
protect American interests. The Spaniards limited their operations
to the seizure of a few accused individuals, whom they brought to
Manila, and the garrison of Yap was increased to 100 men, under a
Captain and subordinate officers. The prisoners were tried in Manila
by court-martial, and I acted as interpreter. It was found that they
had only been loyal to the bidding of their chiefs, and were not
morally culpable, whilst the action of the late Governor of Ponape
met with general reprobation.
Again, in July, 1890, a party of 54 soldiers, under Lieutenant Porras,
whilst engaged in felling timber in the forest, was attacked by
the Malatana (Caroline) tribe, who killed the officer and 27 of his
men. The news was telegraphed to the Home Government, and caused a
great sensation in Madrid. A conference of Ministers was at once held,
and the Canovas del Castillo Ministry cabled to the Gov.-General Weyler
discretionary power to punish these islanders. Within a few months
troops were sent from Manila for that purpose. Instead, however,
of chastising the _Kanakas_, the Government forces were repulsed
by them with great slaughter. The commissariat arrangements were
most deficient: my friend Colonel Gutierrez Soto, who commanded the
expedition, was so inadequately supported by the War Department that,
yielding to despair, and crestfallen by reason of the open and adverse
criticism of his plan of campaign, he shot himself.
Under the Treaty of Paris (1898) the Island of Guam (Ladrone group)
was ceded by Spain to the United States, together with the Philippine
Islands. The remainder of the Ladrone group, the Caroline and the
Pelew Islands were sold by Spain to Germany in June, 1899.