his Majesty's council, and his auditor in the royal Audiencia
and Chancillería of the Filipinas, whom may our Lord preserve, in
Manila. The hardships which have befallen us within the short time
since we left Manila, have been so many, that, if I were to give your
Grace an account of them all, it would weary you; moreover the short
time in which Don Joan is to depart does not allow of it. And since
he will relate everything fully, I will relate only what occurred to
us after reaching this land; for our Lord was pleased to change our
intentions, which were to remain in Bolinao until the bad weather
which we were having had terminated. In sight of the port we were
overtaken by a storm which greatly endangered our lives and forced
us to come to this kingdom of China, where we expected at least
that the Portuguese would allow us to refit our ship. As it was the
Lord's will that we should lose it, we have suffered hardships enough,
for scarcely anything was saved. I lost my property and a portion of
that of others, because I was not present at the time of the wreck,
as my general ordered myself and a coast-pilot the day before to go
to look for fresh provisions. This coast is so wretchedly laid down
on the charts that we did not know where we were, and on account
of bad weather I could not return to the ship. Consequently I was
obliged to go to Canton, where the Sangleys, who conveyed me and
those who left the ship with me, accused us of having killed three
Sangleys. And had we not found there Alférez Domingo de Artacho
and Marcos de la Cueva, who were pleading against the Portuguese,
we would have fared very ill. It was God's will, that, with their
aid, we settled the case in court; and, although without proofs, and
without taking our depositions, they condemned us to a fine of fifty
taes of silver. There we learned that for one and one-half months they
[i.e., the men of Juan Zamudio's vessel] had been defending themselves
against the Portuguese, who, as soon as the Spaniards had arrived,
went about saying that they were robbers and rebels, and people who
seized the kingdoms into which they entered, and other things not
worth writing. But in the end, all their efforts, good and evil--and
indeed very evil--profited them nothing, because, by means of great
assiduity and a quantity of silver, the Spaniards negotiated a matter
which the Portuguese had never imagined, namely, the opening of a
port in this country, in order that the Spaniards might always come
safely, and the granting of houses in Canton, a privilege which was
never extended to the Portuguese, on account of which the latter are,
or will be, even more angered. Besides, silence was imposed upon the
Portuguese, although this was no part of the negotiations, so that they
might not attempt by other means to do us all the injury possible (as
the Sangleys who were among them tell us). It is impossible to tell
how much the Portuguese abhor the name of Castilians, unless it be
experienced as we have done for our sins, for they have placed us in
great extremity, as Don Joan will relate fully. For, when our general
wrote to them that we had been wrecked, and were dying of hunger among
infidels, and in great peril, and that he was not coming to trade,
but was engaged in the service of his Majesty, the welcome given him
by the Portuguese was to seize his messengers and keep them up to the
present time in a dungeon. Lastly, while we have been in this port,
undergoing the difficulties and perils which Don Joan will relate,
although they are so near, not only do they leave us to suffer, but,
if there are any well-disposed persons, they have forbidden them to
communicate with us or to give us anything, under both temporal and
spiritual penalty. In truth, to reflect upon this cruelty, and still
more to experience it as we are doing, exhausts all patience. May God
in His mercy give us patience and consolation because these infidels
[i.e., the Chinese] are the people who have corrupted the natural
light more than any other people in the world. Hence angels and not men
are required to deal with them. Since there are historians who record
events in these regions, I shall not go into details respecting them. I
only say, in order that you may understand in what a country we are,
that it is the true kingdom of the devil, where he seems to rule with
full power. Hence each Sangley appears to be the devil incarnate,
for there is no malice or deceit which they do not attempt. Although
outwardly the government, with all its order and method, seems good
as far as its preservation is concerned, yet, in practice, it is all
a scheme of the devil. Although here they do not rob or plunder the
foreigners openly, yet they do it by other and worse methods. Don
Joan has worked hard, and gratitude is certainly due him, for he has
accomplished a thing so difficult, that the Portuguese say only the
devil or he could have done it. However, it is true that it has cost
him, as I have heard, about seven thousand pesos, besides the risk to
which he has been exposed; for the Portuguese attempted to burn him in
his ship; and although their schemes came to naught, it is impossible
to describe the bitterness which they feel at seeing us come here to
trade, because of the signal injury they receive thereby. However,
if one considers it thoroughly, the truth is that, if this business
were established on the basis of a fair agreement, the Portuguese
would rather gain by it, because they would dispose of innumerable
articles that they possess, and the majority of them, especially the
poor, would profit by selling the work of their hands, and what they
get from India, for which they always obtain a good price. As far
as raising the price of [Chinese] merchandise to them is concerned,
once established, and if the Sangleys understood that ships would come
every year, they would bring down much more merchandise: and so much
the more as Canton possesses such a large quantity of it, that there
is more than enough for twice as many as are here, as we have seen
with our own eyes. I can testify that, if they wish to load a ship
with only one kind of goods, they can do so, even if it be needles;
the more so, since the greater part of what the Chinese consume is
not included among our articles of purchase, the great bulk of our
purchases being raw silk. Therefore I believe that the continuation
of this would be of great advantage to that city [i.e., Manila] for
the following reasons which present themselves to me. The first is
that, if orders were given for a ship to come authorized to invest
the bulk of the money of that city [i.e., Manila], much more and
better goods could be bought with much less money, and in articles
which would prove more profitable; since, in short, we would save
what the people of Chincheo gain with us [at Manila]--a goodly sum.
The second reason is that that city [i.e., Manila] would be provided
with all necessaries, because one can find in the city of Canton
anything that can be desired.
The third is that by this means we would avoid the excessive commerce
of the Sangleys in that city [i.e., Manila], who cause the harm which
your Grace knows, and even that which we do not know. They are people
who, the less they are admitted, the better will it be for us in every
respect. Hence there is no need of there being more of them than the
number required for the service of the community; and then they would
neither raise the price of provisions, nor retail what remains in the
country, as they do now. Thus many pernicious sins which they commit
and teach to the natives would be avoided. Although there seems to
be some difficulty in establishing this and in smoothing down the
Portuguese, still it might be accomplished.
The fourth reason is that, if the purchase is made here, it will
reach that city [i.e., Manila] by Christmas, and each man would store
his property in his house, and prepare and arrange it; and then, even
should the ships from Castilla arrive early, no loss would be suffered
as at present--when, if those ships arrive before the goods purchased
from China [reach Manila] the merchandise rises a hundred per cent.
The fifth reason is that the ships might easily take in cargo any
time in the month of May, and take advantage of the first vendavals,
which sometimes begin by the middle of June or before. By sailing then,
they run less risk, and will reach Nueva España one month or even two
months earlier. Then, they can leave that country in January and come
here [i.e., to the Filipinas] by April without any of the dangers
which beset them among these islands if they sail late, as we know.
The sixth reason is that the many inconveniences now existing at the
time of the purchase [in Manila] would be avoided--inconveniences
with which your Grace is acquainted--and the citizens would have
less trouble. Also in respect to the lading and its allotment [i.e.,
of shipping room] a better system could certainly be followed,
and it would be known who is to share in it. Things would be better
remedied, because neither the money of Mexico nor that of companies
would be allowed to be employed. The strict prevention of this alone
would be sufficient to assure prosperity to Manila in a short time;
for, if only the inhabitants were to send their invested property,
it is certain that all the machinery of the money of the Mexicans
would have to be employed on the goods sent from here--I mean from
Manila--if they do not allow the Mexicans to purchase in that city
[i.e., Manila]. And if less merchandise is sent from here [i.e.,
China, and consequently Manila] and there are more buyers there [i.e.,
in Mexico], the goods would be worth double. This is self-evident,
and if, as your Graces have already begun to remedy this matter,
the measure be rigorously carried still farther, that city [i.e.,
Manila] must prosper greatly. For, by not sending to Nueva España
any other produce except that from that city [i.e., Manila] mainly
purchased in this country [i.e., China], Manila would prosper as
greatly as one could desire. If we consider the benefit and favor
which his Majesty confers upon us in this matter, we would esteem
it much more than we do now. But I believe that we shall regret it,
when, perchance, we are deprived of it. Perhaps some one would say,
in opposition to what I have said about coming to purchase here,
that his Majesty would be defrauded of the customs and duties
which the Sangleys now pay, and of their tribute. But there is a
remedy for all this, for with the freight duties alone his Majesty
would save much more; as also by buying ammunitions here and other
articles which he needs for the conservation of that country [i.e.,
the islands] twice as cheaply and abundantly, and without depending
on the Chinese to bring them at their leisure, who at times--and
indeed every year--leave us without them, since we are forced to go
to get them. As far as the tribute is concerned, I believe that his
Majesty would be better served if there were no Sangleys there at all,
than by receiving the tribute. And it might happen, through this way,
if our Lord ordered it, that a door might be opened for the preaching
of the gospel and for the conversion of the people, a thing desired so
earnestly by his Majesty, and especially aimed at by him. After all,
things require a beginning, and the road would be opened, although
at present it seems shut; for, if we hope that the Portuguese attempt
this, I do not know when they will do it, considering that they have
not tried to do so, for so long as they have been settled here. Even
the Sangleys say that the Portuguese began like ourselves. At first
they went to and fro; then two sick men remained; the next year they
built four houses; and thus they continued to increase. I know that
there is no other difficulty for us to do likewise than that which
the Portuguese offer. To return to the Portuguese opposition, it is
something amazing, for not only are they vexed at our coming here,
but also at our going to Camboja or to Sian. They assert that those
districts are theirs, but I cannot see why they so designate them--for
it is just the contrary--unless it be because we have allowed them,
through our negligence, to seize our possessions near the strait of
Malaca, and enter the line of demarcation falling to the crown of
Castilla, as I would make them fully understand if an opportunity were
presented. One can read in Historia de las Indias [111] [i.e., History
of the Indias] in the one hundred and second chapter, and before and
after it, that, at the request of the Portuguese, his Holiness drew the
said line from three hundred and seventy leguas west of the islands of
Caboverde, which were called the Espericas. The one hundred and eighty
degrees of longitude falling to the Portuguese terminate and end as
abovesaid, near the above-mentioned strait. All the rest belongs to
us. Furthermore, since we are subjects of one king, how do we suffer
them to forbid us all our trade? Why do they bar us from Maluco, Sian,
Camboja, Cochinchina, China, and all the rest of this archipelago? What
are we to do then, if they wish to seize everything? Surely this is
a very unreasonable proceeding. I have dwelt on this matter in order
to express my feelings. Not until our departure shall I write to
your Grace about the fertility and nature of the country, and of its
greatness. Then I shall endeavor to give a full account of the land,
and to mark out this coast, for nothing is put down correctly.
This is the best coast [112] of all that have been discovered,
and the most suitable for galleys, if God should ordain that they
come hither. I have already discovered where the king keeps his
treasure. The country is very rich, and the city of Canton well
supplied, although there is nothing to be said in regard to its
buildings, of which the whole city possesses few of any importance,
according to the information received from a Theatin [113] Sangley with
whom I found much pleasure in talking--though I was able to do so for
only one afternoon. He was a man of intelligence and reason, and it is
said that he is a scholar. He told me that in Paquien [i.e., Pekin],
where the king resides, and in Lanquien [i.e., Nankin] the fathers
of the Society enjoy the quiet possession of three houses. There
are seven fathers, among whom is one called Father Riçio, [114]
an associate of Father Rugero who went to Roma. He is an excellent
mathematician and has corrected the Chinese calendar which contained
many errors and false opinions, and their fantastic idea of the world,
which they believed to be flat. He made them a globe and a sphere,
and with this and the sound arguments and reasons which they give
them, the fathers are considered as people descended from heaven. He
says that in those regions the people would be very favorable to
conversion, if there were ministers; and that there [i.e., in Pekin]
the foreigners are not looked upon with wonder as they are here
[i.e., in Canton]. He says that the people are much more sensible
and reasonable, so much so that they call the people of this country
barbarians. He adds that Lanquien lies in the latitude of Toledo,
namely thirty and two-thirds degrees, and that from there to Paquien
is a twenty-five days' journey, so that the latter city must lie in
more than fifty degrees of latitude. [115] The above-mentioned brother
comes down annually to collect the stipend given them by the people
here for their three houses. Now they are expecting a great friend of
theirs who is said to be the second person nearest to the king. One
can travel through all this land by water, and therefore it abounds
in everything, for articles are conveyed over the rivers and there
is no need of beasts of burden, which is its special greatness.
He who wishes to depict China without having seen the land, must draw
a country full of rivers and towns, and without a palmo of ground left
lying idle. I wish I had more time in which to describe some of the
things of China which I have observed and inquired about with special
care, and of which, if God please, I shall be the messenger. The
affairs of Camboja are in a good condition, and we shall arrive there
at a seasonable time, if it be our Lord's will that we leave this
place with good auspices. The king sent a ship to Manila at the end
of August to ask for assistance. I do not know whether it has arrived
or whether it returned to put in port, for it left very late. Bias
Ruis sent fifty picos [116] from Camanguian. According to report,
the king has apportioned and given him nine thousand vassals, and as
many more to Belloso.
At present we ourselves are enduring the necessity of which Don Juan
Çamudio will inform you. I entreat your Grace to help us, since it
is of so great importance. I kiss many times the hand of my lady
Doña Joana. May our Lord preserve your Grace for many years in the
prosperity and tranquillity which we your servants desire. From the
port of El Pinal, frozen with cold, the twenty-third of December,
ninety-eight.
If my brother should come before I return, I beseech your Grace,
since it is so natural in your Grace to do good to all--especially
to those of that land--to show him the goodness which your Grace has
always shown me.
FERNANDO DE LOS RIOS CORONEL
After Don Juan de Çamudio's departure from El Pinal, where Don Luis
Dasmariñas remained with his junk awaiting the assistance that he
expected from Manila and which he had requested through Don Joan and
Alférez Francisco Rodrigues, Don Luis thought that, since some time had
passed, the answer was being delayed, while his people were suffering
great want and cold there. Therefore he tried to put out to sea in the
junk, and to make for Manila. But the weather did not permit this,
nor was the vessel large enough to hold all of Don Luis's men for
the voyage. He stopped near the fort where the Portuguese of Macan
again sent him many messages and requests to leave the coast at once,
warning him that they would seize him and his companions, and would
send them to India, where they would be severely punished. Don Luis
always answered them that he had not come to harm or offend them,
but that he was going to the kingdom of Camboja for the service of
God and of his Majesty; that he had been shipwrecked and had suffered
many hardships, the severest of which had been due to the Portuguese
of Macan themselves, subjects of his Majesty; that he was expecting
help from Manila in order that he might return thither; and that he
begged and requested them to aid and protect him, and to free the
two Castilians whom they had seized. Finally he declared that if, in
spite of all this, they should attempt to do him any harm or injury, he
would defend himself to the best of his ability; and he protested that
any losses resulting therefrom would lie at their door. Thenceforward
Don Luis Dasmariñas kept strict watch on his ship. He kept his weapons
ready and the artillery loaded, and was on his guard day and night. And
he was not mistaken, for the people of Macan resolved to attack him in
order to seize him. To this end the chief captain himself came one day,
with some fustas and other vessels, and with men armed with javelins,
guns, and artillery, when they thought the Castilians would be off
their guard, to attack Don Luis Dasmariñas. The latter, suspecting
what was about to happen, awaited them arms in hand; and as he saw
the Portuguese fleet attacking him, he began to play upon them with
his muskets, arquebuses, and a few pieces of artillery, with such
rapidity that he inflicted a very severe loss upon his enemy and
upon the ship which carried the chief captain, killing one of his
pages who stood behind him, and other persons. The chief captain
retired with all the other vessels, and they made for the high sea,
having been defeated by Don Luis, who did not attempt to follow them
but remained on the watch. As the Portuguese did not dare attack him
again they made for Macan, and Don Luis Dasmariñas put into the port
of El Pinal, where he thought he would be in greater security. There
Don Luis remained until Captain Francisco Rodrigues arrived with the
ship from Manila, and joined him. They distributed their men between
the two ships and made some purchases with what this last ship had
brought from Manila, in the very city of Macan, for the Portuguese,
for the sake of their own interests, gave and sold them goods, in
spite of a certain apprehension of the law. They returned to Manila
leaving a few men in El Pinal who had died of sickness, among whom was
Fray Alonso Ximenez, the principal promoter of this enterprise. His
associate, Fray Diego Aduarte, did not choose to return to Manila,
but went to Macan and thence to Goa, in order to go to España. Don
Luis reached Manila with both ships, and his expedition to Camboja
and his conduct of the said enterprise remained in this state.
It has been already related that the galliot, one of the ships of
Don Luis Dasmariñas's fleet, in which Luis Ortiz and twenty-five
Spaniards had sailed, after having put into Cagayan and refitted
there, sailed again during fairly good weather to find the fleet. This
ship although so inadequate to resist storms at sea, was permitted,
through God's mercy, to encounter those which it met without being
wrecked. It made its way along the coast of Cochinchina and Champan,
inside the shoals of Aynao, and reached the bar of Camboja. Expecting
to find all or some of the ships of its convoy within the bar, it
ascended the river as far as the city of Chordemuco. There they
found Diego Belloso and Blas Ruys de Hernan Gonçalez, with some
Castilians who had joined them, and other Portuguese who had come by
way of Malaca, and with whose assistance many battles had been won
in favor of King Prauncar, who had been restored to his kingdom,
although some of his provinces had not been entirely pacified. It
was learned there that neither Don Luis Dasmariñas nor any other of
his fleet had reached Camboja. Those in the galliot said that Don
Luis was coming in person with a large force of ships, men, arms,
and some religious, to accomplish what he had always desired to do
in that kingdom; that he would not be long in coming; and that their
galliot and crew belonged to his fleet. Blas Ruis and his Castilian
companions greatly rejoiced over so opportune news. The former thought
that everything was turning out well, and that now, according to the
present state of affairs, matters would be accomplished and settled as
they wished. Diego Belloso and his party, although they did not show
their regret, were not so pleased, for they much preferred the happy
termination and reward of this expedition to be for the Portuguese and
the government of India. They had had certain quarrels and disputes
with Blas Ruis over this. But seeing that the affair had reached this
state, they conformed to the times. Thereupon all joined together,
Portuguese and Castilians, and informed Prauncar and his mandarins
of the arrival of Alférez Luis Ortiz with his galliot and companions,
saying that they were part of a large fleet which would shortly arrive,
and that Don Luis Dasmariñas was coming in it in person, with religious
and men to aid and serve the king, in conformity to what he himself
had requested in his letter to Manila, several months before. The
king seemed pleased at this, and so did some of his mandarins who
liked the Spaniards, and recognized what benefits they had derived
from them hitherto. These believed that the matter would turn out
as it was represented to them. But the king's stepmother, and other
mandarins of her party, especially the Moro Malay Ocuña Lacasamana,
were vexed at the arrival of the Spaniards, for they thought that
the latter, being valiant men, numerous, and so courageous, as they
already knew, would dominate everything, or at least would take the
best; moreover they alone wished to deal with King Prauncar. Thus
their aversion for Spanish affairs became known to be as great as
the favor with which Prauncar, on the contrary, regarded them. The
latter immediately assigned the Spaniards a position with their ship
near the city, at the place which Blas Ruiz and Diego Belloso occupied.
Before Don Luis Dasmariñas left Manila with his fleet, Captain Joan
de Mendoça Gamboa requested Governor Don Francisco Tello to allow him
to go to the kingdom of Sian with a moderate-sized ship, in order to
trade. For the greater security of his voyage and business, he asked
the governor to give him letters to the king of Sian, in which the
latter should be informed that he was sent as the governor's ambassador
and messenger to continue the peace, friendship, and commerce which
Joan Tello de Aguirre had contracted with Sian the year before. Seeing
that Don Luis Dasmariñas, who was on the way to Camboja, had left in
Manila for another occasion some ammunition and other things of use
to his fleet, Don Joan, in order better to facilitate the granting of
his request, offered to take these stores on board his ship and sail
round by way of Camboja, where he supposed that he would find Don
Luis Dasmariñas, and deliver them to him. The governor thought the
two proposals timely, and having furnished him with the necessary
despatches, Don Joan de Mendoça left Manila with his ship, taking
as pilot Joan Martinez de Chave, who had been Joan Tello's pilot
when the latter went to Sian. He took as companions some sailors and
Indian natives. He had a quantity of siguei [117] and other goods to
barter, and the ammunition and provisions which he was to convey to
Don Luis. With him embarked Fray Joan Maldonado [118] and an associate,
both religious of the Order of St. Dominic. The former was a grave and
learned man and a very intimate friend of Don Luis Dasmariñas, to whom
his order took great pleasure in sending him as a companion. They left
Manila, without knowing of Don Luis's shipwreck two months after the
latter had set sail. Crossing over the shoals they shortly reached
the bar of Camboja and ascended to the capital, where they found
the galliot of the fleet and learned that its other ships had not
arrived. The king received them cordially and lodged them with Diego
Belloso, Blas Ruiz, Luis Ortiz, and their companions. They passed
the time together, and would not let Joan de Mendoça leave Camboja
with his ship until something was heard of Don Luis Dasmariñas. A few
days later, they learned through Chinese ships, and by other means,
that the latter had put into China with difficulty and in distress,
and that he was there preparing to continue his voyage. Although this
event caused them sorrow, they still hoped that in a short time Don
Luis would be in Camboja with the two ships of his fleet.