which the British officers refused to accept. At the same moment the
colonel pressed the fort to surrender, else indeed hostilities would
be continued and arms used. The captain-general pressed and greatly
embarrassed, resolved to go in person with the colonel, under the good
faith of the guaranty of his person in order to treat concerning the
capitulation with the general. In fact, they discussed the matter at
length in the palace. The archbishop desired to have military honors
accorded, insisting on this point several times but not being able to
obtain it. He was compelled to give an order for the surrender of the
fort, and all the men were made prisoners of war with the exception of
the captain-general. The military were granted the honor of keeping
their swords and the repeated demands of the captain-general could
obtain nothing else. [71]
The city was given over to pillage, which was cruel and lasted for
forty hours, without excepting the churches, the archbishopric, and
a part of the palace. Although the captain-general objected at the
end of twenty-four hours, the pillage really continued, in spite of
the orders of the British general for it to cease. He himself killed
with his own hand a soldier whom he found transgressing his orders,
and had three hanged. [72]
In the doings of that day, the sargento-mayor of the royal regiment,
two captains, two subalterns, about fifty soldiers of the regular
troops, and thirty of the commerce militia were killed on our side,
and many were wounded.
In the other doings, and especially in the last sortie, more than
three hundred Indians were killed, and more than four hundred wounded.
The number killed on the side of the enemy we have not been able to
learn exactly. It has been learned only by some circumstances, that in
the review made two days after the taking of the place, the enemy had
lost more than a thousand men, among whom were sixteen officers. Among
those officers, was a sargento-mayor of Drapert's regiment, who was
killed on the day of the assault by an arrow; and the commandant of the
regiment of Chamal, who was killed by a musket ball, as he was watching
with a glass the approach from the tower of Santiago. The vice-admiral
[73] was drowned when coming ashore in a small boat which overturned;
and the same accident caused the death of some sailors and soldiers.
The forces of the enemy consisted of fifteen hundred European
soldiers, chosen from Drapert's regiment, and from the battalion of
the volunteers of Chamal; two artillery companies of sixty men apiece;
three thousand European sailors, fusileers and well disciplined;
eight hundred Sepoys, with muskets, forming two battalions, and
fourteen hundred of the same troops destined for the fascines. That
formed an army of six thousand eight hundred and thirty men.
The two mortar batteries, which, as has been said, were of different
caliber, threw more than five thousand bombs into the city. [74]
The land batteries and those of the ships fired more than twenty
thousand shots from twenty-four pounders, and ruined the city in many
places. The enemy sent about twenty-five shells, which set fires in
five different places; and if all diligence had not been employed,
the city, or the greater part of it, would have been in ashes. Manila,
December 23, 1762.
ANDA AND THE ENGLISH INVASION, 1762-1764
[The following is synopsized and translated from a series of documents
bound together under the following modern title: "Documents for
the history of the invasion and war with the English in Filipinas,
1762-1764; faithfully copied from the originals in 1765."]
[Anda y Salazar, [75] in a letter written from Bulacan, October 8,
1762, to the archbishop, Manuel Antonio Rojo del Rio y Vieyra,
states that in accordance with his appointment by the latter as
visitor-general of the provinces, he appoints the necessary persons
for the performance of that duty, forms a court, and goes to Bulacan
on October 4. There on presenting his credentials he is recognized
by the alcalde-mayor José Pasarin. Manila is taken by assault by the
British next day, and the president and auditors of the Audiencia
remaining in the city are taken prisoners. Citing laws clxxx and lviii
of título xv, book ii, of the Recopilación [76] Anda declares that,
by virtue thereof, the Audiencia is continued in him alone; and since
the archbishop (who has been acting as governor and president of the
Audiencia) is also a prisoner, the duties of the office of governor
and captain-general devolve upon him. He says:]
Having been aware of the respect and love with which the natives
venerate their parish priests, ministers, and missionaries, and that
these, by means of their greater knowledge of the nature, customs, and
civilization of the natives, can maintain them and incite them to the
defense of the country, against the English enemy: I have considered it
fitting and necessary to send the present to your Excellency, by which,
in the name of Don Carlos III, the Catholic king of España, I request
and ask you, and in my own name, petition you, by means of the curas,
rectors, and other members of the secular clergy of your diocese,
to be pleased to represent to, persuade, and inform the natives of
their obligation to maintain themselves as vassals of their natural
king and sovereign, and to conserve this country under his dominion
and fidelity, and to defend it from the English enemy, so that the
latter may not make them their tributaries. For notwithstanding
the loss of Manila, if the natives remain firm in their loyalty
to their sovereign, the islands can be conserved and defended. In
order to obtain this, I am ready to follow and conform to the useful
orders of your Excellency with the understanding of your flock,
and to those of the curas of the doctrine, with the understanding of
their parishioners. I hope that the curas will, through their zeal,
instruct, animate, and encourage the natives thoroughly in the matters
that may be necessary at this critical time; and that your Excellency,
immediately on receiving this despatch, may be pleased not to neglect
this useful measure (so that it may so appear for all time) and aid
me by having the missionary ministers, each one by his particular
despatch, answer immediately, for the profit and advantage that the
incidents and events may require, and return the despatches to me,
so that I may file them with the papers of their kind. [77]
[The archbishop answers this letter under date of Manila, October 10,
as follows:]
In your Lordship's commission granted with the preëminence that is
fitting, you will proceed according to your prudence and to present
circumstances. The first point is the Catholic faith. 2d, loyalty to
the king, our sovereign. 3d, to faithfully observe the treaties which
are now being drawn up with the British chiefs, for good faith is the
rule of all good operations. Your Lordship had my commission before
the surrender. The just procedure of your Lordship must be moderated
to this event and to this time.... [78]
[To the above, Anda replies on October 20. [79] Citing the contents of
the archbishop's letter, he says that his actions are to be governed by
laws lvii [80] and lviii of título xv, of book ii of the Recopilación
and since the governor is at present not able to govern, upon him
devolves the duty of preserving peace and administering justice. "In
this province [Bulacan], I have obtained not only complete quiet, but
all its inhabitants are inclined not to admit any other religion than
that which they profess or other dominion than that of our Catholic
monarch." So long as certain thorns in his path do not contradict the
principal object of loyalty to the king and religion, Anda winks at
them, and does not inflict punishment. He continues:]
I said and I repeat that the presidency and government fell to the
royal Audiencia; and I add that the latter is conserved and continued
in me, that I am the sole and only minister, that by my absence from
that capital because of the commissions confided to me at a convenient
time, I remained free from the enemies, and as such capable and proper
by law, so that in my person is met the prescriptions of law clxxx
of the above-cited book and título, since my associates are lacking
and have been imprisoned with your Excellency in the fatal loss of
that capital.
[By a law which he has made in his capacity as Audiencia and governor,
on October 5, [81] he has enjoyed and enjoys, and will continue
to enjoy the titles of governor, captain-general, president, and
Audiencia, which fell to him in view of said laws. But he will use
them only until archbishop and Audiencia are at liberty when he will
yield them all, and exercise only his commission. The first two points
in the archbishop's letter could have been excused, as it might have
been taken for granted that Anda would observe them. The third needs
explanation, for he cannot see that he is bound by the treaty that
is being made with the British, and he will defend the rest of the
provinces with his life. He continues:]
Neither before nor since the surrender of that city, did your
Excellency, or anyone else have, or do you possess any power to
surrender to the enemy the domain of these islands--before, because
you were not sovereign of them, but only administrator; since,
because not even this weak title was left to you, nor the power of
liberty. And since the enemy entered by assault and at discretion,
they only have a right to what the sack gave them in itself in the
territory gained by them. The rest is absurdly and ill surrendered,
and contrary to all rights of war. Consequently, if this letter
reaches you in time, I summon your Excellency, in his Majesty's
name, once and a thousand times, not to go to the pass of signing
the surrender of these islands. And should it be already signed,
I protest to your Excellency the wrong and that I shall in no wise
obey so unjust and absurd a treaty. If the British wish to dominate
this country, their chiefs know that it must be by first gaining it
with their arms according to right of war, but to surrender it through
the panic of terror, like children, would be a vileness and treason,
which I shall not permit so long as I am governor, and which does not
belong to my loyalty. Your Excellency also tells me that I received
your commission before the surrender, and that my just proceedings must
be regulated to this event and to this time. I answer also by asking
your Excellency to please explain a trifle more clearly in regard to
the security that I alone shall have by my just proceedings, which
cannot be one jot turned aside from loyalty to the king (whom may God
preserve) and besides from these provinces, without giving or allowing
terms for their foreign execution to the slightest degree. [82] Your
Excellency gave me your commission before the surrender of that city,
in order that I might maintain these provinces under the dominion of
his Majesty after the fatal event which was feared. [83] In any other
way the commission would have been superfluous. And is it possible that
without regarding consequences, your Excellency tells me to faithfully
observe the treaties with the British leaders, and that I regulate my
just procedures to the result and the time of the surrender of that
city? If your Excellency, although a vassal of the king of España,
his minister, and so honored, counsels me after this manner, what is
allowed to the British leaders? [84] Your Excellency knows that when I
left that capital, you did not give me the royal seal, without which no
Audiencia provision can be despatched. I beg your Excellency to please
have it sent to me, or to have the lieutenant of the grand Chancillor
come to exercise his employment, if he is not detained in that capital.
[The archbishop answers Anda's letter on the twenty-third, ordering
him to present himself before him by the twenty-fifth, without
fail. He sends the translation of a passport given by the English,
which he attests (while keeping the original), so that Anda may come
safely.] [85]
[Anda, however, does not trust in the passport, as shown by his letter
of October 25, in answer to that of the archbishop. In this letter
he protests that he is a faithful vassal of the king, and since he
is not a vassal of the archbishop, and since he knows nothing of the
terms of the treaty that has been made with the British, he refuses
to go to Manila. Such conduct would make him run the risk of being
called a traitor to his king. He is greatly exasperated because
the archbishop has not sent the original passport, but instead a
translation attested by himself as a true copy, while he retains the
original in his possession in order that it may run no risks. This
copy means nothing, as the British soldiers will pay no attention to
a passport signed by the archbishop and purporting to come from their
own commander, whereas they would recognize and obey the signature of
the latter. Besides, the date of the passport is the twenty-fifth, [86]
and that could not be. In the passport also, the archbishop acts as the
clerk of the British, and in his letter as a minister of the Catholic
monarch, but the two capacities are not conformable. Lastly, Anda
cannot leave the natives secretly (as the archbishop has suggested),
as they love him so that they will not allow him out of their sight,
and he must not leave them or risk his person.]
[In his reply to Anda, on the twenty-sixth of October, [87] the
archbishop complains bitterly of the former's lack of courtesy in
his letter of the twenty-fifth, in omitting his name and title as
captain and governor-general. His letter, the archbishop declares,
is full of nonsense. It is a specious pretext to boast of being a good
vassal, but it is not a mark of loyalty to seize authority belonging
to another, by which he has incited trouble among both Spaniards
and natives. On account of his absurd action, the British leaders
have proscribed him and placed a price on his head, as a disturber
of the provinces. The archbishop had sent the translated copy of
the passport for Anda's own safety, but he sends the original now,
and thus places all the risk on Anda's own shoulders. Although he
is obliged for the present to endure these insults thrust upon him
by Anda and those who imitate him, in order to avoid scandal, a time
will come when he will compel their obedience. He informs Anda that
the English calendar is one day in advance of that of the Spanish in
the Orient. He protests his loyalty and Anda's excesses.]
[On October 30, the archbishop issues a manifesto to "the faithful
natives and their leaders of these Philipinas Islands." [88] Writing as
archbishop and governor, he informs them that the city of Manila has
been taken by assault by the English on the fifth of October, after a
vigorous defense. The British are enemies, but are most generous and
cultured and have granted freedom of worship, and permission for the
people to proceed freely with their trade, on condition of the payment
of four million pesos, and the surrender of all the fortifications
of the islands with military honors to alcaldes and officers. The
British ask only that the people keep quiet (the islands being as
it were, a deposit), until their monarch and the Spanish ruler come
to terms. The natives are to be for the present subordinate to the
British, although their loyalty to the Spanish king is not to be
lessened. At some length, the archbishop entreats the natives to
attend to their religious duties, and not to turn aside to listen
to the vulgar. They must maintain good relations with the British,
for these, although conquerors, live in harmony with the Spaniards
and if their soldiers commit any wrongs against the natives they will
be punished. Reward and punishment alike will come from God. [89]
Again on November 4, the archbishop writes to Anda. In it he states
that he has been recognized throughout his negotiations as the
representative of the Spanish monarch, and the true governor and
captain-general, and that he is not a prisoner. Much harm has resulted
from Anda's provisions, which he has enacted as royal. By his order
to cut off provisions from Manila, he has succeeded in angering the
British against the Spaniards and natives in Manila; and it will
result in the British carrying their conquest further by going out
into the provinces to get food, and the Spaniards in Manila will
all perish of hunger if they are not first put to the sword. This
will mean the extinction of the Spaniards and the destruction of
Christianity in the islands, the maintenance of which is the only
object of the Spanish monarch. Anda can see how much service he is
doing to the king by his actions. He must not congratulate himself that
the British are few, for they number over six thousand, and they have a
swift craft by which they can easily descend on the fortifications in
the islands. Anda's action in ordering the removal of the treasury to
Pampanga is bad, for that money could have been included in the four
millions demanded by the British, one million of which is demanded
immediately. Besides the generals will cease to advance the necessary
money for the payments incumbent upon the king, as now, and for which
the archbishop gives orders on the king to them. The archbishop is not
under obligation to communicate the articles of capitulation to Anda,
as the latter requests, as they are only due the king. The result
of the councils in which the capitulation was made has been signed
by the royal Audiencia and the archbishop, and the former has only
had the courage to make separately a protest, which the archbishop
made openly to the generals. They have not been able to resist the
promise of the four millions for a ransom. It was to be raised from
the money in the treasury, and that on board the ship "Philipino" [90]
if the latter were not already captured by the British. The remainder
is to be paid by the king. For the contribution of one million,
demanded immediately, the silver in the churches has been given with
the exception of the chalices, cups, and monstrances, although the
sum raised by this means and by the efforts of the citizens does
not reach that amount. The archbishop has given all his plate and
pectorals. He closes by strictly ordering Anda to revoke and cease to
enact royal provisions, and cause disturbances which are opposed to the
service of the king. Anda is sufficiently honored by his commission,
and if he executes that prudently, the pacification of the villages
will ensue, for which purpose it was given. The archbishop has had a
right to enter into the negotiations that have taken place in regard
to the surrender of Manila and its environs.]
[An edict signed by "Dauzon Drak," [91] the English governor at Manila,
and by others, on November 4, states that since the governor (i.e.,
Archbishop Rojo), together with the auditors, has conceded to the
English the island of Luzón with the adjacent islands belonging to said
government, according to the agreement made between Samuel Cornis,
commander of the water forces, and Guillermo Draper, commander of
the land forces of the British; and since "the government of Manila
is conferred on us Daussone Drake and his council: we announce to
all" the natives living in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga,
freedom to practice the Roman Catholic religion, and exemption from
all tributes and personal services imposed by the Spaniards. Further,
they are to have all the privileges of British subjects, "provided
they immediately renounce the subjection and obedience that they
have given to their auditor, Don Simon de Anda y Salazar, who has
dared to violate the agreement made between the abovesaid generals
commanding and his Excellency, the governor and captain-general of
the royal Audiencia of these islands, who declares himself by his
own act the governor and captain-general of all the islands, without
any authority, and is now a declared rebel and disobedient to the two
Majesties in the said districts." If the natives behave peacefully,
no violence will be shown them, but if they obstinately continue to
follow Anda, they will be treated as rebels.]
[An order of Anda, dated Bacolor, November 11, provides for the safe
arrival of the Chinese vessels which will come for the trade at the
regular time of the monsoon, and the boat commanded by Antonio Pacheco
which has been trading in China. The alcalde-mayor of the province of
Zambales is ordered to set a sentinel at Cape Bolinao, in order that
he may give advice of the coming of any boat, so that it may be warned
not to enter the bay of Manila, now in the control of the English,
but to go to the province of Cagayan instead, where the Chinese can
hold their fair. The abovesaid alcalde-mayor is to provide for the
sentinels, eight in number (two of them corporals) who are to be given
the same rations as those of the island of Corregidor. Eight soldiers
(two of them corporals) who are to be furnished in connection with
this duty by the alcalde-mayor of Pangasinan are to be provided for
by the latter at the royal expense from the coffers of that province.]
[From Bacolor, Anda addresses a letter to "Governors of the natives,
officials of justice and war, chiefs, cabezas de barangay, and all the
natives of the village of Binalotongan, in the province of Pangazam,"
under date of November 18. He has been informed by their alcalde-mayor
and the provincial vicar, Andres Melendez, O.P., of the village of
Lingayen, that they had revolted, and that, in order to quiet them,
certain demands, which they had made, had been granted for the
present in a signed paper. Now, if ever, when the country is beset
with foreign foes, is their perfect loyalty needed. In regard to
the signed paper, Anda declares that they ought not to make use of,
but rather, burn it. That they be excused from paying the rest of
the tribute due from them, until Anda and the government be again in
Manila, is preposterous. That demand shows that they believe that
the government will not have the strength to reëstablish itself
there. Now, indeed, they ought to aid with more than the tribute,
which is their recognition of vassalage to the Spanish monarch, in
fact, with their lives, possessions, and services, but nothing more
than the tribute due is asked from them. All the other villages pay
the tribute. Two regiments of Tagálogs and Pampangos are being formed
to defend the country against the English, with their own arms and
the king's pay. Their village alone has complained, and is become
a reproach to the others, which look askance at it. Anda is certain
that they will desist from their attempts and contribute the rest of
their tribute. Another of the points in the paper that was signed is
that they have demanded the dismissal of two cabezas de barangay, who
they declare have shamed them when their first petition was presented
in the tribunal; but Anda does not even know what the petition was nor
how they were shamed. They ought to present their case in the regular
way, and not forcibly dismiss the two cabezas de barangay. Let them
be restored to their places and their petition filed before Anda,
who promises to judge it rightly. They have also asked that neither
the prison guard of four men whom they were bound to furnish, nor a
money equivalent for their services if they were not furnished, be
longer demanded. That is a great abuse, and cannot be allowed. Their
contention that no justice should be appointed who does not come
from their midst, Anda approves. If the paper was signed through fear
of arms and in order to quiet them, it is null and void, and he who
holds it is in danger of being regarded as a traitor. Anda asks them
to send him the paper in order that he may destroy it, and to thus
prove their loyalty. The troops of Bulacan and Pampanga are about to
take the field against the English. Anda had intended to ask them,
but recent developments have decided against it. [92]]