in general council, the regulars excused themselves from voting, by
saying that their rules forbade them to vote on war questions, and that
they feared to act irregularly. The archbishop was unable to overlook
this pretext, and told them that they had voted in like assemblies
at the time of the siege, and had permitted or given license to their
subjects to take all kinds of arms, to patrol the walls, and to guard
the posts which were entrusted to them; and had sent the Indians
from their villages to take part in the conflict. They had not done
otherwise in their missions exposed to the dangers of the Moros, than
to manufacture and buy all sorts of arms, and importune the superior
government to supply arms to them, and afterward to handle them and
make use of them in defense of their parishioners, and to fight the
enemies of the faith and religion. At present it was not necessary
to take these arms or to make use of them, but it was necessary to
declare what was advisable in regard to conceding or denying the
submission of the provinces in which religion and the instruction of
their neophytes were at stake. But nothing was sufficient to get them
to give their vote, that which the archbishop had alleged causing them
great irritation. As their obstinacy angered the archbishop still more,
he did not have them summoned to the second council.
49. In the voting of that council of the twenty-sixth, it happened
that the engineer, by whom the voting commenced, refused strongly to
pass any opinion, saying that he was prevented from doing so, as he
was a prisoner of war. This murmur spread among the other military
men present, and they added that the license of the generals was
necessary in order that this council might be held. Consequently, it
was necessary for the archbishop to explain these matters, by telling
them that this was not a clandestine council, but one called openly and
in plain sight and with the knowledge and suffrance of the generals. In
it they were not discussing the taking of arms by the prisoners for the
defense of the provinces, but whether the islands were to be yielded
under present circumstances by the archbishop-governor. Thereupon,
the voting went on with varying results. When it came to the fiscal's
vote, he again was obstinate on the points prisoners of war and the
license of the generals for the council, and he said that he would
accordingly take his position on the principle of it. The archbishop
answered what he had said in regard to the said points, and that this
was to place in doubt what he had signed. Thereupon, there was great
altercation, anger, and notable incivility, with visible signs of
the agony which the archbishop was suffering from this blow. But the
altercation having subsided, and all of them having quieted down, the
fiscal and other ministers declared their vote. Since it was now very
late and the vote was not cleared up, and since it could not be well
enough discerned at that time, it was ordered that the same council
be convoked on the following day, with the exception of the regulars.
50. In fact, on the following day, October 27, another council was
held in the afternoon. At it the archbishop had the Latin letter
read which he had received on the morning of that day from General
Draper, with the date of the twenty-eighth (which corresponds to
the twenty-seventh of our reckoning and calendar). The vote was put,
and some who had given their vote in the negative on the preceding
day, namely, not to surrender the islands, retracted, and voted
affirmatively. The ministers and some others expressed their opinion
and gave it in writing. The vote was equally cast with but a little
difference of one or two votes. The archbishop asserted that he would
decide without delay what appeared most advisable to him, commending,
as he had done, so grave a matter to our Lord, so that He might inspire
him as to what was for His best service and that of His as well as
our Catholic king. Before dissolving this council, an envoy came from
General Draper with another letter bearing date of the twenty-eighth
(which corresponds in our calendar to the twenty-seventh) written
in the English language. It was read there by an interpreter. It
was reduced to saying that, with only the cession of a few places of
little importance, he would save (he gave to understand with whom he
spoke, namely the archbishop) the lives of a multitude; that he was
sure that his Catholic Majesty would consider himself as well served;
and that those who were endeavoring to persuade the archbishop not
to yield, if they did not promptly change their opinion, would answer
with their lives, and that the auditors were to affix their signatures.
51. All those present having heard the context of the above-mentioned
letter, without any more being added or mentioned than what was
declared in the above-mentioned council, it was dissolved, and the
thorn (which was very sharp) remained in the heart of the archbishop
in deliberating on so serious a point. In that deliberation the
least thing involved was the danger to his own life, of which he was
tired and of which he almost desired the end. But that is always
placed in the hands of divine Providence who directs everything
positively or permissively for His greater service and glory. Not
only did he consider the extermination of the city and the lives
of many with which he was threatened, but also (and which was very
easy), the uneasiness of the villages and missions of the provinces,
in great part ruined and destroyed by their old-time enemies, the
Moros, who with a little stimulus and encouragement from their new
enemies would assault them on all sides and would finish with their
mission ministers and justices. It was greatly to be feared that
if the natives were offered exemption from tribute, and subjection,
they would be the instruments of these disasters.
52. This effort tied the hands of the English, who irritated by a
negative answer, could have assigned two fragatas of their squadron to
coast along the provinces, and cause this horrible uneasiness. If they
did that, (unless it was averted by divine Providence), the ruin of
the instruction and faith of the neophytes would be experienced. These
reasons having been meditated upon before Jesus Christ, our life,
from whose service depended that of a Catholic king, the archbishop
resolved on the twenty-eighth to avoid the greater evil, and to assure
the conservation of the islands, and the teaching and doctrine of
our holy religion in them by keeping their natives quiet. Thereupon,
on the said day, and on the following, the twenty-ninth, he wrote
letters to the prelates and to the provinces, with the intention of
using them opportunely; [149] and without making mention of those
letters, he replied on the date of the twenty-ninth [150] in the Latin
language to the above-mentioned letter, also in Latin, of General
Draper, explaining to him diffusely and vigorously the difficulty of
What he asked. His reasons, if they did not suffice to convince him,
lessened the violence and force which were uttered a thousand times
in said letter.
53. He summoned the auditors in order to show this letter to them,
but they did not come as they were busy, answering that they would
come if the matter were urgent. But the instances of the general
of the day before having been repeated for the reply, it was sent
to him in said letter between seven and eight in the morning of the
said day, the twenty-ninth. But after eleven o'clock on the same day,
the general sent his letter of the thirtieth of the same month (which
corresponds to our date of the twenty-ninth) with the message for me
not to bother myself, that that letter was to be signed by myself
and the auditors, to whom he sent word that if they did not do it,
he would have them immediately thrown into a galley. Instantly upon
receiving this message they immediately appeared, and signed the letter
together with the archbishop, both the original letter in English
and its translation into Spanish. It was sent to the said general,
and said auditors only gave notice that they had made their protest
before the notary, and that it should not be written at the foot of
said letter, in order that the general might not happen to see it,
if he asked for said original letter. With such fear did they proceed,
but the archbishop showed them the copy of his letter above-mentioned,
in which is manifest his protest with the declaration of repeating
it a thousand times.
54. This point has been treated with prolixity, for besides being one
of the most serious, and one of greatest pain, it has been shifted and
juggled [adviterado?] variously, blackening enormously the conduct of
the archbishop, even to affirming that it is evident that he had an
understanding with the English for this cession, in a journal full of
false entries and of black impostures, composed by the fiscal. But God
be thanked, that the evidence of this criminal calumny is false, and
the weak apprehensions or inferences on which it is founded have been
clearly dissipated. For what is affirmed is false, namely, that the
cession of the islands had been discussed or made before October 26,
and that letters had been written for their surrender, as the first
council was held on the said day, and the second on the following day
(the twenty-seventh and the twenty-eighth). On the twenty-ninth, the
archbishop made his resolution, and wrote the rough drafts of said
letters with his own hand on the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth. The
statement also is false, namely, that on the twenty-ninth, said letters
were sent with one of the same date in which the archbishop answered
the general ceding the islands. For these original letters are yet
in possession of the secretary of the assembly, and neither then nor
at any time have they been sent or delivered. So true is this that
the commanders having gone--Draper on the twelfth of November [151]
of the past year, and Cornish on the first of March of the present
year, who never asked him for a letter for the surrender of the
islands--the British government tried afterwards to get the archbishop
to give letters of surrender for Zebu, Yloylo, and Zamboanga, which
he refused and did not give, as appears from his letters, rejecting
the instances of the above-mentioned British government.
55. Also false is the end of this report, which asserts, not indeed
that it is presumed, but that it is presumed if not proved, that
the archbishop tried to shield himself. Without this protection or
shelter, he made the cession in his letter of the said twenty-ninth
day, as is said above, with the signature of the auditors, which they
placed in the letter of Draper on the thirtieth (in our calendar,
the twenty-ninth), which in view of and after the receipt of that
of the archbishop, the said general sent on that same twenty-ninth
day, with the threatening message that he would send them to the
galleys. Only the constancy of the archbishop can be well inferred. In
his protest he asserts and [MS. worn] to the general in consideration
of his threat of the extermination of the city the lives of many,
which did not move the animosity of the auditors for their signature
until they received the personal threat of their own imprisonment.
56. The ambiguous letter of Draper of the twenty-eighth (in our
calendar, the twenty-seventh), is slight foundation for so gross a
suspicion and its proof; in which he seems to infer that the archbishop
had made the cession, and infers on the other hand, that he was in
condition of acting in regard to the cession. For the letter says
that those who endeavored to persuade him not to make the cession
would answer with their lives. It is a proof of the sincerity of the
archbishop that he showed the said letter in the second council, for
if it contained anything suspicious, or anything by which he would be
discovered to be lacking in application, it would have been very easy
for him to suppress it and return it to the general, in order that
the latter might write another, in which nothing would be understood
in regard to the secret understanding. It is not the mark of a good
reason and less is it Christian to assert so great a crime as proved
without having had any motive. For to such infamies, one is moved
either by self-interest or the expectations of honors, or important
posts which both lacked. For the archbishop had previously stripped
himself of all his few valuables and pectorals, without reserving
any; and he was clothed in the greatest honors and employments with
which the powerful Catholic king can honor a vassal of his in these
islands. And only by depriving himself of this recognition, and
of his character as a Christian and archbishop could he offend so
enormously against his king and religion because of the expectation
or promise of greater honors in Londres or with the very crown of
all Ynglaterra. Through the mercy of God, the archbishop has not
been abandoned by His divine hand in his right judgment or in the
works of his misery and weakness. Neither does he live so forgetful
of quid prodest homini, [152] etc.
57. The reason of the archbishop not having used said letters which
they falsely affirmed had been delivered, and of the originals being
conserved in the possession of the secretary, was that having been sent
(as he thought they ought first to be sent) to the regular superiors
living in Manila on the thirtieth (the following day) of October, who
[MS. worn] to their most [MS. worn] in the margin to be understood by
it the said original message [cordillera]. The above-mentioned reason
having been given, the rumor spread among the populace that the said
letter had been the cause of the disaster of the alcalde-mayor of
Pagsanjan, [153] who was lanced by the Indians themselves on the
gallows. That was mentioned to the archbishop by a trustworthy and
God-fearing person who grieved at his carelessness in said letter.
58. Surprised at this information, the archbishop had the
above-mentioned letter brought into the presence of the said person,
together with the others, and had the secretary read them with their
dates. By their very dates, namely, the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth
of October, it was plain that they could not have occasioned the event
of Pagsanjan which occurred the day before, namely, the twenty-seventh
of the same month. This casualty was made more impossible by the
distance of said village from Manila, which is at the least three days'
journey. The legitimate cause of this insurrection and tyrannical
murder of their alcalde was that which appears in the documents formed
of this matter, where it is evident that this cloud of dust which was
raised was no other thing than the racial inconstancy and disloyalty
of the natives of that village and its environs. The fact that the
archbishop had not had any support or reply to the contents of his
letter from the superiors of Manila, and the knowledge that Auditor
Anda had already sent his message [cordillera] through the provinces,
[154] in which he declared himself to be governor and captain-general,
made it necessary for the archbishop not to disturb the provinces and
accede to the times and to the circumstances thereof, and ordered that
none of the said letters be sent. That order was executed as given
and the originals were kept in the possession of the secretary. That
which can have happened, and of which there is frequent experience
in any part, as well as in this city, is that a copy of one or more
of said letters may have been drawn by the infidelity of some clerk
without the archbishop or his secretary being able to remedy it,
and in this way their contents may have become known and explained
by the malicious rivalry in as sinister a manner as is usual.
59. In regard to the other point of the completion of the million,
the archbishop entrusted it to the senior auditor, Don Francisco
Villacorta, [155] in order that having assembled those interested,
together with the fiscal, they might determine what the matter
demanded according to its circumstances. They held several meetings,
in one of which a plan was adopted for demanding of each person the
contribution in accordance with his wealth and the sack which he had
suffered. But there was great opposition, and some made complaint
to General Draper and to the archbishop. The latter assembling them
all, exhorted their help to the extent possible, to which they were
obliged by their conscience and by the circumstances, in order to
avoid greater extortions. For the representation to the general
of not having promised to complete the million was not received,
but this matter was strongly insisted upon. Finally, the only
success achieved was in getting each one to offer what he deemed
best. With the valuables and money [given], scarce did the sum reach
twenty-six thousand pesos. But a very great quantity was needed to
complete the million in addition to that raised by the pious funds,
the chaplaincies, and the silver of the churches. This reached the
sum of four hundred and forty-three thousand pesos. [156] However
great the effort and attempt made by the English to have the million
paid, yet it was found impossible on the part of the citizens to raise
hastily a greater sum than that above-mentioned because of the sack and
destruction which they suffered even in their furniture and houses; and
because some few, who could have aided, were not living in the city,
but had taken to the mountains in several places, while some others,
as was said, placed what money they could in safety outside the city,
so that the richest who were absent refused to aid.
60. At this time the two fragatas, which had been assigned by
the enemy, at the time of the siege, to capture the "Philipino,"
entered the bay with the ship "Trinidad," which they had fought and
captured after a vigorous defense on the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of
October. This ship left for its voyage to Acapulco from the Embocadero
under a favorable wind on September 13, but lost its mast in a severe
storm at a distance of three hundred leguas at the parallel of the
Marianas. It was all but gone, and it became necessary to put back
[which was done] with great difficulty. When it was in the Embocadero
near San Jacinto, without being aware of what was happening in Manila,
it was attacked by said two fragatas and captured. From the time of its
arrival, the claim was begun to be made that it was not a legitimate
prize, the freedom of trade, possessions, and property having been
agreed upon in anticipation. And although the instance of the commerce
body was continued to the British government for this declaration,
the government sent it to Admiral Cornish, and the latter after many
delays, and by nature serious, harsh, and hard, because the Spaniards
had not fulfilled the stipulation regarding the millions, answered
that that matter belonged to the admiralty of Londres, whither it
was sent. [157] He would never consent to have the cargo remain on
deposit, or to have it delivered to those interested in it, under
the guaranty which was lastly proposed by the archbishop, he having
previously supported the right of the citizens to its restitution;
for said admiral said that it was no time now to discuss this matter,
as he was just about to sail, and left on the first of March with
his squadron, taking said ship. [158]
61. Its cargo consisted of one thousand one hundred and forty-eight
piezas, but all that was sent outside of the hold, consisting of boxes
of presents, valuables and things of value, he had placed at auction,
without taking the formality to summon those interested or making any
note of what was taken possession of and seized. Some of the boxes of
letters which were filled with water, and which were seized by them,
they opened and took cognizance of their contents. The archbishop was
unable to get the return of these letters and official papers, which
he demanded repeatedly. For it was well to burn the private letters,
which the enemy themselves declared to be false and entangling, as
they themselves noted. But no one was ignorant of the many accounts and
fabulous stories which were written by several persons. The archbishop
was also unable to obtain some canes which he was sending--one for
the king, and the other for the prince. Their distinction was that
they were made of fine bamboos of these islands, and the handles
were engraved skilfully with the royal arms by noble natives of
the islands. Neither did [he obtain] the valuables left by Mariscal
Arandia as a legacy to our sovereigns.
62. As the whole business or object of the English was the treasure of
the "Philipino" they sent two more fragatas to look for it, and in them
went persons authorized by this community. Inasmuch as four citizens
had been made prisoners or detained in houses of this city, as well as
Auditor Don Francisco Villacorta and the fiscal, Don Francisco Viana,
one cannot imagine the efforts of the archbishop, personally and in
writing with the generals and the British government for the release
of the above-mentioned, especially the ministers. After some days and
petitions, he was able to succeed on condition that four men should
be chosen to make the abovesaid efforts. In fact they were chosen by
the citizens and sailed in said fragatas, although they were unable to
make the port of Palapa because of very violent storms which putting
them in danger of shipwreck made it necessary for them to put back
to Manila after ninety days.
63. Seeing that their attempt was frustrated and that the rumors
that they heard were that the silver had been removed from the
"Philipino," and placed in safety, Admiral Cornish, irritated and
just about to sail, attempted a new sack. Although by demand of the
British government, it appears that he went to quiet his officers,
yet he was implacable, and it appears that having been advised by the
said government that it would resist on its part the sack within the
city, without desisting from his attempt, said admiral set his gaze
on the suburbs, especially on Santa Cruz, [159] where the most of
the Spaniards are. Already were the dread and consternation great,
and the destruction and mortality which were threatened by the fury
of this hostility were feared. The archbishop, having been notified
thereof by some Spaniards, exerted all his strength and care to avoid
this disaster, and moderate, and cause the admiral to set some bounds
[to the matter]. Discussing the matter with the latter in several
visits which he paid to him, he was able to persuade him and agree to
give him an order for the two millions. In case that the "Philipino"
(as was already inferred) came with its wealth or the fragata which was
assigned for this purpose transported them, from that property would
be completed the amount of the other two millions, having liquidated
the account in regard to the sum already raised, and taking account
of the amount of the sack that they had suffered and which was to
be regulated.
64. In this manner everything remained quiet. It was no time or
season for answer or reply, especially with the admiral who was so
strong and hard in his resolution. No other expedient was found with
which to meet the conflict than the above-mentioned order. Neither
could he avoid in the nearness of his embarkation the new sack of
the church and convent of St. Augustine (with the exception of the
reliquaries which the archbishop, feigning ignorance, had caused to
be kept in the cathedral); nor that the admiral should not sack the
houses of the marquis of Monte Castro and of Don Andres Blanco--the
first because he had failed in his word of honor, and the second
because he had not taken part in the contribution--in which were
included various persons who lost their property.
65. The account of the sack which Cornish furnished to the
archbishop is quite ridiculous and improbable as to the amount of
twenty-nine thousand pesos at which he puts it, since by means of
the investigations which the archbishop was able to carry on the
sack amounts to more than eight hundred thousand pesos; and almost
one-third of the inhabitants were absent so that it has been impossible
to adjust their loss through the absence of many persons. However,
it is a fact that the total amount must be lowered by what the Indians
and house servants took in these robberies and destruction. But this
adjustment could not be made at the time when Cornish threatened the
new sack; for these investigations are being made at present, and as
yet the last has not been heard from because of the absence of not
a few inhabitants who have still to make their declaration. Neither
would the irritation of Cornish, had these investigations even been
finished, have considered our account and adjustment, both because
of his impetuous nature, and because of the so vast discrepancy of
his account to that above-mentioned. Consequently, it was only the
time to yield and to enter into some kind of agreement by means of
the above-mentioned order. This recourse was necessary and inevitable
under the circumstances leaving it for the consideration of our king
and his ministers who might take the advisable measures in view of
what had happened.