I, Fray Diego Duarte, [8] of the Order of St. Dominic, affirm that
his Majesty by his royal decree, which I present herewith, commanded
that in addition to the thirty religious and four servants whom in
accordance with his said royal decree I received permission to convey
to the Feliphinas Islands, I should conduct ten other religious,
making forty in all; and that for the despatch of all of them your
Lordship should give me what was necessary at the expense of his
royal treasury. This allowance is to be in conformity with the report
mentioned in the said decree (which your Lordship has sent to the
royal Council of the Yndias), which states the cost of the passage
to the Yndias of each religious. Since the time is now far advanced,
it is necessary for me to receive the payment for the said religious
in order that they may make their voyage in the fleet which is about
to be despatched to the province of Nueva Spaña, and that his Majesty's
commands may be fulfilled. This cannot take effect unless your Lordship
provide me with the money necessary to buy clothing and ship supplies,
and what else is needed.
Therefore I beg and pray your Lordship to give commands that, in
addition to the seven hundred and seventy thousand seven hundred and
fifty-two maravedis which the treasurer Don Melchor Maldonado has been
commanded to deliver to me, in conformity with the said royal decree
issued from the royal council of the treasury, for the despatch of
the said religious, there may be delivered and paid to me the amount
which, in conformity with the said report sent by your Lordship to
the said royal council, shall be necessary and sufficient for the
despatch and maintenance of the said ten religious whom, as I have
said, his Majesty by his said royal decree commands me to conduct to
the said islands in addition to the said thirty religious--for whom
only your Lordship has given commands that allowance shall be made to
me. Thus your Lordship will do service to our Lord, and will fulfil
his Majesty's directions. For this, etc.
_Fray Diego Duarte_
The aforesaid members of the Council, having considered this petition,
give as their decision that a warrant has been delivered for the
amount for which he possesses the necessary papers; and that as for
the rest for which the said Fray Diego Duarte offers his prayer, he
shall receive the papers needed; and they, accordingly direct that
a warrant shall issue in conformity with the ordinance of the treasury.
Before me. _Adriano de Siguença_, notary.
Your Lordship: Fray Diego Duarte of the Order of St. Dominic declares
that in accordance with the commands received from your Highness
directing him to seek religious of his order in order to conduct
them to his province in the Philippinas Islands, he has exerted
himself to do so, and will take the number of forty. He offers his
petition to your Highness that you will be pleased to command that he
shall accordingly be given what is necessary in order that they may
go aboard and also what they need to convey them to Sevilla, since
[his Majesty] by Don Francisco de Tejada, of his council, gave his
royal word to provide him with it. [Without date or signature.]
[_Endorsed_: "Let him receive the two hundred ducados which were
decreed to be given. January 11, 1605." "Let father Fray Diego Duarte
receive what is needed for himself and thirty religious; and, if
he conducts more, for as many as forty, in accordance with the new
estimate and report; and let him receive in addition two hundred
ducados beside the two hundred which were given him for the living
and conveyance of the said religious on their way to Sevilla. Decreed
in full council; Valladolid, January 19, 1605."]
_List of the Religious who go to the Province of the Holy Rosary in
the Philippinas with father Fray Diego Aduarte during the present
year, 1605_
_From San Esteban at Salamanca_
Father Fray Diego del Aguila, son of the same convent and at the
present time preacher in it, a native of Escalona; aged forty-eight
years, thirty-two years in the order.
Father Fray Marcos de los Huertos, son of the same convent, a native
of Astudillo; aged twenty-six years, eight years in the order; his
studies completed.
Father Fray Pedro de Armeiun, son of the same convent, a native of
Calahorra; aged twenty-eight years, nine years in the order; his
studies completed.
Father Joan de Vera, a son of the same convent, a native of Berlanga;
aged twenty-six years, seven years in the order; his studies completed.
Father Fray Martin de la Anunciación, a son of the same convent,
a native of Aldea Nueva de la Vera; aged twenty-nine years, seven
years in the order; in the third year of theology.
Father Fray Francisco de Santa Maria, a son of the same convent,
a native of Fuente de Cantos; aged twenty-eight years, seven years
in the order; in the third year of theology.
Father Fray Matheo de la Villa, a son of the same convent, a native
of Asturias; aged twenty-five years, six years in the order; his
studies completed.
Father Fray Diego Gomez, a son of the same convent, a native of the
district of Avila; aged twenty-five years, six years in the order;
in the second year of theology.
Father Fray Lorenzo de Ponis, a son of the same convent, a native of
the district of Burgos; aged twenty-seven years, three years in the
order; his studies completed, since before he assumed the habit he
was far advanced in them.
Brother Fray Gaspar de Casa-Blanca, deacon, a son of the convent of
Nuestra Señora at Peña de Francia, a native of the town of Fresneda;
aged twenty-three years, six years in the order; in the first year
of theology.
Brother Fray Antonio de Salazar, sub-deacon, a native of Salamanca
and a son of the convent there; aged twenty-two years, six years in
the order; in the first year of theology.
Brother Fray Roque Benito, a son of the convent of San Pedro Martir
at Calataiud; aged twenty-one years, seven years in the order; in
the second year of theology; a native of Ateca in Aragón.
Brother Fray Antonio Vazquez, lay brother of the same convent, a
native of Vittoria; aged twenty-seven years, three years in the order.
Brother Fray Joan Zilarte, lay brother of the same convent, a native
of Aldea Nueva de la Vera; aged thirty-two years, eight years in
the order.
_From San Yldefonso at Toro_
Father Fray Lorenzo Campo, a son of the convent of Santo Domingo at
Ocaña, a native of Corral de Almaguer; aged twenty-six years, seven
in the order; in the second year of theology.
Brother Fray Diego Lopez, deacon, native and son of Plasencia;
aged twenty-two years, six years in the order; in the second year
of theology.
_From Santo Thomás el Real at Avila_
Father Fray Francisco del Barrio, native and son of Victoria; aged
twenty-six years, eight years in the order; in the third year of
theology.
Father Fray Gabriel Perez, native and son of Ocaña; aged twenty-six
years, seven years in the order; in the first year of theology.
_From Sancta Cruz at Segovia_
Father Fray Ambrosio de Huerta, a son of the convent of Santo Domingo
at Ocaña; aged twenty years, three years in the order; his studies
completed.
Brother Fray Manuel de Ledesma, a son of the same convent, a native
of Segobia; aged twenty-two years, seven years in the order; in the
second year of theology.
Brother Fray Gabriel de Zuniga, sub-deacon, a son of the convent of
Yepes, a native of Ocaña; aged twenty-two years, seven years in the
order; in the first year of theology.
Brother Fray Francisco Rodriguez, a son of the same convent, a native
of Guadalaxara; aged thirty years, ten years in the order. He is a
lay brother.
_From Sancta Cruz at Carboneras_
Father Fray Jacinto Lopez de San Gerónimo, a son of the same convent,
a native of Torrejoncillo de Huete; aged twenty-eight years, eleven
years in the order; his studies completed.
Father Fray Joan de Cuebas, a son of the same convent and lecturer
on the arts therein, a native of Cardenete; aged twenty-five years,
nine years in the order.
_From San Pedro Martyr at Toledo_
Father Fray Joseph de San Jacinto, a son of the convent of Ocaña, a
native of Salvanes; aged twenty-five years, eight years in the order;
in the second year of theology.
Brother Fray Pedro Gomez, deacon, a son of the convent San Ginés
at Talavera, a native of the same place; aged twenty-three years,
seven years in the order; in the first year of theology.
_From San Pablo at Valladolid_
Father Fray Jacinto Orfanel, a son of the convent of Santa Catalina
at Barcelona, a native of the district of Valencia; aged twenty-eight
years, eight years in the order; his studies completed.
_From the college of San Gregorio at Valladolid_
Father Fray Pedro Balberde, a native of the district of Córdova, a
son of the convent of San Pablo at Cordoba; aged twenty-five years,
seven years in the order; his studies completed.
_From the college of Santo Thomás at Alcala_
Father Fray Melchor Mançano, a native of Villaseusa de Aro, a son
of the convent of Santo Domingo at Ocaña; aged twenty-six years,
nine years in the order; his studies completed.
Father Fray Joan de Leiba, a native of La Rioja, a son of the convent
of Nuestra Señora at Atocha; aged thirty years, ten years in the order;
his studies completed.
Father Fray Andres de Velasco, a native of La Rioja, a son of the
convent of San Pablo at Burgos; aged twenty-eight years, ten years
in the order, his studies completed.
Brother Fray Joan Ordima, deacon, son of the convent of San Pedro
Martyr at Toledo, a native of the same place; aged twenty-four years,
eight years in the order; his studies completed.
Brother Fray Juan Rodriguez Morcillo, deacon, son of the convent of
La Madre de Dios at Alcalá, a native of Madridejos; aged twenty-three
years, seven years in the order; in the second year of theology.
_From Santa Maria at Nieva_
Father Fray Domingo del Arco, a native of the district of Guadalaxara,
a son of the convent of La Madre de Dios at Alcalá; aged twenty-six
years, six years in the order. He is not far advanced in his studies,
but is very well fitted for this expedition.
_From Santiago in Galicia_
Father Fray Garcia Oroz, a native of the district of Pamplona, a
son of the convent of Nuestra Señora at Atocha; aged fifty years,
thirty years in the order. This father has been in Nueva España. I
ask for a dispensation that he may have permission to accompany me,
for he will be of great use in this expedition and to that province.
_From the convent of La Magdalenaat Alfararin, in the kingdom of
Aragón_
Father Fray Domingo Vicente, a son of the convent of Preachers in
Zaragoza; aged twenty-six years, eight years in the order; a native
of the district of Calatayud; his studies completed.
_From the convent of San Pedro Martyr at Calatayud_
Brother Fray Jacinto Francin, deacon, a native of Caspe and a son of
the convent there; aged twenty-three years, five years in the order:
in the first year of theology.
_From the convent of Corpus Christi at Luchente_
Father Fray Dionisio de Rueda, a son of the same convent; aged
thirty-two years, sixteen years in the order; his studies completed. He
is a native of Valencia.
In addition, I expect from the kingdoms of Cataluña and Valencia as
many as twelve other religious who, as I certainly know, are very
suitable persons for this mission, but I do not know their names. I
shall not be able to learn these names until the religious reach here,
which will be very late. I beg your Highness to be pleased to send me
a license, so that I may have authority to take all of them; for, in
the confidence that I should receive that permission, I have searched
them out and disturbed them in their convents. I swear, on the faith
of a religious and a priest, that those whom I have assigned so far
are the aforesaid.
_Fray Diego Aduarte_
With regard to nearly all of those whose names appear in the list I
am certain that they are religious of approved life and holy zeal, and
that they will be able to do good service to our Lord in the conversion
of the kingdoms and countries of the Indians. Many of them I saw on
the road to Sebilla going on foot, to the edification of others, and in
the order of sanctity. In the case of two or three I have found no one
who knew them; but I trust in God and in the excellent zeal and choice
of father Fray Diego Duarte that they will be like the rest. This is
what I know; and in testimony of its truthfulness I have signed it
with my name. In the convent of San Pablo at Valladolid June 4, 1605.
_Fray Garcia Guerra_, Master [9] and Procurator.
[_Endorsed_: "Let the documents necessary for the expenses of these
religious be issued. Valladolid, on the sixth of June, one thousand
six hundred and five.]"
To Diego de Vergara Gaviria, receiver of oaths in this Council:
From the sums in your charge received for court fines give and pay
to Fray Diego de Duarte of the Order of St. Dominic, two hundred
ducados, amounting to seventy-five thousand maravedis, which it has
been commanded to give him in addition to two hundred ducados which
by warrant of this Council, dated August 31 last, in the year 604,
we commanded you to pay him. This is on account of the expenses
which he is obliged to incur in the conveyance and support of the
religious. Take his receipt, with which and with this warrant the
accountants of his Majesty who aid this Council shall receive and
credit you on account the sum which you shall thus pay him. At
Valladolid, on the thirty-first of August in the year one thousand
six hundred and four. [10]
Signed by the Council.
_A true report of the difficulties of conducting religious to the
Philipinas, because of the severe restrictions imposed by the decrees
of his Majesty in regard to the matter_.
Although taking religious to any part of the Indias is a very
arduous undertaking, it is incomparably more so to convey them to
the Philippinas, since the journey is much longer, and there are more
places on the way at which it is necessary to have dealings with royal
officials. Accordingly, this voyage offers difficulties twice as great
as the others. Not only is it necessary to cross two great seas--those
of the North [Atlantic] and, of the South [Pacific]--besides the
difficult journey across the country of Nueva España from one ocean
to the other, but in addition his Majesty obliges us who make this
journey to pass through so many hands and through so many registries
as are certainly intolerable. If affairs be always conducted thus,
it will be truly impossible to make the voyage according to the very
severe regulations laid down by his Majesty, and with the very slight
assistance given by his officials to the religious. I do not expatiate
upon the great difficulties in obtaining religious, on their own side,
as they are the sons of many mothers; and as soon as they begin the
journey they hear a thousand things in regard to the evils of the
country where they are going. Even if nothing more is said of it than
that there is neither bread nor wine therein, that is enough to daunt
a giant. Then those who by their strength of character overcome these
difficulties at the edge of the water are frightened at the sea, and
at the dismal prophecies that are usually current, that the fleet
will be lost on account of sailing very late (as it almost always
does) from España. Thus many of the religious have not courage to
embark; while those who overcome this difficulty and do go aboard,
being new to the sea and seeing themselves in so narrow a space as
is that of one ship, and being very seasick--indeed, there are many
who during the whole voyage cannot raise their heads--are delighted
to find themselves on shore alive. Then having set foot on the land
of Nueva España, from which they understand that they are obliged
to pass anew through all that they have already suffered, and over a
much larger ocean, they are put to the test by the climate; some die,
and others find themselves attacked by a thousand sicknesses. They
get there no better report about the country to which they are
going than they had in España--indeed a much worse one, as it is
received from eye-witnesses, both laymen and friars; and they dare
not go on farther. All these difficulties have to be conquered by
the commissary who conducts them, by means of his prudence, of which
he needs a goodly supply. He is obliged to conduct them with love,
for the religious are not of a character to be treated with rigor
and violence, especially in a matter contrary to flesh and blood,
when they exile themselves to those distant countries, so hot and
so sterile, leaving their own land, which perhaps they can never
forget. Hence, if they were to be treated with violence the result
which your Majesty desires would not follow, that is, the service of
God and of your Majesty's self in the conversion of souls. Not only
would they, if thus treated, destroy more than they would build up,
but they would serve only to disquiet those who were there occupied in
the building up of that great church. These difficulties themselves are
not so small; but it is reasonable to add the other and greater ones,
such as are those of sending the religious away, and those which are
stated in the following paragraphs.
_What occurs at Valladolid in despatching this business._ The first
of the difficulties is in the first steps taken to bring the journey
before the Council at the court. These steps are many; and anyone who
goes thither without money--and those who come from the Philippinas to
treat for this matter generally have no money--will find it necessary
to take a great many more steps, since the officials regard that
time as lost which they spend upon despatching the business of a
man who offers them no advantages. Accordingly, it is not possible
to obtain documents from them except by dint of importunate prayers,
and these necessarily require much going about; this in the streets of
Valladolid in winter is a very arduous task, especially for religious,
who cannot leave their convent whenever they please. Still, to avoid
this going from place to place is impossible if the business is to be
carried on. After obtaining an order from the Council of the Indias,
which one cannot generally get at the first request, it is necessary
to obtain a second order from the Council of the Exchequer with regard
to the allowance for the journey, and both of these must be recorded
by the accountants of both councils. Although this may be necessary
to give further security to the decrees of his Majesty and to relieve
them from any suspicion of forgery, still, as those which are given
to religious persons, and for so pious a purpose as this, are free
from such suspicion, they may well be privileged in some respects and
need not be obliged to pass through so many registries. On account
of the great number of matters which are attended to in Valladolid,
documents cannot pass through all the registries without taking much
time. Accordingly, much trouble is necessarily caused in the hospices
[_i.e._, guest-houses] of the convents where they lodge, and the
commissioner who takes charge of this business is also obliged to
suffer even more inconvenience--finding that for business so much to
the advantage of our lord the king, and requiring so great labor and
responsibility on his own part, and in which there is not a trace of
profit to himself, it should be necessary to make such exertions at
the very beginning. I confess, for my part, that I would have given
up at this first station on the route if I had not supposed that all
the hindrances to this voyage that I could encounter in the direction
of his Majesty would have ended at this point; but later it will be
seen how completely deceived I was in this notion. However, it is as
well that all those who concern themselves with this business should
be so deceived at the beginning, for if they were not they would give
up this work, pious as it is.
_The smallness of the allowance for conducting the religious to
Sevilla._ Further, the amount which your Majesty commands to be
granted in Valladolid for conveying the religious from their convents
to Sevilla, is insufficient by far for the expense thus incurred. I
conducted the religious who accompanied me to Sevilla in the greatest
poverty, for many of them went on foot, and he who was best equipped
rode an ass. Yet I arrived in Sevilla burdened by a debt of more than
two hundred ducados, merely from the expenditure which I was obliged
to make on their account.
_In Sevilla._ In Sevilla, which is the second stopping-place, another
troop of difficulties are encountered. In general, it is customary
at the House of Trade to make some additions to the decrees of his
Majesty; in order that these be accepted a great number of requirements
must be fulfilled, the lack of any one of which is sufficient to
invalidate the documents. Usually some one of these is lacking, from
which it is easy to understand the embarrassment in which he must be
who has charge of this matter, when he finds himself and his companions
already in Sevilla without sufficient means for their support. This
happened to me, and I am certain that I was not the first, and that
he who follows me will not be the last, thus situated. I found myself
in such embarrassment as the result of this that I was almost on the
point of abandoning the enterprise at that time.
_The small allowance for provisions on the voyage._ Moreover, the
amount granted in Sevilla for the entire support of the religious
is far from sufficient for this purpose. If the amount commanded
to be granted to them is divided into vestments, bedding, carriage
of books, and freight-charges from Sevilla to Sanlucar, the amount
allowed for the ship supplies for each person comes to only twenty-two
ducados, which is all that they actually had. It is easy to see that
it is impossible to obtain with this, or even approach, all that is
necessary. It is certainly true that for bread and wine alone, I spent
almost all of what the king granted me for supplies on the voyage;
and that I had to encroach upon what was granted me for vestments and
what clothes the friars themselves used for apparel. In addition,
I was unable to pay all that we owed in Sevilla to the convent for
the days during which we had remained there; accordingly, when I left
it I was out of favor with the prior and the other brethren of the
convent and yet I reduced to a very limited amount the supplies for the
voyage. This is the statement of facts _in verbo sacerdotis_; for it
may be evident in what straits we were, to anyone who has received as
allowance for this purpose no more than that which the king gives, as
ordinarily those who come from the Philippinas have only that amount.
_The requirement that the Council shall approve the religious who
are to go is severe and useless._ After all this, the requirement
of making the voyage under the very severe rule that the Council
shall approve the friars who are to go to the Indias brings the whole
undertaking within obvious risk of failure. If the list of names of
the religious who are going must be certain and accurate, it cannot
be sent to the Council before they are all assembled in Sevilla;
for up to that point it is very uncertain who are to go. Even then it
still remains uncertain, for many come back from Sevilla. The ordinary
state of affairs is that all are gathered there a few days only before
the departure of the fleet, for, if they go much sooner, there is no
means for their support; for his Majesty gives commands to provide
a real and a half daily for every religious, while the contribution
demanded from the convent is three reals a day for each one. Now,
if the list of names of the religious cannot be sent to Valladolid
earlier, even if it should be approved there at the very moment--and
usually business there is despatched quite otherwise--it is necessary
that the approval shall come back from Valladolid immediately, or
else the fleet will have departed, or be on the point of going. In the
meantime the religious are in suspense, without knowing whether they
are to make the voyage or no; for in the House of Trade at Sevilla they
either refuse to give them the grant necessary for their support until
the approval of the Council arrives, or, if they grant it in advance,
they require a bond which the poor commissary does not know where to
find--and which even if he could find it would be unwise for him to
give, since he has no means by which to satisfy it in case the Council
decree some other thing than what he expects. If, on the other hand,
the House of Trade allows the grant after the appropriation arrives,
the time is so short that it is impossible to provide the supplies for
the voyage, except very poorly and in great haste, and at a very high
price, since one must purchase without time for examination. Besides
this, the religious are greatly hurt to find themselves subjected to
an examination at the hands of the Council with regard to their life,
their habits, and their family, just as if to permit them to go to the
Indias were as much as to appoint them to bishoprics; this has greatly
cooled their ardor. If the commissary who conducts them is not a man
of great prudence, so that he can gild and smooth over this annoyance,
it is certain that not one of them will go farther. Much more is it
true that, if the rule should become known in the provinces of Castilla
and Aragon, whence the religious for these missions usually go, no one
would enter them; for if a man is required to leave his own country
and his relatives and friends, and exile himself to the end of the
world, at the risk of being excluded from the missions by the Council
of the Indias, that would be the same as to put on him an eternal
_sanbenito_ [11] in his order. Indeed, who would voluntarily subject
himself to an interrogation of this sort? May it please God that,
even if the bridge be made of silver, they shall be willing to go,
all the more for so long and hard a voyage as that to the Philippinas,
which in itself involves so many difficulties that only the arm of
God can overcome them. It would be well to entrust to the commissary
who conveys them this examination into their life and habits, for,
if he is a conscientious man, he knows well that he lays a burden
upon his conscience if he conducts ministers who will not unburden
the conscience of the king; and, if he is not conscientious, these
ordinances are ineffective, for, as they are so rigorous, he will
evade them with very little trouble and at no expense to himself,
for the whole matter must rest upon the honesty with which he is
willing to act.
_Registry fees in Sanlucar._ In Sanlucar is the third
stopping-place. Here, however well a man may have managed his business
in getting out of Sevilla, there are never lacking hindrances;
for whenever religious are registered there for passage they always
meet with some obstacle, if it be nothing more than being asked for
fees. These fees are demanded by the clerk of the registry and by
the inspector of the ships, who is usually an official of the House
of Trade at Sevilla. This demand for a fee for every religious who
goes through is a very base thing. As for me, I was asked for three
reals apiece by the clerk. As I thought that the act was an injustice,
I went to the accountant and reported the case to him; it seemed even
worse to him, and he told me that he would correct it. He did so by
telling me on the following day that I should give the clerk what he
asked for, and a real and a half more for every one; and that, if I
did not do so he would not permit me to go aboard. This is the truth,
_in verbo sacerdotis_. It seems to me that since the king does not
require us to pay fees for our books and clothes, still less ought
we to be asked to pay fees for our persons. I sent a complaint to
the duke of Medina, who was greatly offended, and condemned the act,
so finally they gave me my despatch for almost nothing.
_Fees on the Northern Sea._ At sea there is another registry at the
time of the inspection of the ships, which generally takes place in
mid-ocean at some time when the wind is fair, at the pleasure of the
commander of the fleet. In truth, it seems as if it were invented
solely for the gain which the officials obtain from it. They exact
twelve reals from every passenger; and since the poor are usually
by that time drained so dry that most of them go on board without a
single real--having spent everything on expenses in port, the king's
fees, and the ingenious exactions of the custom-house officers and
excise-men--they suffer more from this than from everything else
that they have previously spent. In my case they did me the honor to
excuse me from the fees for the religious, but refused to do so for
the servants whom we brought with us. Finally, however, we brought
them to the point of agreeing to this because it was plain that we
all had come by the order of his Majesty. This affair was the cause
of no small embarrassment and resentment for all.
_From San Joan de Lua to Mexico._ In the port of San Joan de Lua [12]
in Nueva España is the fourth station on the route. It is not the most
comfortable one, although it ought to be so, since all arrive there
much exhausted and worn out by the voyage. There one begins anew to
deal with royal officials, to whom money must be given. Thus after we
have passed the ocean the torments begin, which have no mercy upon
those whom the ocean has many times spared. At that port it is very
necessary to have something left over from one's sea-stores, for
the expenses are very great in this country. The vicar must not be
niggardly in distributing them, if he has to transact any business;
or he must arm himself with patience, which is very necessary. His
Majesty commands that the religious be provided there with what they
need from his royal treasury for the journey which they must make to
México. They allow them only ten days for the journey, and provide
food only for that period. The road is eighty leguas in length
and is very rough, so that it takes a well-mounted horseman with a
light load all of ten days to make it. How much more must it take
for people going in company, and with a string of pack animals (as
the religious ordinarily travel), who do not expect to go more than
five or six leguas a day. Moreover, they are traveling in countries of
varying climates; one of these being hot and the next cold, they often
fall ill on the road, and some cannot travel farther. It is no small
achievement for those in health to reach México in twenty days. That
which is allowed them for ten days' journey is not enough, as is very
certain, in this country; how, then, will it suffice for twenty?
_In México_. In the City of México, which is the court of Nueva
España, is the fifth stopping-place, where all of the difficulties
which have been experienced at the court of our lord the king and in
the city of Sevilla are renewed; because here one has to deal with
royal officials in order to obtain money, and with the officials of
his lordship the viceroy regarding the formalities necessary for the
second embarcation. And both classes of officials make themselves
so much the owners of the poor religious who has need of them that,
when they again commence their demands here, he would, even if he had
the patience of a Job, need all of it because of the many occasions
which are here offered for his losing it. Although I arrived at México
burdened with the expenses of the journey, and had no food and no
place from which to get it, the royal officials are not obliged to
pay a single maravedi until all the party have passed through their
registers. This will be done when they please. They inquire from the
religious where their homes are, and who are their parents--a very
unpleasant thing. One requires great assistance from Heaven in order
not to resent it bitterly. They put so little confidence in his word
and oath that what they do not see with their own eyes it is not worth
while to swear to them. It happened, on the day when they registered
me, that I did not have with me three religious, who were lying sick
in the city of Los Angeles, which is on the route hither. Although I
told the royal officials of this and swore it _in verbo sacerdotis_,
that did not avail to make them give me the subsistence which I was
obliged to send to those sick men. After this, since the stay in
Mexico is long, lasting for almost a half a year, they asked money
whenever they paid the tri-yearly allowance, and for every warrant
they charged ten pesos, which comes to eighty [13] pesos. The payment
is made in silver, to exchange which for current money causes a great
deal of loss. Thus all of these pilferings consume the little which
is given to the religious. I pass over the fact that it is impossible
to collect money due without taking many steps and hearing many rude
answers and sometimes insulting language. At one time when I was
making such claims, one of the Mexican accountants uttered to me,
before respectable witnesses, an insult which cut me to the heart,
because I felt it as a man; and if he had uttered those words to one
of his slaves, it might have wounded him.
_In Acapulco_. At the port of Acapulco is the last stopping-place. I
do not even know what happens there, for at the time of writing this
report we have not arrived there; but I have sufficient evidence
that it must be the most burdensome of all. It is about three months
since I have had three religious there, being obliged to send them
in advance that they might prepare there what is needed for the
voyage. One of them with my power of attorney requested the royal
officials there to grant them a house, as is usual and customary,
that they might collect there the ship-stores which are on the way
from Mexico, and might lodge the friars there when about to make the
journey. They presented for this purpose your Majesty's decree which
I possess, and the officials replied that they would not grant them
the house without a command from the viceroy. I sent this to them,
and they made I know not what additions, and so have sent it back
to me. During the two months and more that have been occupied with
these demands and answers, the poor friars have slept on the ground,
without having anyone to take them into his house--except that, being
taken ill, they were received in the hospital. It is with all these
hardships and difficulties that this voyage, so much to the service
of God and of his Majesty, is taken, besides those experienced in
the voyage itself, which are enough to make the beard of the bravest
tremble. His Majesty requires, in spite of all this, that all of the
religious who go from España to Philippinas must proceed thither,
without permission being granted for any to remain in Nueva Spaña;
but there is no means less suitable to gain that end than obliging
them to pass through so many difficulties. They come out of them
so much grieved and humiliated that their courage and good will in
serving his Majesty has come to an end. To transport them by force
most certainly is no profit to his royal service, much less to the
service of God. It does no good to the cause of religion, as I said
in the beginning. Besides this, if your Majesty is pleased that we
religious shall pass through so many registries without having our
word or oath believed in them, because of the fraud that might exist
in the amounts allowed to us from his royal treasury--if we are not
to be trusted in this matter, much less shall be so in regard to the
relief of his conscience, for which he sends us to those regions. Hence
it seems that sending us might be dispensed with; the more since his
Majesty entrusts this matter to his royal officials to whose direction
and command he subjects us religious. They, perhaps supposing that by
showing themselves rigorous in a matter of such piety they are likely
to be regarded as zealous for the protection of the royal treasury in
all other matters, draw the string until it breaks. But it is evident
that there are royal officials in the Indias who maintain princely
houses, perhaps without having inherited means for this from their
parents. With regard to them it is plainly known that they serve the
king solely for their own advantage; yet his Majesty trusts more to
them than to disinterested religious who ask for nothing but their
food and lodging on the road. If this costs much, it is because the
journey is so tedious. Although at this point it might be said that
the accounts of the royal officials have to be audited in due time,
and that therefore they are more to be trusted, I, who have seen
much of the world and know what happens in it, know also what is the
fact in this matter. It is, that he who goes out of office richest
at the time of the residencia goes out the best justified; hence,
for fear of that, he never fails to make his profit. I do not mean
to say that there should be no order or system in regard to the
grant allowed by his Majesty to the religious for these missions;
but I mean that his Majesty should command his officials to believe
them at least on their oath, and that when they are obliged to give
their oath they should not be annoyed as they have been hitherto.
The only objection to this is the irregularities of the fathers
commissaries who have taken religious to the Indias. These, it is
said, have obliged his Majesty to impose such restrictions in this
matter, and as a safeguard against irregularities which may occur in
future--because there have been commissaries who have taken fewer
religious than the king provided for, thus defrauding his royal
treasury by spending on a few that which was allowed for many. To
this I reply, first, that there is no fraud upon the royal treasury,
inasmuch as the allowance made by it for four is insufficient for
the support of three, as appears from the previous statements of what
happened to me in Sevilla. Hence there is not in this the evil design
which seems to exist. The second point is that, as a result of these
oppressive orders, the condition of things is sure to be much worse,
since many mare friars are certain to remain in Sevilla and Nueva
Spaña, even after they have received money from the royal treasury
for their ship-stores. After this has once been paid none of it can
ever be restored to the treasury, even if a great excess were left;
since whatever would be restored to the treasury, of all this which has
been obtained from it with so many documents and precautions, would not
go to it but to its officials. This would be the more true inasmuch as
they, however justified they might be, would be unwilling to accept the
things in kind, for fear of being obliged to give an account of them
afterwards. This might subject them to great danger of loss. Above
all, if the commissary were to reveal this matter to the officials,
they would put an embargo on the whole affair, and he would undergo the
risk of being unable to undertake the voyage. This happened to me once,
for, being very fond of following truth and honesty, I told the royal
officials of this City of Mexico that two religious of my company had
received my permission to remain here, as that was expedient for the
service of God and of his Majesty, and declared that I did not require
living expenses and ship-stores for them. The officials, in place of
trusting me at seeing that I proceeded without fraud or falsehood,
cut off the provisions for all of my company, refusing for more than
twenty days to give me what his Majesty commanded to be allowed for
the support of the religious. Thus I was almost on the point of being
unable to make the journey; for I used up on their living in México
all of the ship-stores which I had provided for the sea. Accordingly,
in their desire to prevent two from remaining here, they incurred the
risk that all of us might be compelled to remain. I stated this to the
royal officials and the viceroy in a petition, and gained nothing by
it. This is the kind of inconveniences which follow from practicing
honesty with regard to the decrees of his Majesty.
As for the aforesaid, I, Fray Diego Aduarte, vicar of the religious
of Saint Dominic who are going to the Philippinas, swear _in verbo
sacerdotis_ that it is true, and I sign it with my name. At Mexico,
January 20, 1605.
_Fray Diego Aduarte_
[_Endorsed_: "February 12, 1607, referred to Señor Don Francisco de
Tejada to examine the papers and report thereon to the council."
"February 16, 1607, examined; the decrees, within."]
[_Endorsed_: "Let the House of Trade state why dues are collected
from every religious who goes on his Majesty's account to the Indias,
and let it give an account of the amount charged for registration;
and in the meantime, and until further orders, let it take no fees,
and issue a decree that the officers shall not levy these dues.
"Let the approval of the religious conducted by father Fray Graviel
de San Antonio to the Filipinas be entrusted to Señor Don Francisco
de Vaste; and on the credit of this alone let the House of Trade,
for this one time, furnish him with provision for the friars' support
during the voyage.
"Write to the viceroy of Nueva España to direct the royal officials
and all other officers to despatch with promptitude and treat with
kindness the religious who go to the Filipinas by command of his
Majesty and at his Majesty's expense; and let them take no fees for
the despatch of their persons and their books, or for the warrants
for collection of the expenses which they incur on the journey.
"In regard to everything else contained in this petition and report
from father Fray Diego Aduarte, let that be decreed which is fitting
to the service of God and his Majesty."]
(Most Powerful Sire: I, Fray Gabriel de San Antonio [14], vicar of the
religious who by order of your Highness are to go this year to the
Philippinas, declare that father Fray Diego Aduarte, who conducted
the religious who last went to the said islands, found, in spite
of the liberal grant made by your Majesty to him, some difficulties
which greatly hindered his voyage, as appears from his report herewith
enclosed. Of all these difficulties the gravest are three. The first
is, that the officials of the House of Trade at Sevilla are unwilling
to pay to the commissioner or vicar who conducts the religious the
money which your Highness commands to be given for their voyage, unless
he first gives good and sufficient bonds that he will return the money
in case the religious do not embark; the second is, that the convent
of San Pablo at Sevilla and that of Santo Domingo at Sanlucar, where
the religious are entertained, demand from them three reals a day,
although your Highness grants only a real and a half; the third is,
that the registry clerks are unwilling to record the grants to the
religious unless they receive three reals for each person. As a result,
since that which your Highness grants for the voyage is but little,
they put so much difficulty in the way that the religious are unable
to go on, and the commissary or vicar who conducts them is prevented,
to that extent, from fulfilling his obligations and the service of
your Highness.
He prays your Highness, in view of the service which he has done for
your Highness in the Philippinas, in Eastern Indias, and in sending
out the religious whom he, father Fray Diego Aduarte, conducted,
and in that which he is now about to undertake in his own person,
and considering how small is the allowance granted to the religious
for their voyage, that your Majesty will be pleased to make an
allowance for additional expense for himself and for the religious
whom he conducts with him; and he prays your Majesty that, in order
to relieve the difficulties referred to, you will decree that which
is most suitable to your royal service and to the prompt despatch of
the religious.
_Fray Gabriel de San Antonio_)