CHAPTER VIII_The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 38, 1674-1683 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

Of my stay in the kingdom of Macasar

[The large and fertile island of Macasar, which is located near Borneo,

is ruled by one called the sumbanco (signifying "emperor"), who has

many petty kings subject to him. Commerce is brisk, and ships from

Manila, Goa, and Macao, and Dutch and English ships, frequent the

island. The Portuguese of Malacca and the Mahometans from Siam were

the first to publish the name of God there. "Before that trade opened,

they were all heathen; they thought it well to accept one of the two

faiths, and to follow it. Not to err in so necessary a matter, they

resolved to employ a ridiculous method, namely, to despatch at the same

time a boat to Sian for Moros, and another to Malacca for religious,

agreeing that they would receive the first ones who arrived." The Moros

arrived first through the fault of the Portuguese. When Malacca falls

to the Dutch, many Portuguese and mestizos take refuge at Macasar,

where they are well received and form a considerable settlement. It

is a haven for traders, for there are no duties of any kind, but

the captains need only make presents to the sumbanco. The prince

receives Navarrete well, and visits him at the house of an influential

Portuguese. The churches of the Dominicans and Jesuits have been

destroyed at the request of the bishop of Malacca, whence have arisen

various troubles. Soon after, Navarrete pays a visit to the prince

in the palace, where he sees various books and maps that had belonged

to the missions. An embassy at that time from Jacatra finally results

in war with the Dutch, who conquer the natives in 1670, and carry off

the sumbanco and prince. As a consequence all the Portuguese leave the

island. At Macasar, Navarrete meets the chief of Mindoro who had been

captured four years before. The missionary preaches in Macasar through

Lent, but the native rulers do not become Christians. Two Portuguese

arrested for a murder by the sumbanco are promised life if they will

renounce Christianity. One, refusing, is killed immediately; the other,

acquiescing, is allowed to live, but soon escapes to Macao. Many of the

Portuguese slaves have become Mahometans; and, in addition, Christians

and Mahometans are living together in concubinage. In Borneo are more

than four thousand captive Indians from Manila. "In all the islands of

that archipelago there are Indians from Philipinas, either refugees

or captives. Wherever I have been, from China to Surrate, I found

people from Manila and its islands. People try, forsooth, to impute

the decrease of the Indians to other and fanciful beginnings; but let

them be well treated, and they will not flee. Let them be protected,

and they will not be captured. No vessel leaves Manila, whether it is

of Portuguese, or Siamese, or Cambodians, etc., that does not carry

Indians from the islands." In May, 1658, a Portuguese ship from Goa

arrives at the island with information of the loss of Ceylon. Among

its passengers are some Franciscans and Jesuits. Navarrete, tired

of the sea, determines to go to Macan with the other religious,

and devote his life to the Chinese missions.]

CONDITION OF THE CLERGY OF THE PHILIPPINES

The procurator-general of the Dominicans in Madrid, Fray Pedro Diaz

del Cosio, made a representation to the queen-regent in August, 1674,

in regard to the condition of the clergy of the islands, because of

the almost perpetual vacancies [in the sees] of the archbishop and

bishops, and the excessive subjection in which the governors held them,

and the harsh treatment accorded them. [37]

He represented that the bishopric of Nueva Caceres had been vacant

for about thirty-one years; and that he who had last been presented

(on September 30, 1672) had not obtained the bulls from his Holiness.

That the bishopric of Cebu had not had any bishop who was regularly

appointed and who took possession, for about nineteen years, when Don

Fray Juan Lopez assumed that post in 1666; that the latter had been

promoted to the bishopric of Manila; that Don Diego de Aguilar was

presented in 1672, a Dominican of the age of sixty years, but had not

yet, at that date (1674), obtained the bulls (although he had accepted

the dignity)--without doubt, because he was old and lived in Mejico.

That the bishopric of Nueva Segovia had been vacant for about

fifteen years, since the death of the last bishop, Don Fray Rodrigo de

Cardenas, [38] a Dominican; for he who had then (1674) been presented,

namely, Don Jose Poblete, dean of the cabildo of Manila, had not yet

obtained the bulls nor his authorization, for lack of money.

That the archbishopric of Manila, the one which had been vacant the

least time (since the death of Don Miguel de Poblete in 1668), had

been given to Don Fray Juan Lopez, bishop of Cebu, whose bulls could

not arrive until 1674--six years of vacancy.

That the governors were interested in having vacancies; for they

filled the posts provisionally, and for that reason they were slow

in giving information of a vacancy.

That the incomes of the bishops were scant, and were collected at

the will of the governors, who paid them poorly, and curtailed

them. Therefore arrangements should be made to let the bishops

themselves collect their dues from the tributes, as these were paid in.

That the cost of the bulls ought to be paid from the royal treasury.

That appointments ought to be given to persons not over forty years

of age.

That they should be given to Dominican friars, who would obtain the

bulls without any delay.

That the third part of the income of the vacancies should be given

to the persons appointed, in order to pay for the bulls.

That the power of exiling bishops should be taken from the governors

and Audiencia.

That three auxiliary bishops should be appointed, who should

succeed, according to their seniority, [in case of vacancies] in the

archbishopric and bishoprics, and should begin to govern immediately.

The father procurator, Fray Pedro del Cosio, set forth those claims,

but no one took any notice of them. The memorial was presented

to the Council, October 26, 1674. Having been investigated by the

fiscal--whom, as well as the other persons who intervened in it,

Father Cosio visited--it was examined in the Council, March 11, 1675,

and gave rise to the following resolutions:

That the governors of Filipinas should report promptly to the Council

the vacancies of the bishoprics, under penalty of a fine of two

thousand pesos.

That the archbishop of Manila should appoint governors ad interim

in the vacancies of the three bishoprics of Filipinas; and his

Holiness should be petitioned for despatches, so that in such case

the ecclesiastical spiritual authority should be exercised by the

consecrated bishops left.

That the royal officials of Mejico should remit on separate account

what was owing to the archbishop and cabildo of Manila, without the

governor and royal officials of Filipinas having any part in it.

That the Audiencia alone could proceed, in accordance with law,

against the ecclesiastics, and not the governor by himself alone.

That the archbishop should report the amount of the tithes of the

islands, in each of the three bishoprics, in order to erect cathedrals

and establish cabildos.

That the royal officials of Manila should report the amount of the

third part of the [incomes of the] last vacancies of the bishoprics.

It appears further: That the Council was about to resolve that

one-third of the incomes of the vacancies of the bishoprics of

Filipinas should belong to the treasury, and another third part should

be conceded to the bishops-elect to pay for the bulls. That it was

resolved to augment the income of the archbishop to five thousand

pesos, and that of the bishops to four thousand pesos. That it was

about to petition Roma to lower by one-third the cost of the bulls to

the bishops of Filipinas. That the archbishop should punish public

scandals of incontinence, both of lewd women and of men living in

concubinage. That in the disputes of Don Gerónimo Herrera with the

archbishop [39] some matters were determined in favor of the latter.

PREROGATIVES OF EX-PROVINCIALS

GRANTED TO THE PROCURATORS OF THE ORDER OF HERMITS OF ST. AUGUSTINE

IN FILIPINAS

Innocent XI, Pope. In future remembrance of the affair.

Not long ago it was represented to us on the part of our sons the

brethren of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine of the province of

the islands known as the Philippines, in the Ocean Sea that as they had

to send a religious to attend to urgent matters of the said province in

the Roman and Spanish royal courts, nor was any religious found willing

to undertake such burden because of the very long and toilsome journey,

that could not be made without grave discomforts and danger of life,

as also because such procurators after laboring three years and longer

in their charge were not allowed any prerogative, the same petitioners

very earnestly desire a grant from us to the effect that those who

for three continuous years shall exercise the duty of procurator in

the said courts shall enjoy the privileges of ex-provincials. Since,

moreover, not only the whole province aforesaid, but also the late

prior-general of the said order, has petitioned for the grant of such

indulgence, therefore the said petitioners have humbly solicited us

to make through our apostolic bounty due provision in the premises.

1. Accordingly, desiring to reward the petitioners with special favors

and graces, moreover considering them all and singular to be free

from any sort of excommunication, ... and being not indisposed to

hearken to their prayers, with the counsel of our venerable brethren

the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church who are in charge of matters

appertaining to bishops and regulars, and with the consent of the

aforementioned prior general, by our apostolic authority, in virtue of

these presents, we grant and allow those religious of the said province

who in the future shall exercise at least for three years the duty

of procurator of their province in the aforesaid courts the full and

lawful possession and enjoyment of all the privileges, prerogatives,

and exemptions now possessed and enjoyed by ex-provincials of the

same province--due regard, however, always being had in the premises

to the authority of the congregation of the same cardinals.

2. Decreeing that these present letters shall always be held as

binding, valid, and efficacious, and shall obtain their plenary and

entire results, etc.

Given at Rome, at St. Mary Major's, under the seal of the Fisherman,

December 17, 1677, the second year of our pontificate.

ROYAL PATRONAGE EXTENDED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

The King. Inasmuch as Fray Alonso Sandín, [40] definitor and

procurator-general of the province of Santo Rosario of the Order of

St. Dominic in the Filipinas Islands, has represented to me that

a public academic institution was erected in the college of Santo

Tomás of the city of Manila, by a bull of his Holiness Innocent

X, promulgated November 20, 1645, at the instance of the king my

sovereign and father (may he rest in peace) and passed by my Council

of the Indias, by virtue of which degrees in the arts and theology

are granted in that institution, with full rigor of examinations and

publicity, to capable persons in those islands, from which follows

a notable advantage for furnishing prebends and curacies, for which

the students therein compete, they petition me that, considering this,

in order that the students' energy may not decrease in what at present

is flourishing, I be pleased to admit that university under my royal

patronage, and declare myself to be its patron. My said Council,

having examined the petition, together with an authentic copy of the

document erecting the university and of what my fiscal said concerning

it, I have considered it expedient to admit, as by this present I do,

the said university of the college of Santo Tomás of the city of Manila

under my protection, and declare it to be under my royal patronage. I

order my president and the auditors of my Audiencia of that city,

and request and charge the archbishop of the city, the bishops of the

said islands, the ecclesiastical and secular cabildos, the superiors

of the orders, and any other of my judges and justices of the islands,

that they consider it as such, and observe it; and that they cause to

be observed the privileges and exceptions that pertain to it by reason

of such patronage, for so is my will. Given in Madrid, May 17, 1680.

I the King

By order of the king our sovereign:

José de Veitialinage [41]

In the city of Manila, August 21, 1681. The president and auditors

of the royal Audiencia and Chancillería of these Filipinas Islands,

while in royal Council, after having examined the petition of father

Fray Juan de Santa María [42] of the Order of Preachers, and rector of

the university of Santo Tomás de Aquino, together with his Majesty's

royal decree which is mentioned therein, in which his Majesty receives

his university under his royal protection and declares it to be under

his royal patronage; and that due execution and fulfilment be given

thereto in this royal Audiencia, together with the petition for the

fiscal in the examination given it: the aforesaid took the decree

in their hands, kissed it, and placed it upon their heads, as a

decree of their king and legitimate sovereign (whom may the divine

Majesty preserve, with increase of new kingdoms and seigniories);

and in obedience thereto declared that they would observe, fulfil,

and execute it, in accordance with, and as his Majesty ordains and

commands, and--leaving a certified copy of it in the record books--that

the original would be returned. Thus they voted and decreed and signed

it with their rubrics before the fiscal.

Before me:

Juan Sánchez

LETTER TO CARLOS II

Sire:

Although the royal Audiencia must give you information of the

controversies that have arisen between the religious of St. Dominic and

the fathers of the Society of Jesus--from which resulted others between

the archbishop of this city and the said fathers, as he attempted

to be the judge in their suits, upon which they implored your royal

aid--I cannot avoid, for my own part, giving you an account thereof,

in order not to fail in my obligation. I must embark in a few days

for Nueva Segovia, from which place the despatch that I would send

may not arrive in time [for the mail to Acapulco], on account of

the storms that may arise and the perils of the way that have been

experienced--especially at this present time, with the deaths of

several passengers, among them a religious of St. John of God. [43]

And although in another letter (which I sent by way of Banta) I

gave your Majesty a detailed account of the litigation that has

begun to take shape between the college of San Joseph, which is

in charge of the fathers of the Society, and that of Santo Thomas,

which is administered by the fathers of St. Dominic, it has seemed

needful that I should continue that account, giving it quite fully

on account of the unforeseen events that since have resulted. Years

ago the said fathers of St. Dominic began a lawsuit against those of

the Society in regard to the priority of their college, and, too, in

regard to the authorization enjoyed by the Society of power to confer

degrees on their students in arts and theology. After many disputes,

and declarations by the royal Audiencia, both parties had recourse

to your royal Council of the Indias; the Society obtained sentence in

its favor, and the royal executory decree was ordered to be issued--of

which, it cannot be doubted, account can be given in the Council. And

although the Society have remained in peaceable possession, during

the course of so long a time as has elapsed since the said executory

decree, the Order of St. Dominic have tried in every way to disturb

them--giving, in the "conclusions" which they print, the impression

that their university is the only one [in Manila], and that the degrees

conferred in that of the Society of Jesus were null and void. And now

they are again styling their college of Santo Thomas a "royal college;"

and for greater ostentation they placed, on the twenty-fourth of

November in the past year, your Majesty's arms over the gates of the

said college. When the fathers of the Society saw this, they raised

objections, demanding the observance of what was decreed and ordained

by your Majesty in the above-mentioned executory decree, and that the

rector of the college of Santo Thomas be notified of it, in order that

he might not plead ignorance on account of not being an old resident

of this city. The said rector, being notified of this opposition,

purposely absented himself. Your royal Audiencia commanded that copies

of the decisions of your royal Council, contained in the executory

decree, be affixed to the doors of the said college of Santo Thomas,

and posted in other public places in this city. The rector, without

doubt, must have resented the command by your royal Audiencia; for

upon one of the posted copies of the decisions of the Council a lay

religious of St. Dominic placed another paper, in which he censured

the fathers of the Society for trading and bartering. [44] Thereupon

immediately came out your archbishop, who is of the said order, [45]

with official statements against the Society, calling upon many laymen,

residents of the city, to express their opinion on the point at issue,

under [penalty of] censures. He also sent a notary to the ship "Santa

Rossa" (which had put back to port), for the same purpose, because

among those who had embarked thereon was Father Gerónimo de Ortega,

[46] who had been appointed by the said order procurator-general for

your royal court and that of Roma, with his companion, Father Luis de

Morales. [47] This arrogant act was perhaps occasioned by seeing the

said procurator and his companion lade on the ship various goods which

they ordinarily send to the Marianas for the support and maintenance

of the fathers who reside there, and of the others who (as is generally

and publicly known) are aided by the said fathers with their accustomed

charity and zeal. For these purposes they employ the liberal alms with

which your Majesty has been pleased to coöperate in the promotion of

a work so to the service of God our Lord, in that and other labors--as

in the missions of China and other realms, where they are occupied in

preaching the holy gospel. Besides, [I must not omit mention of] the

disinterested manner in which they proceed in the administration of

the missions which they occupy; this is sufficient testimony to their

being so far removed from transactions of that sort, and evidence

that we can and ought to understand; for every one knows that they

do not exact fees for burials or marriages, or other functions. In

this condition has remained the litigation of the said fathers--who

are protected by your royal Audiencia; and since it is necessary

for a definite account of the proceedings in future, I refer you in

everything to the official legal report of the Audiencia. May our Lord

prosper your Majesty with the happiness and success that Christendom

needs for its protection and promotion. Manila, February 24, 1683.

Francisco, bishop of Nueva Segovia.

[Endorsed: "Manila; to his Majesty; 1683. The bishop of Nueva Segovia,

Don Francisco Pizarro. Received on May 19, 1685, by the hand of Diego

Altamirano, procurator of the Society." These lines are followed by a

brief synopsis of the bishop's letter, and the comment, "Thus far no

letter has been received from the Audiencia; but recently letters have

come from the bishop of Nueva Caceres, Don Fray Andres Gonzalez, and

the assistant bishop Barrientos, which mention, among other matters,

the commercial transactions of the Society; and this information has

been handed to the fiscal."]

[Endorsed: "Council; let two other letters be brought--one from this

bishop, and the other from the assistant bishop Duran."]

[Endorsed: "Council; June 4, 1685. Carry this to the fiscal, so that

he can examine with it all the other papers relating to this subject;

and let a clerk make a brief of the whole matter."]

INSURRECTIONS BY FILIPINOS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Gadanes; 1621

[An account of this uprising is given by Aduarte in book ii,

chap. xvii, of his Historia; see our VOL. XXXII, pp. 113-120.]

In Bohol and Leyte; 1622

[See account of the Bohol revolt in VOL. XXIV, pp. 116-119; it also

spread to Leyte. We present here some further account, obtained from

Murillo Velarde's Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 17, 18; Diaz's Conquistas,

pp. 132-136. Concepción (in Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 20-25) adds

nothing new.]

The majority of the ministers in the island of Bohol [48] had gone

to Zebu, to celebrate the feasts of the beatification of St. Xavier;

in their absence Lucifer attempted to possess himself again of those

souls. The divata, or demon, appeared to some Indians in the woods--its

face covered, like that of one taking the discipline--and commanded

them to quit the gospel ministers and the Spanish vassalage, and take

refuge in the hills; and to build him a chapel, where he would aid them

and give them whatever they needed to pass their lives in happiness and

abundance, without the encumbrance of paying tribute to the Spaniards

or dues to the churches. Two or three Indians, who on account of their

evil deeds were wandering as fugitives, became priests of this divata,

in order to persuade the people to apostasy and rebellion; and, to

take away the fear which they naturally feel toward the Spaniards,

these priests told them that, if they would attack the Spaniards,

the divata would cause the mountains to rise against their foe;

that the muskets of the latter would not go off, or else the bullets

would rebound on those who fired them; that if any Indian should die,

the demon would resuscitate him; that the leaves of the trees would

be converted into saranga (which is a large fish); that when they

cut bejucos, these would distil wine instead of water; that from

the banana-leaves they would make fine linen; and, in short, that

all would be pleasure, enjoyment, and delight. With these magnificent

promises, so attractive to men--and especially to the Indians, who are

so inclined to idleness and sloth--four villages revolted; only Loboc

(which is the chief village) and Baclayon remained firm in the faith,

and in loyalty to the king.

Information of this reached Zebu, and immediately Don Juan de

Alcarazo, alcalde-mayor of Zebu, went to quiet the island; [49] he

invited them to make peace, for which the rebels did not care. Their

boldness increasing, they burned the four villages and their churches;

they flung on the ground the rosaries and crosses, and pierced an

image of the blessed Virgin eighteen times with javelins--although

afterward in Zebu some tried to make amends to her with the most

affectionate demonstrations of reverence, and she was placed in our

church. Thereupon the chief ordered troops from Zebu, fifty Spaniards

and a thousand friendly Indians, [50] accompanied by a father; and

on New Year's day, 1622, he began the march to the mountains, where

the insurgents were. For five days they traveled through rugged hills

and deep ravines, crossing marshes where the mud came to their knees,

or even to their waists, and shedding their blood on the thorns and

briars. On the fifth day, the insurgents killed a friendly Indian;

this they celebrated with loud shouts, and it greatly increased their

arrogance. On the following day, more than 1,500 rebel Indians attacked

our vanguard, which consisted of sixteen Spaniards and three hundred

Indians; but when our muskets were fired so many fell dead that the

rebels began to retreat to a bamboo thicket. When we followed them,

a heavy rain fell, which encouraged the rebels, for they said that our

muskets were then useless. But Heaven favored our cause with a marvel,

since, although the pans of the musket-locks were full of water,

the soldiers declared that the powder never failed to catch fire, nor

did the matches go out. At this the rebels fled into the mountains;

and our men arrived at a village of more than a thousand houses, in

the midst of which was the temple of their divata. Our troops found

there much food, various jewels of silver and gold, and many bells of

the sort those people use--all which was given to our Indians. The

rebels were in a fortification of stone, in which they had placed

many stones and clods of earth to throw at our men; but the latter,

covering themselves with their shields, seized the redoubt, with

the death of many of the enemy, [51] and in a fortnight returned to

Loboc. Captain Alcarazo, who was foremost in all these engagements,

commanded that some of the rebels be hanged, and published a pardon

to the rest; and he returned to Zebu, [52] where the victory was

celebrated. This success had very important results, for it checked

the revolt of other islands and other villages--who were expecting

the favorable result which the demon had promised them, so that they

could shake off the mild yoke of Christ, and with it their vassalage

to the Spaniards. Many of them, now undeceived, accepted the pardon;

but others, who were stubborn, fortified themselves at the summit of

a rugged and lofty hill, difficult of access, and closed the road

[to it] with brambles and thorns. [53] They also filled the paths

with very sharp stakes driven into the soil, and placed among the

branches of the trees many crossbows, [54] in order that these,

being discharged as our men passed them, might wound the soldiers;

and above they provided many stones to throw at the Spaniards,

hurling them from the top of the hill. Six months later the same Don

Juan Alcarazo returned, to dislodge those rebels with forty Spaniards

and many Indians. After suffering great hardships in making the paths

accessible, nearly all his men were hurt, by the time they reached the

fort, by the many stones which the enemy hurled down from the summit;

but our soldiers courageously climbed the ascent, firing their muskets,

and killed many of the rebels, putting the rest to flight. Thus was

dispersed that sedition, which was one of the most dangerous that had

occurred in the islands--not only because the Boholans were the most

warlike and valiant of the Indians, but on account of the conspiracy

spreading to many other tribes. Noble examples of fidelity in this

great disturbance are not lacking. [Murillo Velarde here mentions

two instances of this.]

The natives of Carigara in the island of Leyte became impatient, and

revolted without waiting for the result in Bohol, incited thereto

by Bancao, the ruling chief of Limasava--who in the year 1565 [55]

received with friendly welcome Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and the

Spaniards who came to his island, supplying them with what they

needed, for which Phelipe II sent him a royal decree, thanking him

for the kind hospitality which he showed to those first Spaniards. He

was baptised and, although a young man, showed that he was loyal to

the Christians; but, conquered by the enemy [of souls], he changed

sides in his old age. [56] This man lived in the island of Leyte, and

with a son of his and another man, Pagali (whom he chose as priest

of his idolatry), erected a sacred place to the divata, or devil;

and they induced six villages in the island to rebel. In order to

remove from them their fear of the Spaniards, these men told their

followers that they could change the Spaniards into stones as soon as

they saw them, by repeating the word bato, which signifies "stone;"

and that a woman or a child could change them into clay by flinging

earth upon them. Father Melchor de Vera went to Zebu to give warning

of this sedition and obtain aid to check it. Captain Alcarazo equipped

an armada of forty vessels, in which were embarked some Spaniards and

many friendly Indians, also the father rector of Zebu and Father Vera;

these united with the forces (both Spanish and Indian) that the alcalde

of Leyte had. They offered peace to the rebels, but the latter spurned

it with contempt. Our men, divided into three bodies, attacked them;

and, when that which Don Juan de Alcarazo commanded came in sight

of the rebels, they fled to the hills. Our soldiers followed them,

and on the way put to the sword or shot those whom they encountered;

and, although the compassion of the Spaniards spared the children

and women, [57] these could not escape the fury of the Indians. Many

of the rebels died, the enchantment not availing them by which they

had thought to turn the Spaniards into stone or clay; the rest saved

themselves by flight. The Spaniards came to a large building which the

rebels had erected for their divata; they encamped in it ten days,

and then burned it. Some one pierced with a lance Bancao, the chief

instigator of the rebellion, not knowing who he was, whom two of his

slaves were carrying on their shoulders and immediately his head was

placed on a stake as a public warning. He and his children came to a

wretched end, as a punishment for their infidelity and apostasy; for

his second son was beheaded as a traitor, and a daughter of his was

taken captive. To inspire greater terror, the captain gave orders to

shoot three or four rebels, and to burn [58] one of their priests--in

order that, by the light of that fire, the blindness in which the

divata had kept them deluded might be removed. The Spaniards also

cut off the head of an Indian who had robbed Father Vinancio [i.e.,

Vilancio] and broken to pieces an image of the Virgin, and kicked

a crucifix; and his head was set up in the same place where he had

committed those horrible sacrileges. There were many who, in the

midst of so furious a tempest, remained constant in their religious

belief. [Several instances of this are related by the author.]

Mandayas; 1625

[For particulars of this insurrection, see Aduarte's Historia,

book ii, chaps, xxviii, xxx, in our VOL. XXXII, pp. 147-152,

162. Cf. Ferrando's account, Hist. de los PP. Dominicos, ii,

pp. 114-117; and our VOL. XXII, pp. 69, 95.]

In Caraga and in Cagayan; 1629

[See VOL. XXIV, pp. 165, 175, 177, 216, 217, 229; and fuller account

of that in Caraga, in Concepción's Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 163-179

(in our VOL. XXXV, pp. 89-91).]

In Nueva Segovia; 1639

[See Santa Cruz's account (Hist. Sant. Rosario) in our VOL. XXXV,

pp. 47-51.]

In Pampanga, 1645; and in Bulacán, 1643

[The following is taken from Diaz's Conquistas, pp. 483, 484:]

This fearful earthquake [59] was general in all these Filipinas,

although it was more severe in some regions than in others--for in

the province of Cagayán, in [the land of] one people called Maynanes,

a great mountain was cleft open; and the havoc made by it extended

as far as Maluco. In the heights of Gapang, [60] in the province

of Pampanga, it was very severe, and lasted several days. Even

greater damage might have been done by an uprising that was plotted

by an Indian of evil disposition in the villages of Gapang, Santor,

Caranglán, and Patabangán, exhorting the natives there to rebel and

restore themselves to their former liberty, by slaying the Spaniards

and the religious. He assured them that in Manila there were no

Spaniards left, because the earth had swallowed them, with the entire

city, on the night of the earthquake that occurred on St. Andrew's

day; and that the demon, with whom he had compact and intercourse,

had promised him that he would aid the natives so that they might

maintain themselves without paying tribute, and might enjoy much

prosperity, and provided that they would slay the fathers and burn

the churches. The delusion of the Indians of Gapang went so far that

they seized arms, and summoned to their aid many heathen Zambals, and

burned the churches of Santor and Pantabangán. When this was known in

Manila, the encomendero of those villages, Admiral Rodrigo de Mesa,

offered his services to pacify them, and went to Gapang with Alférez

Callejas, their collectors of tribute, and some friendly Indians; but

the insurgents, who now were numerous, badly wounded the encomendero,

who fled on horseback, and a year later died from that wound at

Manila. They slew Alférez Callejas and many of the loyal Indians who

went in his company, and fortified themselves in the mountains. The

prior and minister, Fray Juan Cabello, escaped by the aid of some other

Indians who were not of the hostile party, came to Manila, and gave

information of the progress of the rebellion. Opinions differed as

to the methods which should be employed in pacifying the insurgents;

and our father provincial, Fray Alonso Carbajal, decided to send the

father lecturer Fray Juan de Abarca, [61] a religious for whom the

natives of that district had much affection and respect, since he had

been their minister for many years. With this commission this religious

set out for Pampanga, taking with him a companion, Master-of-camp Don

Agustin Songsong, a valiant Pampango, with as many soldiers of that

people as seemed necessary. They arrived at Gapang, and by means of

father Fray Juan de Abarca's preaching and his earnest efforts--which

would take too long to relate, as would the many perils of death

to which he exposed himself--that sedition was finally quelled,

and the insurgents returned to their former quiet. But the Indian

sorcerer, the cause of this disturbance, did not make his appearance,

notwithstanding all the efforts that were made to find him.

Another rebellion, which threatened a great outbreak, was checked (in

the year 1643) by father Fray Cristobal Enriquez. In the district of

Malolos in the province of Bulacán, an Indian named Don Pedro Ladía,

a native of Borney, went about promoting sedition; he proclaimed

that to him belonged the right of being king over the provinces

of Tagalos, alleging that he was a descendant of Raja Matanda,

[62] the petty king whom the Spaniards found at Manila in the year

1571. With these and other impostures, aided by wine--the chief

counselor in matters of policy and war, among those natives--and

with the consultations with the demon which always figure on these

occasions, he kept many villages of that district disquieted. But the

sagacious procedure of father Fray Cristobal Enriquez intercepted all

these misfortunes which were threatening us, by furnishing a plan

for the arrest of Don Pedro Ladía--who already was styling himself

"king of the Tagálogs;" he was sent to Manila, where, he paid with

his life for his vain presumption. And thus this revolt, lacking even

that weak foundation, was entirely quieted.

In the Pintados; 1649-50

[The best authorities on this insurrection are the Jesuit historians,

since it arose in regions under their spiritual charge. We select the

earliest account, that of Combés, written while the incidents of that

time were fresh in men's minds; it is found in his Hist. de Mindanao,

col. 489-498. Murillo Velarde also relates these events, in Hist. de

Philipinas, fol. 171b-175. Cf. the Augustinian Diaz, in Conquistas,

pp. 517-523; and the Recollect Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, vi,

pp. 247-280.]

The queen of Joló, Tuambaloca, wrote at the same time, asking

permission to come to end her days in the island of Basilan, and all

was so secure from war that she remained as arbiter of peace for all

the islands of Samboangan; and, as such, even the governor of Manila

availed himself of her power [63] in order to pacify the disturbances

in the islands....

This occasion made sufficiently evident the greatness of the benefit

that the islands owe to the Society for the [treaties of] peace made

with these kings--thus finding the royal arms at liberty for more

pressing exigencies, and being set free, as regards those kings,

from the most painful anxiety lest their forces would be allied with

our dangers. With this, attention could be given to the punishment of

Burney, a pirate as cruel as impious; and to finding external relief

in the domestic losses and evils which had rendered our safety so

uncertain. [Our forces were thus ready] in an almost general revolt of

all the islands, in the provinces that were most subjugated and had

never tested the keenness of our arms; for they had yielded to the

echoes of our trumpets, receiving our troops in peace. But in these

recent years had been operating in these new worlds the influences

of that malign planet which was ruining Europe (and especially our

España), with revolts of entire kingdoms, and has caused rivers of

blood to run in the populous kingdom of China; and it reached these

islands, to wreak on them its fierceness. And God--permitting evil,

for the credit of virtue and the reward of the good--gave warlike

courage to the most pusillanimous tribes, and armed the nakedness of

these Indians to resist the unconquerable steel of our Spaniards.

The first region to declare against us was the province of Ibabao,

which is in the island of Samar; it is the coast which faces the

north, beaten by the sea of Nueva España. There the Society has a

new residence, which is occupied by six fathers. All the villages

connected with it revolted, following the audacious stand of the chief

among them, which is Palapag. This was occasioned by the oppressions

arising from our public works--which is a motive that should appeal

to them, since they were the ones interested in the defense [of

the coasts against their enemies]. But the Indians, as barbarians,

do not heed future perils, but rather present fatigues; and to these

their slothful nature opposes itself. The losses of galleons made it

necessary to maintain in that province a shipyard. This drafted all the

carpenters from Manila, and, in order to supply those that were needed

on that shore, it was necessary to demand from each province a certain

number--a quota of hardly one to each village, and this so equitably

that to worldly prudence these allotments seemed advantageous, for

which many would eagerly ask. But as the Indians have grown up in their

wretchedness and in the life of brutes in their remote mountains, it

seems to them that they are maintaining their liberty. They resented

greatly this political compulsion to citizenship and the formation of a

village, [so that they would live] as men. Those in the provinces that

were most civilized and were nearest to Manila had obeyed the decree

without opposition, but these [remote] provinces immediately made such

demonstrations of displeasure that all of us perceived the difficulty

[of enforcing the demand], and several undertook to represent it

[to the authorities]. Don Diego de Faxardo was the governor, a man

so harsh in his methods, and having so little pious regard for the

[religious] ministers, that their intercessions only made him more

cruel, on account of the dogmatic opinion which he followed, that

the ministers are the ones who oppose the royal service. Accordingly

they all gave up any active opposition, but moderated in a thousand

ways the execution [of the decree] (which they saw could not be

avoided), sometimes with gifts, sometimes with considerations of

utility. The men of Ibabao, trusting in the ruggedness of their

coast or the inaccessibility of their mountains, or in the succor

which had been positively promised to them by the Dutch--who every

year make port on their coasts, awaiting with their armed fleets the

relief [sent us] from Nueva España--immediately declared themselves

[against us]. At the outset, in their stubbornness and disobedience,

until their affairs were settled and their retreat prevented, they

talked of fleeing to the mountains. This was their first opinion; but

a malicious Indian interfered in the discussion, and told them that

they could not accomplish anything by that course, because the village

would not be destroyed, nor would the promoters [of the rebellion]

have the following that they desired, unless they ordered that all

should rebel, and slay the father, and burn the church; for their guilt

in such action would intimidate all of them. As their councils were

held in the excitement of wine, all readily approved this extravagant

proposal. Immediately the demon offered them, for its execution, the

evilly-inclined mind of a vile Indian named Sumoroy, who, although

he had been much favored by the fathers as being a skilful pilot

on the sea, and on this account had always enjoyed immunity from

tribute and personal services, and was actually the castellan of the

fortified residence that they had there, yet desired--because they had

removed an obstacle [64] which for many years had kept him at variance

with and separated from his lawful wife--to find an opportunity for

vengeance. This man offered to kill the father; and, confirming his

resolve with many draughts to his success, and loud shouts, they

dreamed that they were already masters of the entire world, and had

slain all the Spaniards. He had already prejudiced their minds against

his enemy, telling each Indian in the village separately that he had

been assigned by the father to go to the Manila shore; consequently,

no one now repaired to mass or took notice of public affairs. The

father rector--who was Father Miguel Ponce Barberan, a native of the

kingdom of Aragon--saw plainly the hostile disposition of the people,

but never could have imagined so insane a resolve; and if any one could

most confidently throw aside anxiety it was this father, for he had

been, without contradiction, the most beloved and cherished by the

natives, of all the fathers who had itinerated there--and, as well,

the one who had spent most years in ministering to those people. A

Tuesday, then, the first day of June in the year 1649, the traitor

selected for his sacrilegious parricide; and, as a thief in the house,

who knew its avenues of entrance and egress very well, he took his

stand within, awaiting the father at the top of the stairway, when he

should ascend it after supper. While the father halted on the stairs

to say a prayer for the souls in purgatory--for which, it happened,

the bells were ringing--Sumoroy hurled a javelin at him from above,

which pierced his breast and immediately brought him to the ground;

nor did he breathe again, spending his last energy in pronouncing

the sweet names of Jesus and Mary.

For two days the fathers remained at home in suspense, without

understanding the cause of this evil deed, or knowing who was its

author; and the rebels themselves delayed to commit sacrileges by

breaking with shame and declaring themselves [rebels]. Finally, on

the day of Corpus Christi, about noon, the murderer came in sight,

leading the multitude, and openly declared that it was he who had slain

the father, loudly defying the whole world. They gave the fathers and

the brother whom they found in the house the opportunity to leave

it, provided that they removed nothing from it; and immediately,

as barbarians and enemies of God--forgetting the faith and Christian

belief of so many years, in which they had grown up--they sacked and

burned the church and house, profaning the ornaments, and cutting from

them drawers and turbans according to their old-time usage. If there

were any of the faithful [among the crowd], they let themselves be

persuaded by the argument of the barbarians for their timidity, that

if they remained among the insurgents the anger of the Spaniards would

be moderated, and accordingly they followed the perverse ones. The

report of this sacrilegious act fanned the flame of infernal zeal

itself, and found the minds of the people so ready that, almost as if

there had been a general decision and they only awaited the signal

for putting it into execution, in almost all the villages on that

coast they burned their churches, the ministers fled, and the rebels

retreated to the mountains, where they fancied they could maintain

their former brutal mode of life.

In the rest of the provinces--either because they perhaps regarded

it as somewhat discreditable that the men of Ibabao should display

their valor in order to oppose the Spaniards, and they themselves

not do so; or because all of them were (as some desire to be) in

communication with the Dutch--they proceeded to follow the example and

imitate the boldness of the men of Palapag. Our arms would be found

greatly embarrassed if those of the Dutch were to add confidence to

the insolence of the Indians; and, at the very least, there would not

remain a province which would not be up in arms, and no minister or

Spaniard of those who were scattered among them would escape. But God

our Lord, who chastised as a father, and chose to correct with clemency

the wickedness with which the Spaniards abuse the subject condition

of these natives--and as a warning to the latter, to confirm them

in the truth of our holy faith and disabuse them of their errors--so

adjusted the times that although the Dutch fleets had not failed to

come to the islands for ten years past, about that very month [i.e.,

June], in this year the peace kept them away, and the publication of

it arrived here in good time, so that our forces were left free for

the punishment [of the rebels].

Immediately the province of Camarines, on the mainland of Manila,

declared itself against us, and the father guardian [of the

Franciscans] was banished from Solsogon; and their lead was followed

by their island of Masbate, where an alférez was put to death. This

presumptuous act disturbed the peace of Cebú Island; and its natives

also, without fearing the strong fort and the city to near them,

also defied us, another officer being slain there. In the province of

Caraga, the men of Linao revolted, displaying their evil intentions

by the murder of the father prior (a discalced Augustinian), and of

the Spaniards in a small garrison which was kept there, some dozen in

number; but few escaped, and those were badly wounded. In the province

of Iligan, which borders on Caraga, the Manobos, a barbarian tribe,

seized the peaceable village of Cagayan. The entire coast [i.e., of

northern Mindanao], and the adjacent island of Camigin, followed their

example; in Camigin they bound the father prior (also a discalced

Augustinian), the impious Indians going so far as to place their

brutal feet on the neck of the holy religious. In the jurisdiction

of Samboangan, the Subanos went astray--their principal village,

named Siocon, releasing itself from obedience with the sacrilegious

parricide of Father Juan del Campo, and the atrocious murder of his

companions, as we shall afterward relate. The Boholans, on account

of their valor, retained their esteem for the faith. Thus, for the

punishment of so many atrocious deeds and for quelling the insolence

of the barbarians, there remained to us no other arms than those of

Samboangan, and no other auxiliaries than those people who had been

our friends for so few years.

Those of Ibabao aroused the utmost anxiety, their insolence continually

calling us to arms; for, not content with atrocities in their own

country, they went to disquiet another region. They even disturbed

those who dwelt on the opposite coast of Samar, threatening them

with ruin if they did not follow the lead of the others. Their

attempts began to be dangerous, since they stirred up the village of

Paranas, which is only two leguas from the seat of our jurisdiction

there--Catbalogan, where the alcalde-mayor resides; and in fact many

fled to the mountains, without regard to the war which menaced them,

when the Spaniards were placed under arms, two leguas from their

abode. In the other villages [the natives] were in arms, and regarded

us all with apprehension. At the outset, the alcalde-mayor was ready

with such force as he could assemble--adventurers in the province,

mestizos, and Indians; but, as the former were all collectors [of

tribute] and the latter all relatives [of the insurgents], some were

not accustomed to arms and the hardships of campaigning, and the others

could not use weapons against those of their own blood. Accordingly

this, instead of checking their fury, only rendered their boldness more

insolent, and gave unwonted force to their arms; and men who before

did not find enough woods in which to hide themselves from a Camucon

ship, now went so far as to make daybreak assaults on our troops, and

slew our men before our eyes. And as a final token of their contempt,

when the captain demanded from them the head of Sumoroy, by way of

atonement for what he had done, they sent down the river to him the

head of a swine--although in the end, worn out, they considered it

good luck that they could again secure peace.

[The authorities] in Manila, seeing that the revolt was continually

gathering strength, and that the insolence of the insurgents was

passing all bounds, recognized how important it was to repress it,

undertaking its chastisement in earnest. For this purpose they

despatched General Andres Lopez de Azaldigui (who was chief of the

royal galleys of these islands), with the title of lieutenant of the

captain-general; and with this authority he levied many Spaniards,

being empowered to obtain them from all the fortified posts. He

made all the necessary arrangements for the enterprise, but he

soon recognized the danger that he incurred among the natives--who

all, regarding those of Palapag as restorers of their liberty,

were rejoicing over their successes--and that in our reverses we

had cause to fear them as enemies, since they were on the watch

to know what fortune those of Palapag had in order to follow it

if they were sure of the result. A large fleet of native boats was

needed for the transportation of provisions and military supplies;

but, the greater the number of these that were thus assembled, the

more was the danger increased. On this account the general wrote to

Manila, demanding galleys; and there, in order to avoid the expense

of galleys and the perils of seas so rough, they despatched orders

that the armada should come from Zamboangan--for the loyalty of those

people against the Bisayans, as against their old-time enemies,

could not be doubted. And with the support of these [auxiliaries]

effective aid might be rendered by those of the inland provinces,

which had been ruled without risk by the Spaniards because they did

not go there entirely in the hands of the natives.

The armada was despatched as promptly as possible by the commandant

[of Zamboanga]. Sargento-mayor Pedro Duran, with two captains in active

service--as chief, Captain Juan Muñoz, who was commander of the armada;

and as second in command Captain Juan de Ulloa--with the most choice

and distinguished soldiers of the Lutaos. As leader of these, since he

was the military chief of that people, was sent General Don Francisco

Ugbo (whom I have previously mentioned), with the master-of-camp,

sargento-mayor, and captains of the tribe, and as many as four

hundred of its men. Father Francisco Martinez had then arrived at

Samboangan, to act as rector of the new [Jesuit] college there--of

which the official recognition from our father general came in this

same year--a religious who deserved well of those Christian churches,

for he had sustained them in their earliest infancy, having labored in

the arduous beginnings of [the missions in] Joló and Samboangan. By

this [departure of the Lutaos] Father Alexandro Lopez found his

occupation gone, and was therefore able to embark with the armada,

which needed his presence and aid, as it was going for so important

an enterprise--on the fortunate result of which, as many thought,

depended the fidelity of all the provinces of Pintados. All fortified

themselves with the holy sacraments, as solicitously as Christians

of very long standing could do; and, as if they were such, on all

occasions which arose in the voyage and in the battle itself they

made evident, by their reverence for their holy name [of Christians]

and appreciation of the danger, how they felt these obligations in

their hearts. The sargento-mayor of the tribe (who belonged to its

highest nobility) encountered a temptation to his own perdition; but

he put it behind him by saying that he was going to war, and could

not at that time discuss a matter which would work injury to his soul.

Great was the rejoicing which this armada caused in all the towns

where it landed, notably in the city of Cebú, where the Lutaos were

known (and most of them, especially those who commanded the joangas,

had the reputation of being pirates), at seeing them, now Christians,

repair to the churches with so much devotion and attend divine worship

with such reverence--those very people who had ravaged the islands

with fire, and damaged nearly all the churches of Bisayas with their

outrages and robberies; those who yesterday were enemies, but today

bearing arms in our aid; and those who yesterday were cruel enemies to

God, now the avengers of insults to Him. Tears sprang to [the eyes of]

all, and they did not cease to give a thousand thanks to the fathers

for their labors, so effectual--not only in the conversion of that

Moro people, but for the benefit of these Christian communities,

removing their terror and turning their dread and mistrust of the

Moro arms into joy and expectation of success.

Arriving at Palapag by the month of May [i.e., in 1650], they found

that the leader of the campaign was Captain Don Xinés de Roxas; and

that it had been much retarded on account of the reputation which the

men of Palapag had steadily gained by their daring acts. They had

fortified themselves on a height which was regarded as impregnable

by nature, as only one path was known by which it could be ascended,

and that very narrow and difficult. On this path the enemy had built

fortifications, and from loopholes therein they did much damage to our

men, without risk [to themselves]; they lost no opportunity to fall

suddenly on our troops, and any man who strayed from the rest paid

the penalty with his life, so sharply did they note any negligence on

our part; and, as masters of the land, they boldly engaged us, secure

from being pursued. The captain wearied himself much with various

fortifications, and kept the men exhausted; and he engaged in the same

fatiguing labor those of the armada, until the sargento-mayor of that

tribe, Don Alonso Maconbon, was bold enough to ask him, face to face,

why he was wearing out the men in work which was not important.

He told the captain that they had not come to haul logs, but to fight

in battle, and that he must contrive to employ them in fighting; for,

if he did not, they would go back to their homes. At seeing the daring

of this man, and the angry words that the soldiers of Samboangan--who,

as veterans, were eager to have an opportunity for distinguishing

themselves--flung at him, although he resented their lack of respect

he was rejoiced to see their courage; and he was encouraged to make

the assault, which, with the coxcombs and foppish adventurers from

Manila, seemed a dangerous enterprise. And, as those of the armada,

it seems, were boasting most of their valor, he assigned them to the

brunt of the battle, in order thus to employ their courage in carrying

out their own advice.

He made ready, then, the infantry of the armada, with the Lutaos,

for a day that he set for the assault, which they were obliged to make

over a precipitous ascent, exceedingly dangerous--so that they could

make their way up it only by giving their weapons and their hands

to each other. [65] At nightfall they reached the slope, and in the

darkness of the night proceeded to ascend it. The enemy had their

sentinels, but our Lord easily diverted their attention by sending

a heavy shower of rain--which our men regarded as a misfortune,

which made the enterprise more difficult and the ascent all the

more dangerous. But it was altogether fortunate for the expedition;

for the pass was so difficult that the sentinel alone could defend

it against a thousand assailants, and the most feeble old man was

sufficient for guarding it, especially if the danger [from an attack]

were known to the insurgents, who had given all their attention

to the troop of the commander Don Xinés. The time while the rain

fell was enough to enable all the soldiers to reach the top without

danger; and so careful were the men that not one of them had his match

extinguished. They halted there, waiting for the daylight; and when the

rain gave opportunity to the sentinel he came back, waving a torch in

order to light his path. Our men could have slain him; but they let

him go, so as not to raise an alarm. Either because he heard their

voices, or saw some lighted match, he waited a little while, and then

returned to inform the rest of it; and the troops, seeing that they

were discovered, marched toward the fortifications. So quickly they

reached them that the enemy at once took to flight; our men pursued

them with their arms, but the enemy quickly escaped, by dangerous

precipices and paths which they know well. But the Spaniards did not

choose to divert much of their attention [to the fugitives], rather

taking care to occupy promptly their Rochelle; [66] accordingly, they

erected their fortifications, and occupied them with their artillery,

supplies, and weapons. From that place they sent for the commander,

Captain Don Xinés de Roxas, who went up to take possession of the

gains made by the arduous efforts and daring bravery of the men

of Samboangan. In this enterprise Captain Francisco de Leyba, then

commander of the Samboangan armada, and Captain Silvestre de Rodas,

an old soldier of Terrenate, especially distinguished themselves.

The Lutaos dispersed through the place, and, breaking into a house,

found the mother of the traitor and parricide Sumoroy; and they

dragged her out and tore her to pieces. Sumoroy had been sent down

[from their stronghold] the day before, secretly, in a hammock, and

all the children and women the rebels had already placed in safety;

for, from the day when they saw the Samboangan armada, they felt that

their cause was lost, and, lacking confidence in the outcome, they

forestalled the danger. Thus was ended this longed-for enterprise,

and the war in Ibabao; for the natives, now disarmed and divided, would

have no courage left, save for flight, and the hardships of a life so

full of fear [as that of fugitives] would oblige them to surrender,

one by one--as was actually the case. Accordingly, the armada [and

its men] took their departure, leaving the islands thankful for what

they had accomplished and edified by their good example. For in the

heat of conflict and in dangerous encounters (which is the time when

the natural disposition and the inner soul are displayed), those

soldiers did not fail to invoke the sweet names of Jesus and Mary,

without ceasing or neglecting this in the utmost confusion and ardor

of battle, giving pious examples to the Christian soldiery--to the

admiration of the natives, [although they were] accustomed to these

[pious] observances; since the clamorous efforts [of the soldiers],

and solicitude for their danger, disturb the piety of even the oldest

veterans.

[We append to this the following account from Diaz's Conquistas

(pp. 517-523), as being more detailed and furnishing a somewhat

different light on various incidents of the insurrection. In order

to place it in the present document, as belonging to this special

subject, it has been removed from its place in Diaz's history of his

order and its missions (see VOL. XXXVII, pp. 149-284).]

There was an Indian named Sumoroy in the village of Palapag, who

was regarded as one of the best, although he was one of the very

worst, and was as evil as his father--who, accredited with the same

hypocrisy, was a babaylán and priest of the devil, and made the other

Indians apostatize. He was greatly addicted to drunkenness, and he

had so promoted it [in others] that all the village was contaminated

with this vice, as well as that of lust--vices so closely allied to

idolatry, of which truth there are many examples in Holy Writ. The

inhabitants of Palapag were corrupted by those evil habits at the time

when Governor Don Diego Fajardo--with the intention of relieving the

near-by provinces of Tagalos and Pampanga from the burden of working,

at the harbor of Cavite, in the building of galleons and vessels

necessary for the conservation and defense of these islands--had

ordered the alcaldes of Leite and other provinces to send men thence to

Cavite for that employment. That was a difficult undertaking, because

of the distance of more than one hundred leguas, and the troubles and

wrongs to the said Indians that would result from their leaving their

homes for so long a time. The father ministers went to the alcaldes,

and the latter to Manila, to represent those troubles and wrongs;

but the only thing that they obtained was a more stringent order

to execute the mandate without more reply. Consequently they could

do nothing else than obey the orders of the superior government,

although they feared what very soon occurred. But what good end could

so mistaken and pernicious a decision have?

As soon as the inhabitants of Palapag saw that the alcaldes-mayor

were beginning to collect men to send them to the harbor of Cavite,

they began to go oftener to the meetings in the house of Sumoroy

and his father, and to begin (when heated with wine, the ordinary

counselor of the Indians) to organize their insurrection. They

quickly appointed leaders, of whom the chief was Don Juan Ponce, a

very influential man and a bad Christian, but married to a wife from

a chief's family in the village of Catubig; she was very different

from him in her morals, for she was very virtuous. The second leader

was one Don Pedro Caamug, and the third the above-named Sumoroy. Then

they discussed the murder of the father minister, Miguel Ponce of

the Society of Jesus, an Aragonese, [67] at the suggestion of that

malignant sorcerer and priest of the devil, the father of Sumoroy,

who charged that undertaking upon his son. On Tuesday evening,

the first of June, 1649, he went to the house of the father, who

had just eaten his dinner, and was ascending a narrow ladder to his

house. Sumoroy awaited him at that place, and hurling his lance,

pierced his breast from side to side, and left him dead, without more

time than to say "Jesus, Mary." They spared the life of Father Julio

Aleni, [68] a Roman, saying that he was not their minister, but was

dedicated to China, whence is inferred their motive in killing the

[former] father. Next day they despoiled the house and church of its

furniture and holy ornaments; profaned the altars and sacred images;

scattered the holy oils; and used the silver chrismatories for the

ajonjolí oil with which they anoint their hair.

It was the will of divine Providence to show forth the devout fidelity

of the women amid the infidelity and apostasy of the men; for, the

day before that spoliation, Doña Angelina Dinagungan, wife of Don Juan

Ponce, accompanied by another good Christian woman, Doña María Malón,

went to the church and saved some holy images and ornaments, besides

a chest belonging to the father, with the little that it contained,

which they afterward surrendered to him. Among the images that that

devout woman saved from the sacrilegious hands of the rebels was

an image of our Lady of the Conception, which was kept with great

propriety in the house of Doña María Malón, and which was often

seen to sweat abundantly and to shed tears, a miracle which spread

throughout the village. When the perfidious Sumoroy heard of it, he

said: "The Virgin Mary is weeping. Let us see if she will weep if we

burn the house;" and he went thither, with other men like himself,

and set fire to it. But Divine Clemency did not permit the fire to

catch in that house, although it was of bamboo and nipa like the

others. The husband of Doña María Malón, called Don Gabriel Hongpón,

was a head man [cabeza de barangay]; and only he and all his people

remained faithful to God and to their king. God gave him courage to

resist so many, who always respected him as he was so influential a

man in that village of Palapag.

The insurgents incited the inhabitants of Catubig, who also

revolted. They killed a Spaniard, and burned the church and house of

the father minister, after having sacked it. The contagion having

spread to other villages, the people did the same at Pambohan, or

Bayugo, Catarman, and Bonan; and thence passed to infect the provinces

of Ibalón [69] and Camarines, where they killed a Franciscan religious,

the guardian of Sorsogón. They killed Alférez Torres in Masbate. In

Caraga, the inhabitants of the village of Tinao revolted and killed

their minister, a discalced Augustinian, and a few Spanish soldiers

of a small presidio established there, the rest escaping the fury of

the insurgents. In Iligán, the village of Cagayán, a mission of our

discalced religious, revolted. In the adjacent island of Camiguín,

a mission of the same religious, they bound their minister and set

their feet on his neck. The Subanos mutinied in the jurisdiction of

Zamboanga, in the village called Siocon, where they killed Father

Juan del Campo [70] of the Society of Jesus. The villages of the

islands of Cebú and Bohol, who are warlike people, were wavering in

their loyalty. But Divine Clemency did not permit them to declare

themselves. Thus with the patience and tolerance of the father

ministers, who suffered many hardships and found themselves in

great danger, those fires--which could have consumed the loyalty

of the provinces of these islands--were soon extinguished. The

first village to rebel in the island of Leite was Bacor, where the

church and house of the father minister were burned, and the people

joined the inhabitants of Palapag, leaving the village deserted. The

insurgents pretended that two Dutch ships were near, which were coming

to aid them as equals in their rebellion against the Church and the

vassalage due to their lawful king; and that pretense greatly aided

them in their evil design.

As soon as the alcalde-mayor of Leite heard of the insurrection,

he collected all the boats and men possible, but these were very

fragile means to oppose to so vast a multitude of insurgent and

desperate men. Consequently, although they went to Palapag with the

said alcalde-mayor, one Captain Don Juan Gómez de tres Palacios y

Estrado, they served no other purpose than to make the rebellion

worse, and to encourage the enemy. The latter intrenched themselves

on an impregnable hill called "the table of Palapag;" and what is the

greatest cause for surprise is that a Spaniard called Pedro Zapata, who

had married an Indian woman in Palapag (who must have perverted him),

went with them. But the insurgents gave him his pay by killing him,

in order to take away the woman, a worthy reward for his incredible

treason. They made trenches and strong stockades, with many sharp

stakes and snares, and many stone boulders suspended, which, by being

thrown upon the strongest army, would cause cruel injury. To work

greater harm, they gave command of their men to Don Pedro Caamug,

who descended the hill with two hundred insurgents and returned to

the village of Palapag, where he killed the father minister, Vicente

Damián, [71] and two boys who were serving him, who in their fear

were clinging to the father. They again burned the church, a chamber

of nipa and bamboo which Don Gabriel and his faithful followers had

erected for the celebration of mass, furnishing this additional bond

to their apostasy and rebellion. They returned to their impregnable

hill after this, which was in their eyes a great victory, and began to

fortify themselves much more strongly than they were, as they feared

the war that was expected from Manila.

Governor Don Diego Fajardo, seeing that the undertaking of the

reduction of the inhabitants of Palapag was an affair requiring much

care and consideration, because of the evil effects that would result

from any unfavorable event, after holding a council of war determined

to entrust this undertaking to the commander of the galleys, Andrés

López de Asaldigui (already named on many occasions), as he had all the

good qualities which can form a good soldier; for he was very brave

and prudent, fortunate in the enterprises that had been entrusted

to him, and a prime favorite with the soldiers because of his great

liberality. That commander left Manila with the best men whom he

could enlist, both Spaniards and Pampangos, and went to Catbalogan,

the capital of that province, where he mustered thirteen oared vessels

and two champans. His first order was to send some vessels to Panay

and Iloilo for food. Well informed of the condition of the rebels of

Palapag, he found that he needed more war-supplies for that conquest;

for the insurgents had extended their revolt to many villages of the

island, and the other neighboring islands were apparently prepared

to follow their bold acts, if they were at all fortunate. Therefore

Andrés López de Asaldegui sent to ask the governor for the galleys

in his charge; but the latter did not send them, in order to avoid

the expense that would be caused the royal treasury, which was very

needy. But he sent order instead that the fleet of Zamboanga should

be at his disposal.

[At this juncture, Asaldigui is summoned by the governor to investigate

the loss of the galleon "Encarnación," and "entrusting the Palapag

enterprise to Captain Ginés de Rojas--a brave soldier, but one who

had little reputation and affection among the soldiers, who regretted

that order exceedingly, and would have returned home had they been

able. To such an extent does the reputation of the leader further

any enterprise."]

Don Ginés de Rojas assembled the thirteen oared vessels and the two

champans, in the latter of which he stowed the food. Likewise the

fleet of Zamboanga came up with four caracoas and some Spaniards, and

four hundred Lutaos; these are Indians of that region who have been

recently converted to our holy faith from the errors of the cursed

sect of Mahomet, by the efforts and toil of the religious of the

Society. Their commandant was their master-of-camp Don Francisco Ugbo,

a Lutao, and a brave man; and their sargento-mayor Don Alonso Macobo,

of the same nation. The chief commander of that fleet was Captain

Juan Muñoz, the admiral was Juan de Ulloa, and the captain was Suárez,

who were veteran soldiers. In addition to that succor there came from

Cebú Captain Don Francisco de Sandoval and Juan Fernández de León,

who brought many men from Sialo, Caraga, and other provinces. When all

those forces were assembled in Catbalogan, Don Ginés de Rojas divided

them into three divisions, two under command of Sandoval and León,

and the third in his own charge. He ordered Captain Sandoval to go

to his encomienda at Catubig, and thence, with all the men whom he

could assemble, to go to reduce the village of Palapag. Captain León

was ordered to go with his men through Tubig, Sulat, Borongán, and

other villages--first, however, to go to Guigán, to get as many men

there as possible. Don Ginés de Rojas chose the villages of Catarman

and Bobor, where his encomienda lay.

All things were ready to undertake the conquest of the impregnable

hill. Nothing worthy of note happened to Captain Don Francisco de

Sandoval, but the Indians of Bacor prepared an ambush against Juan

Fernández de León in a very dangerous pass. Juan de León de Paranas

had gone out, embarking in the river of Nasán, which is very rapid

because of its great current--and among other dangerous places is

one more dangerous than all, namely, a fall and cataract which is two

spear-lengths in height. Consequently, in order to proceed, one must

unlade the boats; and, after raising them with great toil by means

of certain very thick and strong rattans, must, after suspending or

letting the boat down thus, again lade it. There did the enemy set

their ambush for Juan de León, but it was disclosed by a friendly

Indian. Our men firing their muskets and arquebuses at that side, the

Indians fled with great loss; and our men proceeded to the bar of the

river, where they fortified themselves in a stout stockade. Sandoval

did the same in Catubig, as did Don Silvestre de Rodas, whom Don

Ginés sent as a reënforcement to Sandoval.

Those leaders, having arranged matters in this manner, continued

to invite and pacify the many Indians who presented themselves. But

those who were entrenched on the hill, confident in their fortress

and defense, persisted obstinately in their revolt, and tried to get

the other villages not to declare in our favor. Don Ginés fortified

his post, and ordered each captain to do the same with his, for

he had resolved to blockade and capture the natives on the hill by

hunger. The natives learned from their spies that Don Ginés had but

few men in his quarters, as the rest had gone to get provisions; and,

having determined to use so favorable an opportunity, many of them

went at night, by the river, near the land. When they thought that

our men were very careless and sound asleep, they pulled some stakes

out of the fortification of Don Ginés, and entered in a disorderly

mob. But the sentinels hearing the noise, sounded the alarm. Don Ginés,

awaking, seized his sword and buckler; and, accompanied by those who

could follow him so hastily, confronted the enemy, and drove them to

flight with great loss--as was judged from the abundance of blood that

was seen in the camp in the morning. But it was not without any harm

to our men, some of whom were wounded, although no one died. One ball

struck Sumoroy on the shoulder, but only one dead man was left in the

camp; for our opponents dragged the others away and threw them into

the water. Don Ginés did not care to pursue them, fearing some ambush,

which would have been easy in that darkness.

The soldiers grumbled much at the great caution and prudence of Don

Ginés de Rojas, who thought only of strengthening his fortifications,

to the great labor of those who now desired to busy themselves with

the enemy, and not the trees of the forest. That rose to such a pitch

that the sargento-mayor of the Lutaos, Don Francisco Macombo, went to

Don Ginés impatiently, and told him that neither he nor his men had

come from Zamboanga to cut timber but to fight with the enemies of

Palapag. Don Ginés was not displeased to see the willingness of his

soldiers to fight, and therefore, in order to employ it, he had the

men called to arms, and arranged the attack. He formed two divisions

[for attack] from the whole army, and left the third to guard the

camp. The assault was made in two parts--one by the open road,

although it was better defended by the opponents; and the other by

a precipitous path which was passable for the birds alone--for it

was a huge steep rock, and so narrow at the place where the camp of

the insurgents was established that only a single man could enter an

opening made by nature--a place called for that reason by the natives,

in their own language, "the eye of a needle." The men climbed up

by that path, using feet and hands without carrying their arms;

for these were carried by him who followed, and afterward given to

him who was ahead; and so they did one with another. In addition to

that, the insurgents had posted a sentinel there to advise them of

any new move, for which a few coming to his aid would be sufficient

to prevent many from effecting an entrance.

Don Ginés entrusted that difficult undertaking to Captain Silvestre de

Rodas, a native of Rota, and a soldier of great renown in his time, of

whom are recounted incredible exploits performed by him in Ternate. He

gave him command of the Lutao soldiers, with their commander Don

Francisco Macombo; for himself Don Ginés took the battalion of the

soldiers who attacked the hill in front. The vanguard and rearguard

were placed in command of Captains Sandoval and Juan Fernández de

León. The assault being planned in that form, Don Ginés engaged

the enemy with his men, with great valor, to the sound of drums and

trumpets, and went up the hill with great difficulty and danger. For

the insurgents, cutting the rattans by which the stones and very large

trunks of trees were fastened and kept back, would have been able

by rolling them down to do great damage to our men, had not divine

Providence directed these missiles to places where they could do no

damage. Our men went up most of the hill with this obstinacy, and the

enemy went out to meet them with so great valor that it seemed rather

desperation; and the damage inflicted upon them by our arquebuses did

not cool their obstinacy, for they tried to throw themselves on our

spears and swords in their anxiety to die while killing [others]. The

great advantage of the fortress of the hill increased their courage,

as it could have caused great loss to our men to fight in the open

and unsheltered. The fight lasted many hours, the enemy often being

relieved, for they had many brave and well-armed men on the hill. Don

Ginés de Rojas, seeing that the fury of the enemy was invincible (for

they were fighting more like lions than like men), and that his men

could not proceed with the undertaking, because they had no further

strength and were tired, and had many wounded, yielded for the time

being, and sounded the retreat, leaving more vigorous experience for

another day. The enemy also retired, satisfied at the resistance that

they had shown, although much to their cost.

Very different was the success of the brave Silvestre de Rodas, with

his Lutaos in charge of Don Francisco Ugbo and Don Alonso Macombo,

who on the second of July, 1650, made the assault in the most difficult

point--which was the eye of the needle in the rock, as we have stated

above, through which Silvestre de Rodas was the first to go. He chose

the silence of the night, a time when they were least likely to be

discovered. Climbing up one by one and without arms, with the labor

that was necessary, at the middle of the ascent an obstacle occurred

that could have blocked so great an enterprise. That was a very heavy

rain, which lasted a great part of the night, and which the men endured

without the slightest shelter, but with great vigilance and care that

fire for their matches should not be lacking--availing themselves for

that purpose of the shields of the Lutaos, which are called carazas,

and are made of long narrow pieces of wood, with which they cover all

the body at the side. The rain ceased and, although they were soaking,

they all resumed the ascent of the hill; they reached the entrance of

the rock at an opportune time, when the sentinel, quite unsuspicious of

such an assault, was absent, as he had gone to get some fire (without

the company of which those Indians cannot live), or indeed have a

smoke, for they think that that furnishes them with fine company. On

that account, Silvestre de Rodas and some of the foremost, who were

the most vigorous were enabled to enter. The sentinel returned with

a brand in his hand, and when he was near perceived the bad effect

of his carelessness, and believed that our camp was already upon

him. He looked in astonishment, and then, hurriedly taking flight,

began to cry out and announce that our men had already entered the

hill by means of the rock. Not less was the confusion of all, who were

quite free from the dread of so unexpected an assault. Confused and

lacking in counsel, a panic terror seized them and forced them into

disorganized flight, so that Silvestre de Rodas and the Lutaos were

allowed to become masters of the field. Unfurling their victorious

banners, they took possession of the lodgings, trenches, and food of

the enemy. Don Ginés de Rojas ascended the hill with his whole army,

and destroyed the insurgent quarters by setting fire to them. Having

published a general pardon, those who had been insurgents before,

presented themselves in peace.

The chief leader Sumoroy and his sorcerer father refused to put in

an appearance, or to talk of peace. But the very ones whom he had

caused to rebel killed him, and carried his head to Don Ginés de

Rojas, although they had been so loyal to him before that when the

alcalde-mayor of Leite went at the beginning to reduce them to peace,

and asked them as the first condition to deliver to him the head of

Sumoroy, they, making light of the request, sent him the head of

a swine. But afterward, as a token of their true obedience, they

delivered the head, without any one asking for it. Don Juan Ponce

remained in hiding in the island of Cebú for a long time, but after

having obtained pardon he returned to Palapag; there he committed

crimes that were so atrocious that the alcalde-mayor seized him and

sent him to Manila, where he paid for those crimes on the scaffold. He

who had the best end was Don Pedro Caamug; for he was the first to

present himself, and showed great loyalty in the reduction of the

others. He continued all his life to be very quiet, and was governor

of his village, where he was highly esteemed; and it was proved that

he was not the one who had killed Father Vicente with his hands,

although he was captain of that band. Moreover, it was found to be

advisable to overlook much on that occasion, as the quiet of all the

Pintados Islands, who were awaiting the end of the rebels of Palapag,

depended on it.

[The following additional information is obtained from Concepción's

Hist. de Philipinas, vi, pp. 247-280:]

[p. 254:] From here [i.e., Cebú] leaped more than sparks to the

province of Caraga, where there had been some causes for resentment

between the alcalde-mayor and the father minister of Tandag. The

father had rebuked the alcalde for oppressions inflicted on the

Indians, and, perceiving that his exhortations were unheeded, he

carried his complaints to the supreme tribunal, where hearing was

given to them. The alcalde-mayor was angry at being prodded from

Manila, and found means to take his revenge. Governor Faxardo,

vigilant in defending the provinces from the Dutch, gave orders to

reconnoiter the harbors and fortify the military posts; and, that he

might take seasonable precautions, he solicited accurate information

[from the officials]. The alcalde-mayor, in the anger that he felt,

availed himself of this opportunity. He informed the governor that

the fort of Tandag was in condition to make a vigorous defense, to

which the only hindrance was the church and convent--a very strong

edifice, which dominates the castle--and that he considered it very

necessary to demolish it. In virtue of this report, it was decided

in the military and fiscal councils that those buildings should be

demolished, as well as all others that might be on that coast which

were of like materials, in order that the Dutch might not find in them

means of offense or defense. This order arrived at Tandag, where now

there was another governor. Captain Don Juan Garcia did not make it

known, and held a council in the fort regarding its execution, and

therein was decided the suspension of the order--for, in case that

the enemy came, the buildings could be easily torn down and burned,

since the walls were weak and the roofs of nipa or straw--until the

supreme government should make some other arrangement. Representations

were made to that government of the great sorrow that the natives

felt at the destruction [of those buildings], from which it was

feared that if another church were not built, at a greater distance,

the natives would take flight to the mountains. Notwithstanding this

second information, the former order for demolition was confirmed. [See

account of this measure, and of the revolt of the Indians, and of its

being quelled by Spanish troops, in VOL. XXXVI, in Santa Theresa's

narrative. Concepción continues, p. 262:] This father minister [72]

sent a despatch to Manila, communicating this melancholy information;

on receiving it, Señor Faxardo immediately sent to Tandag Captain

Gregorio Dicastillo with a detachment of Spanish infantry, so that, in

conjunction with Bernabe de la Plaza, alcalde-mayor of that province,

they might try all measures, even though they might be severe, for

reducing the insurgents. They went to Butuan, where they established

a military base or headquarters. In order to justify the severity of

war, a general amnesty was published. Many Indians came to present

themselves, of whom several were hanged; a few of those who came

down from the mountains gained their liberty, the rest remaining as

slaves. It was a wicked act of those who executed [the governor's

orders] that they shamefully broke the promise made in the name of the

king, and in so august a name committed perfidy. Manila and its suburbs

were full of slaves. The royal Audiencia made formal inquiry into

these illegal acts, and took the residencia of the principal persons

concerned in them. One was put to the torture, and confessed; he was

sentenced to decapitation. The property of another was confiscated,

after two years of imprisonment; and another found himself reduced

to extreme poverty. He who was commissioned by the supreme government

for the trial of these suits, Licentiate Don Manuel Suarez de Olivera,

the military auditor-general, declared in favor of the Indian slaves,

setting all of them free. In order that this decree might be effective,

those included under its provisions were registered by father Fray

Augustin--then secretary of his province, and known by the name of

"Padre Capitan" [i.e., "Father Captain"]--who included in the list many

Indians whose names were not contained in the official documents. He

presented it to the governor, and asked for a mandatory decree for

their liberty, which was promptly issued; and then he went with the

notary through all the houses in which the Indians were distributed,

enforcing the execution of the decree. This proceeding cost him

many fatigues and annoyances; for since those who had paid out their

money for the Indians were left without slaves, there was hardly a

house where he came where he would not hear opprobrious language. It

also caused him great expenses; but his efficient management of

the business came out successfully. He collected all the slaves,

and furnished them with transportation to carry them back to their

homes and their native land. This benefaction rendered it easy for the

Indian chiefs of Linao, who had left their village and were fugitives,

to return to their due obedience and vassalage....

[pp. 273-281: After the rebellion was put down in Leyte], the Indians

of Bisayas remained more quiet; by those so costly experiences they

had been undeceived, and had learned that it is impossible to shake

off the Spanish yoke, by force or by fraud; their wildness subdued

by trade and intercourse [with us], they recognize that they ought

not to thrust aside what produces so many advantages for them in

being treated by our sovereign as his children. These tribunals treat

them with charity, mildness, and justice, besides bearing with their

troublesome traits and their weaknesses, without adding injury to

their wretched condition.

Don Francisco Ugbo returned from the Palapag expedition wounded,

and attacked by a serious malady, which was declared mortal. This

commander, learning that his last hour was at hand, showed how deeply

rooted was the Christian religion in his heart, although it was of

recent growth; he received the holy sacraments with extraordinary

devotion and reverence, exhorted all his family and acquaintances to

become good Christians, and in the midst of his intense pains endured

them without complaint or anger. In his testament he commanded,

as his last wishes, that his property should be shared between his

relatives and his soul [i.e., in saying masses for its repose]; and

he died while offering fervent acts of contrition, to the admiration

and consolation of those who were present.

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 38, 1674-1683 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century · 第 3 / 6 章