Sire: By a royal decree dated at Madrid on August 4, 1765, your
Majesty ordered that this royal Audiencia should take pains to secure
the observance of the laws (24 and 25, título i, book vi) in the
Recopilación de Indias with regard to the trade and intercourse of
the Spaniards with the Indians; and that it should report to your
Majesty upon the other things contained in the copy of a letter from
the venerable dean and cabildo of this holy church, [61] in which they
chiefly set forth the request that your Majesty will deign to issue
stricter orders so that the Indians may learn the Castilian language.
As the aforesaid report has not been despatched by this
Audiencia--which is composed of two auditors, and there is only one of
integrity, and zeal for the royal service--I have deemed it inseparable
from my obligation to inform your Majesty [62] of what the experience
of about nine years as fiscal has taught me regarding the aforesaid
points, and to make known the zeal with which I have labored, to
the end that in this particular the laws and your Majesty's royal
decrees might be carried out. For this it is necessary to assume
(in confirmation of the statements in the above-mentioned letter)
that the despotism of the ministers of the doctrinas is absolute,
so that they are almost the only ones who command in these islands;
and that they govern at their own will the villages and provinces,
without recognizing your Majesty or obeying any laws or royal decrees
save those which suit their own interests and opinions. It is evident
and notorious that they do not obey any of the rest, except as they
please. This is proved by the fact that there is no law or decree
or ordinance which is observed by the said ministers of doctrinas
in questions of the royal patronage, in the administration of the
sacraments to the sick, in the tanorías and other matters in which
their comfort is concerned, and, above all, in the schools, for
instruction in the Spanish language.
All this lawless conduct (which results from the absolute sway of the
ministers of doctrinas) will be evident to your Majesty from the copy
which I enclose of two fiscal opinions, which are literally transcribed
from the official records belonging to the year 765; the originals
are found in the respective expedientes preserved in the office of
the court secretary of this Audiencia. In these is told sufficient
to give some idea of the despotism of the said religious, on whom
nearly all the people of these islands are dependent--some through
fear, and others through unjust acts of compliance and tolerance
which at the present time make it exceedingly difficult to check
that despotism. This will never be accomplished unless the governor
and the ministers of the Audiencia proceed unitedly and with equal
firmness, without yielding to the religious, and with inflexible
zeal for the fulfilment of the laws and the municipal ordinances
of these islands. But for this end it would be indispensable to
confer the public offices of the provinces on men tried and true,
who would fulfil their obligations; and not on persons who, buying
the said offices in Manila, undertake to fill them by inflicting so
many injuries [on the natives] that their very infractions of law
oblige them to depend absolutely on the religious, and to maintain
the latter in their possession of authority over the Indians and over
the alcaldes. From this beginning it results that neither the orders
of the governor nor of the Audiencia take effect, and that all the
measures which are conformable to the laws and to your Majesty's royal
decrees prove futile; for there is a false show of fulfilling them,
which leaves these matters in the same confusion which attempt was
made to remedy.
In the laws of the Indias, in the former "Ordinances" of these islands,
in those which were drawn up by Governor Don Pedro Manuel de Arandía
[63] and in repeated royal decrees, this matter of the instruction
of the Indians in the Spanish language is especially enjoined; but,
notwithstanding this, the notion of the said religious has prevailed
that the Indians shall remain ignorant of the said language, in
order to keep them more dependent [on the fathers], and in order
that no Spaniard may obtain information of what is going on in
the villages. There are innumerable instances which have occurred,
of the curas of doctrinas punishing the Indians who talked with the
Spaniards in our language. In the villages close to this capital there
are many Indians who understand the said language very well, but when
they are in the presence of any religious they reply in their own
Tagal language to the Spaniards who ask them questions in Castilian,
through their fear of the father; and the latter never speaks to the
Indians in Spanish, even though they may be proficient in it. This is
convincing that the intention of the religious orders is certain and
evident, that the Indians shall not know our language, so that they
may be more secure of the doctrinas not being taken away from them,
of the bishops not attempting to visit them, of the non-enforcement
of the laws (none of which are enforced) of the royal patronage,
and of the continuance of the despotism with which they govern the
Indians in both spiritual and temporal matters, without fear of any
noticeable result. For thus they find themselves necessary, and they
mock at the zeal of a governor, of an archbishop, of a fiscal, and
of all those who mourn the entire non-observance of the laws; and as
these officials and the ministers of the Audiencia are seldom united
to procure the enforcement of the laws, because the religious orders
do not neglect to mislead some of them, the latter are always sure
of a victory through this disunion (which is very frequent), when the
same spirit of courage and firmness does not animate the minds of all
[the officials] for the fulfilment of the laws and of your Majesty's
royal ordinances. Through your royal complaisance, I have continually
inveighed against the main points in the opinions of the curas of
doctrinas, which are opposed to the laws and ordinances; and especially
against their persistent endeavor that the Indians shall not know our
Spanish language--as your Majesty's royal mind will be informed by
the copy which I enclose. As contributing to fuller information on
this point, and confirming it, I will state that in the year 762 I,
as fiscal, made the same claims in this royal Audiencia which the
venerable dean and cabildo set forth to your Majesty in the year 764.
There is equal proof for what I demanded regarding the trade of the
Spaniards with the Indians. It is grievous to see that no one dares
to carry on this trade; for, however strict may be the orders which
have been issued, not only by your governors but by this Audiencia, the
curas of doctrinas have many means for rendering them ineffective. They
dissuade the Spaniards from going to the Indian villages, where, as a
rule, they are treated with incredible contempt, and are denied even
the food which they need (and for which they offer money), because
neither the governadorcillo nor any other Indian dares to sell it
without permission from the father minister. Not only does the father
usually deny this, but he stirs up the anger of the Indians against
the Spaniard--whom they call Castila; the name of Castilian has
thus become exceedingly odious among the natives, and they regard
every Spaniard with dislike, if indeed not with hatred. To see a
Spaniard in their villages appears to them such a novelty that all the
inhabitants--old persons, the youths, and the children--sally out to
look at him, with loud yells and uproar, in which one can only hear,
"Castila! Castila!" and amid the annoyance of being surrounded by
Indians, without being able to understand them, the Spaniard has no
other resource than to go in search of the father of the doctrina,
and humiliate himself before him with the same abjectness as the said
Indians show, in order that the reverence shown to this despot may
furnish him with lodging and food, and render his life safe. This
would not happen if the Castilian language had been extended into
the provinces, for experience shows that every Indian who understands
it feels much affection for the Spaniards; and the natives aid them
wherever they meet them, if they are not in the presence of the
fathers of doctrinas.
It is no less certain that many of the fathers trade in the villages
which they administer, and that for this reason also they are
undertaking to hinder, by the aforesaid means, the trade of the
Spaniards. All this will seem as incredible to your Majesty as it
seemed to me until my official duties, and the things that I myself
have seen in the provinces through which I have traveled, proved its
truth to me; and even more than what is notorious and public to all who
have lived in these islands for some time can be told to your Majesty
by Doctor Don Simon Anda y Salazar, who certainly was often undeceived,
by experience, in regard to the aforesaid intentions of the religious.
I, Sire, would not dare to write on subjects so delicate, and so
difficult to explain, if I were not fully convinced of what I have
stated above, and of the fact that this abuse has not been nor will
it be remedied, while a governor little acquainted [with his duties]
in the early years of his term casts into oblivion the measures
taken by his predecessor, or revokes them, through the persuasions
of the religious; and when he reaches the point of being undeceived
he comes to the last years of his government, and the measures
that he takes then have the same fate as those already mentioned,
on the arrival of his successor. The same thing occurs with the
ministers [of the Audiencia] who have recently arrived at this
city; for, under the influence of the said religious, they regard as
recklessness and impiety that which afterward, with some experience,
they recognize as zeal for the royal service. This disunion and lack
of agreement in their opinions would not be experienced if the laws
were punctually observed, and if the "Ordinances for the provinces"
were established as law--which would regulate all these matters,
and not allow freedom for failure in supporting them, as they ought
to be supported, by an opinion that is equally firm in all the
governors and ministers. For nothing so injures good government as
the attempt of those high officials to temporize with every one, and
not incur any one's ill-will; and to look out for their own profit,
to the detriment of the general good. It is notorious, at the same
time, that for the said reasons whatever concerns his Majesty and
the public is in almost utterly desperate condition; that the laws
and royal decrees are not held in due reverence and respect; that
they are transgressed with reckless readiness; that seldom is justice
administered, on account of the intervention of influential persons;
and that only where there is no advantage for self--as is the case
in the affairs of poor people--are the laws observed. From this
abuse--offensive to the supreme power of his Majesty, which usually
is not obeyed in these islands, where a spirit of greed is the sole
ruler with absolute dominion--it results that zealous and upright
ministers are the only ones who are persecuted; and that those who
remain inactive, and are susceptible to presents, and can be led into
unlawful yielding and compliance, are popular with the citizens.
Another of the more important causes which occasion the said abuse
is, that since the Audiencia has no cognizance of the affairs of
the provinces in regard to their government, and as the governors
on account of their military profession (in which alone they have
been trained) have not the necessary knowledge of the laws and of
the "Ordinances of good government," or of municipal regulations,
it results that an upright governor does not come to a resolve about
anything, for fear of making some mistake; another, more resolute,
goes headlong into measures to which his associates persuade him;
and another governor, with interested motives, works for his own
advantage. As a general rule, all or most of the governors are
bewildered with the multitude of affairs which present themselves;
they do very little work, and in nothing do they act with less vigor
than in the government of the provinces; and enactments are made at the
pleasure of the governor's secretary, and occasionally of the assistant
judge [asesor]. Here these usually are venal and have little sense
of honor; and they attend only to such business as brings them gain,
and not that of their office, which yields them nothing. These serious
and notorious difficulties can be avoided only by separating from
the government the superintendency of the exchequer [64] which is the
department of business that is most neglected, and is most worthy of
attention--and establishing ordinances, which shall be enforced without
deviation, for the secure furtherance of the royal interests, and of
the administration of justice in the provinces, leaving the absolute
cognizance of the latter to the royal Audiencia, and of the former
to an intendant, and forbidding them to the governors, who have more
than enough field for action in military and purely political affairs
in which to display their zeal. Then they would devote themselves
to these important matters belonging to their profession, which are
those which have seemed to them to merit least attention and care,
because their application to other business produces them more gain.
If these departments of the government were separated in the above
manner, there would be an invariable method of procedure in the two
tribunals of the Audiencia and the intendancy. For in the former,
even if one or another minister should pass away, there would remain
others, who could instruct the new officials, so that the said method
should never be changed without evident necessity, justified by
documents and by unanimous opinions; and in the intendancy the same
thing would occur, by means of the practical knowledge which would
pass from some royal officials to others, and from some subordinates
to others. Especially should be left to parties [in controversies]
free recourse by appeal to the royal Audiencia from all the acts
and measures of the intendant; and he, with the ministers [of that
court], should proceed to the choice (by a majority of votes) of
the [provincial] governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor. Thus,
likewise, would be avoided the sale of those offices, which is
frequent; and the merit and services of the citizens would be rewarded,
so that they might have some stimulus in regard to their conduct and
valor, and be encouraged to serve your Majesty by these hopes--which
are entirely lacking to them at the present time, in which he alone
is preferred who gives most for the offices.
In regard to the "Ordinances for the provinces," I have systematized
those which Doctor Don Simon de Anda y Salazar can show you;
he carried with him a copy of them, which I drew up with the
knowledge and experience which I have acquired by dint of constant
application. Thus far they have been neither approved nor censured
by the royal Audiencia, in virtue of the royal decree which your
Majesty addressed to that body, that they should frame and arrange
some ordinances, keeping in mind the articles of the late governor
Don Pedro Manuel Arandía, and those of the reverend father in Christ
the bishop of Nueva Caseres; [65] but as the said ordinances cannot
be framed without [incurring] the resentment of the ministers of
doctrinas, and opposing their despotism and their designs (which aim
at the overthrow of the ordinances which I composed), that court has
left the matter in suspense for more than three years. And it will
remain in this condition, at the pleasure of the senior auditor in the
said Audiencia, on whom alone it depends, unless the efforts of those
zealous ministers Don Manuel Galvan and the above-mentioned Don Simon
de Anda, and those which I have exerted in the duties of my office, can
secure the settlement of a business of so great importance--in which
are included the two points which I have already mentioned, the trade
with the Indians, and their instruction in the Castilian language.
There is another matter not less important, the reduction of the
villages and houses of Indians into parishes [debajo de Campana],
which I have continually recommended, and still urge; for I am of
opinion that without such reduction we shall have neither Christians
nor good vassals, as it is impossible for the Indians, while dispersed,
to be instructed in the mysteries of the Catholic religion. Living,
as most of them do, without government either spiritual or temporal,
they readily abandon both their religion and their vassalage, as
experience has proved. This would be corrected by the said reduction,
and, as a result, the Indians would become more civilized; they would
go to church frequently, the children would attend the schools, and
their instruction in the Castilian language would be facilitated,
and with it our trade. If schools for the instruction of boys and
girls were established in the chief towns of the provinces, as I
recommended to the superior government, religion and the Christian
church would flourish in these valuable dominions--whose natives are
susceptible of great religious and social progress, if zeal and care
be displayed for that which has hitherto been neglected.
As for the royal interests in these islands, I have the satisfaction
of having sent to your Majesty a work entitled, "Demonstration of the
deplorable and wretched condition of these Philipinas islands," etc.;
and another containing seven demonstrations [66] showing the products
yielded by these dominions and the expenditures of your Majesty
therein; and the great retrenchments of these, and the increase [of
revenues], which might be established--which would reach every year
the amount of more than one million, three hundred thousand pesos,
without including the increase of the tributes or counting the present
receipts of this royal treasury. In regard to these two works, however
great an outcry may be made by the indignation which the religious
have conceived against me on account of the advantages of which they
would be deprived by the [royal] approbation of the second work, I
trust that the royal and just mind of your Majesty will be gratified
by the zeal with which I have discovered the "philosopher's stone"
with which these islands can yield to your Majesty more than what
their maintenance has cost for two hundred and three years.
In the present report I have expressed myself at some length, bringing
in the points just mentioned because I think that they help to a more
intelligent understanding of the two most important matters, the trade
of the Spaniards with the Indians, and the knowledge by the latter of
the Spanish language. To understand better the ideas of the ministers
of doctrinas, it only remains for me to say, through love for the
truth, that among them there are some religious of exemplary virtue,
who are included [in my censure only] in what concerns their spiritual
administration, in other matters fulfilling [their obligation of]
obedience to their superiors, and not meddling with worldly affairs;
but I cannot avoid giving, in conclusion, a brief account of the
manner in which the ministries are filled in their chapter-sessions.
The factions among the religious are notorious, and sometimes
scandalous; and they are engaged during the entire year in activities
for the chapter-session. The faction which gains the upper hand shares
among its adherents all the ministries which have the right to vote,
and those of the greatest profit and ease; and the rest are distributed
among those of the opposite faction, who go as exiles to the mountains,
and especially to the missions. This is the reason why so few souls
are converted among the pagans; because no longer are selected for
missionaries the religious who have a vocation [for that work],
and zeal, but those who have no influential friends and those who
are unable to attend the chapter-sessions.
The provincial-elect supports those of his faction, on account of the
importance to him of their votes for the next chapter; and he overlooks
or permits more than what is right. He makes--with ostentation,
and with greater authority than that of a bishop--the visitation of
the ministries under him; and even if the Indians complain of any
extortion, it is not corrected except when the religious [in that
village] belongs to the opposite faction. Some complaints reach
the tribunals of this city, and, however justified they may be, the
provincial does not punish them, except when that suits the interests
of his faction; but there are very few who complain, because it is
an article of faith, so to speak, among the Indians that the father
ministers possess an absolute power and dominion, which compels
them to endure or perform whatever the fathers command them. [67]
And since in each province, even though it may be of wide extent and
contain many villages, there is no Spaniard save the alcalde, and he
also fears the said fathers, they are despots; and the Indians are
unable to do anything save what their father minister tells them to
do. For these reasons, the entire secular government of these provinces
remains at the disposal and pleasure of the curas of doctrinas, whose
maxim is that which the religious orders most observe, as well as
their provincial superiors. In order to fill that office, they give
up administering the Indians, but at the end of the provincialate
they return to the said administration, in which the same despotism
belongs to them. This is absolutely without remedy, and will be
so while the curas of doctrinas, besides what I have already said,
cannot be subjected to the visitation of the ordinaries. If that were
the case, they would prevent any ecclesiastic from taking part in
secular affairs, and from oppressing the Indians--not allowing them
to compel the natives, contrary to the ordinances of the provinces,
to supply fish for the support of the cura; or to pound the rice (in
which they employ the young Indian women); or to furnish the other
polos or tanorías which they have established, contrary to the laws and
the said Ordinances. The ordinaries would also prevent the frequent
abuse of their causing the sick to be carried to the church in order
to give them the viaticum--as is done notwithstanding the Ordinances
and many royal decrees which prohibit this; they would take pains to
see that the indulgences of the bull [of the Crusade] were preached;
they would visit the brotherhoods and the confraternities. They would
take inventory of the incomes of the respective churches, according
to the laws of the royal patronage, in order to know how they are
spent, in regard to which also I have advanced what your Majesty
will find in the expediente for the wine monopoly. They would keep
close watch over the schools, to see that instruction be given in
the Spanish language. They would restrain the occupation of some
religious in the business of trading; and trade would become free
to the Spaniards, who thus would have the opportunity which hitherto
they have lacked for trafficking in the provinces. With this traffic
the Indians would become accustomed to dealings and intercourse with
the Spaniards, whose name is now most odious to them; for by this
means their curas keep them in greater subjection--if it is not,
indeed, a sort of vassalage; it goes so far as to dominate the wills
of the Indians, and to make them as hostile to the Spaniards as,
in general, the religious are. Finally, with the said visitation of
the ordinaries, and the subjection to it of the curas of doctrinas,
a remedy would be provided for almost all the abuses and the usages
that are practiced in the ministries--which are today the same that
were related to your Majesty by the venerable Bishop Palafox, which
appear in his arguments in favor of the secular clergy--the reverend
bishops proceeding with the pastoral zeal which without doubt would
actuate them if they were not members of the orders, and with harmony
and agreement with the government as vice-patron. For, with the two
branches [of the government] united, having the same object, and
punctually observing not only the visitation but the law of the royal
patronage in the presentation or removal of curas, it is very certain
that the Indians would be relieved of heavy burdens; the religious
would not be so despotic; and they would devote themselves to the
care of their parishioners in spiritual affairs, without meddling
in secular matters. The good government of the provinces would be
established; trade with the Indians would be introduced and promoted;
and by means of this trade, and of instruction in the Spanish language,
mutual kind feeling would be engendered between the two peoples,
and there would be an end to the detestation with which one regards
the other. Above all, Sire, it would be known that your Majesty is the
sovereign of these islands, in which, it can be asserted, the religious
do not recognize your Majesty; for they observe or heed hardly any
of the laws, the royal decrees, and the Ordinances which regulate,
the above-mentioned matters. At the same time, they are exceedingly
jealous and exacting that all the laws which treat of advantages,
stipends, and contributions to them shall be executed.
But even all that is here mentioned will not be enough for the
amendment of the many evils which demand it, unless all [the officials]
are encouraged and animated by the [right] spirit in the governor of
these islands, on whose good or evil conduct depends the good or the
bad behavior of almost all the people who compose this colony. This
government has in its charge a multitude of affairs, which on account
of their extent overtax the ability of one person alone, and on this
account they are entrusted to many--but with this distinction, that
when the governor is able, assiduous in his duties, vigorous, and just
in his dealings (traits which unfortunately have been seldom seen in
these islands for many years past), such also are those who assist
him; and they take pains to secure his approval as much as they fear
to displease him. But when the governor is a man of limited ability,
indolent, or dominated by avarice (which is most frequently the case),
all his associates have these same failings and vices. Moreover,
all business then depends on the governor's secretary; nothing is
attended to, save what yields [him] some profit, and everything
is neglected which concerns your Majesty, the government of the
provinces, the proper management of the royal exchequer, and the
public welfare. In these matters, the earnest zeal of neither the
fiscal nor of some other upright ministers is sufficient, for since
they are such they oppose what is unjust, and obtain no other result
than many vexations, and the grief of seeing that these islands are
going headlong to their final ruin. Hence it may be concluded that
only a governor who is able, industrious, and very disinterested,
in conjunction with reverend bishops of like zeal, assiduity, and
disinterestedness, can constitute the effectual check by which the
curas of doctrinas may be kept within bounds, by subjecting them to
the [episcopal] visitation, and to the enforcement of the laws of
the royal patronage; and by stationing in the provinces alcaldes who
are men of honor and who fear God, who will be vigilant for the laws
and ordinances--as they will be if, free from uncertainty as to their
authority, they have no cause to fear the religious. But, on the other
hand, if they have cause for such fear they will neglect everything,
and only busy themselves in what encourages their covetousness, with
acts of extortion and violence which seldom are punished, because they
are hidden in the residencias; and because the governor, who regularly
sells these offices to the persons who give most for them, permits
their acts of injustice, which he would punish if the appointment
were a disinterested one and in accordance with the royal intention
of your Majesty. By these facts it seems to be demonstrated that the
main root of all these evils is in the inefficiency, indolence, and,
most of all, the covetousness of the governors; and that the remedy
for them lies alone in the division of the [governmental] business,
as I have already stated, or else, if this division be not made, that
the governors be men who are able, assiduous, and disinterested. For
such will cause all the members [of the government] to follow the
example of their head; and the laws, the royal decrees, and the
ordinances will be obeyed, so that your Majesty may be recognized as
sovereign lord of these dominions, and a thoroughly good government
will be established which can preserve these Christian lands, with
benefit to the royal treasury, as I have had the honor to represent to
your Majesty. For otherwise it does not seem probable that the royal
orders of your Majesty will be productive of results, for experience
shows that such has not been the case hitherto with the many pious
and excellent provisions contained in the wise laws of the Indias,
and with the repeated royal decrees by which, at various times,
those laws have been confirmed. These have not yet been fulfilled,
nor will they be, unless disinterestedness rules, and unless there
is punishment for covetousness--for this is what ruins and upsets
everything, and, by force of defying and insulting upright ministers,
causes the latter to live without freedom to execute justice, and to
render the worthy tribunal of the Audiencia useless and inactive; for
the iniquitous proceedings of some governors, and especially of the
present one, have reduced this court to the utmost humiliation, as the
numerous transactions of which I have given account to your Majesty
prove. May God preserve the Catholic royal person of your Majesty
for many years, as is needful for the monarchy. Manila, May 1, 1767.
[Francisco Leandro de Viana, fiscal of the royal Audiencia.]