[1] This résumé of events during the latter part of the eighteenth
century is compiled from Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas, ii,
pp. 66-70, 115-140, 229-382; that work is mainly annalistic. Of those
which we have used in former volumes, Murillo Velarde's stops at 1716,
and Concepción and Zúñiga at the siege of Manila (evidently for the
prudential reasons, connected with persons still living, which Zúñiga
frankly assigns in his own case); Montero y Vidal is therefore the
only writer now available who follows the thread of secular events
connectedly throughout the later history of the islands. Wherever
possible, we have used his own language--which, in long citations,
or special phrases, is distinguished by quotation marks.
[2] On March 27, 1765, Viana declared (Respuestas, fol. 113) that
the natives of Pangasinan ought to be compelled to pay all arrears
of tribute due since the last collection made before the English
invasion; that the village notables should not be exempted; and that
each tribute ought to pay two reals extra to reimburse the government
for the costs of putting down the rebellion in that province. Later
(fol. 134), he estimates that the tributes in that province are the
same as before the war; "for, although it is certain that a great
many of the insurgents died, it is also evident that the reduction
[of the province] prevents the concealment of the tributes which was
formerly practiced by the heads of barangay."
[3] Puch specified the alcaldes-mayor (VOL. XLIX, p. 337, note
208)--cf. what Viana says of those officials in his "Memorial"
(VOL. XLVIII), chapter v, sections 34-38--but his remarks were
considered as reflections on higher officials.
[4] Ferrando (v, pp. 9-16) says that Puch was engaged, by order of
his provincial, Father Bernardo Pazaengos (more correctly written
Pazuengos), and at the urgent requests of other pious persons,
in conducting a sort of mission in the city, "with the object of
correcting the many vices which had been introduced into Manila
during the invasion by the English;" and in one of those sermons he
made the utterances which brought him into trouble. The Audiencia
resolved to notify the provincials of all the orders and the dean of
the cathedral that they must order their subordinates to conform to
the laws in regard to their preaching; and the Jesuit provincial in
particular, that he also take care that Puch should give satisfaction
to the Audiencia and the public for his reflections on government
officials. Pazuengos laid the case before the heads of Santo Tomás
university, and, as their decision was in his support, he answered
the Audiencia that he had ordered the priest hereafter to obey the
law cited by the Audiencia; but that he declared Puch to be "immune
and exempt from blame" in regard to the remarks made in the sermon
before mentioned, and protested that he did not intend to censure in
the least the acts of the Audiencia. He added that, if this were not
enough, he would send Puch to the Mindanao missions. This aroused
Viana's anger, first "against the Jesuits, and afterward against
all the other orders; and he finally issued an official opinion
filled with calumnies and invectives, which might rather be called
a defamatory libel." At this all the orders took up the matter,
especially resenting Viana's attitude because they had supported the
government so loyally during the English invasion: the superiors held
a special conference in the convent at Tondo, and agreed to draw up a
remonstrance to the king against the fiscal's unjust attack on them,
demanding that he investigate the whole affair and decide it according
to justice. Ferrando condemns Puch's imprudent remarks, but regrets
that the matter had not been settled by his superior, instead of
dragging the other orders into the quarrel and thus eventually causing
trouble at court for all of them, especially for the Jesuits. Ferrando
adds (p. 24): "We have also another key to explain the hostility which
certain persons at that time manifested toward the religious orders
in these provinces over seas, in the sinister Pleiad of ministers who
then surrounded the Catholic king. Aranda, Roda, Campománes, Azpuru,
and Floridablanca all had connections, more or less evident and
close, with the French encyclopedists and philosophers of that time,
and all emulated Tanucci in regard to regalist doctrines"--that is,
maintaining the rights and prerogatives of the state as against the
church (Gray's Velázquez Dictionary).
In regard to this last statement, cf. Manuel Danvila y Collado, in his
Reinado de Carlos III, ii, pp. 561-564: "Religious intolerance, still
great in the reign of Felipe V, tended to extinction in succeeding
reigns. In the almost half a century during which he occupied the
throne, there were in España twelve inquisitors-general; and such
was the hold which the Holy Office possessed in public opinion that,
in order to entertain the new king, a solemn auto de fe was held in
1701, which he declined to attend. Nevertheless, he protected the
Inquisition, because Louis XIV had advised him to support it as a
means of maintaining tranquillity in the country; he availed himself
of it to inspire respect for the oath of fidelity which was given
to the new monarch; he repressed the Jewish worship which, again
and secretly, had been propagated in España after the annexation
of Portugal; but it was the general opinion that rigor against the
heretics diminished after the advent of the house of Bourbon. The
sect of Molinos was persecuted and punished with severity; even
Macanaz, the enthusiastic defender of the royal prerogatives, was
banished from España, for political rather than religious motives;
and the third volume of the Historia civil de España, by Fray
Nicolás de Jesús Belando, who dared to defend the regalist idea,
was prohibited. These rigorous proceedings diminished during the
reign of Fernando VI, who permitted Macanaz to return to España,
and who established as a principle that the coming of the Bourbons
to the throne of the Españas was to produce a complete modification
of the system of the Holy Office ... Even the Concordats of 1737 and
1753, by recognizing the royal prerogatives of the crown of España,
authorizing the taxes on the estates of the clergy, and reforming
various points of discipline, allowed the admission of some ideas
which ignorance or superstition had until then deemed irreligious or
favorable to impiety. The Diario de los literatos also enlightened many
people in regard to knowledge of the books which were being published,
and the judgment which ought to be formed of them; and the weekly
sheets gave acquaintance with foreign works which no one knew of, and
which were a preparation for the interesting literary transformation
of the epoch of Fernando VI; while at the same time the rigors of the
Inquisition were relaxed, in harmony with the change which had been
produced in public opinion. Indeed, from that time the Holy Office
occupied itself only with persecuting the Jesuits and the Free Masons
(who had been excommunicated by the bull of Clement XII of April 28,
1738, renewed on May 18, 1751).... There certainly is no room for
doubt that, partly through the progress of public opinion and partly
through the knowledge which was obtained here of the works of Diderot
and D'Alambert--and especially of the Encyclopedia, begun in 1751,
and concluded in 1772--it became the fashion and people were proud
to have acquaintance with the tendency of the philosophy proclaimed
by the French freethinkers--but they did not comprehend that this
philosophy necessarily led to revolution, and with it to the loss
of all property rights (which was the foundation of its influence
in society), and the annihilation of all political influence within
the state.... The Spanish nobility were seduced by the philosophic
or Encyclopedistic propaganda of France."
The official opinion by Viana regarding the Puch episode may be found
in a MS. volume entitled, Respuestas dadas por el fiscal de S. M.,
fol. 22v-26; it is apparently Viana's own original record of his
official opinions delivered to the Audiencia during the year 1765, and
is in the possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago. This book furnishes
valuable information regarding conditions in the islands after the
departure of the British forces.
[5] Le Gentil (who sojourned in Manila from 1766 to 1768) relates
in his Voyage (t. ii, pp. 199, etc.) various incidents to show this;
and Raón even displayed to Le Gentil the magnificent presents which he
had received from the officers of a French ship which came to Manila
in evasion of the prohibition of foreign trade there. Raón was also
condemned, in his residencia, for having revealed to the Jesuits,
beforehand, for a large sum of money, the news that their expulsion
had been decreed, and for other acts of disobedience to the royal
commands regarding that expulsion.
[6] This date is incorrect, for the fiscal gave his assent to the
manufacture of barrillas on February 16, 1765. This is shown by
the entry for that date in Viana's Respuestas (MS.), fol. 89; he
makes the express stipulation that these barrillas be used only for
petty payments, and not for important transactions. From fol. 108v
it appears that these coins were immediately made, but in too great
haste, and were called in by the authorities, late in March.
[7] See Jagor's description of the great volcano of Mayon and his
ascent of it (September, 1859), with a list of its known eruptions,
in his Reisen, pp. 75-84. Cf. Le Gentil's description of it and of
this eruption (Voyage, ii, pp. 13-19); he cites at length a letter
from the then alcalde of Albay. Its summit was considered inaccessible
until two young Scotchmen made the ascent in April, 1858.
[8] Santa Justa belonged to the Order of Escuelas Pías (see
VOL. XLVIII, pp. 52-54, note 10). See list of writings by this prelate,
in Montero y Vidal's Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 228, 229, 318; also
in Vindel's Catálogo biblioteca filipina, pp. 380-389; they are mainly
pastoral letters, and memorials to the Spanish government.
[9] When Raón insisted on enforcing the royal rights of patronage,
the orders all resisted him, repeating the arguments which they had
alleged to Arandía in the like case. The Dominicans declared that
they could not obey the governor's commands until they could receive
orders from their superiors in Europe; Raón refused to wait, and
the provincial declared that his curas would rather surrender their
ministries, but would continue to serve therein until the governor,
as vice-patron, should command that these be surrendered to other
curas. "This was sufficient to make the archbishop hasten to deliver
to the secular clergy, first the ministries of the Parián and Binondo,
and afterwards those of the province of Bataan, notwithstanding that
he could have no cause for complaint against our religious, who
without resistance or opposition had accepted his diocesan visit,
as he himself confessed in letters to the king and the supreme
pontiff. He found a pretext for proceeding to the secularization
of the curacies in Bataan, in the banishment of the Jesuits, whose
expulsion from the islands occurred at the same time as the events
which we are relating." "As the ministries in the island of Negros
were left vacant in consequence of the expulsion of the Jesuits, the
governor addressed himself to our provincial, asking for ministers
to occupy those vacant posts. The latter excused himself from this,
on account of the lack of religious; and the archbishop made this a
pretext for informing and counseling the governor that, since the
Dominicans had offered their resignation of the doctrinas in the
province of Bataan, on account of the controversy over the right of
patronage, the religious who were ministering in that district could
be sent to the island of Negros. He offered to provide secular priests
in their place, and availed himself of this opportunity to despoil our
religious of the curacies or ministries of Bataan. In effect, this was
done; and our religious were compelled to abandon to the seculars this
province of the archbishopric, in order to go to learn a new dialect
and minister to strange peoples in the inland of Negros." "The bishop
of Cebú had no secular priests capable of replacing the Jesuits (as
deserving as persecuted), who were administering the island of Negros
and the province of Iloilo,... consequently, our religious began to
minister in the villages of Iloilo, Himaras, Mandurriao and Molog,
in the island of Panay; and those of Ilog, Cabancalan, Jimamaylan,
and Guilgonan, in that of Negros. With great repugnance the province
took charge of an administration of which the Jesuit fathers had been
despoiled in so unworthy a manner; and not only on this account but
on that of the great difficulties which arose from this separation
of provinces and villages, in the regular visiting of them and in
intercourse and the supply of provisions, our fathers abandoned those
ministries at the end of some years; and in the meantime the bishop
of Cebú undertook to transfer their administration to the secular
priests. Thus it was that by the year 1776 our religious had departed
from all those villages." (Ferrando, Hist. PP. dominicos, v, pp. 39,
42, 43.)
[10] "All the curacies of the banished Jesuits, those of the Dominicans
and Recollects, and those of the Augustinians in Pampanga, were handed
over to the secular clergy. In order to fill so many curacies with
ministers for instruction, the archbishop was obliged to ordain so many
Indians that it became one of the most reprehensible abuses that can
be committed by a prelate. On account of this it was a common saying
in Manila that rowers for the pancos could not be found, because the
archbishop had ordained them all." (Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario,
ii, p. 279.)
The result was a great disappointment to the archbishop himself,
as may be seen by his exhortations and pastoral letters addressed to
them; some of these may be found in Ferrando, Hist. PP. dominicos,
v, pp. 51-61. He recounts their ignorance, neglect of duty, sloth,
vicious practices, cruel treatment of the natives, and even thefts
from the churches entrusted to their care; he reproaches, exhorts,
commands, and threatens, and calls them to account before God for
their transgressions. From Ferrando (pp. 59-60) we translate Santa
Justa's "Instructions to the secular clergy" in 1771; it will appear
later in this volume.
[11] Forrest makes the following statements about the laws and
government of the Mindanao Moros (Voyage to New Guinea, pp. 277, 278):
"Though laws are similar in most countries, each has some peculiar:
the principal of Magindano are these. For theft, the offender loses
the right hand, or pays threefold, just as among the Mahometans
of Atcheen. For maiming, death: adultery, death to both parties:
fornication, a fine. (The industrious Chinese seem to be excluded from
the benefit of law: those in power often forcing kangans upon them,
and making them yearly pay heavy interest. The ordinary punishment of
incontinence in female slaves to their masters, is cutting off their
hair; which was a custom in Germany, in former days.) Inheritance
goes in equal shares to sons, and half to daughters; the same to
grandchildren. Where are no children, whole brothers and sisters
inherit. If there are no brothers or sisters, or nephews, or nieces,
or first cousins, the Sultan claims it for the poor. It is the same,
ascending even to the grand-uncle. If a man put away his wife,
she gets one third of the furniture; also money, in proportion to
his circumstances. A child's name is not given by priests, as in
the Molucca islands, and in other Mahometan countries. The father
assembles his friends, feasts them; shaves off a little lock of
hair from the infant head, puts it into a bason, and then buries it,
or commits it to the water.
"The form of government at Magindano, is somewhat upon the feudal
system, and in some measure monarchical. Next to the Sultan is Rajah
Moodo, his successor elect. Then Mutusingwood, the superintendant
of polity, and captain Laut, overseer of the Sultan's little navy,
are both named by the Sultan. There are also six Manteries, or judges
named by the Sultan, and six Amba Rajahs, or asserters of the rights
of the people: [elsewhere, Forrest calls them "protectors of the
people's privileges"]; their office is hereditary to the eldest
son. Although the Sultan seems to act by and with the advice and
consent of the Datoos, not only of his own family, but of others;
yet, this compliance is perhaps only to save appearances. When he can,
he will doubtless be arbitrary."
[12] Montero y Vidal gives no date for this expedition, but the
reader would infer that it occurred about 1766. Later, he ascribes
this proceeding to Governor Basco; so he has either confused his data,
or neglected to state whether (as is possible) the pirates were twice
expelled from Mamburao.
[13] "Plan of the present condition of the city of Manila, and of its
environs and suburbs. Explanation.--A. Royal fort. B. Small bastion of
San Francisco. C. San Juan. D. Santa Ysabel. E. San Eugenio. F. San
Joseph. G. Ancient redoubt. H. Bastion of the foundry. I. A kind of
ravelin. J. Bastion of San Andres or Carranza. K. Bastion of San
Lorenzo of Dilao. L. Work of the reverse. M. Bastion and gate of
the Parian. N. Bastion of San Gabriel. O. Bastion and gate of Santo
Domingo. P. Bastion and gate of the magazines. Q. Bastion or stronghold
of the fortin. R. Royal alcaiceria of San Fernando. S. The cathedral
church. T. San Domingo. V. San Francisco. X. San Agustin. Y. The
church of the former Society of Jesus. Z. San Nicolas de
Recoletos. 1. San Juan de Dios. 2. Royal chapel. 3. Santa
Clara. 4. Santa Ysabel. 5. Santa Potenciana. 6. Beaterio of
the former Society, and now of Buena Enseñanza [i.e., good
teaching]. 7. Beaterio of Santa Cathalina. 9. College of San
Phelipe. 10. College of the former San Joseph. 11. College of
Santo Thomàs. 12. Royal hospital. 14. Convent, parish church, and
the capital village of the province of Tondo. 15. Parish church of
the village of Binondo. 16. Parish church of the village of Santa
Cruz. 17. Parish church of Quyapo. 18. Convent and parish church of San
Sebastian. 19. Convent and parish church of the Parian. 20. Chapel
of San Anton, a chapel of ease. 21. Convent and parish church
of Dilao. 22. Parish church of San Miguel. 23. Hospital of San
Lazaro. 24. Ruined convent of San Juan de Bagombaya. 25. Hospital
of San Gabriel. Here the Sangleys are treated. 26. Convalescent
hospital of San Juan de Dios. 27. Mayjalique, a former estate of the
Society of Jesus. 28. Palace where the Governor resides. 29. Royal
Audiencia and accountancy. 30. Houses of cabildo. 31. Battery of the
English. 32. Spanish battery." [Below is given the scale to which the
map is drawn: 700 varas to 13 cm. The size of the original MS. map
is 94 × 64 cm.]
[14] Cf. Anda's earlier management of revenues: "Anda insisted that his
successor should review the accounts of his administration; and the
result of the expert examination was, that in spite of the war which
Anda had maintained, and of the fact that he had paid for whatever
expenditures were necessary, he had consumed only the comparatively
insignificant sum of 610,225 pesos. Thus out of the 3,000,000 pesos
which he received by the ship 'Filipino,' the large amount of more
than 2,000,000 found its way into the treasury." (Montero y Vidal,
Hist. de Filipinas, ii, pp. 115, 116.)
On January 14, 1765, Viana rendered an opinion (see his Respuestas,
fol. 67v-74) regarding the protest made by the citizens of Manila
against the royal order that they must contribute 180,000 pesos
for the king's needs; he rebukes their selfishness, timidity, and
lack of loyalty, but advises the governor to convene the citizens,
and ask them for spontaneous and loyal offerings to meet the needs
of the royal treasury. The contribution demanded was to be repaid
by lading-space on the Acapulco galleon, with which arrangement
the citizens were dissatisfied; but Viana refutes their objections,
and reminds the Audiencia of the expenses for troops, administration,
etc., which are necessary for the protection and defense of those very
citizens. In this document, Viana states that of the money saved from
the treasure brought to Manila by the "Filipino," 1,000,000 pesos was
distributed among the obras pías, and half as much to the citizens; and
that later Torre ordered that all of it be handed over to the latter.
[15] See also Le Gentil's account of the earthquakes which he
experienced while at Manila (Voyage, ii, pp. 360-366). He states that
the Spaniards distinguished two kinds of earthquakes: terræ moto,
a trembling which "makes itself felt from below upward;" and temblor,
when the trembling is felt in undulations, like those of the sea.
A list of the earthquakes which the Philippine Islands (and especially
Manila) have suffered was made by Alexis Perrey, and published in
the Mémoires of the Academy of Dijon, in 1860. (Jagor, Reisen, p. 6.)
[16] See, as an instance of this, the citation made by Mas (Informe,
i, part ii of "Historia," pp. 18, 19) from a MS. by Martínez Zúñiga,
complaining of Anda's conduct toward the friars. Mas, however,
cordially endorses most of Anda's conduct while in command in
Filipinas.
[17] See this document, post (Anda's Memorial). Montero y Vidal cites
a section from it, and compares several paragraphs of another one with
the royal instructions, to show their similarity; see his Hist. de
Filipinas, ii, pp. 239-244.
[18] Fray Miguel Garcia, bishop of Nueva Segovia, died at Vigan,
on November 11, 1779.
[19] The present lists of the islands contain no such name as
Balambangan. As Montero y Vidal says that it was next to Cagayán
de Joló (now Cagayán Sulu) it may be the islet now called Mandah,
just north of the former; its area is one-half a square mile.
[20] When the Chinese were expelled from Manila in 1758, many of them
went to reside in Joló, where some 4,000 were found at the time of
Cencelly's expedition; these took sides with the Joloans against the
Spaniards, and organized an armed troop to fight the latter. (Montero
y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 265.)
[21] "The Datos at once feared the vengeance of the English, and
declared Tenteng unworthy of the rights of a Joloan and an outlaw from
the kingdom with all his followers. The Sultan wrote to the governor of
Zamboanga, assuring him that neither himself nor the Datos had taken
part in this transgression; and he asked the governor to send him
the Curia filípica and the Empresas políticas of Saavedra, in order
that he might be able to answer the charges which the English would
make against him. (This sultan Israel had studied in the college
of San José at Manila.)" Tenteng repaired to Joló with his booty
and the captured English vessel; "these were arguments in his favor
so convincing that he was at once admitted." He surrendered to the
sultan all the military supplies, besides $2,000 in money, and divided
the spoils with the other datos; they received him with the utmost
enthusiasm, and raised the ban from his head. "About the year 1803,
in which the squadron of General Álava returned to the Peninsula,
the English again took possession of the island of Balanbangan; and
it appears that they made endeavors to establish themselves in Joló,
and were instigating the sultan and datos to go out and plunder the
Visayas, telling the Joloans that they themselves only cared to seize
Manila and the Acapulko galleon.... In 1805, the English embarked
on thirteen vessels and abandoned Balanbangan." (Mas, Informe, i,
part ii of "Historia," p. 16.)
Montero y Vidal says (pp. 380-382) that the English attacked
Zamboanga (1803) on the way to Balambangan, but were repulsed with
great loss. They had at the latter place three ships of the East
India Company, and five ships belonging to private persons; the
garrison included 300 whites, 700 Sepoys under European officers,
and 200 Chinese. "In a short time the greater part of these forces
abandoned Balambangan to go to Batavia." "The English, after burning
the village and the fort, abandoned Balambangan, on December 15,
1806, doubtless on account of the insignificance of that island."
[22] Regarding Anda's birth, see VOL. XLIX, p. 132, note 74. According
to Montero y Vidal (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 281), he studied at four
different schools (jurisprudence, at Alcalá) taking several degrees,
including that of doctor in law. He opened an office in Madrid, and
attained great fame as an advocate. In 1755 he received an appointment
to the Audiencia of Manila, of which post he took possession on July
21, 1761.
Anda was succeeded ad interim by Pedro Sarrio, "who found himself
obliged to compel the obras pías to lend some money to the government"
(Mas, Informe, i, part ii of "Historia," p. 21).
[23] A full account of this controversy, with the text of some of the
official documents therein, may be found in Mas, ut supra, pp. 23-28.
[24] By a royal decree of January 12, 1777, it was ordained that the
Indians should devote themselves to the cultivation of flax and hemp;
this must have originated from a suggestion by Anda.
[25] Zúñiga thus relates the result of this experiment in the village
of San Pedro Tunasan (Estadismo, i, pp. 29, 30): "The owner of these
lands is the college of San José in Manila, which has there a good
stone house, and a Spanish manager who attends to the collection of
the rent from the tenants. The land is quite fertile; it produces
abundance of mangas, cocoanuts, oranges, lemons, camias, balimbins,
buyo, sugar, and various other kinds of trees and garden produce. Also
there are a good many mulberry trees, and silk is made in the farm
buildings. When the Economic Society was established in Manila, when
Señor Basco was governor, the rector of the college gave orders that
all the land adjoining the farm should be planted with mulberry trees;
and, as this tree grows as easily as a weed in this country, in a short
time were seen around the house extensive and beautiful plantations
of these trees, which could produce an abundant harvest of excellent
silk. Silkworms were imported from China, and it was seen that they
multiplied readily. Not only on this estate, but in all directions,
the promotion of this industry was taken up with ardor. A considerable
quantity of silk was made; but on selling it the owners found that
they lost money in cultivating this article. When a calculation was
made of what the land which the mulberry trees occupied could produce,
it was found that even when it was planted with nothing more than
camotes it yielded them more than the silk did; add to this the care
of the worms and the cost of manufacture, and it will be found that
those who devote themselves to its culture must inevitably lose. In
other days the promotion of the silk industry had been considered
at Manila; and an old printed sermon has been found, written by an
Augustinian father, who stated therein the measures which had been
taken to introduce into the Filipinas islands an industry which
could be very profitable for them. The father preacher exhorted the
inhabitants to devote themselves to an occupation which could be so
useful to the nation; but those who directed the Economic Society
of Friends of the Country took good care to keep that quiet, so that
the farmers might not be discouraged by seeing that in other days the
cultivation of this product had been attempted, but had been abandoned
because, without doubt, no benefit resulted to the producers. But,
no matter how many precautions were taken, and efforts made to
persuade those who might devote themselves to this industry that
much profit could be obtained from it, every one abandoned it. The
rector of San José alone continued to manufacture the silk that was
yielded from the mulberry trees which he had planted, although at
last he had to abandon his project. The silkworms multiply well in
Filipinas, and are in a condition to make silk throughout the year;
and, as the mulberry trees are always in leaf, silk is yielded all
the time. There is practically not a month [in the year] when some
silk cannot be obtained--very different from España, where it is
necessary to stop gathering silk throughout the winter, as the trees
have no leaves. Notwithstanding all these advantages, as we are so near
China, which furnishes this commodity very cheaply, it cannot yield
any profit in these islands--where, besides this, the daily wages
which are paid to workmen are so large, and what they accomplish is
so little, on account of their natural laziness, that it is not easy
to push not only this but even any other industry in this country."
[26] Acordado, literally, meaning "decision;" lo acordado, "decree
of a tribunal enforcing the observance of prior proceedings." Mas
says that these magistrates were appointed in imitation of those who
performed such functions in America.
[27] See Jagor's note on this association (Reisen, pp. 307, 308).
[28] "Only one plant of those that were carried to the Filipinas
Islands was introduced, and its cultivation directed, by the
government; this was the tobacco. Perhaps there is no other which
is more enjoyed by the natives, or more productive of revenue, than
is this plant. So important for España is its utility that it alone,
if his Majesty's government promotes its maintenance intelligently,
can become a greater resource than all the other incomes of the
colony." "Tobacco is the most important branch of the commerce
of these islands; its leaves, which in all the provinces are of
excellent quality, in some of them reach such perfection that they
cannot be distinguished from those of Havana. The government has
reserved to itself the right to sell tobacco; its manufacture is free
only in the Visayas, but in all the island of Luzon this is subject
to the vigilance of the government. Nevertheless, the proprietors
or growers are permitted to cultivate it in Pampanga, Gapan, Nueva
Ecija, and in the province of Cagayan; but the government buys from
them the entire crop at contract prices." "To the far-seeing policy
of the captain-general Don José Basco is due the establishment of
this revenue, one of the richest in the islands. Its direct result,
a short time after it had been established, was that the obligations of
the colony and its political existence, far from depending, as before,
on an allotment made in its favor by the capital, were advantageously
secured; and in the succeeding years this branch of the revenue
displayed a very notable increase, with well-grounded indications
of the greater one of which it was susceptible. In 1781 this income
was established; and at the beginning of 1782 it was extended to
the seventeen provinces into which the island of Luzon was then
divided. It is easy to estimate the resistance which was encountered
in establishing this revenue--not only through the effect of public
opinion, which immediately characterized the project as foolhardy,
but through the grievance which it must be to the natives and the
obstacles continually arising from the contraband trade. Certainly
it was hard to deprive the natives suddenly of the right (which they
had enjoyed until then) of cultivating without restriction a plant to
the use of which they had been accustomed from infancy, being regarded
among them as almost of prime necessity. But there was no other means,
if that worthy governor's economic idea was to be realized, than
the monopoly, which should prohibit simultaneously in the island of
Luzon the sowing and cultivation of the said plant, reducing it to the
narrow limits of certain districts, those which were most suitable for
obtaining abundant and good crops. If to this be added the necessity
imposed on the consumers of paying a higher price for a commodity
which until then had been easily obtained, we must admit that the
undertaking was exceedingly arduous and hazardous." "At the outset,
districts were set aside in which its cultivation was permitted:
Gapan, in the province of Pampanga; some districts in Cagayan, and the
little island of Marinduque--although in these last two places only an
insignificant amount was harvested. Notwithstanding the difficulties
which surround every new enterprise, from the year 1808 the net
profits which the monopoly annually produced exceeded 500,000 dollars
[duros]." (Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario, i, pp. 51, 173, 438, 439.)
See Jagor's interesting account of the tobacco monopoly (especially in
the middle of the nineteenth century), in his Reisen, pp. 257-270. One
of his notes (p. 256) states that the income from this monopoly was
$8,418,939 in the year 1866-67; another (p. 259) cites authorities to
show that tobacco was first introduced into southern China from the
Philippines, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, "probably
by way of Japan."
The idea of establishing the tobacco monopoly had been urged by Viana
in 1766 (see pp. 109, 110, post).
[29] The title given to him was "Conde de la Conquista de las islas
Batanes" ("Count of the Conquest of the Batanes islands"); and the
principal village in those islands bears the name of Basco.
[30] Regarding the Chinese in Filipinas, see (besides many documents
in this series) the following works: Mallat, Les Philippines (Paris,
1846), ii, chapters xxii, xxvii, xxix; Jagor, Reisen, pp. 271-279;
Rafael Comenge's Cuestiones filipinas, part i, "Los Chinos" (Manila,
1894); F. W. Williams, "The problem of Chinese immigration in further
Asia," in Report, 1899, of American Historical Association (Washington,
1900), i, pp. 171-204; China en Filipinas (Manila, 1889), articles
written mainly by Pablo Feced; Los Chinos en Filipinas (Manila, 1886).
[31] When the tobacco monopoly was established in Cagayan, the natives
so resented this measure "that many of them abandoned the province
and went to Manila" (Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario, i, p. 438).
[32] Agustin Pedro Blaquier (Blasquier) was born at Barcelona in 1747,
and entered the Augustinian convent there at the age of twenty-one. In
1772 he arrived at Manila, where he completed his studies; and was
then sent to Ilocos. Later, he held important offices in his order;
he was made assistant to the bishop of Nueva Segovia (1795), and
succeeded to that office four years later. He died at Ilagan while
visiting his diocese, December 30, 1803. He was of scholarly tastes,
possessed a fine library, and left various MS. writings.
[33] Apparently meaning the obligation of the cura to reside in the
home belonging to the parish, provided for his use.
[34] Huerta gives his name (Estado, p. 437) as Juan Antonio Gallego or
de Santa Rosa, and Orbigo as the place of his birth (1729). He came to
the islands in 1759, and after serving in both the missions and Manila,
spent the years 1771-79 as procurator of his province to the court of
Madrid. Returning to Filipinas, he took possession of the bishopric of
Nueva Cáceres (which had been vacant during thirteen years) on April
27, 1780. In his first official visit of that diocese he showed so
much devotion and zeal that even the hardships of travel in mountains
and forests there did not prevent him from completing his task, and
he was the first bishop to set foot in the Catanduanes Islands. After
nine years of this service he was promoted to the archbishopric of
Manila, where he was beloved for his virtues. He died at Santa Ana,
on May 15, 1797. Montero y Vidal says (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 353)
that this prelate was "very peaceable, and of excellent character;
learned, and plain in his habits; on which account he had no enemies."
[35] See note 26, p. 50, ante. An opinion rendered by Viana on April
22, 1765 (Respuestas, fol. 126v, 127), shows that the institution
of the Santa Hermandad had been transplanted from Spain to the
Philippines. It seems that the "alcalde of the Hermandad," also styled
the "provincial alcalde of Manila," claimed that he ought not to be
obliged to go outside of Manila in the exercise of his office (which,
by the way, was one of those classed as saleable). The fiscal decides
that the alcalde is under obligation to act within the municipal
territory and jurisdiction of Manila, which includes all the land
within five leguas of the city; that outside that limit he may send
a suitable deputy, instead of going in person; that the laws of
the kingdom do not fix any definite limits for the jurisdiction of
the Hermandad, and that the wording of the alcalde's commission is
ambiguous in the same matter; and that the Audiencia is competent to
settle the present question. Viana therefore recommends that suitable
action be taken by that court, who are reminded that the aforesaid
alcalde receives no salary and his agents [quadrilleros] no pay,
and therefore he cannot be compelled to go outside of Manila when he
maintains and arms these men entirely at his own expense. "The said
office can never be of public utility unless it be placed on some
other footing."
[36] Montero y Vidal cites (Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 361)
the following from Fray Nicolás Becerra's Estado general de la
provincia de S. Nicolás de Tolentino de padres Agustinos descalzos
de Filipinas (Sampaloc, 1820): "Before the invasion of the Moros,
Mindoro was the storehouse of Manila, on account of the great amount
of rice harvested in it. In that epoch--truly a fortunate one for
this island, for our order, and for the State--so great was the
number of inhabitants that they formed fourteen large ministries
(curacies) and one active mission; all this was the result of the
careful attention and apostolic zeal of the Recollect fathers,
who took into their charge the furtherance of Mindoro's conquest,
at a time when its reduction had only been begun. Then came its
desolation by the Moros, leaving it without inhabitants or ministers;
and for the two ministries of Calapan and Naujan which remained, and
which this province resigned, the illustrious archbishop appointed
two clerics. These administered those parishes during twenty-nine
years, that is, until the year 1805, at which time Mindoro returned,
by special favor of the superior government, to the administration of
the Recollect fathers." Montero y Vidal also states (ut supra) that
in 1803 Aguilar created a corregidor for Mindoro, with special charge
to persuade its remaining inhabitants--who in fear of the Moros had,
years before, fled into the interior of the island--to return to
their villages on the coasts. He made his headquarters at Calapan,
the chief village of Mindoro, and soon the natives returned to their
dwellings, while the Moros seldom troubled that region.
[37] "Besides the tribute, every male Indian has to serve 40 days
in the year on the public works (pólos and services), a week for
the court of justice (tanoria), and a week as night-watch (guard
duty). The pólos, etc. consist in labor and service for state and
community purposes--the building of roads and bridges, service as
guides, etc." This requisition may, however, be commuted to a money
payment, varying according to the wealth of the province--usually
$3, but sometimes as low as $1. "The tanoria consists in a week of
service for the court of justice, which usually is limited to keeping
the building clean, guarding the prisoners, and similar light duties;
but those who in turn perform this service must spend a week in the
government building, on call. One may buy his freedom from the tanoria
also, for 3 reals; and from the patrol, for 1 3/4 reals." (Jagor,
Reisen, p. 295.)
On pp. 90, 91, Jagor says that the moneys collected for exemption and
pólos were in his time sent to Manila, and in earlier days appropriated
by the gobernadorcillos (sometimes with the connivance of the local
alcalde himself); but that they ought to be spent in public works
for the benefit of the respective communities where the money was
collected. He instances this use of it in the province of Albay (in
1840) by the alcalde Peñaranda, who spent the money thus collected for
roads, which Jagor found still tolerably good, although the apathy
of later officials had neglected to repair them when injured and to
replace worn-out bridges.
[38] Spanish, azufre; in another sentence, apparently misprinted axúcar
("sugar"). The former reading is more probably correct.
[39] Regarding the Chinese in the Philippines, see Reports of
the Philippine Commission, as follows: 1900, vol. ii (testimony
taken before the Commission; consult index of volume); 1901,
part ii, pp. 111, 112; 1903, part iii, pp. 619-631; 1904, part i,
pp. 707-711. Also the recent Census of the islands, especially vols. i
and ii. See also the works mentioned ante, p. 57, note 30.
[40] Mas says (Informe, i, part ii of "Historia," p. 37): "Marquina was
accused of selling offices through the agency of a woman; he suffered
a hard residencia, and was not permitted to depart for España except by
leaving a deposit of 50,000 pesos fuertes, with which to be responsible
for the charges made against him. At Madrid, he was sentenced to pay
40,000 pesos." Mas also states that during the terms of Basco and
Marquina (in all, fifteen years), over 1,500,000 pesos fuertes were
spent in building and arming vessels to chastise the pirates.
[41] Thus named from the barrack or sheds of San Fernando; the locality
was originally a barrio of Binondo called Santisimo Niño, destroyed
by a conflagration in the time of Basco. On this account, the spot
was appropriated by the government, in order to establish thereon
a shipyard or dock for the vintas. (Barrantes, Guerras piraticas,
p. 163.)
[42] It was Álava's expeditions which gave Father Martínez de Zúñiga
the opportunity to examine the condition of the islands which he used
so well in his Estadismo de las Islas Filipinas; for he accompanied
Álava therein, at the latter's request.
[43] "The naval department at San Blas was established to aid
the government in its efforts to occupy vacant coasts and islands
adjoining its settled provinces, especially the west coast of North
America. Arsenals, shipyards, and warehouses were established. All
orders given to expeditions passed through the hands of its
chief. It was, however, on the point of being abandoned, when
Father Junípero Serra's suggestions in 1773, on its usefulness in
supplying the Californias, led to its being continued and carefully
sustained.... Conde de Revilla Gigedo during his rule strongly urged
removal to Acapulco; but it was not removed, and in 1803 remained at
San Blas without change." (Bancroft, Hist. Mexico, iii, p. 420.)
[44] Mas says (Informe, i, part ii of "Historia," p. 47): "In that
same year 1800,... the king ordered that the arsenal called La Barraca
should be abolished, and that only that of Cavite should remain,
in charge of the royal navy. The execution of this decree was the
cause, in 1802, of a dispute between the governor-general, Aguilar,
and General Álava."
See Barrantes's fuller account (Guerras piraticas, pp. 200, 201,
217, 249-263) of the arsenals at La Barraca and Cavite, and the
controversies over them. According to this authority, the naval affairs
of those places, as also of Corregidor Island, were in bad condition;
the service was inefficient, the methods and tools were antiquated,
and lack of discipline prevailed--to say nothing of the fraud and
"graft" already hinted at.
[45] In 1797 the following military forces were maintained in
Filipinas: Infantry regiment of the king, created at the conquest
of those islands, composed of two battalions on the regular footing;
infantry company of Malabars (created in 1763), containing one hundred
men; squadron of dragoons of Luzón (created in 1772), containing three
companies, in all one hundred and sixteen men; corps of artillery,
of two companies, and containing two hundred and six men. There
were also bodies of provincial militia, both infantry and cavalry,
one being composed of mestizos; and an invalid corps, created in
1763. (Guía oficial de España, 1797; cited in Vindel's Catálogo
biblioteca filipina, no. 123.)
[46] The Spanish régime in Filipinas lasted 333 years, from Legazpi's
first settlement until the acquisition of the islands by the United
States. During that time, there were 97 governors--not counting some
twenty who served for less than one year each, mostly ad interim--and
the average length of their terms of office was a little less than
three and one-half years, a fact which is an important element in
the administrative history of the islands.
[47] These expenses were paid from the royal treasury, "at the rate of
34 p. 3 r. for every cura or religious, every year" (Viana Respuestas,
fol. 161).
[48] Explanation of "Plan of the present condition of Manila and
its environs:"--"1. Royal fort. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Small bastions
of San Francisco, San Juan, Santa Ysabel, San Eugenio, and San
Joseph. 7. Ancient redoubt. 8. Bastion of the foundry. 9. A kind of
ravelin. 10. Bastion of San Andres or Carranza. 11. Bastion of San
Lorenzo de Dilao. 12. Bastion and gate of the Parian. 13. Works of
the reverse [obra de revez]. 14. Bastion of San Gabriel. 15. Small
bastion and gate of Santo Domingo. 16. Small bastion and gate of
the magazines. 17. Fortin. 18. Parish church and convent of the
Parian. 19. Chapel of San Anton, a chapel of ease. 20. Convent and
parish church of Dilao. 21. Parish church of San Miguel. 22. Hospital
of San Lazaro. 23. Ruined convent of San Juan de Bagumbaya. 24. Ruined
parish church of San Tiago. 25. Parish church of La Hermita. 26. Ruined
hornwork of fascines. 27. Royal alcaizeria of San Fernando. 28. Parish
church, convent, and large village of Binondoc. 29. Hospital
for Chinese. 30. College, parish church, and village of Santa
Cruz. 31. Parish church of Quiapo. 32. Convent and parish church
of San Sebastian. 33. Convent, parish church, and village of the
capital of the province of Tondoc. 34. Convalescent hospital and
island of St. John of God. 35. House of Mayjalique. A. Masonry
bridge of Maloza. B. Masonry bridge of San Lazaro. C. Masonry bridge
of Dilao. D. Ruined house of Balete. E. Ruined edifice. F. Powder
magazine. G. Ruined cavalier. Manila, September 30, 1767.