_By Fray Domingo de Salazar_
_Memorial regarding occurrences in these Philipinas Islands of the
West, also their condition, and matters which require correction;
written by Fray Domingo de Salazar, bishop of the said islands, in
order that his Majesty and the gentlemen of his royal Council of the
Indies may see it._
At first, when the Spaniards came to these islands, there was a great
abundance of provisions, such as are produced in the country; namely,
rice, beans, fowls, swine, deer, buffaloes, fish, cocoanuts, bananas
and some other fruits, wine, and honey. Of these a large quantity
could be bought from the natives with very little money. Although
among them there was gold, with which they traded and trafficked,
yet it was most usual to barter eatables for rice until the Spaniards
introduced the use of money, from which no little harm has come to the
country. Wine and rice are measured by the ganta, which is equivalent
to a quarter of a celemín in our measure.
The prices which articles brought after the Spaniards introduced
silver coins--which are, as a rule, tostóns, as the four-real pieces
are called--were as follows: [four] [28] hundred gantas of rice [for
one tostón]; for another, a hundred of wine; and for another, twelve,
fourteen, or sixteen fowls; and other things in proportion. These
rates continued until a year and a half or two years ago. Then
products began to be scarce in this country, and articles which were
formerly cried through the streets have today reached so high prices
and such scarcity that there is now no one who can obtain them, even
when they go to search for them in the Indian villages. For what
is thus found the common prices are forty or fifty gantas of rice,
or eight or ten gantas of wine, for one tostón; fowls have advanced
to two reals apiece, although the usual price is one real; while a
hog costs four or five pesos, or six or eight for one of considerable
size. Oil of agenxoli [sesame], cocoanuts, and butter, which formerly
could be bought very cheaply, cannot now be obtained--although in
this there is variation, as little or much comes to the market.
I have tried to ascertain the reason for so great a change, and for
the dearness of food; and after thoroughly informing myself through
persons who know, and through what I have seen with my own eyes, I find
the following reasons therefor. First: When Don Gonçalo Ronquillo came
here as governor of La Pampanga, [29] whence all this country used
to be supplied with rice, wine, and fowls, a great number of Indians
went to the mines of Ylocos, where they remained during the time
when they ought to have sowed their grain. Many of them died there,
and those who returned were so fatigued that they needed rest more
than work. As a result, in that year followed a very great scarcity
of rice, and for lack of it a great number of Indians in the said
Pampanga died from hunger. In Luvao alone, the encomienda of Guido
de la Vaçares, the dead exceeded a thousand.
Second: in regard to the many occupations in which the Spaniards
employ the Indians, such as setting them to row in the galleys
and fragatas despatched by the governor and officials on various
commissions, which are never lacking. At times they go so far away
that they are absent four or six months; and many of those who go die
there. Others run away and hide in the mountains, to escape from the
toils imposed upon them. Others the Spaniards employ in cutting wood
in the forests and conveying it to this city, and other Indians in
other labors, so that they do not permit them to rest or to attend to
their fields. Consequently, they sow little and reap less, and have
no opportunity to attend religious instruction. It sometimes happens
that while these miserable creatures are being instructed for baptism
the Spaniards force them to go to the tasks that I have mentioned;
and when they return they have forgotten what they knew; for this
reason there are today many Indians to be baptized. In some cases when
I have gone to a village to administer confirmation, I have returned
without confirming any one, because the Indians were not in the place,
but were occupied in labors ordered by the alcalde-mayor, and I could
not collect them together. In proof of this, I send a mandate issued by
a deputy of Tondo. (I was present at the time, and all the people were
away, occupied in the tasks assigned to them; and the only Indians in
the village were those who were being instructed for the reception of
baptism.) This ordinance commanded all the Indians of the said village
to cut wood, and those who were receiving instruction to quit it.
Third: Before the governor Don Gonçalo Ronquillo came, there were
not more than three or four alcaldes-mayor in all these islands;
but now there are sixteen and most of them are men who came with
him. As they came poor, and as the salaries are small, they have
taken away the Indians--as all affirm, and it is common talk--at
the time for harvesting rice; and they buy up all other provisions,
and many profit by selling them again. In this way everything has
become dear, because, as they have forbidden the Indians to trade and
traffic, they sell at whatever price they wish. Formerly the Indians
brought their produce to the gates, and sold it at very low-prices;
for they are satisfied with very little gain, which is not true of
the Spaniards. But, not to ascribe all the guilt to men, but to our
sins, the cause of this dearness has in part been that these years
have not afforded as good weather as others. This is the state in
which the country has thus far been up to the present.
_Injuries inflicted upon the Indians_
First: When a long expedition is to be made, the wrongs which they
suffer are many. One is to despatch for the Indians who are to row
in a galley or fragata a sailor who has neither piety nor Christian
feeling. Moreover, it is notorious that, without inquiring whether
an Indian is married or single, or whether his wife is sick or his
children without clothing, he takes them all away. It has happened
that when a husband has led this deputy to his wife, who was great
with child, and has asked with tears that he might be left behind
as she had no one to care for her, the sailor has beaten her with
cudgels in order to make her go, and the poor husband also, despite
his resistance. In other cases, their wives are abandoned when dying,
the husband being compelled to go away to row. The Indians are put
into irons on the galleys, and flogged as if they were galley-slaves
or prisoners. Moreover, the pay that is given them is very small;
for they give each man only four reals a month--and this is so
irregularly paid that most of them never see it. The [officials of
the] villages from which they take the rowers divide the pay among
themselves, or give it to those whom they impress as oarsmen. This
statement is thoroughly authenticated; for when the governor, Don
Gonçalo Ronquillo, sent to the mines, in Vitis and Lobao alone they
divided three thousand pesos belonging to the Indians themselves;
and when he sent to Borney, in Bonbón they divided more than two
thousand. They say that in all Pampanga five or six thousand pesos
were taken, and similarly in all towns where they get recruits.
Sometimes they do not go at harvest-time to collect the rice which
they say belongs to your Majesty, but only when it is very dear; and
then they require it to be sold for the price which it was worth when
they harvested. Sometimes the Indians buy back for five or six tostons
what they sold for one. The past year, when the Indians ate shoots of
palms and bananas because they had no rice, and many Indians died from
hunger, they made them sell the remaining rice at the price which it
was worth at harvest-time. Sometimes the entire quantity of his rice
is taken from an Indian, without leaving him a grain to eat. One poor
widow, seeing that they were carrying off all her rice without leaving
her a grain to eat, took, as best she could, two basketfuls to hide
under the altar, and there saved them; but it is certain that if the
collector had known it, they would have been taken from that place.
Another injury that they do to this poor people, under pretense
of its being for your Majesty, whereby your royal name is detested
among them, is as follows. Formerly, when rice was plentiful, four
hundred gantas were worth one tostón; your Majesty's officials of La
Pampanga furnished me with the price which it was worth. Last year the
governor ordered that twelve thousand fanégas of rice be taken from
La Pampanga for your Majesty, and that the Indians should give three
hundred gantas for one tostón. It was then worth among them about a
peso of gold, because it could not be had at any price. Many Indians
died of hunger. The three hundred gantas which they took from them for
one tostón were worth about six tostóns, and a person who wished to
buy it could not find it. This present year, when they have so little
grain and the famine is so great in La Pampanga, the Spaniards might
have sent to other districts to buy rice, where--although they must
go farther--it is more plentiful, and could be taken without injuring
the Indians. Yet the Spaniards have chosen not to do this, but rather
to order that it be taken from La Pampanga. And while the price among
the Indians is fifty gantas for one tostón, they require them to give
for your Majesty at the rate of two hundred and fifty gantas. At the
season when this was collected, I was visiting La Pampanga, and I
saw so much weeping and moaning on the part of the wretched Indians
from whom they took the rice, that it moved me to great pity--and
all the more since I could see so little means to provide a remedy;
for although I wrote about it to the master-of-camp, who was at that
time lieutenant-governor, it profited me little.
As for the means of collecting this rice, the alcalde-mayor or his
deputy divides among the chiefs two, three, four, or more taes of gold
(which is a certain weight worth five pesos), and orders that so many
gantas of rice be collected for one tostón. Afterward they send,
to collect this rice, men without piety; who, with blows, torture,
and imprisonment enforce compliance with the rate of three hundred
and fifty gantas for a tostón; and, in other years, one hundred of
wine, and this year, sixty. It is a fact well established, for I have
learned from the very persons who collect it that it often happens,
that the Indian, not having so much rice as is demanded, is obliged to
go to buy at the rate of fifty gantas for a tostón, and fifteen gantas
of wine; and from him, as is said, they take two hundred and fifty
of rice and seventy of wine for one tostón. If this occurred only
with respect to rice, which is necessary for the expense which your
Majesty incurs in this city, it would be but half a wrong, although I
do not know what law permits them to invent one price for your Majesty
and another for others. However this may be, I will pass on. But the
real evil is that the governor, master-of-camp, alcaldes-mayor, your
Majesty's officials and other persons to whom these wish to give it,
all consume it at this same price, and they also collect it at this
price for the hospitals of the city. Although the governor, in the
orders which he gives for the hospitals and for other persons, such
as alcaldes-mayor, does not name the number of gantas to be given for
a tostón, yet the rate is not higher than for your Majesty. He is at
fault, in that--knowing that they collect at this price--he neither
causes what has thus been taken to be restored, nor punishes him who
transgresses in this matter; thus many dare to take rice from them
at these same prices, knowing that they will not be punished. I know
that many alcaldes-mayor, having orders from the governor to buy from
the Indians of their districts three hundred fanégas from each single
man and five hundred from each married man, take it at the aforesaid
price, and even much more than they are permitted to take, and sell
it again at the current price. I know that they also go to collect,
at the price fixed for your Majesty, for themselves and their friends,
much more rice than they have a right to take according to order. The
same is true in regard to cutting timber.
They compel the Indians to work at tasks in the service of your
Majesty, paying them but little, and that irregularly and late,
and often not at all.
I do not mention the injuries which the Indians received from the
Spaniards during the conquest, for from what happened to them in
other parts of the Yndias can be inferred what would happen here,
which was not less, but in many places much more. I speak of what has
happened and now happens in the collection of the tributes, so that
your Majesty may see if it is right to overlook or tolerate things
which go so far beyond all human justice.
As for the first, your Majesty may be assured that heretofore these
Indians never have understood, nor have they been given to understand,
that the Spaniards entered this country for any other purpose than
to subjugate them and compel them to pay tributes. As this is a
thing which all peoples naturally refuse, it follows that where
they have been able to resist they have always done so, and have
gone to war. When they can do no more, they say that they will pay
tribute. And these people the Spaniards call pacified, and say that
they have submitted to your Majesty! And without telling them more of
God and of the benefits which it was intended to confer upon them,
they demand tribute from them each year. Their custom therein is as
follows. As soon as the Spaniards have subjugated them, and they have
promised to pay tribute (for from us Christians they hear no other
word than "Pay tribute"), they say to the natives, "You must give so
much a year." If they are not allotted in encomiendas, the governor
sends some one to collect the tributes; but it is most usual to allot
them at once in an encomienda to him who has charge of collecting the
tributes. Although the decree relating to encomiendas says, "Provided
that you instruct them in the matters of our most holy faith," the
only care that they have for that is, that the encomendero takes with
him eight or ten soldiers with their arquebuses and weapons, orders
the chiefs to be called, and demands that they give him the tributes
for all the Indians of their village. Here my powers fail me, I lack
the courage, and I can find no words, to express to your Majesty the
misfortunes, injuries, and vexations, the torments and miseries, which
the Indians are made to suffer in the collection of the tributes. The
tribute at which all are commonly rated is the value of eight reals,
paid in gold or in produce which they gather from their lands; but
this rate is observed like all other rules that are in favor of the
Indians--that is, it is never observed at all. Some they compel to
pay it in gold, even when they do not have it. In regard to the gold
likewise, there are great abuses, because as there are vast differences
in gold here, they always make the natives give the finest. The weight
at which they receive the tribute is what he who collects it wishes,
and he never selects the lightest. Others make them pay cloth or
thread. But the evil is not here, but in the manner of collecting;
for, if the chief does not give them as much gold as they demand,
or does not pay for as many Indians as they say there are, they
crucify the unfortunate chief, or put his head in the stocks--for
all the encomenderos, when they go to collect, have their stocks,
and there they lash and torment the chiefs until they give the entire
sum demanded from them. Sometimes the wife or daughter of the chief
is seized, when he himself does not appear. Many are the chiefs who
have died of torture in the manner which I have stated. When I was
in the port of Ybalon some chiefs came there to see me; and the
first thing they said to me was, that one who was collecting the
tributes in that settlement had killed a chief by torture, and the
same Indians indicated the manner in which he had been killed, which
was by crucifixion, and hanging him by the arms. I saw this soldier
in the town of Caceres, in the province of Camarines, and learned
that the justice arrested him for it and fined him fifty pesos--to be
divided equally between the exchequer and the expenses of justice--and
that with this punishment he was immediately set free. Likewise I
learned that an encomendero--because a chief had neither gold nor
silver nor cloth with which to pay the tribute--exacted from him an
Indian for nine pesos, in payment of nine tributes which he owed;
and then took this Indian to the ship and sold him for thirty-five
pesos. And although I told this to the steward and asked for the
Indian, he remained in slavery. They collect tribute from children,
old men, and slaves, and many remain unmarried because of the tribute,
while others kill their children.
What the encomendero does, after having collected his tributes in the
manner stated, is to return home; and for another year he neither sees
nor hears of them. He takes no more account of them than if they were
deer, until the next year, when the same thing is repeated. These
injuries the Spaniards inflicted in all places until recently. In
this district of Manila there is not so much of it now, because many
of the natives are already Christians, and there are religious among
them, and affairs are in better order. But in remote places and some
not very far away, what I have stated occurs, and even worse things
are done. Because all, or nearly all, of those who pay the tribute
are infidels, and neither know nor understand more of the matters
of our faith than they did a hundred years ago, and even more on
account of the wrongs which they suffer, they abhor and abominate
the faith. Indeed, as for the example of decency which those who
mingle with the Indians set them there is no way to describe it here
without offending your Majesty's ears; but I state it as an assured
fact that they care not whether a woman be a believer or an infidel,
single or married; all are on the same level. From this your Majesty
will gather what these unhappy Indians will have conceived of us and
of the faith which we preach.
I shall not omit to mention here a thing which is full of reproach
to the Christians who have lived here, and even to all of us who hear
it--namely, that the natives of these islands have been, from ancient
times, infidels, of whom there are many now in this and other islands;
and that the Moros have come to these islands from that of Burney to
preach the law of Mahoma, through which preaching a large number of
pagans have turned Moros. Those who have received this vile law keep
it with much pertinacity, and there is great difficulty in getting
them to leave it. Moreover it is known that the reason which they
give--to our shame and confusion--is that they were better treated by
the preachers of Mahoma than they have been and are by the preachers of
Christ. [30] Since, through kind and gentle treatment, they received
that doctrine willingly, it took root in their hearts, and so they
leave it reluctantly. But this is not the case with what we preach to
them, for, as it is accompanied with so much bad treatment and with
so evil examples, they say "yes" with the mouth and "no" with the
heart; and thus when occasion arises they leave it, although by the
mercy of God, this is becoming somewhat remedied by the coming of the
ministers of the gospel, with whose advent these grievances cease in
some places. After Don Gerónimo [31] Ronquillo carne to govern, [it
was decreed] that from the Indians should be taken the [taels?] [32]
of gold which the Indians manufacture. Whether or not this has been
done by order of your Majesty, I do not know; but I know that if
your Majesty were in this country you would not order this law to
be executed now; because most of them are still infidels, and I do
not know what right there is to exact these taxes from the infidel,
nor to what a people so [_illegible in original MS._] might be driven
by such rigor. From this result many injuries to the Indians. For,
as is well known, they have wrought the gold which they received from
their ancestors, and they regard it as lost. [33] All the Indians
are compelled to declare all the gold that they possess, and the
amounts are placed on a list, in order that if they should come into
possession of more gold in the future, it may be taken from them--not
as the royal fifth, but as forfeited. Moreover as these Indians
wear chains and ajorcas, [34] the alcaldes-mayor, in the attempt
to profit thereby, require that these should be declared, on the
ground that these are ornaments which the Indians have manufactured,
and on which they have not paid the fifth; and although this may be
a lie, it costs the Indian, before he is free, a good share of his
gold. Indeed, they denounced an Indian before the governor himself;
and in spite of many entreaties from religious, he fined the Indian
one hundred and twenty pesos, which was the third part of the gold
about which he was accused. A religious assured me that it was gold
received from his ancestors; but the Indian could not help himself.
I could never finish--and it would be a very annoying subject for your
Majesty--relating all the hardships that befall these unfortunates in
this country. They ought to be feasted and favored, in order that they
may become attached to our faith, and understand the mercy that God
has shown them in bringing them to the knowledge and manifestation
of it; but those who here continue to forget this are the cause of
their abhorring the faith. They consider your Majesty a cruel king,
and think that you are trying only to profit by their estates and to
claim their personal service--although all is so much to the contrary
on the part of your Majesty, as witness the holy laws and ordinances
which, for the good government of these lands, your Majesty has made
and ordered to be observed.
But if it is true, most Christian king, that the intent of your Majesty
in sending Spaniards to these lands is that God may be known, His faith
preached, and His holy law received here; and that these Indians, by
love, good works, and example, may be led to the knowledge of God and
obedience to your Majesty--what law or right permits individuals to
transgress in this matter by their greed and self-interest, and to do
the opposite of that for which your Majesty sent them? This purpose is
that in your royal name and with holy royal authority they may govern
this country, dignified for this task by very honorable titles, and
remunerated by large salaries, your Majesty so affectionately charging
them to treat these natives well, and giving them for that purpose such
holy laws, ordinances, and instructions. Yet these men turn aside their
eyes from all this and close them to the injuries and ill-treatment
which these unfortunates receive. What abhorrence to our holy faith
arises in their minds from this conduct, and what an impediment to the
conversion of the infidels is thus formed! And those who are already
converted are regretting that step; for these men concern themselves
so entirely with getting rich in the shortest possible time, to
which end they are continually planning and undertaking every means
which seems to them best suited to attain that object--even though
it may be contrary to your Majesty's commands and prohibited by the
laws of the kingdom and the ordinances of the Yndias, and though it
may be injurious and prejudicial to those whom they were charged,
by the authority of your Majesty, to make free, and to secure from
all those wrongs. If this be true, what punishment would be fitting
for such a crime? Or how could your Majesty so overlook a thing so
pernicious, that you should not order it to be punished rigorously,
and should not remedy evils which so greatly need correction? But
whether this is so or not, it is not for me to accuse or to speak ill
of any one. I only say, and truthfully, that this land is ruined; and
it is doubtful whether, if it experiences another year like the two
just past, it will endure till the third--and this is no exaggeration.
In the ship which just arrived from Nueba España came certain royal
decrees--a remedy for some evils of which information had been
given. It seems that the country received thereby some alleviation
of its troubles, but I do not know what will follow. It is a great
misfortune to have your Majesty so far away. For if you were near us,
all these ills would soon disappear--as I hope, by the Divine goodness
and your Majesty's holy zeal, that they will not endure longer than
till you shall hear of them, not by my report, but by information
which may be quite sufficiently obtained in Nueba España; for what
I say here is for no other purpose than that your Majesty may be
informed of what is going on, and that you may order it to be remedied.
Since your Majesty orders, by your royal decree, that in case the
governor do not keep the royal laws and ordinances which are made
for these lands, I advise your Majesty of the fact: what might in
compliance be said with entire truthfulness is, that I do not know
what decree, provision, or ordinance issued for the benefit and aid
of the Indians is kept or noticed; and if any promise is made, it is
only for courtesy. Never have I seen any man punished who may have
violated the decrees, or who may be scandalous in sin; and in order
that it may be quite evident to your Majesty how badly your holy laws
are kept, I shall proceed to demonstrate by the royal ordinances.
2nd. The second clause, commencing, "those who administer government,"
etc., is neither kept nor noticed, because it never is taken into
account. Therefore the Indians understand that the good which is
to be done them is but to subjugate them and make them pay tribute;
and as this is the purpose of those in authority, they never do what
is ordered in this clause, but at once send soldiers to force the
Indians to submit although they may not desire it; and before they
return they leave the natives subjects and tributarios.
4th. Clause four, for the same reason, is not heeded.
20th. In regard to clause 20, although it is so necessary, and so
deserves to be obeyed, those in power act as if they were ordered
to do the very opposite, as is explained above, where I discuss the
wrongs that they inflict.
24th. To what is ordered in clause 24 some respect is now paid in this
island; but heretofore everything has been done in contravention of
it, and the penalty has never been enforced.
25th. Nor has clause 25 been observed in this island. On the contrary,
there has been, I say plainly, a notable diminution in the royal
exchequer, and the difficulties which are mentioned in the clause
result.
29th. With regard to clause 29, the deeds of those who go on these
expeditions are so contrary to the orders given in this clause that
it would appear that they are sent to rob, rather than to pacify.
30th. Clause 30 is the least respected of all those contained in this
book of ordinances, as was said, and there is most necessity for its
observance. It is, moreover, certain that all the other ordinances
are regulated by what is here commanded.
32nd. To clause 32, which treats of new settlements, no more attention
is paid than if it had not been written. For no settlement is either
made or contemplated in this island; no Spanish town has any pasture
for cattle, or land for cultivation, although that would be a great
convenience; and those who wish to undertake anything of the sort--for
there are two or three such--are granted no favor when this matter
is discussed; nor is there any one who remembers the law.
33rd. No attention is paid to clause 33, nor is the pacification of
the natives conducted on any orderly plan--except that here and there
some men are sent to make the Indians tributary, without attention to
securing their pacification or settlement. Some attention was, however,
given to this in the expedition which was just made to Cagayan.
36th. We all know well that the principal aim of your Majesty is that
expressed in clause 36, but this is not the aim of those who govern;
accordingly, they do little for the conversion of the Indians, but
much for their own profit.
138th. The part of clause 138 which is observed, for good or bad,
is to subjugate the Indians and compel them to pay tribute; beyond
this there is neither care nor thought.
139th. For the like reason, clause 139 is not observed, nor is there
thought of it.
141st. Of what is ordered in clause 141 nothing is observed; for they
care no more for rendering justice to the Indians than if these were
beasts who lack reason.
144th. The part of clause 144 most important for observance was
that beginning "the country being pacified" [_illegible in original
MS._]; it was, indeed, the most necessary for observance. But
in order to relate the harm that follows from not observing it,
there should be another man who knows better how to say it than I
do. This law or clause contains two parts. In the first is stated the
obligation of the governor in allotting the Indians; in the second,
the obligations of the encomenderos toward their encomiendas. As for
the first, it might (and not without reason) be disputed whether,
for your Majesty's peace of conscience and for the welfare of these
natives, it is fitting that these encomiendas be allotted. But since
this subject requires more time and space than I now have to devote
thereto, let it remain for another voyage, when, by the help of God,
these and other doubts will be dissipated, for the service of God and
your Majesty. I venture to say this because, although your Majesty
has so near you so many and so excellent learned men in all subjects,
yet, to determine many matters relative to the Yndias, it is doubtless
necessary to have dwelt in them, and that for not a few years. For
the present it is sufficient to say that if the governors (before
allotting the Indians) and the encomenderos (after their allotment)
would observe even what is demanded from them in this clause, they
would relieve your Majesty from painful scruples, and us from doubt,
and thus from a heavy burden of conscience; while to the Indians would
be given an extraordinary benefit. But all is contrary to this, because
neither do the governors, when allotting the Indians, take notice of
what is here required from them--for they make the encomiendas before
the Indians are pacified, or even have heard the name of God or of your
Majesty--nor do the encomenderos heed the obligation which they take
upon themselves; but, confident of the encomienda allotted in this
manner, they go to collect the tributes in the manner above stated;
and among them are some who do so even more tyrannically.
145th. Of clause 145, that which has to do with the Indians is not
observed any more than the foregoing in regard to reserving the chief
villages for your Majesty. Your islands are not like Nueva España,
where there is a chief village with many others subject to it. Here
all are small villages, and each one is its own head. The governors,
interpreting this law more literally than is good for the service of
your Majesty, have added to your royal crown some very small maritime
villages; and the advantage has been given to whomsoever they have
wished--whether justly or not, it is not for me to decide. I can
assure your Majesty that it is very little in way of tributes that
finds its way into the royal chest, although there is much need that
your Majesty should have money here to provide many necessities,
which others cannot supply if your Majesty cannot. I also say that,
according to accounts current here, no Indians are harder worked or
less free than those apportioned to the royal crown. There are many
other reasons which might be given to make this clear, which are
very patent to us here. One is that, as the officials do not go out
to collect the tributes, the governor sends one of his servants whom
he wishes to favor, to collect them. He collects for your Majesty
what they owe, and for himself whatever he desires; and this is most
certain, as well as the method of collecting. Your Majesty's Indians
undergo greater oppression than do the others. Those encomenderos
visit their Indians, and once in a while they cannot help taking pity
on them; but for those of your Majesty, there is no one to grieve and
no one to care. I even hear it said that many soldiers, when without
food, take it from the Indians, under the pretense that they serve
your Majesty and are given nothing--saying that, as it belongs to
your Majesty, they may do so.
146th. What is contained in clause 146 is the thing which would most
attract the Indians to receive our faith if it were observed. But there
is nothing which more impedes the conversion of these barbarians than
that, from the very outset, the Spaniards go among them and compel
them to become subjects of another and a foreign king whom they do
not know; and without more ado demand tribute from them, which is the
thing that they most unwillingly acquiesce in. Certainly it is a very
great pity and a cause for much grief that such covetousness is found
among us, that--through not knowing how to deal with these barbarians,
through not having patience with them that they may understand the good
which comes with us to them, and through greed for what they now pay
us--we may be the cause of thousands of them remaining unconverted,
and of those who are converted becoming so more through force than
choice. I am certain that if this clause had been observed, all of
these islands would be converted, and that not as a pretense, but
in all sincerity. From this your Majesty may see the harm done by
those who do not observe what your Majesty commands with respect to
the pacification of the Indians. And--in order that you may know how
these Indians feel about paying the tribute--when my arrival was made
known among them, and it was said that I was captain of the clergy,
as the governor was of the laymen, they asked if I had come to force on
them any tribute, a thing which they so much fear. In the instructions
which the governor, Don Gerónimo [_sc._ Gonzalo], recently gave to
Captain Juan Pablo de Carrión, who made the expedition to Cagayan,
there is a clause stating that "tribute shall not be demanded from
them for one year"--which marks the beginning of some respect for
your Majesty's orders; and I hope to God that it is to be one of much
importance, in order that those Indians, who three or four times have
been so wronged and scandalized, may now have peace.
147th. Clause 147 is quite forgotten, nor can those who govern be
persuaded that this so holy manner of preaching the gospel be tried;
besides, your Majesty leaves no authority to the bishops or to other
prelates to attempt the apostolic preaching of the gospel, but all
the authority is given to the governors, or is assumed by them. If
this clause were to be observed, the bishops and not the governors
would have to reform whatever is needed. The preachers go either
alone or with an escort; hence it is that the governors attempt
more than the conversion of the Indians. They never find place for
the fulfilment of this clause. It is without doubt a shameful thing,
and unworthy of one who professes such a law as ours, that we should
not trust in God, for sometimes the preachers would do more alone,
unaccompanied by arquebuses and pikes; and, although I do not deny
that this may be lawful and sometimes necessary, it would not be a
bad plan that this be tried the other way, at some time. But it will
not be done if your Majesty does not order otherwise.
148th. It is very necessary to observe clause 148 in this country,
since the Indians are thinly scattered, and are settled amid rivers
and marshes where they are found with much difficulty. Hence it is
very desirable that the encomenderos do as they are here commanded,
and not wait for the religious or ecclesiastics, who can not do it with
the same facility as can the encomenderos. Moreover, since the removal
of the Indians from their former homes is a thing very odious to them,
and they change their homes very unwillingly and with much hardship,
it would be better that they be vexed with the encomendero than with
the minister--who has to teach them, and through whom they have to
learn love, and who in all things strives for their good. The same
is true of building the churches and monasteries.
_Relation of what concerns the Sangleys_
The commerce with the Sangleys has always been considered very
important for the supplies and trade not only of this city, but of
those who come here to invest their money, and for what is expected
from it in the future. For it might be that by this means we shall
get a foothold in that great realm, which of all things is so much
desired. This trade has been so harassed and injured this year that
we are in great dread lest those who come here, or many of them, will
not return, or that they will not be willing to sell their merchandise
at former prices, because of the bad treatment that they have received
and the lack of order here.
During the past year and the present one the ill feeling has
increased, because at first they paid nothing; but later anchorage
dues were levied upon them--more by way of securing acknowledgment
than for gain; while last year and this they have demanded three per
cent from the Sangleys, from which many injuries to the latter have
resulted. The first is, that they all were ordered to live apart, in
one fenced-in dwelling made this year, whither they have gone very
unwillingly. There the shops have made them pay higher prices than
goods would cost them outside. A warden has been appointed for them,
with judicial authority to punish them; and, according to report,
many wrongs and injuries are inflicted upon them. Indeed, for very
trivial causes they are put in the stocks, and pecuniary fines exacted
from them. Sometimes they have been fined for going outside at night
to ease the body, or for not keeping their place clean.
Under the pretext that they must pay taxes to your Majesty,
a penalty was imposed upon the sale of any article without its
previous registration; but at the time of this registration the best
of their merchandise was taken from them, and that at the price
which the inspector or the registrar chose to set. Some pieces of
silk were therefore hidden by the Sangleys, either to sell them to
better advantage or to give them to persons to whom the goods had
been promised. For this they were punished with as much rigor as
if the penalty had been required from them for many years, instead
of being, on the contrary, only the first or second time when they
had heard of it. Among other things, I know that because a Chinese
merchant sentenced him to one hundred lashes and a fine of seventy-five
tostóns. A brother of his came to me to ask protection for him, and at
my request they remitted the lashes; but he paid the tostóns before he
could leave the jail. Of these and of other wrongs to individuals so
many cases occur that I have been greatly troubled. For some would take
the goods from the Sangleys by force, and keep them; others would not
give them what the goods were worth; others would give them written
orders [Span. _çédulas_] [35] (which are much in use among them),
and afterward repudiate these. Thereupon they would hasten to me;
and, as I could not secure reparation for these wrongs, I was greatly
afflicted. The confusion and lawlessness which prevailed in taking the
goods from them was so great, that in order to get these better and
cheaper, those who had authority in this matter would not allow the
Sangleys liberty to sell to those whom they might prefer. But these
of whom I speak took all the goods. Then, after having selected what
they desired, at whatever price they might choose, they would give
the rest to their servants, friends, and associates. In consequence,
although twenty ships have come from China--and so many have never
before been seen in this space of time--nothing of all that comes from
China has been visible this year. On the contrary, Chinese goods have
risen to such excessive prices that a piece of satin formerly worth
ten or twelve tostóns here, has been sold at forty or forty-five, and
yet could not be found, even for the church, which is so needy that
it has not been able to obtain silk to make a single ornament. The
same is true of all other Chinese goods, which were formerly hawked
in vain through the streets. Who may have been the cause of this,
what has become of these goods, or where they may have gone, it is
not incumbent upon me to say. What devolves upon me is, to represent
to your Majesty the condition of this country, which can not last
long volves upon me is, to represent to your Majesty the will insist
upon knowing whose is the guilt, and upon providing a remedy for your
vassals who are so greatly in need of it.
From this condition of affairs has resulted very great harm, which
must be the reason why the trade of this city has ceased. That is,
since all the goods have this year come into the possession of a few
persons, the traders who came here on the strength of reports of the
good trade in this country have not spent their money; or else those
who have spent it have bought very little, and at so high prices that
they will do well if they get back their money. The evil does not
stop here; for these traders are compelled to perform sentinel-duty,
just as the soldiers do, and in order not to leave their goods to be
stolen, they pay a soldier who does this for them, and collects the
money. Thus every week they have to pay one tostón (the equivalent
of four reals) for the services of a sentinel.
These same merchants were summoned for an expedition which was going
to Iapón [Japan], and a fleet was made ready to sail thither; and
in order to avoid going they paid as much as thirty and forty pesos
each. Thus, in many ways, trade has been unfortunate this year. The
latest injury--that which most harassed the Chinese, and most succeeded
in irritating them--was that, in sending a galley on the expedition to
Iapón which I mentioned, twenty or thirty Sangleys who had come this
year to remain here were seized, and compelled to row. Many have come
to me to complain, saying that they had come here to earn a living
for their children; and asked that, since they were not allowed to
accomplish what they came for, they might be permitted to return to
their own land. But it profited neither them nor me to say this,
for they went on that expedition and have not yet returned. From
this another injury has come to us all. For since those who went
in the galley, and others sent afterward, were fishermen, the fish
that formerly was sold in the streets in great quantities, and for
a trifling sum, now cannot be obtained at a high price. Next, they
sent another vessel, loaded with rice as provision for the fleet,
and ordered a like number of Sangleys to accompany it. In order to
avoid going, each hunted up whomsoever he could find; and he who
had no slave to send gave ten pesos to some other man to act as his
substitute. These and other wrongs have caused two hundred Sangleys,
who came this year to settle here, to return; and of those who were
living here two hundred and more have gone away. There used to be a
very prosperous settlement of them on the other side of the river,
but now there appears to be almost no one--as your Majesty will see
by the letter written to me by the vicar of the Sangleys, who is an
Augustinian friar.
Another wrong is done to the Indians--not to all in general, but to
many; it is, to hold them as slaves. This clause also concerns the
failure of the governors to obey your Majesty's decrees and writs;
for so many of these are issued, commanding that Indians must not
be held as slaves of the Spaniards anywhere in the Yndias--either
in the islands or on the mainland, in lands discovered or to be
discovered. This applies, in whatever way the Spaniards may have
obtained them: whether it be in just war; or if the Indians themselves
have sold them to the Spaniards, saying that they are slaves; or even
if among them these are actually slaves; or by any other means, and
in any manner whatsoever. By the ship in which I came the Augustinian
fathers brought a new decree from your Majesty, ordering with much
rigor, and in strong terms, that the Spaniards shall at once liberate
the slaves whom they may hold, under whatever circumstances they may
have obtained them. This was presented to the governor, for I talked
with him about it. But, to show that what I say above is true--that
no decree in favor of the Indians is ever enforced--since this
decree was presented the Indians are still in the same servitude
as formerly, and some of them are even worse treated than in the
past. The governor did not so long delay to enforce the decree (if
there be one) relative to taking a fifth of the gold; for the first
thing that he did on entering his office was to demand the fifth,
while the decree regarding liberty is yet to be executed. I have
passed over many things in this connection which, if written here,
would be annoying to your Majesty. A document in behalf of the city
is being prepared which proves the great necessity in this country
for servitude. It states that the Spaniards undergo much toil,
and most of them many hardships, and that there is much need that
your Majesty should aid and favor them; but asks that this be done
by allowing them to hold slaves. Your Majesty will order this to be
carefully examined, for it is a certain and well-established fact (and
admitted by the very persons who hold and attempt to gain possession
of slaves) that although among the Indians there are some who are
really slaves, these are few; and that, rather than sell these now,
the Indians will sell one of their children. All others are wrongfully
obtained and unjustly enslaved--as would be done by a people so
barbarous as this, who at this very time sell a relative for gain,
and among whom the more powerful will sell the weaker. Most of those
who today are in Manila as slaves are of this class. As soon as this
decree was presented to him, the governor asked me to advise him what
he should do. Accordingly, I convened the superiors of the orders,
and the religious therein who had long resided here, with some very
learned men who came with me. All of them, without one exception, were
of one opinion, a copy of which goes with this letter; your Majesty
will please order it to be examined--although it profits little,
because proclamation of the decree and orders that it be obeyed were
not issued until March of this year. Would to God that it had not
been proclaimed! because before that the masters were afraid, and had
already determined to give their slaves liberty, seeing that they were
urged thereto in the confessional. But when the decree was proclaimed,
and the petition which the city referred to your Majesty was granted,
all returned to their obstinacy. Upon seeing this, I again convened
the fathers and priests, and we agreed to admit the owner of slaves
to confession, but on condition that they make no objection to what
your Majesty may order; or that within two years from the departure
of this ship (the term assigned to them by your Majesty) they should
free the slaves. But I am sure that if your Majesty does not renew
your order the masters would not release them, if two years or even
twenty should pass. It is a great hardship, and a scandal, to have to
deny them confession; and many say that they will not release their
slaves until your Majesty so orders, even though they remain without
confession. The decrees made by the city and by the protector of the
Indians are being sent to you. Your Majesty will order examination
of them, and whatever else may be proper, and command accordingly;
because, although I have been of the opinion that for the present
the masters may be absolved, many of the religious refuse to do so
unless the slaves are first given their liberty.
It is next in order to inform your Majesty of what is done here with
the prelates; [36] it is as follows: When a Spaniard comes to this
country he is at once ordered to serve under the flag, although he
may be a merchant who comes here to buy and sell. The authorities
say that for the present it seems proper to allow the merchants to
depend upon their merchandise, and the encomenderos to live upon
their encomiendas. All the rest live a very poor and wretched life;
for they are not supplied with any provisions, nor do they possess
means to procure food and clothing. Notwithstanding all this, they
are ordered with great severity to assist the sentinels and aid in
other duties of war, just as if they were well paid. Hence ensue
oppression and ill-treatment of the Indians; for sometimes when an
Indian has some food that he has cooked for his own meal, a soldier
enters and takes it away from him. Not only that; they also maltreat
and beat the Indians, and when I, being near at hand, go to them and
reprimand them for it, they say to me: "What is to be done? must we
be left to die?" I assure your Majesty that in this matter I suffer
an intolerable torment; because all come to me with their troubles,
and I have not the means to remedy them. I only pity them, and do what
I can, with my limited means, to aid them. Moreover, the encomenderos
refuse to pay tithes, although they have been ordered to do so; nor
can the royal officials pay me what your Majesty orders to be given
me from your royal treasury, because they assert that no adequate
instructions are sent them. Thus I am without means for myself or for
the poor. The former governors were accustomed to divide among the poor
soldiers some of the rice paid to your Majesty as tribute, in order
that they might endure their misery; but now not even this is given to
them. It is a still greater oppression that the authorities neither
consent to furnish them a living, nor give them permission to go in
search of it or even to leave this island. I gave to the governor the
decree regarding this matter which your Majesty ordered to be sent;
but nothing has been done, because in it your Majesty did no more
than to order him to attend to it, and to do what he might think best.
The governor consulted me about his intention to add to the tribute
of the Indians two more reals apiece, with which to support the poor
soldiers; and I convened the fathers and the clergy to confer about
this matter. Seeing that this country cannot be sustained unless there
are Spaniards in it, unless the encomenderos are supported, unless the
tributes are collected with the aid and assistance of the soldiers
here, and unless the Indians pay the tribute which the encomenderos
levy for love of the faith, they concluded that the encomenderos
are obliged to support the soldiers, who are necessary to render the
country secure. But, on the other hand, they considered that as the
encomenderos of these islands are very poor, and some of them are
married, and very few have encomiendas of reasonable extent, and they
can maintain themselves only with much difficulty--much less will they
be able to support the soldiers. They concluded that your Majesty
is not obliged to use your royal patrimony for this and the other
expenses, but that those for whose benefit they are incurred (for which
purpose the Spaniards are here) must bear the cost. Accordingly, if
the tribute they give does not suffice for all the expenses necessary
in order that they may have suitable instruction and may be protected,
they, and not your Majesty, must bear these--as St. Paul says, and as
the divine law commands. For this reason the governor wished to add
the two reals before mentioned, and there was no lack of agreement
in this opinion among the fathers and clergy. To me also it seems
that, considering the divine law, these people are obliged to pay
all the expenses. But considering the poverty of the common people,
that perhaps the tribute they give might suffice, for all that is
necessary--if it were well apportioned--and for other reasons that make
the project doubtful, I have ventured to give the opinion that nothing
should be added to the tribute which the Indians now give, until your
Majesty can be informed and can order what action should be taken.
In these islands there are many soldiers who were married in Mexico,
España, and other countries. Many of them left their wives twenty-five,
others ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago; and others, more or less. I
have done my best to induce them to go to live with their wives, or
to bring them here, but it has been of no avail. Will your Majesty
please order that your decree in this matter be observed, for this
is not done--nor do the governors try to observe it, saying that the
soldiers are needed here; and thus they spend so many years, breaking
the law of God and that of holy matrimony. I beg your Majesty, if it
please you, to provide a remedy for this; for, if your Majesty does
not order it, there will be no one here who can send them hence.
The thing most necessary for the protection of these Indians until
they shall better understand our ways is, that there should be
a protector who should look after them and defend them from the
innumerable injuries that are inflicted upon them. The governor has
named one who, it appears to me, does this well, and with care and
diligence. But as his appointment is temporary, he dare not exercise
his office with as much freedom as if he were appointed by your
Majesty. I beseech your Majesty to order this matter disposed of in
such manner that it may be to the advantage and not to the injury of
the Indians--which would result if this office were given through favor
or sale, instead of being conferred on a person who is unencumbered,
and very zealous in the service of your Majesty and for the welfare of
the Indians; of such there will be very few. He who is now protector
is very persevering, and is qualified for this appointment. His name
is Benito de Mendiola. [37] But this man might prove deficient; and
for the future, if it shall please your Majesty--since this should be
well done (for it surely is a very important matter), and the bishops
are, by right, fathers of the unhappy--it might be entrusted to him
whom the bishop appoints, your Majesty naming the salary or requiring
that it be raised here. If it please your Majesty, I will see that
the Indians pay it, which they will do very willingly. And if your
Majesty does not commit this to the bishop, he and the governor might
be entrusted to name the appointee, it being provided that together and
in no other way may they remove him--because many times the protector
has to ask things which the governor does not like. The governor
becomes angry at him, and if it is in his power, removes him--as I
have seen done more than once since I came. The inhabitants of this
city are among the most loyal subjects that your Majesty has in all
his islands; and the soldiers, although suffering so many hardships,
as above stated, and many more which cannot be told, are so obedient
to orders in the service of your Majesty that it is certainly a cause
for thanksgiving to God that, in so great an expanse of country,
there should be a prince so obeyed and feared, loved and reverenced
as is your Majesty in these regions. And since this condition of
affairs is conserved by subjects perceiving gratitude in their kings
and princes, and knowing that their rulers reward them for loyalty,
I humbly petition your Majesty to give attention to what I have said
(which is unquestionably true); and that you show them favor, in order
that they may know that your Majesty is pleased with their loyalty.
I understand that what they ask is, that your Majesty order that
the limits of this city's jurisdiction (which is five leagues) be
maintained; and that you make them a gift of some lands, of which
they have none, but without which no commonwealth can be sustained or
conserved. The cabildo of México has, besides other sources of income,
an encomienda--that of Jalapa, a prosperous village near México. Here
there is at present nothing with which to undertake any enterprise,
unless your Majesty is pleased that some village be given them as
an encomienda, in order that from the tributes may be obtained means
to defray the necessary expenses, and conduct the public business in
such manner as your Majesty shall order. With that they will be well
content. The governor despatched a soldier to Maluco to ascertain
what conclusion the Portuguese of those islands had reached. He
returned almost at the same time as the ship from Nueba España,
with the news which the governor will write to your Majesty. This
news gave great satisfaction to all the people of these islands,
because your Majesty's interests are thereby promoted, since our Lord
has placed in your Majesty's hands the spice-trade of Maluco, which
your ancestors so greatly desired. I am sending the letter which the
captain at Maluco wrote me, in order that it may please your Majesty to
reward generously so worthy a Portuguese as this man is--who certainly
has displayed great zeal in your Majesty's service--not forgetting
him who obtained and bore the news. This is Ensign Francisco de
Dueñas, a very intelligent man, and very reliable in his own duties,
who by his energy and diligence succeeded with this undertaking,
in which others had failed. He is an old soldier in these islands,
and has served your Majesty well in times of war. He is loved by all
in this city, and has a good reputation on account of his excellent
qualities. He is a person to whom anything whatever may be entrusted;
he is very faithful, and a very good Christian. Will your Majesty
please order that some reward be given to him? because he merits it,
and because others may thereby be encouraged. I also beg that the
Portuguese soldiers of Maluco may be in some way rewarded for the
affection with which they ask your Majesty to be their king and lord.
In the letter written to me by the captain, he complains that I have
not written to him; and he has reason for this--although the blame
was not mine; for the governor wrote to the captain without saying
anything to me, as he has done in other undertakings. I do not say
this to speak ill of the governor, but only that your Majesty may
know how affairs go here, and what respect is paid to the bishops.
In regard to Maluco, your Majesty will send some one there who
understands it well. To those here who understand the trade, it has
appeared that the cloves and other spices will go at less cost by
way of Nueba España, and with less risk and more quickly than by
way of India; and that to preserve the supply of cloves, so that it
may not be destroyed, it is necessary that your Majesty should not
permit the Indians of those islands to be allotted, but should retain
them under your Majesty's direct control, and they should be dealt
with as the king of Portugal dealt with them. For if the Spaniards
try to subjugate them, and order them to pay tribute, all will be
lost--especially in view of the ill-treatment which the Castilians
will inflict upon the natives if the conquered land be given to them
as an encomienda (even though it be with name of pacification), as we
have seen them do in all lands where they have been. The Indians would
receive such harm at the first entrance of the Spaniards that it would
not be repaired in many years. Your Majesty will pardon my boldness
and accept my desire, which is very strong, to serve your Majesty,
in stating what I and many conscientious persons here feel. Your
Majesty will adjust the matter as shall serve your interests.
It is now three years since certain Franciscan religious left this
island to go to China (as your Majesty will already know), without
notifying the governor. Now they have determined to do the same thing;
the custodian, whose name is Fray Pablo de Jesús, has gone thither with
his companions, without saying anything to the governor, for which I
am very sorry. For lack of their labors here, many Indians who were
already Christians have remained without instruction, which I consider
a great disadvantage. But, knowing that God moves the hearts of men (a
matter that we cannot understand), I will overlook that. The governor
took this with more asperity than I wished, for he sent after them, and
the person who went thither treated them very rudely; but finally God
ordained that they should arrive at this island. The governor ordered a
proclamation to be made (its contents will be seen by the copy of the
ordinance which I send to your Majesty), which even to me seems very
harsh toward an order of so high character and strict obedience as is
that of the discalced Franciscans. I advised the governor not to act
with so much severity, but he did not see fit to grant my petition. I
have since learned that the same person who went after them treated
them very harshly in Pangasinán and Yllocos--perpetrating upon them
many acts of oppression, taking away their ship, and refusing to let
any one accompany them--which occasioned no little scandal to the
Indians. Among other reasons which the religious have given me to
justify their departure from here is the sight of the ill-usage which
the natives of these islands receive from the Spaniards, especially
those who have the charge of justice; and they say that all these
are for hindrance, and no one for help. Hence no harvest can be
gathered; and therefore they went to seek a place where they could
gather it. Certainly they are not far wrong, for the things that occur
here and the obstacles opposed by those who ought to aid us, are so
numerous that many times I have longed to leave it all and flee to the
mountains; but the charge that I hold keeps me within bounds. There is
very little respect for the ministers of the gospel; and they cannot
exercise their office without being dependent upon those who have more
concern for their own profit than for the instruction of the Indians.
There was sent to the island of Macan, where the Portuguese live--near
the city of Canton, in China--a father of the Society, and with him two
Franciscan religious, to deal with the Portuguese there, in the same
way as with those at Maluco; he was sent also to the Chinese governor
at Canton. A copy of the letter is sent to you, in order that it may be
seen what is asked from the Chinese governor and in what form; for the
Chinese who were then here told me how it should be properly written;
they said that their governor would thus learn our usages, and that he
would be delighted if we would write to him as we write to one another.
To fulfil our obligation, and to bring this narrative--already so
long--to a close, I will not omit, as your Majesty's servant and
chaplain, to say that since these lands are your Majesty's, and you
have in them so many and so loyal and obedient subjects, both Spaniards
and Indians, you should please to see that the people are cared for
and well treated; and that the governors preserve their liberties,
and do not convert the government into a source of profit to those
who govern, as has been done heretofore, to the great injury and
deterioration of these colonies.
To remedy this condition, your Majesty should send to govern them
not those who solicit that charge, but those whom your Majesty shall
seek--Christian men, without greed; for such men are what the people
desire, and would suit them and us. Let your Majesty send hither a
man who comes alone, and without obligations to relatives or friends
(in serving whom they neglect their duty to the early comers, whose
blood has been spilled), who is content with the salary that your
Majesty assigns him (which is always quite sufficient), and who hopes
for advancement by your Majesty through his services; and who will not,
by making himself rich in two years, destroy this country, or prevent
others from enjoying it and gaining a livelihood. By doing this, your
Majesty will have one of the best possessions in the Yndias. But if
things go on as heretofore and there is no one to attend to it, it
cannot continue long. If it shall please your Majesty to entrust the
government to men who live here, there are those who could conduct
it very well and creditably, without the many disadvantages which
attend those who come from España.
The foregoing is such information as I can give your Majesty from here
regarding the transgression and observance of the royal commands, laws,
and decrees; and of the present state of this country, the wrongs
that occur in it, and what matters ought to be remedied. On account
of the little time before the ship departs, not all of this letter
is so polished as to be fit to appear before your Majesty. If this
relation is deficient (as it cannot fail to be) it is not in lack
of truth or in desire to serve your Majesty and secure the welfare
of these souls whom, because of their sins and my own, I have in
charge. If there is anything which to your Majesty appears worthy of
remedy, I humbly ask for it; and if I have said anything about which
it appears to your Majesty I ought to have been silent, I also humbly
beg that I may be pardoned. Since your Majesty knows that I am five
thousand leagues distant from your court, and surrounded by so many
griefs and afflictions, you will not be surprised at what I say, but
at what I leave unsaid--and even why I myself did not go to beg for
the remedy; for it certainly is a different thing to see and endure
it here, than to hear it mentioned there.
_Fray Domingo_, bishop of the Filipinas