In the island and town of Cubu in the Western Felipinas islands,
on the twenty-first of October, one thousand five hundred and
seventy, the very illustrious Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, governor and
captain-general for his Majesty the king, Don Felipe, our lord, and of
his troops and royal fleet for the exploration of the said islands,
in the presence of me, Fernando Riquel, chief government notary,
and of the undersigned witnesses: he declared that, whereas the day
before yesterday, the nineteenth of this present month, while he
was building some gabions on the river of Çubu, for the defense of
certain pieces of artillery, which he ordered to be mounted there,
Gonzalo Pereira, captain-general of the Portuguese fleet which is
anchored in this port, wrote to him that he must stop work on those
gabions which were being made on the said river. To please him, the
said governor, although the gabions were for the defense of the said
artillery, yesterday (the twentieth of the said month) ordered the
men to stop work. In the morning the said captain-general wrote to
him again, ordering him to demolish the said gabions, as it seemed
to him that they were being made as a menace to him and his fleet;
and that he should reply to him what he intended to do in this matter,
for, whether he answered or not, it will be held as if answered. At
the same time when the Portuguese sent the above letter, the said
governor had written to the said captain-general, and had sent to him
the factor Andres de Mirandaola, and myself, the said Fernando Riquel,
with an answer to a requisition which the said captain-general had sent
him the day before. Whereupon the captain-general again sent word that
he must order the said gabions to be destroyed; because, if they were
not destroyed between that time and the evening of that day, he would
take it for granted that war was declared. This said day, after dinner,
the aforesaid persons having returned with this message of reply to
the said governor, they told him how the galleys and small boats of
the Portuguese fleet were coming ashore. The said governor ordered the
master-of-camp, Martin de Goiti, to go to see what was wanted. The said
Portuguese--immediately, and before the expiration of the time-limit
set by the said captain-general, and without waiting for any response
to be given--those of the said galleys and _fustas_, began to batter
down the said gabions with a great number of guns; and they continued
this almost until sunset. Nevertheless, the said governor ordered that
no one should discharge any artillery at them from his camp; on the
contrary, he reproved an artilleryman who, without his permission,
discharged one gun. While the said Portuguese were demolishing the
said gabions, the said governor sent the said answer to the said
captain-general, complaining that he was commencing and making unjust
war, against all reason and without the said governor having given
any occasion for it. Not only did the Portuguese not relax at all but
sent part of his galleys and fustas to blockade the other entrance to
this harbor, which lies toward the east, so that nothing can enter or
leave this camp. The governor declared that the said Portuguese have
said and published that through famine they will seize and carry us
away prisoners, by force. In order that the manner in which the said
captain-general and his men commenced to make war--and they began it,
as is related hereafter--may be manifest both now and in the future,
he said that he asked me, the said notary, as he did, to certify
these facts to all the aforesaid in public form, in such wise that
witness may be had for the protection of the rights of his Majesty,
and of himself in the king's royal name. All those who were present
he ordered to witness it, and signed it with his name.
I, the said Fernando Riquel, chief notary aforesaid certify to
whomsoever shall see this present, or copies of it drawn up in public
form, that on yesterday, Wednesday in the morning, the twentieth of
this said month, I, having gone by the order of his lordship the said
governor to the flagship where the said captain-general Gonzalo de
Pereira was, to take him a certain answer to a requisition sent by the
said captain-general to the said governor, the said captain-general
sent an oral message through me, the said notary, and the factor,
Andres de Mirandaola, to the said governor, to the effect that,
if on the evening of that day the gabions on the river of Cubu were
not ordered to be demolished, he would consider war declared. With
this message we came from the said ship. Almost at high noon, and
after dinner, I, being in the said governor's room, despatching
certain messages which the said governor had to send to the said
captain-general, we heard a heavy fire of artillery. It was reported
to the said governor that the Portuguese, in _fustas_ and galleys,
were attacking and firing upon the river of Cubu, where there were
certain works and soldiers from this camp. The said governor ordered
that no artillery should be fired from this camp; on the contrary, he
reproved an artilleryman who fired a piece without his permission. Then
he sent me, the said notary, with a letter and other despatches to the
said captain-general. I went to his galleon and on my way thither,
I saw that the said galleys and _fustas_ were discharging artillery
at the said river and the gabions. Having arrived where the said
captain-general was, and having complained in the name of the said
governor, he replied that he had ordered the firing of those pieces,
and those being fired at the time, to frighten the troops who were on
the said shore with the said gabions. Also the said captain-general
said that he intended to make war without wasting so much powder
as was wasted that day; that on the following day if they did not
remove the gabions, war would begin in earnest. So on the said day
at this hour (which might be eight o'clock, more or less), I see,
and it is seen clearly, that three galleys of the said Portuguese
fleet are rounding the island of Matan with oars, against a head wind,
toward the other entrance of this harbor eastward. In affirmation of
the abovesaid, I signed here my name, jointly with the said governor,
who asked to have given him necessary copies of this testimony. There
were present, as witnesses to the said request, Captains Luis de la
Haya, Andres de Ybarra, Juan de Salcedo, Juan Maldonado de Verrocal,
and many other soldiers of this camp.
_Miguel Lopez de Legazpi_
I, the said Fernando Riquel, chief notary of the royal fleet that
came for the exploration of the Western Islands, and their government
for his Majesty, certify to the aforesaid, in the form and manner
abovesaid, wherefore I here affix my usual signature and flourish,
in witness of the truth.
_Fernando Riquel_
I, Sancho Lopez de Agurto, royal notary of the royal _Audiencia_ and
_chancelleria_ of Nueva España for his Majesty, hereby certify that
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi by whom this testimony is signed is governor
and captain in the Western Islands; and Fernando de Rriquel, by whom
this testimony is witnessed and signed, was appointed as his Majesty's
government notary--as appears by other acts that he has exercised and
exercises in the said office; and the handwriting and signature of
the said subscription appears like those that I have seen him make,
all of which are alike. In order that this may be manifest, by the
order of this royal _Audiencia_, I gave this present, which is dated
from the City of Mexico, on the eighteenth of January, one thousand
five hundred and seventy. Wherefore I sign in witness of the truth.
_Sancho Lopez de Agurto_
I, Jhoan Augustin de Contreras, his Majesty's recorder of the royal
_Audiencia_ of this Nueva España, certify that Miguel Lopez de Legazpi,
whose signature is attached to this testimony, was appointed governor
and general of the islands of the West and Fernando Riquel as his
government notary; and that I have certain information that they
discharge their offices in those provinces and this is a matter
well and generally known regarding the above-mentioned persons. And,
having seen them writing and signing their names many times, I hold and
recognize as their writing and signatures, those which are contained
in the above testimony of this other part, given by Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi and Fernando Rrequel, and followed with the subscription of the
said Fernando Requel. I saw the aforesaid despatched as such governor
and general and government notary of those islands, in the first fleet
sailing thither in the month of December of the year sixty-four,
and to which I refer. In affirmation whereof, I gave this present,
which is dated at Mexico, the twenty-eighth of January, one thousand,
five hundred and seventy.
Accordingly, in witness of the truth, I here affix this my signature,
which is as follows:
_Joan Augustin_, his Majesty's notary.
Documents of 1571-72.
Relation of the discoveries of the Malucos and
Philippinas. [1571?]
Requisitions of supplies for the Spanish forces in the
Philippines. [1571?]
Conquest of the island of Luzón. April 20, 1572.
Foundation of the city of Manila. Fernando Riquel; June
19, 1572.
_Sources_: MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias at Sevilla. The
third is obtained from Retana's _Archivo del Bibliófilo filipino_,
iv (Madrid, 1898).
_Translations_: The first two documents are translated by Alfonso de
Salvio; the third, by J. G. Gill; the fourth, by James A. Robertson.
Relation of the Discoveries of the Malucos and Philippinas, and
Various Negotiations Concerning Them
From what may be gathered in the said account and various agreements
concerning the navigation, discovery, and commerce of the Western
Islands, especially those of Maluco, Philippinas, and Çubu, we must
assume that the discovery of the Yndias was begun by order of the
Catholic Sovereigns, in the year ninety-two, and on the second of
May of the following year, ninety-three.
The supreme pontiff, Alexander the Sixth, granted to the Catholic
Sovereigns of Castilla and Leon, and to their successors, the
navigation of the Yndias, with all the privileges, favors, indulgences,
and prerogatives which had been granted to the kings of Portugal in
respect to the Yndias of Guinea, part of Affrica, and other Yndias
which they might conquer. This is contained more fully in the bull
of concession, an authentic copy of which is to be found in the
Archives of Simancas. On the third of the said month and year, the
same supreme pontiff made a concession to the Catholic Sovereigns of
Castilla and Leon, and their successors, of all the Yndias in general,
the islands and mainlands which had been discovered or should be
discovered in the limitless future, drawing a line from pole to pole,
one hundred leagues west of the Acores and Cabo Verde islands. All
land already discovered and to be discovered, found west and south of
this line (being not actually occupied by any Christian prince before
Christmas and the beginning of the year one thousand four hundred
and ninety-three) [35] was to be the navigation and discovery of the
kings of Castilla, and was to come under their kingdom, seigniory, and
jurisdiction. He who passed this line without permission would incur
blame and punishment, as is more fully shown in the original bull,
which is sealed with lead and deposited in the Archives of Simancas,
and dated at Rome on the fourth of May of the said year.
On the twenty-sixth of September of the said year one thousand
four hundred and ninety-three, the same supreme pontiff conceded to
the Catholic Sovereigns, and their successors, besides the general
concession of the Yndias, whatever conquest they might make in their
name in the eastern, western, and southern islands, "provided they
be not occupied by any other," etc., as is more fully shown in the
original bull given in Rome on the sixth of October of the same year,
and deposited in the Archives at Simancas.
These concessions made to the Catholic Sovereigns of Castilla and Leon
and their successors, as well as that made to the Kings of Portogal,
respecting the navigation of the East Indies, caused and still cause
dispute and controversy between the kings of Castilla and those
of Portugal, concerning the boundaries which should separate their
navigation and discovery--the limit and bound which is to be drawn
from pole to pole on this side of our hemisphere, and concerning the
other bound and meridian line which is to be drawn in the hemisphere
corresponding to the upper one.
Differences have existed and still exist between the kings concerning
the line of demarcation which was to be drawn between their
respective navigations and discoveries in this our hemisphere. The
kings of Castilla claim that it was to be drawn according to the
papal concession, one hundred leagues west of the islands of Acores
and Cabo Verde; the kings of Portugal claim that it was to be drawn
farther west, so that their side of the demarcation might include
most of the coast of Brasil, and of that Tierra Firme [36] adjoining
it. They agreed to settle this controversy, and the kings of Castilla
consented to have the line of demarcation drawn two hundred and seventy
leagues farther west than the line decreed in the bull of concession,
as is set forth in a deed of agreement.
(In the original instrument, drawn on paper, the said year, in the
presence of Fernand Alvarez of Toledo, secretary of the Catholic
Sovereigns, and in the presence of Estevan Vaes, secretary of the king
of Portogal, is found a confirmation by the Catholic Sovereigns. The
said instrument, drawn on parchment, in Arevalo, on the second of
July, 1495, is fully signed by the Sovereigns. The signature of the
prince is found below. The instrument is countersigned by the said
secretary. The seal was removed, but the cord to which it was attached
remains. The confirmation of the said instrument of Tordesillas by
King Don Joan of Portogal is attested by a contract written on five
pages of parchment, signed by the king, and countersigned by Martyn
de Veyra. The confirmation was given in Ebora on February 27, 1525)
[It] practically reads that on the seventh of June, one thousand four
hundred and ninety-four, the attorneys of the Catholic Sovereigns and
of the king of Portogal empowered by their masters met in Tordesillas,
and drew up the said instrument. The agreement reached was that a
line or meridian was to be drawn from the Arctic to the Antarctic
pole, three hundred and seventy leagues west of the islands of Cabo
Verde. Everything west of the said line or meridian was to belong
to the kings of Castilla, and that east was to be the navigation,
discovery, and conquest of the kings of Portogal. The sea of the king
of Portogal was open for navigation to the kings of Castilla, with
the understanding that the latter should follow their course without
any deviation. Whatever should be found up to the twentieth of the
said month of June in the first two hundred and fifty leagues of the
three hundred and seventy, was to belong to the kings of Portogal;
and that which should be found in the remaining hundred and twenty
leagues was to belong to the king of Castilla.
_Item_, both parties agreed to send within ten months an equal number
of ships, pilots, astrologers, and sailors to mark out the said line
of demarcation.
It is not specified that within the said ten months they did send
the said pilots, astrologers, and sailors to draw the said line of
demarcation; on the contrary, it is clear that the said line was
not drawn; for according to the copy of a decree and declaration of
the Catholic Sovereigns given in Madrid on May the seventh, 1495,
and signed by the secretary Samano, it is urged that the said line
be drawn--from which it is evident that the line had not been drawn
within the ten months. That this line had not been drawn appears
also from the conferences and records concerning the possession and
ownership of the Malucos, between the commissioners of both parties
in the year twenty-four at the bridge of Acaya, Yelves, and Badajoz,
where the determination of this line of demarcation was discussed;
and the determination thereof, discussed under three heads.
First, whether a spherical or plane surface should be considered in
drawing the line of demarcation.
Second, how should the islands of Cabo Verde be properly situated
and located.
Third, from which of the said islands should they begin to measure
the three hundred and seventy leagues for the demarcation.
The Castilians agreed with the Portuguese to employ the spherical
surface and still not to exclude the plane surface and other
measurements. The second point appears not to have been discussed. As
to the third, the Castilians disagreed with the Portuguese, saying that
the three hundred and seventy leagues were to begin from the island
of Santo Anton, the most western of the islands of Cabo Verde. The
Portuguese claimed that they ought to begin from the islands of
La Sal and Buena Vista, the most eastern of the group. It seems
(the original having been destroyed) that each party was striving to
have the islands of Maluco fall on his side of the demarcation--thus
contending for the contrary of what they claimed in the year 1494,
when each party, ignorant of the differences which would arise about
the Malucos, was striving to have the coast of Brasil fall on its
side of the demarcation.
_Item_: From the Castilian and Portuguese sea-charts it appears that
the said line of demarcation was neither drawn nor determined; because,
in the model sea-charts deposited in the India house of trade in
Sevilla, this line or meridian is found drawn from pole to pole so as
to cut our hemisphere three hundred and seventy leagues from the island
of Sancto Anton, the last of the Cabo Verde islands. It also cuts the
coast of Brasil about two degrees from the equinoctial line through
the land of Humos, the tropic of Capricorn, the Cape of Dospermitas,
and the river of Sant Salvador. According to these charts, the line of
demarcation of the king of Portogal includes three hundred and ninety
leagues through which the line of demarcation passes inland, and for
a distance of six hundred leagues down along the coast. Within the
line of demarcation of the kings of Castilla fall all of Tierra Nova
[Newfoundland], of the Bacallaos, and of Labrador. In the Portoguese
sea-charts, this line of demarcation is so drawn as to cut Brasil
farther north than the great river of Orellana or Amazonas, two
degrees from the equinoctial line, and thirty-eight degrees south,
through the low submerged districts, so that it cuts the land seven
hundred leagues inland and almost one thousand three hundred leagues
along the coast, including within the demarcation of Portogal all of
Tierra Nova, Bacallaos, and Labrador.
[Here follows some matter which we omit, as superfluous--an account of
Portuguese settlements in Brazil, decisions of the Junta of Badajoz,
and the Treaty of Zaragoza.]
After the execution of the said deed, one of the first and chief
instructions in the settlements and discoveries made, as well as on the
merchant vessels and fleets despatched, is that no one shall go beyond
the line of demarcation of the king of Portogal, and the boundaries
specified in the said contract. A similar injunction forbidding men
to go beyond the boundaries of demarcation of the king of Portogal
was made after the execution of the demarcation deed, in the year
fourteen hundred and ninety-four.
1535. In the year thirty-five, Simon de Alcaçava was despatched with
two hundred and forty men. He passed the strait of Magallanes and
one of the ships returned to Santiago de Cuba.
1536. In the year thirty-six, Cortes sent Grijalva and Alvarado with
two ships below the equinoctial line. They reached the Malucos.
1542. In the year forty-two, Don Antonio de Mendoza sent from Nueva
España Ruy Lopez de Villalobos with four ships, four hundred soldiers,
and four hundred Indians. He discovered Mindanaos, Çubu, and Nata.
1543. In the year forty-three, Villalobos despatched Bernardo de la
Torre to give an account of the expedition and its route; he discovered
and named the Philippinas islands.
1545. In the year forty-five, the said Villalobos went to the island
of Nuzo, to the city of Sanuso, to Gilolo, and to Tidori. From Tidori
he sent Yñigo Ortiz de Roda as captain, and Gaspar Rico as pilot. On
the way they discovered the coast of Nueva Guinea, which had been
discovered by Saavedra in the year twenty-seven.
1545. On November the ninth, 1545, his Majesty the Emperor wrote from
Bruxas [Brussels] to Don Antonio de Mendoça, viceroy of Nueva España,
saying that the ambassador of the king of Portogal had in behalf of
the latter complained that the fleet of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos went
to the islands of Maluco; and that, being requested by the governor
of that place to leave, had gone to another island, where it remained.
(Ruy Lopez de Villalobos died, and his companions endured so many
hardships, that finally they were obliged to return to Spaña by way
of the province of Yndia. This is verified by a letter of Fray Gonzalo
de Santistevan, an Augustinian, who was with the fleet.)
In order to please the king of Portogal, his Majesty ordered the
captain and his people to leave that place immediately. The said
viceroy and other magistrates in whose districts the captain and his
men might land were requested to arrest them, and to confiscate their
drugs and spices. His Majesty warned the viceroy that this decree was
issued to please the king of Portogal, and requested him to send news
of the outcome. Dissembling and secrecy was required, etc.
1559. On September 24, 1559, a decree of his Majesty was sent from
Valladolid to Don Luys de Velasco, ordering him to send men to discover
the Philippinas islands, and other places where spices could be found;
but in doing this they were to avoid Maluco and other places forbidden
by the compact.
1560. On May 28, 1560, Fray Andres de Urdaneta wrote from Mexico that
he had received the above-mentioned decree of September 24, and offered
himself to undertake the expedition. He sent a memorial in which he
declared that the Philipina island does not come within the agreement,
and that the expedition could be made under the pretext of going to
rescue the men who were captured from the fleet of Fray Garcia de
Loaysa in the year 1525, from the one which Cortes despatched in
the year 1527, from that which Don Antonio sent in 1542, and from
another ship despatched by Cortes, which was lost on its course from
Nueva España. Don Luys began to get ready the fleet. At his death the
_Audiencia_ of Mexico made haste to complete the preparations; and
on the first of September, one thousand five hundred and sixty-four,
instructions were given to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who had been
appointed governor and general of the discovery of the Western
Islands. The latter set sail with four ships on November 21, 1564. On
April 27, 1551 [_sic_], he reached the island of Çubu, where he built
a fort. He took possession in his Majesty's name of the Barbudos
Islands, the Ladrones, Çibabao, the bay of Sant Pedro and Maletie
in the island of Camiguinni, and Bohol. He despatched the flagship
under command of his grandson Phelippe de Salzedo, and Fray Andres de
Urdaneta. They set sail on June the first, sixty-five, and on September
the eighteenth they came in sight of the first land of Nueva Spañia,
the island of Sant Salvador, which is in twenty-nine and five-sixths
degrees north latitude. On the first of October, they reached the
port of La Navidad; but, without stopping there, they proceeded to
Acapulco which is a better port, forty-five leagues nearer to Mexico.
As soon as the flagship arrived, an advice-ship was despatched
from Nueva Spaña. It reached the royal settlement at Çubu on the
fifteenth of October, 1566, without the store of arms, ammunition,
and other provisions needed. The captain and ensign were missing,
for they had been killed in a mutiny.
Phelipe de Salzedo as general, Captain Artieda with a company, and
another company of Juan de Aguirre for Captain Andres de Ybarra,
set sail in April, 1567, with two ships and three hundred men, both
sailors and soldiers. They reached Çubu August 20, 1567.
The general Miguel Lopez despatched a ship commanded by Joan de la
Ysla. It reached Nueva España November 16, 1567; and España June 5, 68.
The Council hastened to get ready a ship in Santander with the
said aid, arms, and ammunition, and to entrust it to the said
Joan de la Ysla. The preparations were carried out by Joan de
Peñalosa, administrator of the marine tithes, to whom the affair was
entrusted. The ship set sail with good weather August 27, 1569. The
ship, its repairing, and the goods it carried cost four million
eight hundred and seventeen thousand eight hundred and seventy-six
and one-half _maravedis_, as is evident by the memorandum of Joan de
Peñalosa for the said day.
The ship reached Nueva Spaña on the last of October, 1569. On March
9, 70, it left the port of Acapulco with two hundred men including
sailors, soldiers, workmen, and married men. Joan de la Ysla says
that the officials of Nueva Spaña wasted one hundred and twenty-six
thousand _pesos_ on his expedition, and as much while he remained
there. He reached the islands at the end of May, and cast anchor in
the island of Marapite. Thence he sent despatches to the governor and
awaited his orders. On the arrival of the orders he set sail, June 20,
and reached Panae, where the governor was, on the twenty-third of June.
On July 27, he left Panae for Nueva Spaña, with two of the three
ships which the other had brought, and reached the port of Acapulco in
Nueva España, November 21, 1570. January 25, 1571, he left Sant Juan
de Lua, and reached Sant Lucas April 17, 1571. Through an advice-ship
sent by the viceroy, Juan de la Ysla was requested to set sail with
the two ships, not later than the month of February. The time to set
out from Nueva Spaña is from the beginning of November to the latter
part of January; the voyage will last two months. The time to set out
for Nueva España is from the end of July to the beginning of August;
the voyage will last three months.
Requisitions of Supplies for the Spanish Forces in the
Philippines--1570-71 (_circa_)
Memorandum of the articles asked for by the governor of the Felipinas
islands--with a note of what can be supplied from Nueva España, and
what must be brought from España. This memorandum was brought last
year by the advice ships. [37]
First, he asks for rigging. We must buy some of that brought by the
merchant fleet; for none was sent here from España on his Majesty's
account. A supply must be sent, for it is very expensive here.
(Six hundred and forty-five _arrobas_ and fourteen _libras_ of small
rigging were taken.)