All the material of the present volume is found in the archives
of Spain--mainly in the Archivo de Indias at Sevilla, and in
two patronatos therein; from transcripts of these documents our
translations are made, except as otherwise noted. One of these
patronatos is thus described: "Simancas Secular; Audiencia de
Filipinas; Cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistas
en consejo; años 1567 á 1599; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 6." Under this
pressmark are found the following documents: 1569--letters by Lavezaris
and Legazpi (this a copy, perhaps made by the viceroy to send to
the king), and confirmation of the latter's title; 1570--the last
two; 1573--Lavezaris's relation; 1574--Lavezaris's letters to king;
1576--the last two. The other patronato is: "Simancas--Filipinas;
Descubrimientos, descripciones y poblaciones de las Yslas Filipinas;
años 1566 á 1586; est. 1, caj. 1, leg. 2|24." This is the pressmark
for the following documents: 1569--Mirandaola's letter, and Legazpi's
relation; 1570--the first three; 1571-72--all; 1573--Melchior de
Legazpi's certificate of expenses; 1574--Mirandaola's letter, Rada's
"Opinion" and reply of officials thereto, and Lavezaris's report on
slavery; 1575--both documents.
Mirandaola's letters of 1569 and 1574 are bound together. Regarding
the MS. of "Requisitions of supplies" (1571?), see Bibliographical
Data of _Vol_. II, under "Letter to Audiencia of Mexico" (1565). The
account of the conquest of Luzón (1572) has been published by Retana
in his _Archivo bibliófilo filipino,_ t. iv, no. 1; our translation
is made therefrom. The original MS. of Diego de Artieda's relation
(1573) is conserved in the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar at Madrid;
its pressmark is "711, 20-3_a_, caja n_o_ 22." The MS. ascribed
by some former archivist to Juan de la Isla, but apparently almost
identical with Artieda's (see notes thereon in the text), is in the
Archivo de Indias at Sevilla; its pressmark is: "Simancas--Filipinas;
Descubrimientos, descripciones y poblaciones de las Islas Filipinas;
años 1537 á 1565; est. 1, caj. 1, leg. 1|23." It is out of its proper
chronological place. We have adopted the Madrid MS. for our text,
because it contains Artieda's signature; but have incorporated therein
all additional matter, or important changes found in the Sevilla copy,
as has been stated _ante_, note 54. The letter of Enriquez (1573)
is taken from _Cartas de Indias_ (Madrid, 1877), pp. 290-296; the
material for this publication is found, as stated by the editors,
in the Archivo Histórico Nacional, Madrid; but they do not locate
therein the documents selected by them. Riquel's relation (1574)
is a MS. in the Archivo general of Simancas; its pressmark is:
"Secretario de Estado, leg. 155." In Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar,
Madrid, is a MS. containing part of the material of this document;
it is bound with the Artieda relation. In the Real Academia de
la Historia, Madrid, is another MS. (a copy by Muñoz) which is
similar to the document of our text, in part; the MS. from which we
translate may be a compilation from these other documents and from
other letters written by Riquel which are alluded to therein. The
document of our text was written partly on shipboard (in a vessel
which left Manila July 1, 1573), and completed at Mexico, from
which city it was despatched to Spain in January, 1574. The royal
decrees of 1574 are taken from _Doc. inéd. Amér. y Oceania_, xxxiv,
pp. 68-71; the originals are probably in Sevilla. The decree forbidding
encomiendas to royal officials is at Sevilla, its pressmark being,
"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; Cartas y expedientes de
los oficiales reales de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años 1564 á
1622; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 29." Sande's relation of 1576 has been
published in Retana's _Archivo_, ii, no. 1.
It may be well to explain here the method of, arranging and locating
documents which is employed in the Sevilla archives. The first division
is that of patronatos (sections), designated by names which show the
character and source of the documents therein--as "Simancas--Bulas,"
that is, papal bulls, which had been brought to Sevilla from
Simancas. Each patronato is divided into estantes (shelves), these
into cajons (cases), And these again into legajos (packets); the
legajo is sometimes further divided into ramos (parts) and números
(numbers). Any document may thus be easily and accurately located.