Continuation of the events of that year of 1639
On the seventh of August of that year, the desired news of two galleons
which were coming from Nueva España, with the situado of these islands,
arrived at Manila, which was decked in festival gladness [because
of the termination of the Sangley insurrection]. One cannot easily
imagine the general acclamation with which the news was received,
and the festive demonstrations which were made [tokens of joy] in the
hearts that were so full of mourning for the troubles of the above
related insurrection, and other incidents which still kept the copious
tears dropping from the eyes. Those were the results, doubtless, of
our great sins, which to this very day have converted our joy into
a tragedy, and a very painful one. For on the very day in which so
famous news arrived at Manila--namely, that the said two ships were
in Cagayan--because they had made a port badly sheltered, and had
not been able to better it in so many days, at that unseasonable
time so furious a tempest struck the same moorings, that all their
skill was of no avail to them, and the tempest drove them upon some
rocks, where both were miserably lost. Although it was God's will
that the money of the situado should be saved, and that registered as
belonging to private persons, as it was already ashore, all the other
things were lost--most of the infantry aboard, and all their goods,
silver, and merchandise. That amounted to a great treasure and was
the blood of this land gathered in those two hulks, and was so sadly
shed in our very sight. Patience, hardly cured from the past blows,
was much exhausted, when that misfortune became known. Its causes
were differently construed, for in such strokes grief has license
to arouse opinions, however little foundation they may have. But the
truth is that alleged above, namely, our sins, and no other--which,
in order to double their strength, are trying to leave us querulous
of others, the good abandoned, and the detection of our errors left
in uncertainty. He who would know what kind of a city Manila is, the
latitude in which our Lord located it, and its characteristics and its
strength, must not be governed by degrees, elevations, or charts, nor
by its gains (although these have been so great), but by its losses,
which are much greater and more continual; its site, looked on with
envy by all the nations of the world, especially by those surrounding
it who are as haughty as populous; its nourishment, which, as this is
the most remote part of the body of our España, when it arrives is at
least cold, however great the warmth displayed by the royal heart of
the Council of the Indias. Its governors are and have been excellent
Christians, and brave, for in this regard it has had good fortune. But
since the express from Madrid, even when it is swiftest, takes three
years, it is necessary that the government change its nature. Although
it is monarchical in its form, it lacks the quickness in its relation
to the heart and to the head which is the better life of its members,
so that without doubt it is most difficult to administer. Whence we
infer that this city, with its remote provinces, is one of the greatest
miracles that the providence of God has gathered in His temple, who
is preserving it supernaturally for His predestined ones, dispensing
with the order of secondary causes, to the no little glory of our
mother España. The latter is the instrument happily chosen for so
lofty an end. España, with so Christian generosity, spends annually
in its support a half million. That is the least thing, when one
considers the so many and so competent sons in both estates [i.e.,
secular and religious] as are those of whom España is continually
dispossessed, without hope of seeing them again. That does not happen
in any other part of America. Fortunate is the Catholic spirit of
the kings our sovereigns, who, following that honorable obligation,
so free from temporal interests, have advanced this royal proof of
the most Catholic zeal, and of a liberality without imitation among
all the monarchs of the world! And happy a thousand times those who
coöperate with their lives or their energy to so glorious an end!
Although the above-mentioned misfortune caused the loss of goods
and lives of so much value, the royal despatches of his Majesty were
saved, and the waves did not dare to profane their immunity. In the
despatches was a decree for the father provincial of this province in
regard to the division [of the province]--now buried in silence, but
which disturbed it so greatly. As that decree seems highly significant
of the care of our Catholic monarch, and of the warm place that his
humble province has in his royal breast, we have thought best to
insert it here. It is as follows:
"The King. To the venerable and devout father provincial of the
Order of St. Dominic of my Filipinas Islands: I have been informed, by
various relations which I have received, of the lack of peace and quiet
enjoyed by the religious of that province, because of the division made
in it, by virtue of letters which Fray Diego de Collado bore from his
general, and aid given him for it by my governor and captain-general
of those islands, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. However the
said briefs ought not to have been executed, as they were not passed
upon by my royal Council of the Indias. Regarding rather the harmony
of the orders and the quiet of that province, and believing that
the said division will be the occasion for laxity in the order, I
have ordered my said governor and captain-general of those islands,
and my royal Audiencia resident therein, to suspend the said brief
and all others that the said Fray Diego Collado may have carried,
and not allow them to be executed; and that the division that has
been made in the provinces be annulled, and conditions remain as they
were before the said division. Therefore, I ask and charge you that
you on your part cause those provinces to assume the condition that
they had before the said division, and you shall immediately send
the said Fray Diego Collado to España. In order that this may have
effect, I am ordering my governor in a letter of this same date to
have transportation furnished to him for his return. You shall advise
me of what you shall do in execution of what I ask you, on the first
opportunity. Given at Madrid, February twenty-one, one thousand six
hundred and thirty-seven.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign: Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon"
This is the letter or decree written to the father provincial. In
the one which follows, although it contains so many things worth
considering, the clause rendering this province equal to the most
observant one of the order is the most noteworthy; so that those who
merit the possession of a mother who employs herself in the service
of God, and who is so well accredited with her prince, may console
themselves. In order that we may get through with this matter once
for all (which is not very savory), we shall insert here the other
decree of his Majesty written in regard to the same matter to the
royal Audiencia of Manila. The king our sovereign well shows in it the
care that we owe to him, for he expresses in that decree not only his
royal providence, but the anger that such innovations caused him. It
is as follows:
"The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of
Manila of the Filipinas Islands: In one section of a letter written
to me by you on June 12, 1636, you say that father Fray Diego Collado
of the Order of St. Dominic went to those islands in the former year
of 35, bearing letters from his general allowing him to take over
some of the houses owned by that order and found a new and distinct
province, the sole business of which is to send ministers for the
conversion of Japon. All of that carried with it great inconvenience,
both because of the injury that that order would receive by a division
of the province (which will bring about laxity in it, although that
province has hitherto been one of those in which the rules of their
order have been observed with the greatest strictness and punctuality),
and in sending ministers to Japon the said order has displayed so much
solicitude that rather has it been necessary to restrain it because
of the umbrage received thereby by that kingdom. That annoyance has
been the occasion for cutting off the trade with those islands; and
it was in great danger of being shut to the Portuguese of Macan, whom
the Japanese have threatened severely if it be found that religious
have gone to that kingdom from those islands, or from any other
part. Consequently, it was certain that father Fray Diego Collado gave
an inaccurate report to his general, and it was not advisable to carry
out the terms of his letters--of which you gave me an account, so that
I might have the evil corrected. The matter having been examined in my
royal Council of the Indias, by a letter of this date I have ordered
and charged you, my president--inasmuch as you did wrong in giving
aid to that father because the brief which he held had not been passed
upon by the said my Council--to cause this and all briefs which he had,
that had not been passed upon by the Council, to be suspended, and not
to allow them to be carried into effect. In regard to the division of
the provinces, they shall return to their former condition. In order
that my commands may have the due effect, I order you and my Audiencia
to assist in the fulfilment of the aforesaid decree, so that it may
be executed without any omission. When that is done, you shall advise
me of it at the first opportunity. Given in Madrid, February 21, 1638.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign: Don Gabriel Ocaña y Alarcon"
One can see in this not only his Majesty's favor toward us, directed
to the ends of the providence of God (who holds the hearts of kings
in His hands), but also the evil (which the Audiencia here regretted)
of the separation which was made, and the official report which was
made to the credit of this holy providence. And since at last they
see us near at hand, and the good reputation that our Lord has given
us here in His infinite goodness, those gentlemen are grieved at
seeing us suffer--since at that time we were in so great danger of
the destruction of this holy province; for giving it such a division
amounted to the same thing. But God returned to His cause later;
and as His divine mercies have been so abundantly revealed, greater
troubles can well be reckoned as well past.
[The following six chapters are comprised mainly of accounts of the
Chinese missions, and the lives of certain Dominicans.]
THE RECOLLECT MISSIONS, 1625-40
[In VOL. XXI (pp. 191-259) the history of the Recollect missions in
the Philippines, as related by Luis de Jesús (Historia general de
los religiosos descalzos del orden de los Hermitaños del gran Padre,
... San Augustin; Madrid, 1681) was presented for 1621-24. Below
follows the history of that author for 1625-38.]
DECADE FOURTH
Year 1625
CHAPTER FIFTH
The founding of the convent of Sevilla. Ours begin to preach the
gospel in Baiug and Malanao in the Filipinas. Father Fray Diego de
la Anunciation dies in a holy manner in Madrid.
[The first three sections of this chapter relate to Spanish affairs
entirely.]
IIII
Preaching of our religious in Bayug and Malanao
It had been decided by an intermediary chapter of that province of
Filipinas that our laborers should go to the district of Bayug and
the vicinity of Lake Malanao [i.e., Lanao], as there were many people
there, and hopes were entertained of gathering abundant fruit for
the Church. Since the minister of Cagaiang, to whom the visitas of
Bayug and the other villages belonged, could not go there, father
Fray Juan de San Nicolas was appointed, a man well known for his
invincible spirit, and his excellent procedure (howbeit at the cost
of many hardships) in reducing obstinate ones, as was proved in the
conquest of Cagaiang. Armed, then, with spiritual weapons, he went to
the village of Bayug, where he was known and where there were a few
Christians. He began to make much of the chief people, for if they are
once subdued, the conversion of the common people is not so difficult.
Dolomayor, [10] a man well affected toward the religious, was as
it were, the ruler of those people. He immediately surrendered his
children to baptism, although he remained in his blindness. For
all that, however, he did not fail to help Ours greatly. With
this good beginning, father Fray Juan endured his hardships with
equanimity; and he had much to endure, for the Indians do not give
alms. Consequently, it was necessary for the ministers to seek their
food in the mountains, with the trouble that can be imagined. They
continued to gain souls for God; but the heart of the zealous father
was pierced because the inhabitants of the other river near by,
called Lavayan, clung obstinately to their heathen rites, and refused
to receive the evangelical law. On that account the father resolved
to make a settlement in that district, in order that they might be
subdued by perseverance. He did so, and left his associate in Bayug.
We have already mentioned, [when speaking] of the foundation in
Cagaiang, [11] the great hostility that those of that village had
incurred, and the Mindanao Moros. The latter could not endure to have
our religious remain there, as they thought that it was the gateway by
which an entrance would be made into their lands. Because of them the
people of Cagaiang were so harassed continually that they could not
go out to cultivate their fields. Father Fray Augustin de San Pedro
[12] was prior of Cagaiang in the year 1626. He was so valiant a man
that, although he had been reared in the austerity and shelter of
religion from childhood, he knew how to make himself so feared by
those Mahometans that they called him "the Father Captain."
He surrounded the village with a high stockade, with its sentry-boxes
and towers for the sentinels who stood watch at night, by means of
which they were safe from the continual ambushes of the enemy. He
taught the Indians how to make sallies, to shoot, and to spy out those
who were in ambush, and in fine carried himself as the most skilful
captain. The tyrant Cachil Corralat was very angry that a small village
like Cagaiang should resist his power, and desired to finish it once
for all. He launched his fleet of more than thirty caracoas manned
by the best of his men and equipped with military supplies. The
preparation of the enemy was learned, and the father prior sent
to Caragha for some soldiers. Six soldiers and one hundred Indians
came. A sudden alarm was sounded, to call in those who were distant in
their fields. The enemy disembarked more than two thousand Moros in
order to attack the village; but they found so stout resistance that
they returned, fleeing in disgrace. All that gave great annoyance
to Corralat, and he was grieved to his very soul that the [Father]
Captain should be the one to check his boldness. Therefore, desirous
of seizing him, Corralat ordered ambushes to be set, and took other
means to secure his end.
That action was not kept hidden from the prudent father, who, caring
for the guard of the village, also forbade the people at times to
make sallies, that they might not fall into any of the many stratagems
arranged by the enemy, notwithstanding that he had frightened them from
the vicinity. Sometimes he sallied out on horseback, with unsheathed
sword, trampling many under foot, and causing the rest to flee in
terror. That military valor of father Fray Augustin is not to be
wondered at; for there are many examples of priests in Holy Writ
who fought like captains; and, in our España, many archbishops and
bishops have performed great exploits, opposing themselves, clad in
steel armor, in the field of battle to the barbarity of the enemies
of the faith; and our religious opposed the Mahometans, because he
was defending those whom he had converted to the law of God.
The misfortune was, that the said father having gone out to visit his
parishioners, the enemy--who were keeping close watch, and seeking
the manner in which they might enter the village--obtained their
opportunity in a certain part where the sentinels were careless; and,
attacking the convent, they pillaged it of what they found. Father
Fray Jacinto de Jesus Maria escaped, as by a miracle, through the
midst of the swords which the barbarians raised against him, even he
being quite careless inside his cell. The father prior grieved greatly
over that blow; but, like the courageous man he was, he supplied the
convent with furnishings and with what was most necessary for the
fortification of the place.
At that time the father prior of Bayug, Fray Juan de San Nicolàs, was
in Lavayan, whose inhabitants he was subduing with incredible labors;
for they refused to build him a church or a house, or to supply him
with food. He was supported by the fish caught by two Tagálog Indians,
servants of his, while he himself was obliged to pound his rice and
carry his wood. It was God's pleasure to soften the hardness of those
people, in a manner that appears ridiculous. I shall not hesitate to
refer to it, so that the divine Providence may be seen even in what
appears accidental.
Father Fray Juan de San Nicolàs fell sick of the fever, and found that
he must be bled. That took place upon the occasion of a visit from an
Indian chief. The latter was greatly surprised that the father allowed
himself to be bled. He asked the cause for it, and the father told
him that that was a good medicine for fevers, and that the Spaniards
were accustomed to its use. The Indian became quiet at that, but
returned the next day to see the second bleeding. Then after several
days he came with his hands to his head, and asked to be bled, as he
felt sick. The father endeavored to dissuade him, but he insisted so
much that the father had to order that he be bled. The barber, since
the chief had refused to sell him a fowl for food, or anything else,
thought to be revenged, and said that he would not bleed him unless
he gave him a fowl or two pullets. The Indian had to give it to him,
and although father Fray Juan laughed at the bargain, he was silent
and overlooked it all, as he got some food. Other Indians fell sick,
and were bled, paying for the bleeding in fowls. By that means the
fathers, who were suffering from severe fevers, were able to cure
themselves, God taking that means for the relief of his ministers,
who had no relief in any other way. Thus the Indians became fond
of them and many were baptized. Let us praise God in His infinite
wisdom, since He can bring about the salvation of souls by so homely
opportunities. Some curious things happened among those barbarous
people, but we shall omit them in order not to enlarge this narration,
and because those ministries were lost through the hidden judgments
of God, and with them the fruit that could be expected.
[The remainder of the chapter does not touch Philippine matters. The
sixth chapter is concerned with the life of Rodrigo de San Miguel or
Rodrigo de Aganduru Moriz (see VOL. XXI, p. 116, note 29, and p. 317,
note 79). The four following chapters of the fourth decade treat of
matters in Spain, Spanish America, and Japan (where the Recollects
also have their martyrs).]
DECADE FIFTH
CHAPTER FIRST
The venerable father master, Fray Mateo Delgado, dies in a holy
manner in the convent of Candelaria. Four religious suffer for
the faith of Christ in the province of Caraghas. The venerable
father, Fray Geronimo de la Resurreccion, the first vicar general,
ended his exemplary life at the convent of Toledo.
[The first three sections of this chapter are taken up with the life
and work of Mateo Delgado, who labored in the American missions.]
IIII
Four of our religious suffer from the violence of the rebellious
Indians of Caragha
It has been said that the Caraghas Indians are fierce and warlike, and
can ill endure to be subject to the Spaniards. Having seen the little
or no reputation that had been gained with the Indians of the island of
Jolo--who, although they were paying tribute, rebelled; and whose many
depredations our soldiers could not check--the Caraghas were emboldened
to rise because of that rebellion and they did so. That insurrection
was begun in the year 1629, in which occurred many murders, thefts,
and insolences. It is not our purpose to enumerate them in detail;
but it does concern us to touch upon the many calamities that some
of our convents suffered, and the religious who governed them.
Captain Pedro Bautista went to the fort of Caragha, and, the land
being in great revolt, thought only of attending to his business and
of making raids. In the first raid he comported himself so badly toward
the Indians that they were very dissatisfied. Having arranged a second
raid in the year 1631, he left the fort on the fourth of July, taking
with him ten soldiers, the best that he had. The names of the latter
were Alferez Maldonado, Sergeant Gandaya, Sergeant Juan Rodriguez,
Sergeant Reyes, Sergeant Negrete, Luis de Alarcòn, Juan de Aguirre,
Juan Dominguez, Francisco de la Paz, and one other. Father Fray
Jacinto de Jesus Maria, prior vicar of the convent of Tago (whom
the rebellious Indians tried to kill in his cell at the convent of
Cagaiang, as has been related) went as chaplain of that fleet. One
Spaniard having been stationed in each ship, they reached Bapangano,
accompanied by all the chief people of that coast. They captured
sixteen slaves, and Dumblag, one of the Indian chiefs, seeing the
little advantage that could fall to him from that prize, freed seven
of them. [13] The fleet returned and, on arriving at Cheta, Captain
Pedro Bautista and father Fray Jacinto disembarked. It was learned
there that Dumblag had freed the seven slaves, whereupon the captain
resolved to arrest him. The chief resisted, and laid his hand on his
varalao to oppose the captain. The latter, angered, struck Dumblag
(who was a very great rogue, and had done many things for which he
deserved punishment) with his lance; the chief was placed in irons,
and his cause was put in writing. On the arrival of the other boats,
his relative Valintos landed, and went to visit the prisoner, who
complained because the former did not avenge him. Valintos was ashamed,
and resolved to kill the captain and father Fray Jacinto.
At that time the Spaniards were without their arms. Valintos went up to
the captain deceitfully, and treacherously stabbed him twice so that
he died. He asked for confession, and father Fray Jacinto set about
confessing him; but scarcely had he absolved him, when many Indians,
coming up, found father Fray Jacinto--who was now on his knees with
hands raised and eyes lifted toward the heavens, praying and asking
pardon of God for their sins, in payment of which he offered his life;
and he asked pardon for the aggressors of so many misdeeds. The Indians
gave him a lance thrust that passed through his body. He never moved,
and when the barbarians saw that, they wounded him again and again,
in the belief that he was not dead. But when they became aware that he
was no more, and saw that his eyes were opened and his hands raised,
they conceived so great fear that they did not dare go up to him. Thus
remained that blessed body until the tide came in and carried it away,
the sea giving him a more pious burial than those inhuman wretches
had given him death. It was God's plan to make the venerable father
terrible to the Indians at his death, so that they should not ill-treat
his remains. It is an indication that he enjoys reward in heaven for
having bravely given his life for God on the earth.
Then the Indians killed the Spaniards there. Father Fray Jacinto
could have escaped, but in order not to fail in charity he did not
care to preserve his life, and offered it to God, for whom he gave it
willingly--an action wondered at by the Indians, and still recounted
today with the same wonder. Father Fray Jacinto was a native of the
port of Cadiz in Andaluzia, his parents being Pedro de Molino and
Doña Isabel Lopez. He took the habit and professed in the convent of
San Nicolàs of Manila. [14] Having been ordained a priest, obedience
employed him in the instruction of the coast of Caragha. Giving an
excellent account of what was in his charge, he was appointed prior
vicar of the convent of Tago, where he comported himself to the great
satisfaction of all, until he gave his life for the service of God,
as has been related. His happy death occurred on the thirteenth of
July of that year.
Next day the rebels went to the river of Tago, in high spirits
because they had killed all the Spaniards in the fleet, and spent
three days in carousing. Mangabo ordered them to ring for a mass that
he desired to say. "Come," he said in derision, "to the mass of Father
Mangabo." The people assembled in the church of our convent. An Indian
woman, called Maria Campan, esteemed as one of good life dressed
herself and went through the aspersion, saying, when she sprinkled
the water, "I am Father Jacinto." Mangabo took a holy crucifix, and,
breaking off the arms, said: "God of the Castilians, fight with me;
come let us see whether you are as brave as I." And drawing his
varalao or cris, [15] he struck it crosswise through the face, and
cleft it. "That holy image," says father Fray Lorenço de San Facundo,
whose relation this is, and who passed through that insurrection,
in which he suffered many hardships and dangers, as we shall see
hereafter, "is in my possession." Then he threw down another holy
crucifix of greater stature, and cut it into bits with an ax, defying
it to fight. O Lord! what things dost Thou endure from men! Then the
convent and church were given over to pillage, and a servant of the
convent, named Diego Salingat, was killed.
Mangabo went to Tanda, and, reaching the convent on the nineteenth
of the same month, attacked it at midnight. Dacxa, an Indian chief,
who had refused to take part in that insurrection, hastened to the
defense of the fathers who were in the convent; but he was unable
to defend them, for father Fray Alonso de San Joseph, the prior's
associate, was attacked by the Indians and his head split by a blow of
the campilan. It was discovered afterward that Dacxa was treacherous,
and was taking part with Mangabo in the pillage. The blessed father
was a native of Villa-Cañas, although some make him a native of
Villa-Tobas, in La Mancha the land of Toledo. He professed in the
convent of Valencia, and went to Filipinas in the year 1622 with
father Fray Andrès del Espiritu Santo. He was a religious of great
humility and very observant, on account of which he was appointed
by the superiors prior of the convent of Baldag in the province of
Calamianes, where he gathered abundant fruit in the conversion of
those people. But as he was very near sighted, he had scruples lest
he could not perform his duty well, and finally conceived that he
was incapable of administering it or any other office with the care
of souls. Therefore he petitioned that he be allowed to resign, and
did so. He was permitted to resign, but rather for his consolation
than because he was judged incapable. He went to Manila, where he
gave himself up to the exercise of virtue, without any hindrance. His
superiors seeing that it was not expedient that so excellent a worker
should be idle, sent him to the convent of Tanda, so that he might
as an experienced associate, aid the prior.
The father teacher, Fray Juan de Santo Tomàs, was prior. Hearing the
attack of the barbarians from his retreat, and going outside, he saw
Dacxa, to whom he went and whom he asked for protection. The latter
in pity embraced the father and endeavored to save his life, but an
Indian came up and thrust the father through the body with a lance,
and he died on his knees. Then the Indians went to the convent and
sacked and profaned it as they had done to that of Tago, and finally
burned it.
[The above father was born in San Pablo de los Montes in the
archbishopric of Toledo. He took the Recollect habit in the convent of
Valladolid, where he became a close student. He went to the Philippines
in 1620 with Onofre de la Madre de Dios and other religious, where
he was appointed to found the convent of Cuyo, of which he was made
prior, being also made vicar-provincial of the other convents in the
islands. He was later appointed prior of the convent of Tanda, where
he was killed. His body, which was buried at some little distance
from the church, was given decent burial after seven years--when it
was disinterred for that purpose, being found to be wholly preserved
except at the tip of the nose.]
On the twenty-first of the same month of July, father Fray Pedro de
San Antonio, former prior of the convent of Bacoag, had left that
convent. The rebellious Indians, having heard that he was in Surigao,
a visita of the priorate, despatched Mañan Galan and other Indians
to kill him. They found him at the landing-place of Don Diego Amian,
reciting the canonical hours. One of them went to father Fray Pedro
dissemblingly, and told him that there were many enemies in the land
and that he had come to advise him of it. The blessed father asked
him certain questions in regard to it, to which the Indian replied
maliciously and with lies; and, at the instant when father Fray Pedro
turned his back, thrust him through with a lance. The father fell to
the ground, invoking the names of Jesus and Mary, with the utterance
of which he yielded up his spirit. Many Indians who were hidden came
up, took the blessed body, and dragging it thither threw it into the
river, with great joy and gladness.
That venerable father was a native of Granada in Andaluzia and went
to Filipinas with father Fray Rodrigo de San Miguel (of whom we have
already written at length). He greatly admired the exemplary conduct
of our religious, and asked for the habit in the convent of Manila,
where he professed. Behaving in a religious manner, he was assigned
to some missions, and enlightened the Bisayas with the light of the
evangelical word. He had assumed the dignity of the priorate of Bacoag,
at the time of the insurrection of the Caraghas, and at the time of
the events which we have related.
Year 1631
V
Mention of some dangers suffered by Ours in the insurrection of the
Caraghas Indians
The above were not the only dangers suffered by Ours in that
insurrection of Caragha; for the Indian chiefs, dividing into different
bands, went to various districts, not only to make those who were
quiet revolt, but to wipe out the Spaniards, to kill the religious,
and to destroy the convents, in their hatred for our holy faith.
July 22, the day of the Magdalene, the father teacher, Fray
Lorenço de San Facundo, was saying mass in the convent of Bacoag,
which was attended by the Spaniards, and the traitor Zancalàn (one
of the leaders of the revolt), and his wife Doña Geronima Moag,
and a dozen Indians. The father was disturbed at seeing them, and
having asked who those Indians were, and being answered that they
were the son and daughter-in-law of Mangabo, he calmed himself. In
their carousals the Indians had determined upon the murder, one
after another, of the three Spaniards there, and the two religious,
father Fray Lorenço de San Facundo, and his associate, a brother,
Fray Francisco de San Fulgencio; for these seemed many to them. They
killed the three Spaniards treacherously; and at the hour of vespers,
Zancalàn put in an appearance with seven Indians. Zancalàn went to
kiss the hand of father Fray Lorenço, who was just finishing the
burial of a dead woman. With other like courtesies the Indians
went up to see the convent, accompanied by the father teacher,
when one Indian seized him by the shoulders crying out to another:
"Strike him!" The father boldly wrenched himself loose, and shoved the
Indian against a post. Then he ran to jump through a window, where
they pushed him so that he fell on his back upon a piece of timber,
from which he sustained severe injuries. The house was in confusion;
various weapons were seized; father Fray Lorenço arose as well as
he was able, and fled to the landing-place. Three Indians followed
him with lances. An Indian went to him and said: "Father, take this
machete, that they may not kill thee." One of the three threw his
lance at the father. The lance passed through his tunic near his right
thigh, the father escaping that blow by jumping aside. He seized the
lance, and, with it and the machete, retired to the convent. When
he arrived, Zancalàn went out with lance and cuirass to kill father
Fray Lorenço. The latter defended himself skilfully, and entered the
convent, where brother Fray Francisco was defending himself with a
musket from the multitude who were attacking him.
Some feats of arms were performed, but we shall omit mention of them
for the sake of brevity. The two religious were taken prisoners,
and expected instant death in their captivity. Zancalàn gave them
a pledge to take them to his father Mangabo, although other Indians
wrangled with him demanding that he surrender to them the fathers,
in order that they might be sacrificed to their idols. The religious
heard all that with great fear, the peculiar effect of our natural
weakness. But after commending themselves very earnestly to God, they
became so brave that (as the said father teacher testifies in his
relation) already they were sorry that Zancalàn was defending them,
for they wished to offer their lives for our holy faith.
Thus imprisoned, they reached Tago on Monday, the twenty-eighth of
the same month of July, where they expected to be sacrificed--joyful,
for they were preparing to go to enjoy God. But (as father Fray Lorenço
remarks) the fruit could not have been ripe enough to present it at the
table of heaven. Mangabo was a huge man, of enormous strength, and of
a terrible temper--on account of which he was called "the Crocodile
of Tago." The fathers were quite sure that, as soon as they reached
his presence, they would be killed; but our good God, who can draw
water from the hard rock, changed the heart of the barbarian so that
he threw himself at the feet of father Fray Lorenço, kissing them and
his hands with great show of affection. He gave various excuses for
the murders of the fathers and the Spaniards which he had committed,
although all of them were frivolous, and said that the fathers should
have no fear, for they were under his protection, and that he would
defend them with his life. As assurance of that promise, he took an
oath in the following manner.
He asked for a varalao, and clutching it in his hands, he loosened
some breeches which he had made from an embroidered crimson damask
altar-cloth that he had stolen from the convent of Tanda. He wounded
himself twice below the stomach, drawing blood, which he ordered his
son Zancalàn to catch in a dish which contained wine. [16] He began
to swear and to invoke his divatas, with howlings so extravagant
that he was terrifying. He cursed himself in all ways [17] if he
should be found wanting in friendship to us, or in our defense, even
did he die for it. He drank some of the wine, and then put the dish
on his head, crying out in a terrible voice. He embraced father Fray
Lorenço, and placed his own turban on his head. Thus did he finish his
execrable and ridiculous oath, which they call sandugo, and which they
consider as inviolable. That oath was of no little use in defending
the religious, for when some of the other Indians once asked Mangabo
to sacrifice them, he replied that he would not discuss the matter,
that he would first fight anyone who tried to offend them. And he
did so, even driving the other chiefs from the place.
He took father Fray Lorenço to his house, and brought out Castilian
wine so that he and his associate might drink it, and two chalices,
one from the convent of Tanda, and the other from that of Bacoag. When
father Fray Lorenço saw these, much affected and weeping, he covered
them with the cloth wrapped about them, and said: "Father Mangabo,
since you have given me life, I beseech you not to use those chalices,
and that neither you nor any woman go near them, for I shall burst
with grief." Mangabo replied: "As you say, son," and ordered that
they be not uncovered, but that they be kept with veneration.
Then Mangabo arose and took a holy bronze crucifix which Zangalàn had
taken from father Fray Lorenço, under the impression that it was gold,
saying, "I am keeping this your God until the time when we two go to
Manila." "Keep it," the father said to him, "for He will preserve you
if you respect Him; but if you do not respect Him He will confound you,
for He is God of Heaven and earth." Then Mangabo brought out another
holy crucifix, with its arms cut off and its head split in twain, as
above said, and father Fray Lorenço, falling on his knees before it,
kissed it, weeping and sighing, and kept it for his own consolation.
Then Maria Campan (mentioned above) went out and brought back in a
small casket the chrismatories of the convent of Tago; and father
Fray Lorenço, opening it, saw that nothing was lacking. He wrapped
them in a cloth and charged her to keep them and not to open them,
saying that he would give her six pesos for them, although they did
not have so much money. Father Fray Lorenço could ransom none of it,
for he was without money.
[The holy chrismatories finally render Maria contrite; for, fleeing
from the Spaniards up a river, and having the phials with her, a huge
crocodile thrusts its head into the boat, seizes the phials and makes
off without committing other damage, which so works upon the mind of
the woman that she lives afterward as a good Christian.]
Finally, Mangabo said to father Fray Lorenço: "Son, I see that you
are sick" (he had been seriously injured by the fall of which we have
made mention above). "If you wish to go to be treated at the fort
of the Spaniards, I will have you taken there, and you shall leave
Brother Francisco here, so that he may protect us, if the Castillas
(so they call the Spaniards) come. Remember your father, and aid
him when you are able." Father Fray Lorenço thanked him, and was
taken in a boat to the fort of Caragha. Thus did God preserve the
life of that religious, to whom, if the crown of martyrdom was not
conceded, at least he was quick to suffer for the faith; and in fact
he endured great hardships for the love of the Lord. His associate,
Fray Francisco, was ransomed afterward. He rendered excellent service
while he was a prisoner, in the pacification of the rebellious Indians.
Year 1631
VI
Continuation of the matter of the last chapter, with some cases by
way of example
Valintos (the same one who had killed Captain Pedro Bautista) went
to the river of Butuan with an order to kill father Fray Juan de San
Augustin, prior of the convent of Ilaya in the village of Linao. He
carried many letters to the chiefs, urging them in the name of
Corralat (of whom we have spoken before, and of whom there will
be more to say) to have the fathers killed. An influential Indian
woman heard of the matter, and since she was the petty queen of that
river and very devoted to father Fray Juan de San Augustin, who was
a holy religious, she had so much authority that it sufficed to keep
those of the village faithful, and they resisted the letters brought
by Valintos. In order to assure the life of the said father prior,
Fray Juan de San Augustin, she made him take boat and go to Butuan
to join the fathers in the convent there. Thus was he delivered from
the danger of losing his life.
Almost the same thing happened in the village of Butuan, where the
letters of Valintos were received urging the inhabitants to rise
and kill the religious. But the Butuans were so faithful that they
would not consent to the evil. On the contrary, reading the letters
in public, they cried with one voice that they would die before they
would permit one hair of the fathers to be harmed. Then forming in
a procession, men, women, and children went to the convent in tears,
and bewailing the troubles that they were all suffering. The religious
said: "Children, here we are at your disposition. Do what you will
with us, for God our Lord so orders it." At this all the people cried
out and said with tears in their eyes: "Fathers, be of good cheer,
for we will all die before anyone offends you." They said that with
emphatic oaths, whereby they showed the great love and respect that
they held for the fathers. The chiefs remained in the convent with
their families and possessions. Endeavor was made to advise Zibù,
so that help might be brought; and the father prior, Fray Jacinto de
San Fulgencio, went [for that purpose].
Valintos, having seen the bad outcome to his treacherous plans in
Butuan, returned in a rage, and the religious were safe. However,
although so many of them were good, some restless Indians (especially
the fiscal of the village) rebelled, and without having any occasion
therefor, killed the porter of the convent and another Indian. Had not
the chiefs hastened to their defense, father Fray Diego de Santa Ana,
the associate of the father prior, would have been in danger.
The other revolted villages, taking umbrage at the faithfulness of the
Butuans, tried to find means to kill the religious, so that thus the
Butuans might be obliged to conform to their rebellion. He who tried
hardest was Manàn Galàn, an Indian chief of the village of Albucay,
who went to Sampongan to discuss the matter with the Samponganos. An
Indian, who was intimate with the fathers, one Sumulay, was chosen
[for that mission]. He was well instructed, but, his wiles having been
perceived, the Butuans quickly seized their arms to fight any and all
enemies who should appear. The fathers were taken to the mountains
for greater security, and the traitor Sumulay tried to finish the
affair personally. He went, under pretense of friendship, to seek the
fathers in the mountains; but, his evil design being recognized, he
was seized, and confessing his guilt was placed under surveillance,
and finally deprived of life. Following the example of the Butuans,
other villages maintained the faith, and defended their fathers who
sowed the seed of the gospel in so rude a land, amid so many dangers
to their quiet and life, opposing themselves to the sowing of tares
that the common enemy always endeavors to introduce into the harvests
of the Church.
The father prior of Butuan, Fray Jacinto de San Fulgencio, when
sailing to Zibù to solicit aid, passed by the island of Camigi, a
visita of the district of Cagaiang. He stopped there and was in great
danger of being murdered by the insurgents, who were going about in
bands committing piracies and watching the sea, so that the fort of
Tanda might not be aided. Although that fort was in great danger,
the valor of its garrison defended it. The father prior advised the
fathers of Cagaiang and Baiug so that they might take precautions,
and [told them] that he was going to get aid. That advice was very
important for the restraining of the Indians of Baiug and Cagaiang,
since they knew that the negotiations which they had with the Caraghas
and Mindanaos were known.
The said father prior having arrived at Zibù, the aid was prepared,
and was sent under Captain Juan de Chaves as commander of the fleet,
who was accompanied by good infantry. The father prior also went with
that fleet. They reached Bacoag, where the convent above mentioned was
situated, which was one of the best on that coast. Their hearts were
pierced to see so many dead and half-decayed bodies, and they buried
them. Entering the church, they saw the images profaned and cut into
bits. The latter were gathered together by father Fray Jacinto.
The fleet proceeded on its way, and reached the fort of Tanda, whose
occupants congratulated themselves again and again at being freed
from danger. The pacification of the insurgents was negotiated, in
which father Fray Jacinto worked mightily. The latter was overjoyed
at having aided the land which was so afflicted. That was a great
service which he rendered to God and to our Catholic monarch, who have
been able to employ our Recollects in this to advantage. With that
aid and some more which was sent from Manila, the insurrection which
had caused so much noise and wrought so much ruin was put down. Our
convents were restored and other religious no less zealous and earnest
succeeded those who had died so gloriously for the faith.
[The Recollects, worthy of their great master St. Augustine, do
not waver in their spiritual conflict, but ever keep the sword of
the faith turned toward the enemy. "Various incidents occur during
that insurrection," one of them being that the Indian who had killed
father Fray Alonso de San Joseph has the arm that had struck that
fatal blow bitten off by a crocodile; but he afterward repents and
becomes a good Christian. Likewise the Indian who had killed father
Fray Pedro de San Antonio dies repentant, having given himself up to
justice. A chief in Bacoag orders his rice to be cooked with portions
of a demolished crucifix, which in burning emits a different colored
flame than ordinary wood, without being consumed. "Four Indians ate
of the rice," but immediately burst. Another crucifix thrown into
the fire does not burn, and is rescued by a devout Indian woman after
one of the arms has been broken off, and is preserved as a precious
relic by the father to whom she gives it.]
There were many wild and barbarous people in the mountains of Bacoag
and Bolor, who lived by theft and murder. Many efforts had been
made to reach those Indians in order to reduce and punish them, but
all failed. They were ruled by an Indian named Salimbong, a man of
considerable wisdom, prudence, and understanding, who kept them very
well in hand. The insurrection occurred, and while the ministers of
the gospel were wandering about abandoned and afflicted, God consoled
them with the conversion of that Indian. It happened as follows:
the father teacher, father Fray Lorenço de San Facundo--freed now,
as above related, from his prison--left Bacoag in order to bury
the dead, and get together the possessions that had remained in the
convent. On the following day when the father reached the convent,
the Indian Salimbong appeared to him with one hundred companions,
and said that he was disabused of his errors and wished to become a
Christian. The religious, who knew his good understanding and wisdom,
was surprised. He asked him many different questions in order to prove
his spirit. He found Salimbong ready, and baptized him and all his
men. That conversion was cried far and wide and was of great use in
the pacification of many villages, which with the protection of that
Indian will furnish much room for further work.
[On June 22, 1632, a report is made before the archbishop ad interim,
Pedro de Arce, of the murders of the Recollect missionaries, and
their other trials. Two authorized copies are made of the report
"one of which was presented to the royal Council of the Indias in
the year 1635, and the other is preserved in the archives of the
congregation of our convent at Madrid."]
[The following section (vii) is an account of the life and death of the
first vicar-general of the order, Geronimo de la Resurreccion. Chapter
second is concerned with the order in Japan and the martyrdoms of
some of the workers there. In section ii occurs the following:]
The blessed father Fray Francisco [de Jesus] was not satisfied with
giving spiritual life to those whom he was converting and baptizing [in
Japon], but he also gave them the girdle of our father St. Augustine,
making them confriars and religious of the fourth order (as the
confriars of the said girdle are), [18] so that enlisted under the
banner of so great a captain and doctor they might be armed to fight
and to suffer even to the point of giving their lives to the Lord who
gave them rebirth in baptism. And from this circumstance it happened
that the blessed father could write from the prison of Bomurà in a
letter to the father provincial of Filipinas under date of October
six, 1630, that more than three hundred confriars of the girdle had
suffered, besides many others whom the Observantine fathers have.
The venerable father Fray Francisco de Jesus also makes mention, in
his letter written from Nagay, of the island of Hermosa, urging and
entreating the father provincial to send religious there to found
a convent in the island, by which to facilitate the road to Japon,
and help to those [missionaries] in that country. He was moved to ask
that, because he had heard that the governor had gained possession
of the island.
We shall relate what happened in that particular now that we have the
opportunity. The governor of Filipinas, Don Alonso Faxardo de Tença,
was considering that the Dutch were infesting those seas and hindering
the trade and commerce of Manila and China. He thought that it would
be expedient to seize the island of Hermosa and fortify it, in order
to check the depredations that the enemy were committing; for one can
reach China from that island in one night. It was a good resolution,
but Don Alonso Faxardo died soon afterward, and the whole plan came
to naught.
The following year Don Fernando de Silva went to govern the Filipinas
Islands. He knew and approved the design of his predecessor, and
prepared a fleet. In short, tracing out a plan on the ground, he
established a city and a fort, with a garrison of three hundred
Spaniards. Sites were assigned to the orders in Manila, so that
they could found convents. Captain Carreño took possession of
ours. Afterward, Don Juan Niño de Tabora began to govern, and as
he considered the enterprise a good one, he tried to complete it. He
prepared a fleet, and took religious so that they might establish their
houses. Two of Ours went in company with Admiral Don Andrès Esqueta,
namely, father Fray Antonio de la Madre de Dios, and his associate. But
God did not choose that the enterprise should be carried out; for on
the cape of Boxeador a norther scattered the fleet, and the voyage
ceased. Then the Dutch took the said island, to the sorrow of all,
both as it was so important and because it was the first island of
that archipelago that the Spaniards have lost.
[Chapters iii, iv, and a portion of v, treat of Recollect affairs
in Spain and America. Chapter v contains the following in regard to
the Philippines:]
II
Our religious enter the islands of Romblòn to preach the holy
gospel. Some of our rules are reformed by apostolic authority.
This year [1635] our religious entered the islands of Romblòn--or,
as they are called, "Las Isletas" [i.e., "the Islets"]. That district
belonged to the seculars who were subject to the bishopric of Zibù,
and their beneficed incumbent was at that time Francisco Rodriguez
the relator. [19] He, becoming weary of going about daily with his
possessions on his back; and fleeing from the enemy, entered into
negotiations with the father provincial of Filipinas, Fray Joseph
de la Anunciacion, saying that he would give him that district in
exchange for a suitable chaplaincy. Those islands were a station and
gateway, so to speak, for the visitas of the Bisayas which were in
our charge, and also in the path of the navigation from Manila to
Zibù. The documents having been made ready, the father provincial
sent father Fray Pedro de San Joseph, alias de Roxas. The island of
Romblòn is the chief place of that district, and as visitas it has
the islands of Zubuyàn, Tablas, Simara, Bantòn and Bantoncillo. The
people are honest, pacific, docile, and very intelligent. They trade
in the products of the land--oil, goats, swine, wine, and bonete
[i.e., bonote]. They have a great abundance of domestic animals. They
construct ships, build houses, and make other things of wood with
great skill, all of which they take to Manila, as well as to other
places, to sell. Consequently, as a rule, those who apply themselves
to work are prosperous. All these things have a serious counterweight,
namely, the enemy; for there is scarcely a year in which the enemy
are not seen in that district, where they commit many depredations,
burn villages and churches, and capture a great number of Indians.
That was experienced by the said father prior, Fray Pedro de San
Joseph, as soon as he took possession; for hearing that the enemy
were coming, he had barely time to escape to the mountains, saving
his person, but without time to save anything else. The enemy entered
Romblòn, sacked the village, burned the church and convent, captured
a few persons, and then returned. Those disasters are experienced
nearly every year. Amid such hardships do our religious administer
the sacraments to the faithful, and subdue the infidels to the faith,
exposing their lives valiantly for that purpose. [The remainder of
this section concerns the change of rules allowed by Pope Urban VIII
(December 15, 1635).]
[Chapters vi and vii are occupied with the captivity and deaths of
the Recollect missionaries captured in 1636 by the Moros, who attack
the islands of Cuyo and Calamianes--which has been already related
in previous volumes. A few extracts from Luis de Jesús's account are
added here, as containing further information.]
[Pages 285-286:] The enemy, delighted at the capture of the fathers
(which was their principal aim), tried to capture the religious of
Dinay under the pretense of peace, even commencing to treat for
it. But their design having been discovered, the fathers retired
to the mountain, and consequently, the enemy could capture no more
than the things that could not be taken to the mountain with the
fathers--a quantity of wax, a tribute paid by the natives to the
encomenderos. They captured seven women and one man, and killed
another from whom they learned that the fathers had retired. They
went to look for them but did not find them. Thence they went to
other islands where they did what damage they could.
At the end of six months, during which they were employed in pillaging
considerable property, and in capturing more than six hundred and
fifty persons, besides the old whom they killed because they were
useless, the fleet returned quite at its leisure, committing all the
depredations possible. The barbarians took the religious along naked
and fed them on a trifle of dirty rice. Their bed was a wretched mat
without any other shelter, and they were exposed to the inclemencies
of the weather, and ill-treated by word and deed. Sometimes they
were offered wealth and beautiful women to abandon the faith. Those
were attacks by which the valor of the blessed fathers was proved,
for their life was a continual martyrdom. But the soldiers of Christ
were happy, for they employed their lives in suffering for love of
Him. They preached the evangelical law to the barbarians and censured
their vices and blindness. All that was the same as throwing wood
on the fire of their fury, to make them devise means to conquer the
strength of the invincible religious.
[In chapter eighth are recounted the holy deaths of the three Recollect
fathers, Fray Juan de San Antonio, Fray Francisco de Santa Monica, and
brother Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios, which occur in the year
1638. The first, a native of Mexico who had professed in the Manila
convent, had been seized by one Dato Achen, of Jolo, an adherent of
Corralat. After four years of cruel captivity, during which temptations
of the flesh are offered him in order to make him deny the faith and
he is subjected to all sorts of abuse, the father dies triumphant. The
second father is killed by the Moros in his convent of Divail of which
he was prior. The third Recollect meets death from the Sangleys whom
he has severely censured in the island of Cuyo.]
[The ninth chapter is devoted to the conversion and Christian life
of Clara Calimàn, a native woman of the village of Butuàn, who is
given the rank of beata (beatas being women who live in religious
retirement, although not known as nuns), by the Recollects.]
[The Recollect Juan de la Concepción relates the uprising of the
Caragas (Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 163-179); but he follows Luis
de Jesús very closely, doing little more than rewrite the latter's
account. A few paragraphs from La Concepción are here added.]
10. Various councils were held in the fort of Tandag, in order to
decide upon the means and method of subduing and pacifying these
insurgents; it was decided that it was necessary to take arms and to
punish them. But they did not have sufficient forces for it, for the
province was so thoroughly in rebellion, and so committed thereto
by the murders of the fathers and Spaniards. It was determined by
unanimous vote to call on Zebu for help, and father Fray Jacinto de
San Fulgencio went to obtain it. He informed the alcalde-mayor and
commander of the fleet of Pintados of the condition of the province
of Caraga--namely, that there were various squadrons of boats along
the coasts to prevent help from being taken into the fort; and that
the fort was now in the last extremity, and in danger of having
to surrender because of hunger. The commander prepared a suitable
fleet in quick order; he sent some excellent infantry, and gave the
command of it to Captain Don Juan de Chaves. The above-mentioned
father Fray Jazinto also embarked in the fleet. This armada was to
keep the insurgents busy until more forces could be sent from Manila,
and the matter was reported to the captain-general there.
11. That fleet reached Basuag, then a prominent coast village. The
Spaniards experienced the keenest sorrow at seeing so many corpses,
already half decomposed; they stopped there to bury these, and then
proceeded on their voyage and arrived at Tandag. There they freed
the presidio from its danger and those who were in it. Then for
a time they tried to pacify the people by mild means; but as soon
as a suitable reënforcement arrived from Manila, they immediately
meditated punishment--especially on the principal leaders of the
revolt, but pardoning in his Majesty's name all those of the common
people who presented themselves in submission. Mangabo was included
in that list and number; but the religious, bound to his cause,
defended him with ardor, and interested themselves, as his children,
so that their father should not be punished. The Spaniards consented
to it and pardoned him, and that pardon was of great service to the
province of Caraga. Mangabo, dissuaded from his errors, and thankful
for such benefits, was converted to our holy faith and received
baptism. As he was so greatly feared throughout the country, that
was quite sufficient to pacify the entire province, and the fugitives
returned to their respective villages, which they formed as before.
12. Noteworthy conversions followed at this juncture, the noise of
arms. Most exemplary punishments were seen and experienced from
heaven on the aggressors, and singular portents in the profaned
and destroyed images. An idolatrous Indian, in sport of an image
of the crucified Christ, threw it into the fire; he observed with
wonder that the fire, respecting the image, did not burn it. The
barbarian took it from the fire and, buffeting it about, threw it
down with great violence so that one of its arms was broken. A devout
Christian Indian woman took the holy image, and kept it with great
care. After the pacification she gave it to father Fray Jacinto to
whom she gave a minute description of the affair. The father made
a solemn investigation of it and many witnesses confirmed it and
confessed her declaration to be true. The father took that holy
Christ to Manila, the following year, and presented it to Governor
Don Juan Niño de Tavora. He received it with singular devotion and
tenderness, and determined to replace it in its oratory with great
ceremonies. Father Fray Jazinto tried to get the governor first to
repair the image and supply the missing arm by another. That most
Christian gentleman replied: "No, Father, it must remain as it is
for my confusion, since my sins treated Him thus." With such pious
and kind reflections did he excuse the impiety of the barbarians
in actions so sacrilegious. Presidios were erected and fortified,
in order to keep the country pacified. Thus through their fear of
the soldiers, and with the punishments so present before their eyes,
those villages were kept, and remain even to the present, in entire
quiet. However, they have become much diminished because of the many
natives who have withdrawn because of the severities and persecutions
practiced by the Moros, from which that province has suffered so much.
[La Concepción recounts (ut supra, pp. 360-391) the fortunes of the
Recollect missions in northern Mindanao, especially in the region of
Lake Lanao. His narrative is sufficiently different from that of Luis
de Jesús to be given in full.]