The entrance of the United States of America into the arena of
world-politics, the introduction of American influence into Oriental
affairs, and the establishment of American authority in the Philippine
archipelago, all render the history of those islands and their,
numerous peoples a topic of engrossing interest and importance
to the reading public, and especially to scholars, historians,
and statesmen. The present work--its material carefully selected
and arranged from a vast mass of printed works and unpublished
manuscripts--is offered to the public with the intention and hope
of casting light on the great problems which confront the American
people in the Philippines; and of furnishing authentic and trustworthy
material for a thorough and scholarly history of the islands. For
this purpose, the Editors reproduce (mainly in English translation)
contemporaneous documents which constitute the best original sources
of Philippine history. Beginning with Pope Alexander VI's line of
demarcation between the Spanish and the Portuguese dominions in the
New World (1493), the course of history in the archipelago is thus
traced through a period of more than three centuries, comprising the
greater part of the Spanish régime.
In the selection of material, the Editors have sought to make
the scope of the work commensurate with the breadth of the field,
and to allot to each subject space proportioned to its interest;
not only the political relations, but the social and religious,
economic and commercial conditions of the Philippines have received due
attention and care. All classes of writers are here represented--early
navigators, officials civil and military, ecclesiastical dignitaries,
and priests belonging to the various religious orders who conducted
the missions among the Filipino peoples. To the letters, reports, and
narratives furnished by these men are added numerous royal decrees,
papal bulls and briefs, and other valuable documents. Most of this
material is now for the first time made accessible to English-speaking
readers; and the great libraries and archives of Spain, Italy, France,
England, Mexico, and the United States have generously contributed
to furnish it.
In the presentation of these documents, the Editors assume an entirely
impartial attitude, free from any personal bias, whether political or
sectarian. They aim to secure historical accuracy, especially in that
aspect which requires the sympathetic interpretation of each author's
thought and intention; and to depict faithfully the various aspects
of the life of the Filipinos, their relations with other peoples
(especially those of Europe), and the gradual ascent of many tribes
from barbarism. They invite the reader's especial attention to the
Introduction furnished for this series by Professor Edward Gaylord
Bourne, of Yale University--valuable alike for its breadth of view
and for its scholarly thoroughness. The Bibliographical Data at the
end of each volume will supply necessary information as to sources
and location of the documents published therein; fuller details, and
of broader scope, will be given in the volume devoted to Philippine
bibliography, at the end of the series.
In preparing this work, the Editors have received most friendly
interest and aid from scholars, historians, archivists, librarians,
and State officials; and from prominent ecclesiastics of the Roman
Catholic church, and members of its religious orders. Especial
thanks are due to the following persons: Hon. John Hay, Secretary
of State, Washington; Sr. D. Juan Riaño, secretary of the Spanish
Legation, Washington; Hon. Bellamy Storer, late U.S. Minister to
Spain; Hon. Robert Stanton Sickles, secretary of U.S. Legation,
Madrid; Dr. Thomas Cooke Middleton, O.S.A., Villanova College,
Penn.; Rev. Thomas E. Sherman, S.J., St. Ignatius College, Chicago;
Rev. John J. Wynne, S.J., Apostleship of Prayer, New York; Rev. Ubaldus
Pandolfi, O.S.F., Boston; Bishop Ignatius F. Horstmann, Cleveland;
Bishop Sebastian G. Messmer, Green Bay, Wis.; Fray Eduardo Navarro
Ordóñez, O.S.A., Colegio de Agustinos, Valladolid, Spain; Rev. Pablo
Pastells, S.J., Sarría, Barcelona, Spain; Charles Franklin Thwing,
LL.D., President of Western Reserve University; Frederick J. Turner,
Director of the School of History, University of Wisconsin; Richard
T. Ely (director) and Paul S. Reinsch, of the School of Economics and
Political Science, University of Wisconsin; Edward G. Bourne, Professor
of History, Yale University; Herbert Putnam (librarian), Worthington
C. Ford, P. Lee Phillips, A.P.C. Griffin, James C. Hanson, and other
officials, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.; Wilberforce Eames
(librarian) and Victor H. Paltsits, Lenox Library, New York; William
I. Fletcher, librarian of Amherst College; Reuben G. Thwaites and
Isaac S. Bradley, State Historical Society of Wisconsin; William
C. Lane (librarian) and T.J. Kiernan, Library of Harvard University;
John D. Fitzgerald, Columbia University, New York; Henry Vignaud, chief
secretary of U.S. Legation, Paris; Sr. D. Duque del Almodovar del Rio,
Minister of State, Madrid, Spain; Sr. Francisco Giner de los Rios, of
University of Madrid, and Director of Institución Libre de Enseñanza;
Sr. Ricardo Velasquez Bosco, Madrid; Sr. D. Cesáreo Fernández Duro,
of Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid; Sr. D. Eduardo de Hinojosa,
Madrid; Sr. D. Pedro Torres Lanzas, Director of Archivo General de
Indias, Seville; Sr. D. Julian Paz, Director of Archivo General,
Simancas; Sr. D. Francisco de P. Cousiño y Vazquez, Librarian of
Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, Madrid.
Favors from the following are also acknowledged. Benj. P. Bourland,
Professor of Romance Languages, Western Reserve University; Professor
C.H. Grandgent, Department of Romance Languages, Harvard University;
John Thomson, Free Library of Philadelphia; George Parker Winship,
Carter-Brown Library, Providence, R.I.; Addison Van Name, Librarian
of Yale University; Otto H. Tittmann, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey,
and Dr. Otis T. Mason, Curator U.S. National Museum, Washington,
D. C.; Rev. Laurence J. Kenny, S.J., St. Louis University;
Rev. Henry J. Shandelle, S.J., Georgetown University, Washington;
Rev. Thomas Hughes, S.J., and Rev. Rudolf J. Meyer, S.J., Rome, Italy;
Dr. N. Murakami, Imperial University, Tokyo, Japan; Sr. D. Vicente
Vignau y Balester, Director of Archivo Histórico-Nacional, Madrid;
Sr. D. Conde de Ramonones, Minister of Public Instruction, Madrid;
Sr. D.W.E. Retana, Civil Governor of province of Huesca, Spain;
Sr. D. Clemente Miralles de Imperial (director) and Sr. D. J. Sanchez
Garrigós (librarian), of Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas,
Barcelona; Rev. Julius Alarcon, S.J., Rev. Joaquin Sancho, S.J.,
Rev. J.M. de Mendia, S.J., and the late Rev. José María Vélez, S.J.,
Madrid; Rev. T. M. Obeso, S.J., Bilbao; Rev. José Algué, S.J., Director
of Observatory, Manila, Luzon; Fray Tirso Lopez, O.S.A., and Fray
Antonio Blanco, O.S.A., Colegio de Agustinos, Valladolid; Sr. Antonio
Rodriguez Villa, Biblioteca de la Real Académia de la Historia,
Madrid; Sr. Roman Murillo y Ollo, Librarian, Real Académia Española,
Madrid; and officials of Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid; Sr. Gabriel
Pereira, Director of Bibliotheca Nacional, Lisbon; Sr. P.A. d'Azevedo,
Director of Archivo Nacional (Torre do Tombo), Lisbon; Sr. José Duarte
Ramalho Ortigão (director) and Sr. Jordão A. de Freitas (official),
Bibliotheca Real da Ajuda, Lisbon; officials of Academia Real das
Sciencias, Lisbon; and officials of U.S. Legations, Lisbon and Madrid.
_Emma Helen Blair_
_James Alexander Robertson_