Recollections of Manilla and the Philippines: During 1848, 1849 and 1850MacMicking, Robert
History
Recollections of Manilla and the Philippines: During 1848, 1849 and 1850
MacMicking, Robert
Manila (Philippines); Philippines
But without his master-mind to direct them, things no longer went
on so smoothly between the Spaniards and the natives; and under his
successor, the hostile feelings then given birth to, soon found a
tragical vent, which resulted in a number of the white men being
cruelly massacred by their Indian hosts, and in the flight of
their companions, who, fearful of their own safety, made all sail
on their ships, and bore away, leaving their unfortunate countrymen
to their fate, without attempting and even refusing to ransom such
of them whose lives were spared, from having been less obnoxious to
the Indians than the others. This fatal accident left the surviving
crews so much weakened in numerical strength, that not having men
enough left to work all the ships, the "Concepcion" was set fire to,
and the survivors steered towards the Moluccas.
It were tedious to follow them through all their adventures; suffice
it to say, that Juan Sebastian de El Cano was the only captain who
succeeded in taking his ship home again round the Cape of Good
Hope. After many anxieties and vicissitudes he entered the same
port of San Lucar from which he had sailed about three years before;
and as a memento of his skill and of his being the first navigator
who had made the circuit of the world, the king granted him for an
armorial bearing, a globe, with the legend, "Primus circumdedit me,"
which he had thus so honourably gained.
At intervals of about four years between each other, three separate
expeditions were fitted out from Spain and America for these islands,
which were named "_Las Felipinas_" by Villalobos, commander of the
last of these squadrons, in honour of the then Prince of Asturias,
afterwards better known as King Philip the Second of Spain.
In the meantime the Portuguese, jealous of the vicinity of such
powerful neighbours as the Spaniards, to their empire of the East
which Vasco de Gama and Albuquerque had so brilliantly founded
for their country, took advantage of the financial distress of the
Spanish king, who was then arming against France and Germany, and
for an inconsiderable amount purchased his right of conquest over
all the Philippines.
But they did not long retain them; for on Prince Philip of the Asturias
becoming King of Spain he regained the islands by breaking through
the treaty which confirmed their sale. Having, in 1564, appointed
Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi commander of an expedition fitted out
for the purpose of reacquiring them, and having made him Governor and
Adelantado of all the countries he could conquer,--which now-a-days
appears to be rather a vague commission, but was then a custom of that
venturous time,--that dignitary reached the Philippines, which had
been altogether neglected by the Portuguese, and without difficulty
re-established Spanish supremacy over the group, of which he may be
considered as the first governor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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