The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 02 of 55: 1521-1569; Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 02 of 55: 1521-1569; Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
_Fifth summons_: In response to the fourth reply which the very
illustrious Miguel Lopez de Leguaspi, general of the fleet and people
of Nova Spanha, sent and had conveyed to me on the twenty-ninth
day of the month of October in the year one thousand five hundred
and sixty-eight, by Christovão Ponze de Leon, notary of his camp,
I say that I cannot help being amazed again and again at seeing how
his Grace attempts to depreciate my actions and give luster to his
own--those on the one side being so different from those on the other,
and done in sight of his camp yonder and of this fleet stationed
here. When there are, however, so many noblemen and gentlemen of
such reputation for sincerity and truth, his Grace will not be able
to deny that during the forty days of peace in this port, he did not
see any sign of hostility in this our fleet of the king, our lord,
or any indication thereof, inasmuch as ships were allowed to enter to
him with men and provisions aboard--when by capturing them, as could
have been done easily, I could have caused him much annoyance, if
my intention had been to bring about such a consummation. His Grace,
however, in great contrast to my own procedure, on the same days and
during the same peace, had many breastworks and defenses constructed
in his fortress, and corresponding defenses outside of the same
with a great amount of artillery mounted on many baskets filled with
earth. These were quite sufficient to defend himself against a great
army, rather than a small band of Portuguese zealous in the service
of God and of the kings our lords, and reluctant to shed Christian
blood even in so just a cause. Nor will he deny that--not content
with having so strong a fortress, with so many Spaniards to make
defense against us in our own territory in case I should undertake to
do him violence therein--he ordered, during the term of the peace,
an artillery station to be established on the bank opposite where
he took in water, in order to prevent me from obtaining any; and up
to the present time he has refused to let me have any, although this
is our own land. Moreover, he desired to cannonade the fleet at short
range from the fortress aforesaid, as afterward more clearly appeared;
for, on my immediately writing his Grace through Baltesar de Freitas,
notary of the fleet, to do me the favor to order that this should not
occur again, since it seemed more the act of an enemy than of a friend,
he wrote me in return things irrelevant to the case, while the rest of
his letter consisted only of vain words and compliments. I wrote to
his Grace again the next day, sending my letter by Pero Bernaldez,
notary-public of this fleet. In this letter I asked him again to
do me the favor of ordering the work to be destroyed; otherwise, I
should consider myself authorized to declare that war had broken out,
and that the assurances between us would remain null and void--as his
Grace will see in my letters, since his memory is so feeble as he says
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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