The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 05 of 55: 1582-1583; 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 05 of 55: 1582-1583; 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
First: When a long expedition is to be made, the wrongs which they
suffer are many. One is to despatch for the Indians who are to row
in a galley or fragata a sailor who has neither piety nor Christian
feeling. Moreover, it is notorious that, without inquiring whether
an Indian is married or single, or whether his wife is sick or his
children without clothing, he takes them all away. It has happened
that when a husband has led this deputy to his wife, who was great
with child, and has asked with tears that he might be left behind
as she had no one to care for her, the sailor has beaten her with
cudgels in order to make her go, and the poor husband also, despite
his resistance. In other cases, their wives are abandoned when dying,
the husband being compelled to go away to row. The Indians are put
into irons on the galleys, and flogged as if they were galley-slaves
or prisoners. Moreover, the pay that is given them is very small;
for they give each man only four reals a month--and this is so
irregularly paid that most of them never see it. The [officials of
the] villages from which they take the rowers divide the pay among
themselves, or give it to those whom they impress as oarsmen. This
statement is thoroughly authenticated; for when the governor, Don
Goncalo Ronquillo, sent to the mines, in Vitis and Lobao alone they
divided three thousand pesos belonging to the Indians themselves;
and when he sent to Borney, in Bonbon they divided more than two
thousand. They say that in all Pampanga five or six thousand pesos
were taken, and similarly in all towns where they get recruits.
Sometimes they do not go at harvest-time to collect the rice which
they say belongs to your Majesty, but only when it is very dear; and
then they require it to be sold for the price which it was worth when
they harvested. Sometimes the Indians buy back for five or six tostons
what they sold for one. The past year, when the Indians ate shoots of
palms and bananas because they had no rice, and many Indians died from
hunger, they made them sell the remaining rice at the price which it
was worth at harvest-time. Sometimes the entire quantity of his rice
is taken from an Indian, without leaving him a grain to eat. One poor
widow, seeing that they were carrying off all her rice without leaving
her a grain to eat, took, as best she could, two basketfuls to hide
under the altar, and there saved them; but it is certain that if the
collector had known it, they would have been taken from that place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account