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
[4] Alonso Sanchez was born at Mondejar, in 1547; and became a
novice in the Jesuit order (June 18, 1565), at Alcala. In 1579,
he went to Mexico; and two years later, with Bishop Salazar, to the
Philippines. He was sent to Macao in 1582 to receive for Felipe II the
allegiance of the Portuguese at that place. Stanley, in his edition
of Morga's _Sucesos_ (p. 402) says: "The library of the Academy of
History, Madrid, contains a Chinese copy of a chapa, by which the
mandarins of Canton allowed a Portuguese ship to come and fetch Padre
Alonso Sanchez and the dispatches from Machan (Moluccas)." In 1586
Sanchez was commissioned by the governor and Spanish inhabitants of
the Philippines to go to Rome and Madrid in their behalf; documents
which explain this embassy will be presented in later volumes of
this series. He died at Alcala, May 27, 1593. Sommervogel cites
(_Bibliotheque Comp. Jesus_, viii, col. 520, 521) various writings
by Sanchez, mainly on missionary affairs, or on the relations between
the Philippine colony and the crown of Spain.
[5] Thomas Candish, the English navigator, relates in picturesque style
the fortunes of the Spanish settlement here referred to, "King Philips
citie which the Spaniards had built." Candish halted there in January,
1587; the place was then deserted, and he named it Port Famine. It
was located not far from the extreme southern point of the Patagonian
mainland, at a point commanding the Strait of Magellan. Candish says:
"They had contriued their Citie very well, and seated it in the best
place of the Streights for wood and water: they had builded vp their
Churches by themselues: they had Lawes very seuere among themselues,
for they had erected a Gibet, whereon they had done execution vpon some
of their company.... During the time that they were there, which was
two yeeres the least, they could neuer haue any thing to growe or in
any wise prosper. And on the other side the Indians oftentimes preyed
vpon them vntill their victuals grewe so short... that they dyed like
dogges in their houses, and in their clothes, wherein we found them
still at our comming.... To conclude, they were determined to haue
trauailed towards the riuer of Plate, only being left aliue 23 persons,
whereof two were women, which were the remainder of 4 hundred." See
Hakluyt's _Voyages_ (Goldsmid ed., Edinburgh, 1890), xvi, pp. 12, 13.
[6] Don Lorenzo Juarez de Mendoza, Count of Coruna, assumed the duties
of viceroy of New Spain on October 4, 1580; he was then advanced
in years, and died at Mexico before his three-years' term of office
expired--on June 19, 1583.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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