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The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 06 of 55: 1583-1588; 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 Close of the Nineteenth Century

History

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 06 of 55: 1583-1588; 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 Close of the Nineteenth Century

Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources

Letter to Felipe II. Antonio Sedeño; Manila, June 25
        ... 247

        Letter to Felipe II. Domingo de Salazar; Manila,
        June 26 ... 251

        Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe II. Santiago de
        Vera, and others; Manila, June 26 ... 254

        Letter to Felipe II. Pedro de Rojas; Manila, June 30
        ... 265

        Letter to Felipe II. Juan de Moron; Manila, June 30
        ... 275

        Measures regarding trade with China. Felipe II, and
        others; Madrid and Manila; June 17-November 15 ... 279

        Brief erecting Franciscan province of the
        Philippines. Sixtus V; Rome, November 15 ... 290

    Documents of 1587-88

        Letter to Felipe II. Alvaro, Marques de [Villa]
        Manriquez; Mexico, February 8, 1587 ... 295

        Letter to Felipe II. Santiago de Vera; Manila, June
        26, 1587 ... 297

        Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe II. Santiago de
        Vera, and others; Manila, June 25, 1588 ... 311

    Bibliographical Data ... 323




Illustrations


    Title-page of _Historia del gran reyno de China_, by Juan
    Gonçalez de Mendoça (Madrid, M.D.LXXXVI); from copy (Madrigal
    edition) in Library of Congress ...  83

    Title-page of "Itinerario" at end of Gonçalez's _Historia_,
    from copy in Library of Congress ... 135

    Signature of Alonso Sanchez, S.J., from MS. in Archivo general
    de Indias, Sevilla ... 228




Preface


The present volume covers the period of 1583 to 1588 inclusive. At
the close of two decades of Spanish occupation in the Philippines,
the native population is decimated, and the Spanish colonists are poor,
heavily burdened with taxation, and largely non-producing. The islands
are but nominally defended by a small, irregular, demoralized force of
unpaid soldiers, whose lawlessness and arrogance render them dangerous
to their own countrymen, and tyrants over the helpless natives. The
Audiencia is a costly institution, a burden of which all the people
complain. They have other grievances and many needs, which finally
impel them to send a special envoy to Spain, to procure relief and aid
from the home government. The documents in this volume contain much
valuable information regarding the economic condition of the colony,
and its commercial relations with China and Mexico respectively. As
the Spanish settlers in the Philippines find that they are largely
dependent upon China for their food, those who are wise see the
necessity of encouraging and extending agriculture in the islands;
but others are fired with the lust for wealth and conquest, and urge
upon Felipe II a scheme for subduing China by force of arms, thus to
give Spain the control of the great Oriental world, and incidentally
to enrich a host of needy Spanish subjects.

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