The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 16 of 55: 1609; 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 16 of 55: 1609; 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
[Don Pedro finds the rest of his fleet at Tidore instead of at Ternate,
as he has expected; but sees at the latter place a Dutch ship,
which shows fight. However, leaving the ship for the present, Acuna
sets about the reduction of Ternate with his own forces and those
of the king of Tidore. Landing at Ternate April first, that fort is
approached in two divisions, meeting with no opposition until they
arrive near the walls. Gallinato's advice as to placing the soldiers
is followed, and the Ternatan scouts in trees are replaced by those
of the besiegers. Active operations begin, and after various minor
successes the wall is carried by assault, and the old fortress built
by the Portuguese is captured. On entering the city the soldiers fall
to looting.]
When the men entered the city, every one gave himself to his fury and
to plundering. Don Pedro had issued a proclamation, conceding that all
the enemy captured within those four days should become slaves. The
captains halted near the old church of San Pablo, which had been
fortified by the enemy for this war. There were various opinions as to
what course was to be followed. Some thought that they should attend
to preserving what was gained; others that they should go ahead to
gain the chief fortress. Captains Vergara and Villagra were of the
latter opinion; and so great was the exuberance of the soldiers and
their desire for danger that one of them, a native of Estremadura,
of the company of Captain Sevil--who was an Arragonese, and a gallant
fighter, who also approved the advice to pass on--seized Captain
Villagra in his arms, and carried him thus for more than ten paces,
exclaiming, "O good captain, attack the enemy, attack him!" and then
set him down. Thereupon the captain struck him with the flat of his
sword, because he had at such a time seized him so impudently. The
soldier bowed, and said gracefully and smilingly, "Give me another,
by God! [_cuerpo de Dios_] and attack them!" In fact Vergara and
Villagra attacked the principal fortress with few men and gained it,
and were the first to enter its gates. However they were not the
first to go up, for while they were ascending very quickly by the
stairs, at the entrance of the hall an old soldier, named Barela,
a corporal to Captain Cervantes, hurried past them. He, on entering,
took a gilded water-jar, shaped like an urn and very skilfully chased,
from a rich side board and salver placed in the hall, saying to the
captains, "Gentlemen, I take this in token that I entered here with
your Graces." Accordingly he took it, with the consent of all. Then
the entire palace was given over to the pillage of the soldiers,
and exposed to their greed. Don Pedro tried to restrain them, but
was obeyed only near the end of the sack.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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