Loading your reading…

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55: 1620-1621; 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 19 of 55: 1620-1621; 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

Reforms needed in the Filipinas (concluded). Hernando de los Rios
    Coronel; [1619-20].
    Letter to Alonso de Escovar. Francisco de Otaco, S.J.; January 14.
    Decree ordering reforms in the friars' treatment of the
    Indians. Felipe III; May 29.
    Relation of events in the Philipinas Islands, 1619-20. [Unsigned];
    June 14.
    Compulsory service by the Indians. Pedro de Sant Pablo, O.S.F.;
    August 7.
    Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe III. Hieronimo Legaspi de
    Cheverria, and others; August 8.
    Letter to Felipe III. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza; August 15.
    Letter to Alonso Fajardo de Tenza. Felipe III; December 13.



_Sources_: All of these documents, except the second, fourth, and
eighth, are obtained from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla. The
second and fourth are from the Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid;
and the eighth from the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid.

_Translations_: The second and fourth are translated by Herbert
E. Bolton, Ethel Z. Rather, and Mattie A. Austen, of the University
of Texas; the eighth by Robert W. Haight; and the remainder by James
A. Robertson.



Reforms Needed in the Filipinas (concluded)



Aid against the Dutch requested

Sire:

Hernando de los Rios Coronel, procurator-general of the Filipinas
Islands and of all their estates, declares that he came the past
year to inform your Majesty and your royal Council of the Indias,
in the name of those islands, of the desperate condition to which the
Dutch enemy have brought them. Desiring that your Majesty understand
the importance of the matter, he gave you a long printed relation in
which he discussed points important for their recovery from the enemy
and the expulsion of the latter from that archipelago. Your Majesty,
upon seeing it, ordered a fleet to be prepared; but that fleet was so
unfortunate as to be lost before beginning its voyage. Although your
Council of the Indias is discussing the formation of another fleet to
sail by way of the Strait of Magallanes, or by the new strait [_i.e._,
of Le Maire], it cannot, if it leaves here any time in July (which is
the earliest time when it can be sent from Espana) possibly arrive
[at Filipinas] until one and one-half years from now--or a little
less, if it has no bad luck. Now considering the watchfulness of the
enemy, and the forces that they are sending this year, namely, forty
ships, which have left Olanda--whence can be inferred the importance
to them of making themselves masters of those regions, since they
are so persistent in their efforts, and incur so heavy expenses--he
[_i.e._, Los Rios] advises you for the discharge of his conscience,
and his obligation, and his duty as a good vassal of your Majesty,
that there is urgent need that, notwithstanding the relief that your
Council of the Indias is about to despatch by way of the straits,
other help be furnished from Nueva Espana and Piru; of both men and

No reviews yet