The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 20 of 55: 1621-1624; 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 20 of 55: 1621-1624; 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
At nine o'clock in the evening on the eleventh of May, there was an
occurrence in this city as pitiable as it was unfortunate, the cause
of it being a man who had been expelled from our Society. After having
been a member of it for seven years, he left the Society, and was
married three times, although he was not yet thirty years old. Our
Lord often brought him back, warned by bitter experience of troubles
and remorse of conscience; so that for a long time he did not dare
to go to sleep without first confessing himself--especially on the
long trip from Nueva España to these islands, where he was wrecked on
a ship which was on its way with silver and other wealth belonging
to these islands. The vessel escaped miraculously, with sails torn
by shots from three Dutch vessels, which they took for one of their
own. They ran aground, but all the silver was saved. Among others Joan
de Messa (the name of the outcast of whom I have just spoken) removed
all the silver and goods, to the value of thirty thousand pesos or
more, belonging to people in Mexico. It had been entrusted to him,
and he kept it, as was done by all, in a house and church of one of
our residences, situated where the ship happened to halt. While he
was there he proceeded as if he were a religious, both in example
and in frequenting the sacrament, until he came to this city of
Manila--where, with certain curious articles, he obtained entrance
to and communication with the wife of the governor of these islands,
Doña Catalina Sambrano, who had little care for what her position
and her dignity demanded. Their sin began on Holy Thursday, with so
little secrecy and so bad an example, that the affair was beginning to
leak out. So badly did it appear that certain persons came to one of
our fathers, advising him to warn Joan de Messa that they would kill
him. The father did, but Messa took no notice of it. The governor,
meanwhile, was informed of his wife's evil conduct; and, wishing to
detect them, he pretended to go down to the harbor and fort of Cavite,
situated two leguas from here. He had been wont to do this on other
occasions, because the enemy with nine ships was within sight of the
fort. He retraced his steps, leaving his entire retinue about a legua
from here. He entered the city with the intention of accomplishing
the deed (which he did later) in his own house; but before entering
it he was informed by a page that his wife had gone, disguised as a
man, to the house of Joan de Messa, where she had often gone in the
same dress. After receiving this information, he sought his retinue,
taking counsel with his servant and three captains, whom he placed
in four streets in order to let no one pass. The governor alone
arrived at the house at the very moment that his wife entered,
and was going upstairs with Joan de Messa, and behind them a very
noted pilot, on account of whom the ship that I mentioned above was
celebrated. The governor attacked him and pierced him with a mortal
thrust.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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