Loading your reading…

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 26 of 55, 1636: 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 — John Shaqi

History

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 26 of 55, 1636: 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

The nuns of St. Clare ask (probably in 1635) for certain favors from
the royal treasury; and their agent avails himself of this opportunity
to ask favors for his own order, the Franciscan Recollects. The nuns
themselves write to the king (June 30, 1636), through their abbess,
Ana de Christo, informing him of their progress and growth in the
Philippines, and other matters. They have founded a convent of
their order at Macao; and have built a house at Manila for their
residence. They complain that Governor Corcuera has driven the
Franciscans from the administration of the royal hospital, and coerced
the archbishop--the story of whose ill-treatment by the governor
they briefly repeat, asking the king to grant the prelate redress
therefor. They also ask that their confessor may have a cell at the
hospital, which is near them; and complain that their convent is
much injured by the walls and buildings that are being erected about
it--some of these arbitrarily ordered by the governor, who ignores
the needs and comfort of the nuns. They close with another appeal
for royal aid to finish the building of their convent, and thanks
for the king's effort to secure the canonization of their foundress.

A relation for the year 1635-36 describes the arrival at Manila
of Governor Corcuera, and narrates his controversies with the
archbishop. The account is more detailed and circumstantial than that
of Diaz (given in Vol. XXV); and the two constitute an interesting
chapter, not only of ecclesiastical history but of human nature. The
friars finally send secret envoys to the king, to inform him of
their troubles. News comes from Japon of renewed persecutions of
Christians there, and of the apostasy of the Jesuit provincial for
that kingdom--who has even, it is said, married a heathen woman. At
the end of this document is added a copy of a pasquinade which appeared
at that time in Manila, lampooning the governor and his adherents.

A group of letters from Corcuera (June 30, 1636) constitute his first
annual report to the home government.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

No reviews yet