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The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 36, 1649-1666: 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 36, 1649-1666: 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 island of Mindanao [13] is the largest of these Filipinas
Islands, next to that of Manila. A great portion of it is yet to be
subdued. In that part which is conquered, the Society has charge of
the jurisdictions of Iligan and Zamboanga. The latter is the chief
presidio of the Spaniards, where a college is in the first years of
foundation, which has a rector and five priests who work in it. The
villages that it instructs are as follows: The village of the natives
and Lútaos [14] of the same Zamboanga, who number 800 families. In
place of paying tribute, they serve as rowers in our fleets, which
are quite usually cruising about in defense of our coasts and to
harass the enemy. The island of Basilan opposite the presidio of
Zamboanga and two leguas distant, has about 1,000 families--who,
attracted by the industry, affection, and care of the mission fathers
are most ready to show themselves for the Christian instruction,
but few appear at the time of collecting the tribute. The Christian
kindness of the Spaniards, which attends rather to the welfare of
the souls than to personal interest, is tolerant with those people,
as they are not yet entirely tamed and subdued, and because of the
danger of losing everything if they are hard pressed. That happens
not only in the island of Basilan, but also in all the other places
of that jurisdiction of Zamboanga, in the land of Mindanao. Those
places are: La Caldera, a port so named, two leguas from Zamboanga
toward the east, with about 200 families; Bocot, 250 families; Piacan
and Siraney, 100 families; Siocon, 300 families; Maslo, 100 families;
Namican, 30 families; Data, 25 families; Coroan, 20 families; Bitales,
40 families; Fingan, 100 families; Tupila, 100 families; Sanguinto,
100 families. All those places are at the southern part of Zamboanga,
and contain in all 3,251 families. The islands of Pangotaran and Ubian
are also included in that jurisdiction, which are two days' journey
from Zamboanga; and their inhabitants, now almost all christianized,
pay some kind of tribute when the fleets pass there. The islands of
Tapul and Balonaquis, whose natives are yet heathen. There are many
islets about Basilan which serve as a shelter for Indian fugitives,
many of whom are Christians, who on occasions come to the fathers for
the sacraments, and come at the persuasion of the fathers to serve in
the fleets. The island of Jolo also belongs to the same jurisdiction
of Zamboanga. It has many Christians, who remained there when the
Spanish presidio was withdrawn. The father ministers go at times to
visit them, and endeavor to attract them in order to administer the
holy sacraments to them. All of the people in these various places
reduced to families will be a little more or less than as follows:
in Pangotaran and Ubian, 200; in Tapul and Balonaquis, 150; in the
islets of Basilan, 200; in Jolo, with its islets, 500--all together
amounting to 1,000.




The jurisdiction of Iligan, with its residence of Dapitan

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