While these islands were governed by the admiral of the galleons, Don Gabriel de Curucelaegui y Arriola, of the Order of Santiago and one of the "twenty-four" of Sevilla, in the year 1686 [misprinted 1636] there occurred a tumult in the Parián which it was feared would become a general uprising [--which was planned,] according to the investigations afterward made. In the said market there were many recently-arrived Sangleys, of so bad reputation that the Sangley merchants themselves had no confidence in these men, and said that they were disguised thieves and highwaymen who had come from China that year, having fled from a mandarin who was a very severe judge, whom the emperor had sent from the court to drive out so mischievous a sort of folk from the province of Fo-Kien, which at that time was infested by criminals of that sort. The said mandarin had executed his commission with such severity that those who were put to death numbered more than sixty thousand--which in China is a small number, because that country abounds in robbers--and for this reason many had made their escape to Manila and other regions, fleeing from the harshness of that judge. These people did all the harm that they could, robbing inside the Parián the Chinese themselves, when they could not rob outsiders. About this time there came out of the public prison at Manila a Sangley named Tingco, who had been imprisoned for the unnatural crime, and had been there so long that in prison he had learned to read and write our language, and had come to be a sufficiently competent scrivener to write petitions and other papers for the rest of the prisoners, for he was very clever and had a keen mind. He went about [the prison] freely, as being a prisoner of so long standing, and aided the jailer greatly by acting as guard to the other prisoners; and he supported himself very comfortably on what he gained by his pen. Finally, after many years of confinement he succeeded in gaining his full liberty; and, as he had a restless disposition and evil inclinations, he associated himself with other Chinese criminals, of those who were fugitives from the province of Fo-Kien, and they lived on what they could plunder from other Sangleys and from the Indians and Spaniards. As they regarded this occupation of petty thieving as too disagreeable, and it could not extricate them from their wretchedly poor condition, they planned to assemble together three hundred of these vagabonds, and to undertake some exploit which should better their fortunes so that they could return to China free from danger. It seems certain that this resolve was talked about with the multitude of the Parián who were least supplied with funds, and these were on the watch to aid the bold attempt of those promoters if the result had corresponded to their plans; and what is most surprising is the secrecy with which they kept these from the rich Sangleys--who not only would not