The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 42, 1670-1700: 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 42, 1670-1700: 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 most memorable event of this year, and one which may be counted
among the most important which have occurred in these islands since
their conquest, is the imprisonment of the auditors, Don Diego Antonio
de Viga and Don Pedro Sebastián de Bolivar, by the governor. It is an
event to cause astonishment--and more, as it came so soon after the
imprisonment and exile of the archbishop, Don Fray Felipe Pardo--at
seeing in so short a time Doctor Don Cristóbal de Herrera Grimaldos
dead, and two auditors deprived forever of their togas (since never
again could they put these on), and their families ruined and almost
destroyed. It is not my intention to interpret the inscrutable secrets
of divine justice, but only to set down the times and occasions in
which so notable events occurred. [Diaz's account of the imprisonment
and deaths of the auditors is here omitted, as it has already been
sufficiently related in VOL. XXXIX.]
CHAPTER XVII
The governor, seeing the Audiencia broken up (since it consisted
of only one individual, the auditor Don Diego Calderón), named two
associates to assist the auditor in despatching the business of
this supreme tribunal; these were Licentiate Don José de Herrera,
an advocate of the royal Audiencia, and the doctor and captain whom
I have already mentioned, Don José de Cervantes Altamirano; and
they issued royal decrees, Doctor Don Esteban de la Fuente filling
his office of fiscal. They alleged that there had been a precedent
for this in the time of Governor Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera,
when there was no other auditor than Don Marcos Zapata, by whose aid
was carried out the banishment and imprisonment of Don Fray Fernando
Guerrero--and this proceeding had been an example to be repeated in
these times. Afterward, on account of the sickness and death of Don
Diego Calderón, the governor continued to form an Audiencia with the
two associates, which the royal Council of the Indias condemned.
Under this kind of government two years passed by, until, in the year
1688, a new Audiencia arrived, as we shall soon see. The year 1687
was no less grievous than the preceding one, for various misfortunes
followed each other, which were generally felt by all the citizens,
in order that they might share in the punishment merited by their
offenses, since always proves true the proverb, Delirant reges, semper
plectuntur Achivi. [112] The first was the failure of the galleon
from Nueva España, for it could not come that year because none had
been despatched [from Manila] the year before; this was because of
the armada sent against the pirates, which only served to cause great
expenses to the royal treasury, the wreck of the galleon "Santo Niño,"
and the failure of the galleon in this and the following years--which,
as we have often said, is the life of the poor colony of Manila and
of all these Filipinas Islands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account