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
To these great troubles was added another; that in that year
occurred many earthquakes, which although they did not cause the total
destruction of buildings, left many houses and churches damaged. In the
province of Cagayán, in the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, heavier shocks
were experienced, for in the mountainous districts of that province
chasms and vent-holes were opened, a phenomenon which usually results
from such tremblings of the earth. From this it may be proved that a
cause of these tremblings and earthquakes is the air which is shut in
within the caverns of the globe, drawn into them through the crevices
and openings which the heat causes in the soil, which afterward are
closed by the rains; a great volume of air being thus gathered, it
becomes rarefied, and, increasing in quantity or volume, it seeks an
outlet, directing its force toward its center and causing so terrible
a commotion. But the safe and useful way of maintaining ourselves
faithful in the fulfilment of our obligations is to regard these
earthquakes as tokens of the wrath of God against our transgressions,
Qui respicit terram et facit eam tremere (Psalm ciii, v. 32).
Not long before these events, the death occurred in Cagayán of the
auditor Licentiate Don Diego Antonio de Viga, a prisoner and exile in
that province. [Here Diaz relates the circumstances of the deaths of
Viga and other persons who had been concerned in the Pardo controversy,
which have already been mentioned in previous documents. He cites a
letter from Pardo to Curucelaegui, dated December 2, 1687, to show
that Viga died impenitent; he was buried in the cathedral of Lalo,
and Pardo connects with this circumstance the calamities which soon
afterward afflicted the islands. He orders the remains of Viga to be
disinterred and removed from the cathedral; Diaz thinks that this was
done, but is not quite certain. He positively asserts, however, that
Viga was a very upright official, and wholly disinterested; and thinks
that he perhaps went too far in upholding the royal privileges, through
misunderstanding their scope. Doña Josefa Bolivar also dies impenitent,
and Pardo sends Bachelor Don Juan de Cazorla to investigate the matter,
to know whether she may be buried in consecrated ground; he has her
buried "in the plaza of the said village of Oriong." Her husband meets
"a better end;" he is reconciled to the Church, and dies after having
"devoted himself to exercises of austere penance, fasts and scourgings
and other mortifications." Auditor Calderón dies at Manila in like
exemplary manner (July 18, 1687); "this auditor was a very upright
and disinterested official, a good Christian, pious, and much given to
good works, and therefore was beloved by the entire community." Master
Jerónimo de Herrera is sentenced by the archbishop (March 16, 1687)
to be deprived of all ecclesiastical benefices and offices, and is
sent to Spain, but dies during the voyage. At this time, Barrientos,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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