Map of the Philippine Islands; photographic facsimile from original map in Murillo Velarde's Historia de la provincia de Philipinas (Manila, 1749); from copy in possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago Frontispiece Map of Leyte, from original MS. of P. Pagteel, in collection of Charts by Alexander Dalrymple ([London], 1788), ii, p. 76; photographic facsimile from copy in Library of Congress 39 Plan of the new Alcaicería of San Fernando, 1756; photographic facsimile from original manuscript in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 181 View of Spanish city and fort of Gammalamma, Terrenate; photographic facsimile from Recueil des voiages Comp. Indes orientales (Amsterdam, 1725); iii, p. 348; from copy in library of Wisconsin Historical Society 213 Plan of the citadel of Santiago at Manila; photographic facsimile from original manuscript in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 219 Map of Mindanao, 1757; by Nicolás Norton Nicols; photographic facsimile from original manuscript in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 281 PREFACE The contents of the present volume (dated 1751-65) include accounts of the missionary efforts of the Augustinian and Dominican orders, and events in Filipinas from 1739 to the beginning of the English invasion; and the survey of the condition and needs of the islands which is presented in the memorial by the royal fiscal Viana. A valuable feature in the missionary reports is the ethnological information furnished therein regarding the savage tribes of Central Luzón; and the self-sacrifice and devotion of the missionaries themselves appear in striking contrast with the unscrupulous greed displayed, as one of the short documents shows, in the management of the friar estates near Manila. The times are troublous for the colony: several insurrections occur among the natives, the Acapulco galleon of 1743 is captured by the English, the Moro pirates ravage the archipelago with enormous destruction of life and property, and the Spaniards are defeated by them. Governor Arandia attempts to establish reforms, and thus incurs much odium; he is engaged in numerous controversies, and finally dies. Viana's memorial presents a vivid picture of the distressed condition of the Philippine colony after the English invasion, its urgent need of relief, and the ways in which this may be accomplished.