The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 48, 1751-1765: 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 48, 1751-1765: 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
In the wild and impenetrable mountain ranges which extend to the
northeast and north, and separate the provinces of Pampanga and Nueva
Segovia, there are various tribes who have almost the same customs
as those of the Abaca and Ibilaos; one of these is the one called
Isinay. [23] To them, and to the adjacent tribes, the fervent zeal
of the fathers belonging to the illustrious Order of St. Dominic [24]
had been directed, years before; but they found so much stubbornness,
violence, and cruelty that--after immense labors, and having been
in danger of losing their lives--they were not able to secure the
conversion of one of those people to our holy faith. For this reason
the fathers were obliged to withdraw from them, seeing that they were
wasting time without having any result, or even the hope of it. [The
Augustinian Cacho took up this task, and went on foot among those wild
mountains and wilder savages; at first they repulsed him, and even
tried to kill him, but finally his perseverance and patience softened
their hard hearts, and they were willing to listen to him.] From the
year 1715 until 1723, he was able to found four new villages of the
Isinay people, not to mention many others besides, from other tribes,
whom he baptized, and who united themselves with the other villages
previously mentioned. Finally, continuing unweariedly in his holy
task, and enduring the hardships which may be guessed, by the year
1738 he had come to the end of baptizing and converting the entire
Isinay tribe, with a large part of other tribes, whom he settled
in different villages. All these, thoroughly subdued and tamed,
baptized, and established in a well civilized mode of life, the
[Augustinian] province surrendered to the holy Order of St. Dominic,
with churches, dwellings for the religious, the sacred vessels,
and the other ornaments of the sacristy, because that of our father
St. Augustine found that it had many missions for which to care, and
not religious enough for all. This surrender was made in the year 1740
[25] preceding the permission of the governor and examination by the
judge whom he appointed for that task. The latter recorded a judicial
inventory of everything that was surrendered, and even copied from
the baptismal registers the numbers of the persons baptized, that
these matters might be evident for all time; and at the same time
he made a judicial investigation, showing who those were who began
to evangelize the said tribes--from which it appeared that when our
religious began their labors there, there was not any Christian in
those places. This surrender being accomplished, then, our religious
withdrew to their other missions, in which there are fifteen villages
which have been formed since the year 1702, at which time that mission
was commenced for the aforesaid places. In these glorious triumphs,
those who attained greatest eminence and were most fortunate in
winning souls, next to the three religious [already named], sons of
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