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The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 50: 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 50: 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

On July 6, 1765, the new proprietary governor, José Raon, a military
officer of high rank, relieved Torre; he appears to have been able
but unscrupulous. [5] He is most conspicuous for his revision of
the "Ordinances of good government" drawn up by Arandía (see post,
pp. 191-264), the revision being dated February 26, 1768; and for
the expulsion of the Jesuits from the islands (1768), in pursuance of
the orders received from Madrid dated March 1, 1767--which matter is
related in detail in the last document of this volume. In 1769 he also
decreed the expulsion of the Chinese from Filipinas, although this was
not fully enforced. Early in October, 1766, the French astronomer Le
Gentil, whose Voyage (Paris, 1781) is a valuable contribution at once
to science and to the history of Filipinas at that time, arrived at
Manila, commissioned by the French government to make observations
on the approaching transit of Venus. "On account of the scarcity of
copper money in Manila, the senior regidor of the municipal council,
Domingo Gómez de la Sierra, in 1766 [6] requested authorization to make
the said coins, with the name of barrillas, because their shape was
that of a parallelogram. The government complied with this request,
ordaining that only [the amount of] 5,000 pesos should be coined,
to be used only in Tondo and Cavite. From that time, the Indians gave
the name barrilla to copper coins." "The municipal council again asked
for authority to make the barrillas, for use in various provinces;
and by royal decree of December 19, 1769, order was given to send
from Mexico 6,000 pesos in cuartillos (that is, fourths of silver
reals)--with the provision that the coin [previously] made should be
gathered in, and that what should be necessary should be made with the
royal arms, within the limits allowed to San Domingo, as appears in
ley 8, tit. xxiv, [book iv,] of the Recopilación de Indias." In 1766
there were two very fierce eruptions of the volcano Mayón, in Albay,
occurring on July 20 and October 23; in the second, vast quantities
of water were ejected, forming rivers and torrents, which destroyed
some villages and many lives, and ruined many homes and farms. [7]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

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