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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

Raón, who was an extraordinarily avaricious and venal man, [144]
and not conscientious in the performance of his duties, saw in this
matter a business out of which he could obtain profit; and he utilized
it for his own advantage, revealing to the Jesuits, for a large sum of
money, the secret of their expulsion. Thanks to this perfidy, they were
able to place in safety a large part of their wealth, at least what
they possessed in gold and silver, and in valuables that were easy to
hide; and they caused the disappearance of documents and papers which
compromised them, or, if these were seized, would be proof of their
plans and pernicious intrigues in certain matters. Notwithstanding
this despicable proceeding, Raón sent the following answer to the
letter of Carlos III:

"Sire: As soon as I read, pressed to my lips, and placed on my head
the respected royal letter of your Majesty giving orders relative to
the expulsion of the Jesuits who were settled in all these domains
of your Majesty, and the seizure of their goods, I employed the
means that occurred to my loyalty and zeal for the accomplishment
and fulfilment of this important business. In consequence, there
are sailing as passengers on the ship named "San Carlos Borromeo"
sixty-four individuals, including the principal Jesuits of this
mainland [of Luzón] and the island of Marinduque; and for the
removal of a like number of missionaries from the Bisayas Islands
four vessels are employed. Meantime I have the aid of the other holy
religious orders in occupying temporarily the ministries there--as
I fully informed your Majesty in greater detail through Conde de
Aranda. May our Lord preserve the royal Catholic person of your
Majesty, as these remote regions need. Manila, July 23, 1768. Sire,
[I kiss] your Majesty's royal feet.


Don Joseph Raón"



The faithlessness of Raón, information of which reached the court,
caused his successor, Don Simón de Anda, to receive orders to commence
legal proceedings against Raón, for the purpose of proving this grave
offense and punishing it severely. That upright and severely just
magistrate did so; and nothing will aid more the exact understanding
of one of the most far-reaching events in the history of Filipinas
than to insert here, complete, the summary drawn up by Anda of the
above-mentioned lawsuit, since in it are shown in great detail the
particulars of what was done in these islands in the expulsion of
the Jesuits. Here is the exact copy of this important document:

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

Opening the text

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

Raón, who was an extraordinarily avaricious and venal man, [144]
and not conscientious in the performance of his duties, saw in this
matter a business out of which he could obtain profit; and he utilized
it for his own advantage, revealing to the Jesuits, for a large sum of
money, the secret of their expulsion. Thanks to this perfidy, they were
able to place in safety a large part of their wealth, at least what
they possessed in gold and silver, and in valuables that were easy to
hide; and they caused the disappearance of documents and papers which
compromised them, or, if these were seized, would be proof of their
plans and pernicious intrigues in certain matters. Notwithstanding
this despicable proceeding, Raón sent the following answer to the
letter of Carlos III:

"Sire: As soon as I read, pressed to my lips, and placed on my head
the respected royal letter of your Majesty giving orders relative to
the expulsion of the Jesuits who were settled in all these domains
of your Majesty, and the seizure of their goods, I employed the
means that occurred to my loyalty and zeal for the accomplishment
and fulfilment of this important business. In consequence, there
are sailing as passengers on the ship named "San Carlos Borromeo"
sixty-four individuals, including the principal Jesuits of this
mainland [of Luzón] and the island of Marinduque; and for the
removal of a like number of missionaries from the Bisayas Islands
four vessels are employed. Meantime I have the aid of the other holy
religious orders in occupying temporarily the ministries there--as
I fully informed your Majesty in greater detail through Conde de
Aranda. May our Lord preserve the royal Catholic person of your
Majesty, as these remote regions need. Manila, July 23, 1768. Sire,
[I kiss] your Majesty's royal feet.


Don Joseph Raón"



The faithlessness of Raón, information of which reached the court,
caused his successor, Don Simón de Anda, to receive orders to commence
legal proceedings against Raón, for the purpose of proving this grave
offense and punishing it severely. That upright and severely just
magistrate did so; and nothing will aid more the exact understanding
of one of the most far-reaching events in the history of Filipinas
than to insert here, complete, the summary drawn up by Anda of the
above-mentioned lawsuit, since in it are shown in great detail the
particulars of what was done in these islands in the expulsion of
the Jesuits. Here is the exact copy of this important document:

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

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