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
clean and well kept, since they do not make repairs in time, or apply
to this purpose any of their perquisites. These they spend for their
own use and on their own families, who inevitably remove from their
own natal village to that of the curacy, and thus become even more
slothful than they are by nature. They are quite unlike the regulars,
who, being reared in different principles and trained in the purest
teachings of our Catholic religion, generally have no other aim than
that of the proper care of their churches."
On July 1, 1788, the proprietary governor Félix Berenguer de
Marquina assumed the reins of office, and all matters connected
with the exchequer returned to their former condition. In a decree
of March 29, 1789, he ordered that the appointment of the heads of
barangay should be made by the provincial governors, after being
proposed by the notables [principalia] of the respective villages. An
expedition was sent out from Spain by the government in July, 1789,
to make scientific observations and draw plans and maps of the coasts
of Spanish America and the Marianas and Filipinas islands, with new
sailing routes. One of its members was Antonio Pineda, a native of
Guatemala and a Spanish officer, bearing official commission to study
the flora of Filipinas and the condition of agriculture. Unfortunately
he died while there (July, 1792), while making scientific observations
in Ilocos; he was but thirty-nine years old. A monument was erected to
him at Malate, but has been practically destroyed by the ravages of
time. The archbishopric of Manila was administered, from October 16,
1789, by Juan Orbigo y Gallego, [34] a Franciscan, previously bishop of
Nueva Cáceres. Marquina drew up, in January, 1790, a "Plan of reforms
for the government of Filipinas," which he considered necessary for
the prosperity and advancement of the islands, and in order that
the yearly remittance from the Mexican treasury might be stopped. He
proposed the fortification of Manila and Cavite, an increase in the
military force, and an increased capitation tax on the Chinese in
order to meet this greater expense for the army; also the opening of
the port of Manila to all foreign commerce, and various changes in the
Acapulco trade. He advised that Filipinas should be made a viceroyalty,
and the viceroy be rendered independent of the Audiencia and of the
religious orders. Other reforms proposed were: "The formation of a
company of marines for manning the vessels sent out to cruise [against
the Moros], and another of marine artillery for the same purpose; the
reform of the chief accountancy by limiting its exorbitant powers;
the establishment of an acordado, [35] or a sort of police, in the
provinces, directed rather to intimidating and restraining [criminals]
by means of vigilance than to punishing them with harshness and
violence; allowance of fixed and decent salaries to the alcaldes-mayor,
and putting a stop to their trading (which absorbed all their time,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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 — John Shaqi
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