Economic Reasons for Suppressing the Silk Trade of China in Spain and its Colonies Economic Reasons for Suppressing the Silk Trade of China in Spain and its Colonies Reasons of expediency existing why the importation of the silk of China and the other merchandise of that country ought not to be permitted in the Indias and these kingdoms, but rather prohibited; and the damages and troubles that follow from its not being prohibited in every point, and its trade, are the following. It is very pernicious to permit the importation of the silk of China and its trade, both in the Indias and in España. For although not more than two hundred and fifty thousand pesos de Tipuzque can be taken from Nueva España to the Filipinas annually, besides that sum another incalculable quantity of money is taken in reals of eight; for the said silk can be bought or traded for nothing else, nor will the Chinese give or exchange it for other merchandise. Consequently, they manage to get hold of and carry away annually the greater part of the eight-real pieces which are made in the said Nueva España, in exchange for grass, which is the substance of that coarse and harsh silk which is so plentiful among the Chinese. 1 Thus do they weaken our strength and increase their own; and consequently they can make war on us whenever they wish, without any cost to them as far as we are concerned. And since this money does not come to España, it cannot be invested there in merchandise, and the customs duties and the excise duty cannot be collected from them; and they cannot return with a greater sum of money with which to make larger investments, resulting in the great increase of the said royal incomes, and the common benefit of his Majesty’s vassals. Besides, if that silk were not taken from China to Nueva España, it would not be used there; nor would it be poured into Piru and Tierra Firme, as is done. For, notwithstanding the prohibition established forbidding any merchandise to be taken there from China, a very large quantity of it is taken to the said provinces from Nueva España, and it is used there—the viceroys, generals, and justices concealing and favoring it for their own private interest and benefit. For that reason much less Spanish merchandise is used in the said Piru and Tierra Firme than was formerly consumed, and than would be used if the merchandise of China were not sent there. That condition causes the merchandise of España to have one-half less value than before. Hence it results that daily fewer trading ships arc sent from these kingdoms than formerly, and than would be sent if the said trade with China were to cease. That is the reason why the Spanish silks and other merchandise are so seldom demanded or consumed in the Indias. That, with the low prices at which they are sold, and the numerous duties which are paid, and the trade so ruined, makes the exporters and merchants derive so little gain from their investments that they do not care to increase or to continue their trade, and cease to attend to it. On that account, the said Indias do not depend, as it is right that they should depend, on these kingdoms; while, as there and in these kingdoms is consumed the merchandise of China, which is only bought with standard reals of eight, an enormous amount of coin is taken there in exchange for the merchandise, and thus is not sent to these kingdoms to be invested here, in order to return them to the said Indias. [If that were done], the duties thereon (together with the great cargoes and the increase of business in all directions) would increase very greatly, as would be clearly and quickly seen in the increase of the royal revenues. The prohibition of the said merchandise of China is of much greater advantage to the royal revenues than the permission; besides, it is the universal remedy [for the troubles] of these kingdoms and of the said Indias, that the said merchandise be not exported to either the former or the latter. [There is a parallel to this in our domestic trade], for in place of the wheat (because of the lack of it that is generally experienced in the maritime towns of this kingdom), foreigners are continually carrying away from us so great an amount of money through the permissions given to them for export, and with what they demand besides, for the wheat, and in exchange for the copper coins that they force on us, and other articles that they bring to us, which they have in plenty—but which we do not need, as we have all of them in our España. Thus they weaken our resources and strengthen their own; but this would be avoided if we did not need the wheat, and they were not permitted to bring the other things. Just so, not having need (as there is none) of the wares from China, because we have so many of them in these kingdoms (which moreover are known to be so much better in quality), we should cease this trade, which only carries to China that great treasure which is annually withdrawn and conveyed thither, without any hope that any part of it will ever return to us. For the Chinese have a great surplus of all goods, and never come to buy anything, but only to sell—and that only for reals of eight; and consequently, they make their prices so cheap, in order to get the reals, that they constrain one to buy a much greater quantity of their merchandise than he would buy if the prices were higher and the profits less. And although the profits are seemingly large at first, they are not so in reality, because of the little durability of the Chinese goods, and because of the damage caused to the merchandise of España by their importation; for, by permitting it, the consumption of Spanish goods is lessened, and they have less value. Consequently—setting aside the so universal damage to all the natives [of España], and in particular that to the producers of the said silk (and its production is daily diminishing, to such an extent, indeed, that in a very few years so little will be produced that the damage will be made plainly evident in the royal duties, and in its lack and scarcity), and how much greater benefit would be the prohibition than the permission of the said silk of China—his Majesty and his ministers, in attending to his royal revenues, are under obligation to furnish suitable relief for this, for the welfare of his kingdoms and vassals. Since the towns of the kingdom of Granada were given, after their insurrection, 2 under an annuity obligation [censo] to private persons so that they might settle therein, and the annuity amounts to more than one hundred thousand ducados of revenue, which are paid through the increase in the production of the silk; and [it is necessary] that there should be a ready sale and handling of it, for the estates that were given to them have no other important products from which they could obtain the money to pay the said annuity; necessarily, if the production of the silk ceases, then the payment of the annuity will cease. For in that and in the ready sale of the said silk consists the power [to pay the annuity]; and it also consists in the many people who, having the silk, would occupy themselves in its production, culture, and preparation, who will consume and use a great quantity of food. That would cause an excise duty on the food of more than one hundred thousand additional ducados per year; but this income would cease if the production and cultivation of the silk ceased, and his Majesty would lose the said one hundred thousand ducados. Besides, the said silk paying, as it does, three hundred and two maravedis per libra— without reckoning the tenth, or the forty per cent on the gross price at which it is at once sold in the alcaicerias—as soon as it is sold, while there would be less produced and sold, and the price of it would be lower, the duties will be less. And since the silk of China does not pay more than fifteen per cent of import tax and excise, because it is foreign, his Majesty loses twenty-five per cent on each libra of the silk of the kingdom of Granada. That silk is produced in less quantity by the importation of that of China; and since our silk pays higher duties than the foreign—either because of its excellent quality, or because it is native, or for some other reason—that freedom from duties ought to be extended to it rather than to the Chinese silk, instead of burdening it with greater duties. These latter should be imposed upon the Chinese silk, so that, less of it being imported for that reason, less money would be taken from Nueva España to Filipinas for its purchase; while more money would be brought to these kingdoms. That would result in greater investments and cargoes, and more silk would be produced in these kingdoms. For so little silk has been produced in the kingdom of Granada for the last two years, because of its little sale and value and its great cost, that the duties from the revenues of their silk have been worth thirty thousand ducados less each of those two years than they were worth during the years before. Two signal losses have resulted from that, and they will become greater every day, and more irreparable. The first is that as so little silk is produced, and the producers have left the leaves on the mulberry-trees, the trees have come to such a pass that for lack of pruning and care they will be ruined in little time and destroyed—so that when one may try to remedy them he will be unable. The other is that the little silk that has been produced has been of so little profit to the producers because of its diminished value during this time—on account of the quantity of foreign silk that has been imported and its better sale, because of the lower price at which it has been sold—that the said producers and the holders of the annuity grants have not had sufficient means to pay the said annuities; and for the last two years they have owed his Majesty two hundred thousand ducados. It will be impossible to pay that sum and what shall be owing in the future years, as long as the importation and sale of that foreign silk is not prohibited. But if that be done, the production will be increased, and the trade and value [of the Spanish silk] will return to its former figure. By that benefit all the producers will be encouraged to persevere in it, and will cause greater duties, not only for the larger amount of silk that there will be, but in the excise duty for the consumption of food. The producers will have the means to pay what they owe on the annuities that are due and will fall due. And although the silks will be dearer than now, the greater durability of what will be made from them, because of their good quality and worth, will make them cheaper. For if the Chinese silk is not imported, nor ours mixed with it (which is the thing that spoils, harms, and damages ours), what is woven will never break, and will not be dear at any price. The money [now] invested in the silk of China and taken to that country will come to these kingdoms, and will be invested in our silks and merchandise and the returns from them will continue to increase both in the increase of the royal revenues, and in the universal welfare of his Majesty’s vassals. Thus will it be seen in a very short time how well advised has been the decision that will be made in the prohibition of the said silks of China, as well as the great damage that its importation has caused. Besides, the danger of navigation will not be so great, because of both its less distance and its greater safety; nor will there be so many losses of ships and property as there arc continually now. This trade will proceed with less coercion by the enemies; consequently, the power of the latter will not be so great, nor will the depredations that they commit on our own coasts by robbing us have to be feared. That is all worth very considerable thought, in order that one may see how just is this claim, and so that the remedy for this difficulty be procured, as it is the one that demands reform most urgently of all that now present themselves to our attention. Juan Velazquez Madr co [ Endorsed in writing : 3 “Arguments why the silk of China should not be admitted into the Yndias or into España. October 7, 628.” “File it with the papers that treat of this matter.”] 1 Probably referring to the plant called “China grass” ( Boehmeria nivea ), a shrub indigenous in India, and probably in China and other countries of eastern Asia; also introduced by cultivation into Europe and America. The Chinese name for it is tchou-ma . The well known “ramie” is but a variety ( tenacissima ) of Boehmeria nivea . The fiber of China grass is considered as a textile substance of the first rank. For description of this plant and its culture and use, see C.R. Dodge’s Useful Fiber Plants of the World (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1897), pp. 85–91. 2 This was the revolt of the Moors in Granada in the reign of Felipe II, which occurred in 1568–71, under the leadership of Aben Humeya. It was due to an edict restricting the liberties of the Moors, and depriving them of the exercise of most of their distinctive customs. It was quelled under the leadership of the famous Don Juan, and the Moon were expelled from their homes to other parts of Spain. 3 This document, like so many existing in Spanish archives, was printed, evidently for the greater convenience of the members of the Council. The signature is in writing, as also the above two endorsements, which are in different hands. Decrees Regarding the Chinese The King. To Don Juan Niño de Tavora, member of my Council of war, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein, or the person or persons in whose charge their government may be: Fray Melchor de Manzano, of the Order of St. Dominic, has reported to me, in the name of the Chinese living in those islands, that the said Chinese pay me annually sixty-four reals in silver for the sole purpose of remaining in that country, in addition to five more, which is the usual tribute, and twelve more for the treasury, which are spent in assessments for affairs of my service; and that, for a few years back, the alcaldes-mayor have introduced the practice that no Chinese enter or live in their districts without their permission (even though they have yours), and the permission given by the alcaldes-mayor is for a very short period, in order to get from them the fees for the said permission very frequently. Although orders have been issued in this matter by that Audiencia of mine, prohibiting the granting of the said permissions, those orders have not been obeyed. On the contrary, those officials proceed in their own interest, and oblige the Chinese at the same time to attend to the service of the city, by going to fish and to provide all the necessaries of life; and, whenever they go they experience many annoyances. He petitions me that I will be pleased to order that, since the Chinese pay so large fees to live in that country, the permissions that you shall grant them be valid in all the districts of the said alcaldes-mayor; and that the latter take no other fee, or the former have no need of any other permission, besides yours; and that for yours not more than one real in silver be collected. If the expedition made by the said Chinese should not last longer than one month, the permission of the alcalde-mayor of their district will be sufficient, and they shall not be obliged to get another in that place to which they go, within the said month. That given by the said alcalde-mayor shall not carry fees in excess of one-half real. If the alcalde-mayor of the Parián grant such permission, he shall collect no fee, since the said Chinese pay ten pesos to him, and the same amount to the clerk of the salary fund. Having examined the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it advisable to refer the matter herein contained to you, so that you may provide that the said Chinese be not annoyed or molested, in order that there may be no occasion for their coming to complain; and you shall advise the said my royal Council of the Indias of the correction that you shall apply in this matter. Madrid, June 8, 1628 I The King By order of the king our sovereign: Don Fernando Ruiz de Contreras The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia resident in the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands: Fray Melchor Manzano, of the Order of Preachers, in the name of the Chinese living in those islands has reported to me that it has been ordered for the security of the islands that the Chinese live in the village of the Parián, outside the walls of that city; but that for a few years past they have been scattered among different settlements outside of the said village. There with difficulty can the wrongs experienced at various times by such settlements be righted, as many of them do not go to mass or hear the word of God, but indulge in excessive gambling, to their own hurt and that of the inhabitants of that city. Any insurrection can easily be feared because they can arrange one very safely in the said settlements, where they can hold secret assemblies and meetings—from which resulted the impositions, false testimonies one against another, and false witnesses; and the fortifications of the walls of that city are in great danger. For if the said Chinese live in the village of the Parián, one can derive from that means to fortify the walls and prevent destruction and losses; but if they live outside the Parián, that will be lacking, and consequently the safety of that city [will be endangered]. I have been petitioned that I be pleased to order, under severe penalties, that no Chinese be permitted to have a dwelling outside the Parián; and that those now outside return there, except the married Christians who may live in the village of Vindanoc [i.e., Binondo], which has been assigned to them. Having examined the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it fitting to refer the matter to you, so that you may proceed in it with all the haste that may be advisable for the service of God our Lord and my own, in order that those troubles cease. You shall advise me of what you shall do, on the first opportunity. Madrid, August 17, 1628. I The King By order of his Majesty: Don Fernando Ruiz de Contreras The King. To Don Juan Niño de Tavora, member of my Council of War, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein, or the person or persons in whose charge their government may be: I ordered you by a decree of September 10, 627, to appoint to the office of protector of the Sangley Chinese (which was held by the fiscal of that Audiencia) a person who should prove competent, with the salary that was assigned to him; and to order that my said fiscal of those regions exercise the office no longer. You were ordered to charge the person whom you thus appointed to watch over the said Sangley Chinese most carefully, so that they might not be troubled or annoyed, or any ill-treatment shown them; and that any balance left any year in the fund that he keeps should remain there, in order that the Sangleys may be assessed so much less the following year. When that order was executed, you were to inform me of what had been done and what took place in respect to those who are mentioned in the said decree, as well as the advantages or troubles that its execution might cause, as is contained more in detail in the decree, to which I refer. Doctor Don Juan de Quesada Hurtado de Mendoza, whom I have appointed as my fiscal of that Audiencia, has reported to me that, having petitioned that the documents be given to him as to his predecessors, and one of them being the decree that orders that the fiscal of that my Audiencia be the protector of the natives and the Sangleys, he found that the above decree had been despatched, ordering you to appoint a competent person. The cause therefor was that Fray Melchor Manzano, of the Order of St. Dominic, urged it for private purposes, until he actually obtained it. The fiscal declared that it was advisable for my service to have the decree suspended, and that my fiscals of that Audiencia exercise the said office, as they had always done; and that the said Fray Melchor Manzano, while he was in those islands, and other religious of his order, having made themselves protectors of the said Sangleys, and having petitioned the governor to order that the fiscal be not the protector of them, and that the salary of whoever should be protector be moderated, the said governor did not change the custom of whether the fiscal should or should not be the protector. In regard to the salary, it was moderated only to eight hundred pesos. When the matter came before that my Audiencia, it declared by acts of examination and review that the said protection pertained to the said my fiscal. In consideration of that, Don Fernando de Silva, my governor ad interim of those islands, ordered that the said acts be executed; and that, in conformity with them, the office of protector of natives and Sangleys be exercised by Licentiate Marcos Zapata de Galvèz, my fiscal of that my Audiencia at that time. I am petitioned, in consideration of that, to be pleased to have a decree despatched ordering that he and other fiscals who shall succeed him in that my Audiencia be protectors of the said Sangleys and natives, as they have been, notwithstanding the ruling of the said decree of September 10, 627. Having examined the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, together with what Licentiate Juan Pardo, my fiscal therein, stated and alleged—for I wish to know whether the Sangleys have need of that protector and whether they ask for him—I order you to inform me of what you find out concerning this; and in case that it appears necessary that they have one, I order you and that Audiencia to appoint six persons who may be suitable for such protector. You shall cause such nominations to be sent to the said my Council, so that it may indicate that one of the six appointees who is most suitable. He must not have trade or business relations with the said Sangleys; and the one named by the said Council shall be, for the time being, the one who shall seem most suitable to the Council. Madrid, March 27, 1629. I The King By order of his Majesty: Andres de Rozas Relations of 1628–29 I Relation of affairs in the Filipinas and in other regions, for the year of 1628 and 629, sent by the fathers [of the Society]; and of a victory gained by our men . An excellent and large fleet has left this great island of Mindanao during these last few days to punish the insolence of the Dutch and of the Joloans, the neighbors of Mindanao, who are robbing the country from us and capturing the Indians of these Filipinas. The fleet is there, and I was to embark with it, but in order not to leave this district alone Father Fabricio Sersali, a Sicilian, went. The fleet consisted of thirty ships and more, and in them sailed two hundred Spaniards and innumerable Indian soldiers and rowers. May our Lord give us the success that we hope. 1 A fleet of two galleons with high freeboard has also left, and in them four companies of soldiers, in pursuit of the Dutch enemy who were in Macan and along the coast of Great China. Advices were received of a Dutch ship which was carrying one million pesos’ worth of wealth. The result has not been ascertained as yet. [ Word in MS. illegible ] On March 13, fire fell from heaven upon the Parian or fair of the Chinese (according to what they themselves swear, namely, that they saw it fall), and burned it all, without a single one of the more than eight hundred houses that it contained being left; and the only thing that was left standing was a church which was in the Parian. 2 The Parian of Manila and almost all the city of Zebu were burned, with great loss. The fleet which went from the province of Oton to punish Jolo has arrived at this very moment. I shall relate here a very fortunate result that our Lord gave them. It is as follows. The island of Jolo is next to that of Mindanao. The fleet left here, as I said, on the first of April. At dawn of Holy Saturday it reached the mouth of the river of Jolo, and entering it and attacking the village, the enemy fled as a single man to the mountain, so that the energy of all our men was directed to pillaging. The sack amounted to thirty thousand pesos. What was pillaged from the house of the king amounted to six thousand pesos in silk, cloth, wax, huge quantities of wax, innumerable weapons, and other things of great value. It was all divided among the villagers. That news was one of the best which this country has heard, as that enemy was the one who does us most harm. Father Fabricio Sersali, who was with the fleet, preceded them all with an image of St. Francis Xavier raised on a spear. In this manner did the aged saint enter the mosque, and leap for joy. Now boats are being prepared in this town of Arebalo to complete the uprooting from these islands of those nations who disturb them. They burned the town, and the house of the king, the mosque, and the rice which they could not carry away. They felled the palm trees, so that they might deprive those people of support. They did all that in one day. They burned one hundred and forty ships—forty large ones and the others of less burden. Such and such people were captured; and then they set out on their return in high spirits, in order to go out another time, for which they are preparing. Oton, May 30, 628. Hernando Estrada 3 Will your Reverence aid me with your holy sacrifices and prayers, so that I may imitate many apostolic laborers whom we have had here, and of whom we have at present many, who have come from all those provinces of España; they have made and are making gardens pleasant to the sight of God, from the obscure forests which the devil has possessed so many thousands of years and still possesses in these islands. For, as we have been told, there are eleven thousand islands, of which that of Manila is the largest and most important. It has more Christians [than the others], and yet even in it there are many infidels, who make war on us. Among the other islands there are very few [with Christians] because of the many which are so full of infidel people who profess the devilish worship of Mahoma. I cannot depict to your Reverence how surrounded we are by that canaille on all sides, and the wars that they so frequently make upon us—so that, in the summer especially, no one can be safe in his house. Daily do they enter our villages, burn them and their churches, break into bits the saints and images, and capture the poor Indians. I left Manila in a champan, which is a boat used by the Chinese, and in which they come from their country here. We were four of the Society who embarked in it, and God was pleased to give it so favorable a wind that by means of it we escaped from the hands of the enemy, who were in ambush, watching for an opportune moment. The father-provincial 4 took the same route in a caracoa—a boat used in this country; but that craft was knocked to pieces before reaching the place where the enemy had established themselves. Hence it was necessary for him and his associate to come overland, suffering extraordinary hardships, over mountains and through rivers, for more than one hundred leguas. Thus does it seem that they escaped as by a miracle, as well as did the champan. Soon thirty or more boatloads of Camuzones Indians arrived here. They were naked, having only a bit of cloth with which they cover, etc. Their weapons are certain pointed bamboos, but those bamboos are very strong. They entered a village which was under my charge, and burned it, together with its house and church. They broke the saints into pieces, although the ornaments were saved. Nine persons were captured here. Another brother and I were going to another village, without thought of enemies. We entered the bar of a river at about one in the afternoon. That afternoon the enemy entered the same river. The next day, while we were giving thanks, they made a sudden attack on the village, whereupon all the people fled. We two went to the mountains, where we remained eleven days. Thence the enemy took their way toward another village, where the father-provincial was, together with Father Juan Lopez, 5 his associate, and other fathers. Before the enemy arrived, they received the warning which I sent them. Consequently, all took to the mountains, and the father-provincial and the other fathers were among the mountains for a number of days, where they suffered hardships. But our Lord was pleased to order that the enemy should not reach that village nor the village where I was staying, for fear of the narrowness of the rivers, lest they could not get through them when they departed. But they went thence to another town located on the seashore, and burned it entirely. The enemy also went to other villages of our missions and burned them, and the fathers escaped as by a miracle from their hands. When the enemy capture the fathers they cut off their heads, as they did two years ago with a father whom they captured. They treat the Spaniards whom they capture in the same way. Consequently, we all go about as if we were soldiers; our ships are laden with arms; and forts have been built in the chief villages and fortified with firearms, with which to defend ourselves; while forts are being built in the other villages. All those coasts of this sea have been crowded with sentinels this year, for it was rumored that many Dutch ships were to come, and they always come to sight land at the cape of Espiritu Santo. When we go from some villages to others, we cross many deep rivers, which are all generally full of caymans or crocodiles. These [reptiles] swallow a bull, a cow, or a deer even to their horns, thus causing great loss. They also catch and eat the Indians daily. There is a most abundant quantity of snakes, almost all of which cause death when they sting. There is but one remedy for the wounds, namely, if they happen to have a little of the earth from San Pablo. By having it blessed, they are infallibly cured; and he who is treated with this remedy does not die. There are other snakes which are not poisonous. They are so large that they can swallow a large wild boar, or a large deer, horns and all. A father and some Indians killed one which was eating a hog; they ran up on hearing the grunts of the hog, and speared and killed the snake. There is great abundance of material products, and the country is very fertile. The grain of these regions is rice, and as a rule each fanega of grain sowed yields one hundred fanegas, and many yield two hundred fanegas, especially if it is irrigated and transplanted. There are oranges of many varieties, some of them resembling large melons. Honey and wax is found in the trees, where the bees make it. The wax is worth sixteen or twenty reals an arroba, and a jar of honey one real. I saw a tree which had many honeycombs hanging on the branches. The mountains are fuller of wild boars than are the commons of España of swine and cattle in acorn time. One of those swine, if it is fat, is worth two reals, but only one if not fat; and a deer is worth the same sum. There are almost no fruits of España. There are melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, and radishes of the country, and quantities of cabbages and lettuce. There are many native fruits, some of which are excellent, but they are not so many or so good as those of España, while the food does not have the same nourishment as in España. The swine here are excellent, and better and more healthful than those of España; for they are eaten like mutton, and are given to the sick as mutton is in España. God is ever our physician and apothecary in sickness, and but few times does one fall grievously sick when our Lord does not supply the lack of medicines, without which [ MS. holed : we?] get along very well, and God helps [us]. Panbohen, July 6, 1629. Pedro de Prado We received a letter from Eastern India which gives very good news of its condition; for the Dutch are now in small numbers and are very much disaccredited, with both the Moros and the heathen, and these have revolted against the Dutch and driven them from their lands and from the houses of trade that they owned, because they have found them false in their commerce and deceitful in their trading. Our men went to help drive out the Dutch. Good news comes from Zeilan and Tebet of the great conversion to Christianity that is being effected there and in other regions, and that the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ continues to increase. Ruy Freire went to besiege Ormuz with some ships, and the viceroy told him that he was going in person with [ MS. holed ] ships to capture it. Father Geronimo Perez 6 had cut down, at a residence, a tree which was called nino, in order to dispel the superstitions of the Indians. That tree was twenty-five brazas in circumference, and there are other trees of this species whose trunks are used by the Indians as houses. 7 Father Muxica writes from Macan that Father Trigautio had come from China to Macan, and said that there were many highborn and influential people in China who were being converted, and that they were living very exemplary lives. Manila, July 5, 1628 [ sic ]. II A relation of events in the Philipinas Islands, and other neighboring kingdoms, from the month of July, 1628, to July,1629. Continuing my project begun last year, I will proceed in this account to relate the events which have happened this year, without observing any other order than that in which they occur to me. At half past one on the night of November 25, Our church fell, with so terrible a crash that it seemed as if the heavens were falling. It was due to God’s great providence that it did not happen several hours later, for without doubt some of our fathers would have been caught in the ruins. It is the third time that this church has fallen; for years ago, just as they finished saying the last mass, and locked the doors, the whole vault, which was built of brick, fell in a great earthquake. If it had happened an hour before, it would have wrought great injury, by imprisoning beneath it all the people who were in the church. Then six years later, in the month of September, on the same day, just as they were beginning to decorate the church for celebrating the feasts of St. Ignatius and St. Xavier, one large pillar and two arches fell, leaving the roof in the air, without any means of support for more than eight yards—a thing which seemed miraculous; two of Ours were caught, but neither received much harm. On this last occasion the ruin was greater, because one pillar, when it fell, carried with it half of the church. Thus it remained, without repairs being possible; there was nothing to be done but to finish the work of destruction, and build a hut in which to accommodate our fathers in their ministries, until we finish the new church building and house—which is a very good one, and well on its way to completion. 8 On the twentieth of December, at eight o’clock in the evening, they omitted the holy sacrament in the Cathedral church of this city, because it had been stolen, together with the monstrance in which it was kept. Diligent search was made for it, arresting some and putting others to the torture, and making earnest prayers to placate the wrath of God, but no trace of the thief could be found in these or any other ways, even to the present day. 9 On the twentieth of June an eclipse of the sun began at eleven o’clock, and at thirteen minutes after twelve it was so far eclipsed that it could not be seen at all. It seemed as if it were night, and the stars were seen in the sky, so that we were forced to light candles in order to eat; for there was a dinner that afternoon, on the occasion of a certain feast. As far as I know, this eclipse was not seen in Nueva España; it is the most complete one that I have ever seen, though I have seen many. On the eighteenth of July last, in the village of Guiguan, which is a mission of the Society, an image of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady with a gilded face, began to weep piteously—in the sight of all, and of the father who was expounding Christian doctrine in that village—with a saddened countenance, to the great terror of all who were present. It seemed as if this was the announcement of the disasters and calamities which have been suffered by those poor islands of the Pintados (which are in our missionary charge) from their enemies the Camucones and the Joloans, who have become very insolent—plundering many ships on the sea, some of them valuable; robbing and burning towns, capturing the people, and destroying the images, which the fathers have kept well until their flight and refuge in the mountains. It has been considered a singular providence that no one of our fathers has been captured (although there are fears about one, but nothing certain is known about it). The enemy suddenly landing, one father was surprised in bed, but made his escape almost in his shirt; they surprised another while saying mass, and he was obliged to make his escape in his chasuble, fleeing through the marshes; another they found sprinkling with holy water the whole population of the town in the church; another they met on the sea, and having given chase to his vessel, the father leaped overboard and finally escaped. The father provincial was in great danger several times, but in the end God preserved him and all the other fathers. The greatest hardship is, that it seems as if those who conduct the government do not endeavor to check these raids; may the Lord do so by restraining the enemies. Relief was sent this year to the Malucas Islands, as has usually been done in past years, in several pataches and a galley. The Dutch enemy had at their Malayo fort (which is almost within sight of our fort at Terrenate), a very powerful ship which passed in front of our fort several times discharging their artillery as if defying us to come out and fight. After this bravado our men and Pedro de Heredia, governor of those fortifications, armed two pataches and the galley (a force much inferior to that of so powerful a ship) and went out to meet the enemy. He boarded it and began to attack the soldiers in it; the enemy, seeing that the fight was going against them, cut loose from our ship, and retreated or fled to their fort. There their people arrested the captain, because, although he had had the advantage on his side, he had not sunk our little pataches, but instead had taken to flight. Some of the Dutch and some of our men were killed in this fight. At Xacatra, which is the capital of the Dutch possessions in all these eastern regions, and at which their governor and captain-general resides, there have been many harassing wars this year, because King Xabo with a very powerful army had besieged them for many months, seized and burned the suburbs, and killed many men. However, on account of the many winter floods, Xabo had to retreat; but the Dutch are left in considerable fear lest he will return, with the Portuguese giving him assistance. On that account they have still further fortified their forts, made greater provision of all necessaries, and detailed there six galleons from the great fleet, which they maintain at Ormus for the aid and defense of the Persian, 10 in order that the Portuguese, who are threatening that fortress, may not recover it. With the aim of relieving these islands and their natives from the suffering that they endured in building galleys and ships, the governor decided to send some Spaniards to the kingdom of Camboja, which abounds in fine woods, to establish dock-yards; this purpose was carried out. With the Spaniards it was decided to send some of the Society, but for certain reasons this was not done, nor would we permit it. The fathers of St. Dominic, however, permitted it; and so some of them went there with the Spaniards, and were very well received by the king of Camboja. They immediately commenced to carry out their plans for the ships, while the religious built a church. The king gave them permission to baptize and convert to Christianity any persons in his kingdom who wished it. I wrote last year, that, annoyed by the injuries which these islands had received from the king of Sian, who had seized in one of his ports a ship of ours richly laden with silks, our galleons had gone there and made reprisals on some of his ships. The latest news is that a ship was sent there with some of the Sianese who were captured, and some Spaniards, to give an account of the affair; and to tell the king that our people desired to continue in peace and friendship, but that he must satisfy us for what he had seized from us, and in return we would satisfy him for what we had seized from his people. As yet we have had no answer from there, nor have we heard how the matter was concluded—much less if our fathers who reside there lost their lives when our galleons did so much damage to the Sianese ships. The outlook for Christianity in Cochinchina was very promising, and in the year 1627 eight hundred adults were baptized; but this year we have had news that the fathers had encountered adverse fortune, and were fearing expulsion from that kingdom—but now they write that the tempest has already abated, and the skies are clearing. In late years, there have been many wars in the kingdom of Tongin, which adjoins that of Cochinchina; but the Christians have been left in peace, and thus many have been converted to Christianity. It is even reported that this same king and a brother of his had been or were to be baptized. Would to Heaven that it were so! although hitherto there has been no certainty of anything, because we have had no letters from our fathers, on account of the said wars. The Tartars have again revolted against the Chinese, who are so hard pressed that they have sent to Macan for artillerymen and artillery for the war. The Portuguese lent them two heavy guns, and thirty men to go with them, among whom was Father Palmerin, the visitor of that province [ in the margin : in the secular habit], to visit, on this occasion, the houses and the residences in China. As to the condition of Christianity in Japon, I cannot better give account than by inserting here letters and relations sent from there. The first, dated 1627, reads as follows: “The persecution of the Christians here, which was begun several years ago, continues without any remission of its vigor, but rather increases with every day—not throughout the whole kingdom, however, but in certain parts of the Xymo or Tacab, in which the Christians are persecuted more than they have been hitherto. It commenced among the Christian converts of Tacacu and the lands of Arima, by soliciting the tono of that region, Gentir, to return to the favor of the lord of Japon, of which he has been deprived for some time, and to dissuade from the faith all the Christians who should enter his lands. An official was sent to all places with orders that they should not fail to go through every village, and to cause everyone, by any way or means whatever, to renounce the faith, in order that they might instead adopt one of the Japanese sects. The officials obeyed their orders and searched out all, whether steadfast or wavering; and some, in order not to risk their faith, left their homes secretly. Some of the strong ones were rigorously treated, and others gently, among whom some exiled themselves. Those Christians suffered, for their constancy, various and extreme torments never before seen in Japon, which at the said tono’s command were inflicted in order to subdue them—stripping both men and women, and hanging them in their shame; hurling them from a height into cold water, in the depth of winter; placing them near a fire so that they would burn; and burning them with lighted torches. Two of them they roasted on burning coals, as St. Laurence suffered. Others were left so that they died in a few days. They also burned the men with a hot iron upon the forehead, leaving the word “Christian” stamped upon it. They cut the fingers from the hands, even of children, inflicting other indignities that cannot be written. The inhuman pagan, not content with this, had some men and women conducted through the streets of certain villages with insignia of dishonor commonly applied among the heathen to criminals, but of great glory to our Lord God, for whose love they suffered. When the servants of the Lord arrived at some of these places, they bound them in a shameful manner to stakes, in order to frighten the Christian inhabitants in this fashion; but with all their efforts they were not strong enough to conquer any Christian, or make him recant. Forty-seven, of all ages, were condemned to death; three were beheaded, and the rest drowned in the sea. Eighteen others, of all ages, they took to a mountain, where there were some very hot baths; and, binding them with ropes, they put them into the water, asking them again and again if they would not recant. Seeing their constancy, they bound them to stones, with which they were sunk in the sea. Twenty-six others, of varying ages, they also took to the said baths; and having especially distinguished ten of these by torments, they kept them for some time on the edge of the baths, repeatedly asking them if they would give up their religion. At the same time they poured upon their shoulders jars of that boiling hot water, drawing from them cries of pain; until, becoming convinced of their constancy, they drowned them in the said baths. Because the body of one of them was not burst open like the rest by the heat of the water, they cut it open in various places with a knife. In this torture he died, and, like the others, was flung into the baths. Adding to these two others who died of the terrible torture inflicted upon them, the number of those who died in the province of Tacacu, by fire, blood, and water was forty-seven. They went to rest and abide with Christ, and will always be able to say with David: Transivimus per ignem et aqua e reduxisti nos in refrigerium . 11 We would never finish if we undertook to tell in detail all the particulars of these martyrdoms, which we shall leave for a more extended relation, in which they may be viewed; and great consolation will be had from the fact that those Christians have endured such atrocious and unheard-of torments with such constancy, for the love of Christ. “Let us speak of the persecution which another pagan tono set in motion against the Christians in his lands, adjacent to those of Tacacu. They buried three of the martyrs whom the tono of Tacacu had condemned, and three others were captured who were going there; he ordered them to recant if they wished to save their lives, or else they would be subjected to various torments, but these they suffered rather than lose the life of the soul. Besides this, the Japanese persecuted the Christians of that town, and others near by, trying every means in their power to divert them from our holy faith. Some of them were steadfast, and others wavered. The tono, however, ordered them not to kill anyone then as a Christian, and this order was obeyed—although two widows, named Maria, gave a noble [ word illegible in MS .] in order to show that they were more constant. They insulted these women in many ways, putting them to shame; and finally, as they were triumphant over every injury and torment, they were set free. Then they hastened to the city of Nangasaqui, the chief of Christian communities in Japon, where on August 16, 1627, they arrested and burned alive father Fray Francisco de Santa Maria, and the lay brother, Fray Bartholome, both Franciscans, together with their servants and other men and women. Others they beheaded, among whom the lot fell to a woman with three children, two of whom were two years old and the other older. On the sixth of September of the same year, they arrested and burned alive a Japanese father of Ours, together with two chiefs, his servants. The governor and president of that city was present at all these murders. He, in conformity with his orders, tried to make all the Christian inhabitants recant, without respect to age or estate, and to persuade them all to adopt some one of the Japanese sects, making use of many ingenious artifices for this purpose. Seeing that he could not effect his purpose, he tried locking some of them in their houses, nailing up the doors, and depriving them of all communication with relatives and friends, to which end he set guards around them. Some weak-spirited persons obeyed him; but the greater number, both chiefs and common people, resisted him. The governor, seeing that so many resisted, as he had no orders to take their lives, but only to send them as prisoners to the court, sent those whom he thought best, and among them fifteen of the most prominent persons. Fearing because some of these were persons of rank, and had many relatives, and some of them were actually officials in the same city, in order to prevent any revolt from arising he asked the neighboring tonos for a large number of soldiers. A great many of these came, who were lodged throughout the city; but, seeing that there was no resistance he ordered them back to their fortresses, and, the confessors being much rejoiced, he sent them prisoners to the court. Others are kept in captivity until the arrival of a decree from the court. Four distinguished families were exiled to Macan, with four hundred and thirty of the common people, who were driven to the neighboring mountains as a warning and intimidation to many others, and all intercourse and communication with them was cut off. It was ordered that no one should admit them to their houses. They were commanded not to build huts, even for the infant children, to defend them from the inclemencies of the weather. Guards were set over them so that no one should grant them even a mat for their shelter, the persecutors hoping by this means to bend them to their will. Although the confessors of Christ undergo great suffering, they do so with joy and invincible constancy. Others who were not banished were deprived of their employment, to force them to abandon their resistance. Many fled for this reason, leaving the most populous city in Japan almost depopulated, although it still contains confessors who ennoble it. 12 “On the twenty-ninth of July of this year (1627) they burned alive at Omura, together with another who wished to accompany them, a Dominican father and three domestics, who had been kept in close captivity since the year 1626. This persecution was begun because, having confiscated the property belonging to the Franciscan fathers in Nangasaqui, they found a list in which those fathers enumerated the servants and houses which each one possessed in the land of Omura; and because they had sent a ship with a cargo of flour to Manila, in order to bring religious to Japon on its return—although those of Omura were more than twice advised by the religious of Nangasaqui to consider that it was against the Japanese law, and that by so doing they were exposing themselves and others to the risk of destruction, by furnishing pagans and renegade Christians with a pretext to persecute them, especially the religious at the port from which the ship sailed. Twenty-five of the constant ones were murdered—of all ages, men and women—some for having displayed their constancy, and others for admitting religious into their houses. Among others who died by burning alive, one, a good laboring woman, was especially distinguished, whom, because she was discovered to have admitted religious to her house, they exposed to public shame, taking her in this manner for more than twenty leguas round about. Finally, she was burned alive, ever displaying the most remarkable constancy. The same fortitude was shown by three men, whom they buried up to their shoulders. Another who saw some one being burned alive, displayed no less courage; for, filled with fervor, he voluntarily plunged into the flames, where he was entirely consumed. All these were martyred at Omura for their faith, or for receiving religious into their houses. More than forty were executed for sending the said ship, and even now the punishment is not concluded. Thus that Christian community, one of the earliest in Xapon, is greatly afflicted [ apparently some words missing in MS. ] in order that it may be preserved and aided. “From the kingdom of Figen, they passed to that of Fingo. At Amacusa, in Fingo, there was no general persecution, leaving the chiefs and laborers, so that if it were conducted rigorously with all, some would be found to be weak-spirited. However, they martyred one man, who showed unusual constancy. At the end of this year 1627, this Christian church had devoted one hundred and eight martyrs to the Lord. In other parts of Japon the Christians and their ministers were left in comparative quiet, so that in the year 1626 their ranks were increased by more than two thousand converts who were baptized by members of our Society, to say nothing of those who were baptized by religious of other orders. We believe that in the year 27 there will be a still greater number of converts in the kingdom of Oxu, because in this kingdom (which is the farthest in Japan) many of the people are well disposed. There are at present there four of Ours, five Franciscans, and one Augustinian. May the Lord assist them there in all Xapon, opening doors so long locked, through which many others can enter.” This is the first relation. The second is a letter from the father provincial of Xapon, Matheo de Couros, dated February 25, 1626. It reads as follows: “The Xongu [i.e., shogun] lives with his queen, obeyed and feared by all. There is no human hope of any change here. All these kingdoms enjoy considerable peace during the tempest, and Christianity only is persecuted with fire and sword. From others you may have learned that the Franciscan fathers sent a ship to the city of Manila. This has more than twice resulted in the total destruction of Christian work in Omura; and its lord, although he is a child, runs the risk that they will behead him (or at least his governors), because the said ship was fitted out in one of his ports. We do not know how this will end. On January 21, they arrested Father Antonio of the Franciscan order at Nangasaqui. The embassy of the Dutch had an unfortunate ending at the court of Xapon, because it was known to be only a pretext. It is also said that one of the great governors of Xapon remarked at court that it would be a great injury to that kingdom, were it said that they welcomed in their ports a people who came only to rob upon the high seas, and that it was taken ill in foreign kingdoms.” In another letter, of November 28, 1627, it is said by Father Xacome Antonio, after the departure of the galeotas, that “there is no news from these countries; the persecution at Nangasaqui has ended, because the presidents had all gone to the court, and so at present there is comparative quiet. At first those who were banished to the mountains were not allowed, under the penalty of burning, imposed by the ministers of justice, to build any shelter from the inclemencies of the weather; but afterward they were allowed to build huts of straw. It was also granted that no minister of justice dwell among them, which is a great blessing. The Christians who were sent to court arrived there in safety; and although at the beginning they found no one to welcome them the governors afterward ordered that houses be given them. They are well accommodated in a monastery of bonzes, who, beyond the kind treatment they accord them, are urging the governors to accord to them, and to the other Christians at Nangasaqui, liberty of conscience. The chief bonze of this monastery, a man of great authority on account of his dignity, is pushing this negotiation. Besides this, these same Christians presented a petition or memorial, asking the governors at this court to intercede for them, and procure for them such liberty at Nangasaqui as they had had in the days of the Daifu, so that their inhabitants might live there as Christians. It was well received, and they were given hopes of a favorable decision. The same encouragement is given to all those who come to the court. Even the heathen talk of it, and say that the permission will doubtless be accorded. May the Lord grant it; for if it succeeds the whole country in the neighborhood of Nangasaqui will remain in some peace.” In another of March 16, 1628, the same father, Xacome Antonio, says that father Fray Juan de Ribera, of the Dominican order, while he was returning from Manila to Xapon, was left on the Lechios [i.e., Riu-Kiu Islands], where it is said that he was murdered in an attempt to rob him, though the motive is not certainly known. Three of the same order came last year to Japon, and when they were within sight of land, the Chinese crews threw them overboard, on account of some superstitious fear. It was known afterward, because on their return a sudden squall struck the Chinese ship two leguas from Nangasaqui. The vessel was wrecked and many lost, eight saving their lives by swimming. This was a punishment for their sins, and for the large amount of silver that they took from the said religious, which they say must amount to two thousand sacks of treasure; 13 they took it on condition of returning the same amount at their return from the voyage. The last news we have from Xapon is as follows: There was a great outbreak in the palace, in the emperor’s anteroom, and a tono among great governors of the kingdom was killed. The emperor came forth at the noise, and, attempting to put his hand upon his sword, he was foully stabbed in the abdomen, an example showing how skilled they are in wielding arms. This death has caused much restlessness, and many risings, which will not be crushed for a long time. The Indians of the island of Hermosa sent ambassadors to the emperor of Xapon, asking for assistance to help them expel the Dutch from that port where they have their fortress. They were well received and help was offered to them, and they were sent back with assurances of friendship. The Dutch themselves were arrested in Xapon and their ships detained, because they owed large sums and did not pay; and there was talk of expelling them from the entire land of Xapon. Just then, unfortunately for us, news arrived there of the Japanese ship that our galleons burned last year on the bar of Sian, 14 whereupon the tables were turned; the prospects of the Dutch improved, and ours grew worse. There was talk of making an agreement with them, and even of raising an armada of Dutch and Japanese, to proceed against our fort at the island of Hermosa and even against Manila—a matter which does not fail to occasion considerable anxiety, though it is not known how it will turn out. We have had no news from the island of Hermosa, which keeps us in great anxiety, because more than two hundred thousand pesos were sent there from this city of Manila to be invested in Chinese silks. We do not know what has been done with it, or whether the money has been lost, an uncertainty which occasions anxiety to the merchants. In short, these Philipinas Islands are at present in a ruinous condition, with many powerful and triumphant enemies, our forces weakened, and our people in dread of other large fleets. May the Lord remedy all this, and assist with His divine favor, in the preservation of the faith in these lands. Manila, July 18, 1629. [A document of this same collection (“Papeles de los Jesuítas”), with pressmark “Tomo 169 numero 2,” is identical with the above relation, except for slight verbal differences which do not change the sense in any way. But at the end occurs the following additional letter:] Letter of Father Sebastian de Morais Since the letters carried by the little ship from India are lost, the following was learned from another letter. On the octave of Espíritu Santo, a sudden attack was made from Fayal Island to Tercera Island, as a little ship from India, called “San Felipe,” was making port there. That ship left Cochin December 22, 1629, and reached Fayal seven days after Pentecost. There it was met by an English ship which mounted twenty-four pieces, many carrying balls of sixteen libras. It had sixty musketeers, while our ship had only thirty white men and twenty Indians, and mounted fourteen small pieces of artillery. However we cut down the yard of the pirate’s foremast with the first volley. They fought one day and night. They killed our master and two sailors, and our men killed the enemy’s captain and many of their men, while the ship was so hardly used that it would have sunk but for the calking. Our ship bore down upon it; but another pirate, of heavier burden, appeared within range. Consequently, our ship retired to Fayal, where some ships from the island of Terceras went to get it. They cast anchor at that point with great rejoicing, our ship being quite like a sieve because of the balls that remained sticking in its sides and upper works. Even that image of our patron saint, St. Philip, had in it eighteen balls. The ship carries three thousand five hundred quintals of pepper for the king, and a quantity of merchandise. The ships of General Roque Senteno were going for it [as convoy]. A fleet of forty sail had gone to Socotra against the enemy, with volunteer forces, who were encouraged by the sight of a crucifix which the enemy had insulted on a certain occasion. We had a glorious victory over many galleys of the [king] of Achen, although our craft were very inferior.