Chapter 4

1“Originally, when the port of the capital of Filipinas was visited only by vessels from the Asiatic nations and a few Spanish ships, the exaction of duties was in the hands of the royal officials, according to the laws of the Indias. In 1779 Basco y Vargas ordained that those functionaries should attend only to collecting duties from the ships which navigated to the coasts of Coromandel, Malabar, Bengala, Java, Cantón, Acapulco, and Cádiz; and that the duties proper to the entrance or outgo of products and commodities in the inter-island commerce should be in charge of the director of alcabala. From this originated the foundation of the custom-house, it being completed by royal decrees of 1786 and 1788, from which time it was provided with the necessary force of men for collecting the import and export duties.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑2Cf. Forrest,Voyage to New Guinea, p. 368: “They believe the deity pleased with human victims. An Idaan or Maroot [a tribe in northern Borneo] must, for once at least, in his life, have imbued his hands in a fellow creature’s blood; the rich are said to do it often, adorning their houses with sculls and teeth, to show how much they have honored their author, and laboured to avert his chastisement. Several in low circumstances will club to buy a Bisayan Christian slave, or any one that is to be sold cheap; that all may partake the benefit of the execution. So at Kalagan, on Mindano, as Rajah Moodo informed me, when the god of the mountain gives no brimstone, they sacrifice some old slave, to appease the wrath of the deity. Some also believe, those they kill in this world, are to serve them in the next, as Mr. Dalrymple observes.” He also says (p. 271), that they pay “perhaps five or six Kangans” for an old slave, and that the above mountain is “in the district of Kalagan [i.e., Caraga], a little way west of Pandagitan, which emits at times smoke, fire, and brimstone.” This evidently alludes to Mt. Butulan, a volcano (now apparently extinct), in the extreme southern point of Davao province, Mindanao.↑3See account of this at end of “Events in Filipinas,” the first document inVOL. L.↑4Seepost, near the end of this volume, the document on the representation of Filipinas in the Spanish Cortes.↑5“A fanatic, who, styling himself a new Christ, appeared to the fishermen and announced to them their true redemption—freedom from monopolies and tributes, and whatever could allure the unwary. This fanatic and more than seventy of his following, called ‘apostles,’ were seized, with their gowns, litters, flags, and other articles with which ‘the new god,’ as was reported, must make himself manifest.” (Official despatch, cited by Montero y Vidal.)↑6It may be noted that in 1809 Folgueras had, “in order to quiet the public anxiety” to know what was going on, published on two occasions a sort of gazette (calledAviso al público) of news regarding his encounter and correspondence with the French in that summer. (Montero y Vidal, ii, pp. 390, 391.)↑7See Retana’sPeriodismo filipino(Madrid, 1895), appendix i (pp. 533–559), in which a detailed account of this gazette, with lists of the articles in most of the numbers, is given by J. T. Medina. He concludes that it had fifteen numbers, irregularly issued, the last of which was dated February 7, 1812.↑8According to Jagor (Reisen, pp. 108, 109), “the receipts from the sale of the bulls of the Crusade in 1819 were $15,930, in 1839, $36,390, and in 1860, $58,954. In the two years 1844–45 they rose to $292,115, because the families and the heads of barangay were forcibly obliged to accept the certificates of indulgences, ‘with the assistance and supervision of the curas and subordinate officials’ (who for this received 8 and 5 per cent respectively), and thus they were distributed in the houses—certainly one of the most shameless applications of the repartimiento system.”↑9A note by Montero y Vidal cites José R. Trujillo, a Philippine official, as stating (1887) that the chief opponent and plotter against Gardoqui was Joaquin Cirilo de la Cajigas, the chief accountant of the treasury board and head of the naval bureau; he left a great fortune to his descendants, “who even now figure as rich men in the country, while the naval chiefs and officers who served here at that epoch did not bequeath to their descendants more than poverty and honor, although some of them had risen to high positions in the naval forces.”↑10“The Holy Office was, however, again abolished by the Cortes, in its session of 1820.↑11“In 1797, when on account of the decadence of the Society and the opposition of Aguilar it practically ceased its functions, its president at that time, the auditor Don Francisco Javier Moreno, placed on deposit in the Consulate [of commerce] 6,000 pesos, which at that period constituted all its funds. At the time of its reëstablishment, the capital of the Society consisted of 34,224 pesos, two reals, one grano in ready cash; a debt owed by the convent of San Juan de Dios, of 7,525 pesos—the remainder of the sum of 15,890 pesos, four reals, one grano, which by decree of the government dated April 1, 1805, were ordered to be paid for the rebuilding of that convent’s edifice; and twelve gold medals and 241 of silver. It was agreed to invest these funds in commerce by sea or land, according to circumstances.” (Pamphlet cited by Montero y Vidal.)↑12For a brief account of this Society’s work, see note on “Agriculture” at end ofVOL. LII.↑13An interesting account of this event is furnished in a letter by Peter Dobell, then Russian consul in the Philippines, which is preserved in the New York Public Library; it is printed in theBulletinof that institution for June, 1903, at pp. 198–200. Dobell went to Macao for medical treatment in July, 1820, and this letter was written from that city, on November 28 of that year. He thus writes: “I arrived with my wife and daughter at Manilla last March, was received with great apparent attention, politeness & hospitality. After living there a couple of months, however, I perceived that there existed a vast deal of jealousy and envy, against all strangers, and particularly those who resided or intended to form establishments in the country. Those ignorant people could not divest themselves of this feeling, even toward those, whose capitals, talents and industry, were directed to the most laudable pursuits, and promised to produce great public as well as private advantages to the colony. At this crisis several french ships were in the port, one or two Americans and a English ship from Bengal. In the French ships, had arrived a naturalist sent out by the government to make collections, and some persons, who intended to remain in the Philippines to cultivate sugar, cotton &c.&c. In the month of July last, I discovered that I had in my travels, contracted a disease, called by the DoctrHydrocele and becoming very troublesome to me, I determined as there are no good surgeons in Manilla to pay a short visit to Macao with my family & return to my post, as soon as circumstanceswould permit, after the operation. This I found, I could do the more conveniently, as my Nephew, a fine young Man of 23 years, had joined me at my arrival and I left him, in full charge of my office &c and departed. This envious disposition, on the part of the Spaniards, increased daily, against the Strangers, until an opportunity presented itself of gratifying their malignant hatred, in the most cruel & bloody manner & without themselves appearing to have any thing to do in the business. It is necessary first to tell you, that the new constitution, had been received during the prevalence of this feeling, giving extensive privileges & liberal encouragement to foreigners, who might think proper to settle in the Philippines & rendering the natives as free & equal, in rights, etc.as their former masters. This certainly made thema little unruly, but, if not secretly instigated, it would never have induced them to commit a crime, that makes humanity shudder. The ship from Bengal, was the Merope Captain Nichols and it was supposed she had brotinto the colony the epidemic, that has ravaged all India, this year, under the name of the ‘Cholera Morbus.’ It made its appearance, in the beginning of October last, carrying off great numbers of the Indians every day. The humane French & other Strangers, who beheld these miserable wretches, dying around them without any medical aid, freely administered what medicines they had, and were actively & daily employed, in endeavoring to alleviate; the distress & cure the complaints of all those, who lived within the sphere of their exertions. This also became, a cause of jealousy and hatred and the villains, began immediately to exasperate the Indians by saying, ‘this poisonous disease, was introduced by the French & the other strangers, they have poisoned even the waters, and they administer poison to the sick, purposely to exterpate the whole race of Tagalians.’ The ferocious Indians wanted nothing farther to excite them to deeds of blood & plunder. On the 9thof October about 10 or 11 in the morning they collected, to the number of about 3,000 Men armed with pikes knives and bludgeons and proceeded coolly and deliberately to plunder and Massacre all the Strangers on whom they could lay their hands!I have not time to give you the details of this shocking business, but you will certainly read them in the gazettes as I have sent both to England and Russia very full accounts for publication. Suffice it now to say that the Governor & the authorities were vainly implored for assistance. They came, it is true, with the troops, but it was only to behold with sang froid the horrid spectacle. Not a musket was fired to save the lives of those unfortunate and defenceless strangers, who to the number of 39 were plundered & cruelly massacred; some of them were so cut up & mangled it was impossible to recognize them. As the most of them were Roman Catholics, they were all collected and thrown into a hole together without the shadow of a ceremony or a stone to mark their graves! What is worse, the last accts from there down to the 9thof November mention that not a spanish life was lost, nor has a single native as yet suffered punishment for this most atrocious & horrible deed. My house was attacked & pillaged, my Nephew & a Mr Prince of Boston, who lived with him, made prisonners, and, after being near two days in the hands of the Indians, suffering the most abominable treatment, they luckily escaped Death. Eighty five Chinese & 11 English seamen were also plundered & assassinated. I have been obliged to represent this affair in its full suit ofBlackto my Government and have at the same time declared my intention of going back to Siberia, next April, where I shall await the orders of His Imperial Majesty …. I leave the place & those miscreants to themselves, from the conviction, that its commerce is ruined forever. In the first place they held their productionstoohigh & paid too low for European commodities, so that, when the allowance of the half duties granted to the importers of sugars shall cease, no french ships will visit the Philippines to pay from 7 to 9 Dollars a pecul for Sugars. The Cadmus, you say will make money. If she does, she will I fancy be the only American ship that profits by its trade to Manilla. All those, who came out last year lost money on the sales of their cargoes, &, from what we hear of prices in America, and on the Continent, they must lose by the returns. But what will give the death blow to the prosperityof the Philippines, is the late horrible massacre. All those french and other foreigners, who were anxious to have established themselves in commerce or on estates in the country, are now frightened off and certainly no one will find himself, confident enough to trust to a Government, which could permit such a massacre to take place, immediately under its eyes, when it had 5,000 men in arms, ready at a minutes notice to disperse the Mob. Thus situated, Manilla offers no chance of profit or Speculation; and I confess, however my hopes and wishes may have been disappointed, I turn from them with disgust & horror, better pleased to be ordered to live, in some remote corner of Siberia, on black bread & salt, than roll in wealth, amidst such an inhuman, illiberal and unchristianlike race of Men …. I must close my letter by informing you that the Captain General has refused all the applications for indemnification, from those who have been plundered; so that as yet, neither the punishment due to the assassins has been inflicted, nor redress made to the unfortunate people who were robbed.”By the kindness of James A. LeRoy, the Editors have in their hands a copy (furnished by Dr. Pardo de Tavera from the original in his possession) of a decree issued by Governor Folgueras (dated at Manila, October 20, 1820), addressed “to the natives of the Filipinas Islands, and especially to those of the district of Tondo,” in which he rebukes them severely for thus violating the law of nations, under the influence of “a general frenzy,” and “led astray and infuriated by certain malicious persons.” He characterizes their belief that the strangers had poisoned the waters as a foolish and absurd notion, which “the mountain Negritos or the Moros of Joló and Mindanao would be ashamed to entertain;” and reminds them that the strangers whom they have plundered and slain were not only friends and brethren, but the very persons on whom the prosperity of the islands must depend, since they supplied a market for the produce of the country. He then presents the report which has been made by an official whom the governor had specially appointed (October 13) to investigate this idea of the foreigners’ crime, which is to the following effect: “Asthe evidence of guilt [cuerpo de delito, the same as the Latincorpus delicti] in the poisoning which is charged, the Indians have brought to us, among the spoils which they plundered from the houses of the Frenchmen, various animals of different forms, and among them a serpent, of quite the usual size, one of those which they call ‘house-snakes,’ in a dissected state; others, with some little shellfish, preserved in spirits of wine, in a crystal flask; in another, two granos of muriatic baryte; a quantity of Peruvian bark, which in my opinion would weigh about an arroba and a half; and a box of sheet-tin about a vara long, one-fourth as wide, and six dedos thick, in which also was found a mass of insects, but already decaying; and finally, in the house of a woman who had been accused of being an agent of the French for the alleged poisoning, a little package of some black powders in China paper [i.e., rice paper].” The official states that these animal specimens have evidently “no other object than to enrich cabinets of natural history,” and could not in any way have been used for injuring human beings. The muriatic baryte was for use in analyzing mineral waters, and was, moreover, useful in various diseases. The Peruvian bark was, as all might know, a useful medicine and had often been helpful in checking the cholera itself. The black powders, it was also decided, were also of medicinal value; and the entire story is characterized as a fiction and delusion. The official regrets that it was believed by so many persons who should have known better than to accept so gross an error; “but it is certain that they did, and, among them, many of the clergy; and with this the delusion attained such power that it has caused the very scandalous deeds which all good persons lament; for it is certain that there is no better way of propagating an error than for persons of authority to adopt it. There is no doubt, it appears, that this foolish idea of poisoning had its origin in the ignorance of the Indians; but there is as little doubt that malicious persons, imposing upon this folly and lack of knowledge in the Indians, incited them to perpetrate the assassinations and robberies of the disastrous days, October 9 and 10.” He adds that one of the books brought to him by the Indians, which theyhad taken from the house of the French naturalist, was filled with sketches of fishes, mollusks, and birds peculiar to the country, which plainly showed that he was only making zoological observations. In view of all these things, Folgueras calls upon the natives to repent of their sin, to surrender to the authorities the instigators of the tumult, to restore to the plundered foreigners what had been stolen from them, and to denounce the authors of the murders, that justice might be done to these evil persons. These exhortations are especially addressed to the inhabitants of Binondo, “which has been the theatre of the most horrible tragedy, and has covered itself with blood and ignominy.” This decree is published by Dr. Pardo de Tavera, from the original printed edition, in hisBiblioteca filipina, pp. 45–47.↑14In his scarce third volume of theInforme, Mas says that the governor, either wittingly or unwittingly, did well in not sending out the soldiers, who were natives, until the fury of the people had spent itself; as otherwise all discipline might easily have been lost, and the soldiers have joined with their kindred in the massacre.↑15Our author gives the name of this periodical incorrectly; it should beEl Noticioso Filipino—see Retana’sPeriodismo filipino,appendix ii (pp. 561, 563). It was apparently begun on July 29, 1821; it was issued on Sundays. Its publication ceased before November 1 of that year. This information was furnished to Retana by Pardo de Tavera; he also supplied accurate data forLa Filantropia(pp. 561–563), which began on September 1, 1821; it seems to have ceased publication in 1822.El Ramillete Patrióticois known only by an allusion in one of the numbers ofFilantropia,which speaks of the former as having been “silenced” (presumably by the authorities). Pedro Torres y Lanzas gives (p. 565) a description of Nos. 27–37 (March 16–May 25, 1822) ofFilantropia.↑16Regarding this man and his works, see Retana’sEl precursor de la político redentorista(Madrid, 1894); it is specially devoted to Varela’sParnaso filipino(Sampaloc, 1814). Retana says of him: “It is unquestionable that his writings in prose and verse encouraged among the Indians the wrong interpretation which was given to the Constitution of 1812, from which resulted the series of insurrections, fortunately isolated, which took place in Filipinas.”↑17This publication was begun in January, 1824, and continued until May, 1833; at first two hundred and fifty copies were printed. It was finally obliged to suspend publication, for lack of funds. See Retana’sPeriodismo filipino, pp. 10–14, and 566; at the latter place, Torres y Lanzas describes a file of Nos. 49–109 (lacking two numbers) of this publication, which is presumably preserved in theArchivo generalat Sevilla.↑18In 1823 the pirates captured the provincial of the Recollects, with one of his friars; and that order had to furnish 10,000 pesos for their ransom. (Montero y Vidal,Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 482.)↑19General Ricafort published a relation of this enterprise, dated at Manila, December 30, 1829; he describes the island, presents an historical sketch of the insurrection in Bohol since 1744 and the efforts to quell it, and at the end furnishes a tabulated statement of the expeditions sent by his orders, with number of men, expenditures, etc., and of their results—a statement signed by Captain Manuel Sanz, the leader of the expedition, and dated at Talibon, August 31, 1829; to this is added the signed statement by the parish curas of Bohol that the numbers of insurgents who have been conquered or have submitted to the Spanish rule agree with their respective registers. According to this account, the number of insurgents reduced or submitted was 19,420; to this must be added 98 “banished for their rebellious dispositions,” and 395 “obstinate persons who died at the hands of the troops,” and an unknown (“for lack of information”) number of those killed in the year 1827 and on March 28 of 1828, and more than 3,000 souls who have fled to other provinces. Some of the troops were Spaniards from Manila, but the main part of the force was composed of Indians from Bohol and Cebú, to the number of 5,970 and 54 respectively; 294 of the former and 32 of the latter deserted the ranks, and 4,977 Boholans and 22 Cebuans were at the end disbanded, as being on the sick list; and very few were either killed or wounded in the campaign. The reduced insurgents were formed into the following new villages: Catigbian, with 1,967 souls; Batuanan, with 6,266 souls; Cabulao, with 790; Balilijan, with 2,100; and Vilar, with 930. In other villages were distributed the remaining insurgents.↑20“The Chinese refused to accept their reduction into villages; more than eight hundred elected to return to their own country; four hundred odd were assigned to labor on the public works, as being insolvent; and about a thousand fled to the mountains in order to elude payment and punishment. The intendant, in view of the difficulty in collecting [their] taxes, explained to the government the expediency of modifying the enactment; and this was done in 1834.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑21These funds were chiefly the obras pías which had been administered by the Jesuit order in Filipinas up to their expulsion from the islands; at that time, nearly half of these foundations were extinguished by the authorities, and such moneys as remained in them were covered into the royal treasury. Forty-five of the Jesuit obras pías were thus left, which were administered by the government in the following manner: The capital was divided (as had long been the custom of all the orders in Filipinas in administering obras pías) into three parts; one of these was invested in the commerce of Acapulco, another in that of the Coromandel Coast and China, and the other third remained on deposit as a reserve to make good any losses in the amounts invested. Much light is thrown on the management of these funds by the Jesuits, in the official report made (June 23, 1797), in pursuit of a command from the Spanish government, by Angel de la Fuente, the chief of the Bureau of Secular Revenues [Contaduría de Temporalidades] at Manila; the original MS. of this is in the possession of Edward K. Ayer, Chicago. Fuente examined the account-books which the Jesuits had kept of these funds, and found them full of confusion, discrepancies, and omissions; but after comparing and verifying them so far as he could, he made a list of them, with statement of their origin, amount, and application. He found that in seventeen of these funds there was no evidence that the money had been applied as directed by the donors, and only partial indications of this in fifteen others. He reported that many of these obras pías had been contributed for the advantage and benefit of the Jesuits themselves, and therefore, since that order had been suppressed, the funds might now justly be applied to any desirable pious purpose. To this end, he recommended that nineteen of the funds be placed in charge of the diocesan authorities, and twelve others used by the government for specified purposes, and that the rest be covered into the royal treasury.↑22“In order to give aid to the widow of Torres, and pay the expenses of her voyage to España, a subscription was raised which produced 12,000 pesos; but we note that the promoter of this married the widow, and they returned to the Peninsula together.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑23The “pillar dollar” was so called from the pillars on the reverse of the coin, which represent the pillars of Hercules, or the Straits of Gibraltar; this device was characteristic of the Spanish-American coinage. This dollar was thepeso duro(or “hard dollar”), of eight reals; and its half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and thirty-second parts were represented by smaller coins. The greater part of the supply of pillar dollars were made in Mexico; but this coinage ceased in 1822. In the Peninsula, the coins were the dollar—formerly of ten reals, but now of twenty reals vellón—the half, the peseta or pistareen (which is one-fifth of the dollar, or four reals vellón), and the half and the quarter pistareen. After the Peninsular revolution of 1821, pillar dollars were struck for a short time at Madrid, but these are easily distinguishable from the true pillar dollar. In 1810–16, silver coins were used in Brazil, which were only the Spanish dollar, softened by annealing, and then restamped; the pillars may be distinguished underneath this surface, by close inspection. See Eckfeldt and DuBois,Manual of Gold and Silver Coins(Philadelphia, 1842), pp. 33, 77, 119, 122, See also chapter on Spanish coinage, especially that called “vellón,” in Lea’sInquisition in Spain(New York, 1906–07), i, pp. 560et seq.; this latter, although debased, was the standard of value until 1871, when it was replaced by the decimal system.↑24“According to a memorial published by Don Francisco Enríquez on leaving his office, there were at that time in the funds [of his department] a surplus of 1,000,000 pesos, and in the storehouses over 275,000 bales of tobacco, the value of which exceeded 4,000,000 hard dollars.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑25Hangers-on of the palace at Manila tried to throw on Galvey the blame for this failure; but Montero y Vidal cites Galvey’s diary, to show that he had to contend with overwhelming difficulties, inadequate supplies and lack of proper facilities, and the insalubrity of the country. He stated therein that he had made “forty-five expeditions into the hill-country, and had received therein four wounds, two of which were mortal.” He died in 1839.↑26Royal decrees of 1835 and 1836 suppressed the Jesuit order throughout the Spanish empire; all the religious communities and colleges of men (excepting the colleges of missionaries for Asia, the clergy of theEscuelas Píasand the hospital convents of St. John of God), and the houses of the military orders; and all the beaterios whose inmates were not devoted to educational or hospital labors.↑27“In Filipinas the peseta is worth only 32 cuartos.” (Vidal y Soler,Viajes por Jagor, p. 227; published in 1874.)↑28Soon after his return to Spain he published a book (Cádiz, 1839) relating his experiences as governor of Filipinas.↑29Camba’s wife died, three months after their arrival at Manila; and at her funeral certain military honors were paid her, as provided in the regulations of affairs in the Indias, and these were promptly approved by the home government. Camba’s enemies, however, accused him at Madrid of having had the same honors paid to his wife as were customary with royal persons; and, at the time, the artillery officials demanded from him pay for the powder used on that occasion. (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑30In conjunction with the Audiencia, he commissioned a magistrate, Francisco Otín y Duazo, to draw up new “Ordinances of good government,” in 1838. (Montero y Vidal, ii, p. 360.)↑31Montero y Vidal says (iii, p. 21): “On March 21, 1840, the Economic Society of Friends of the Country made a grant of 500 pesos to Father Blanco for the expenses of printing and publishing theFlorawhich bears his name.” In 1845 a second edition appeared, corrected and enlarged by the author himself; and a third edition was issued (1877–80) at the cost of the Augustinian order. This last was in four volumes, a limited edition, with an atlas (in two volumes) containing 478 colored plates; it also included a previously unpublished MS. on Philippine botany, written late in the sixteenth century, and an appendix prepared by the editors of Blanco (Fathers Andrés Naves and Celestino Fernández-Villar) in which they endeavored to coördinate Blanco’s species with those of other authors and to enumerate all the species of Philippine plants then known. See an account of Blanco’s work and that of his later editors, with estimate of the scientific value of both, inReview of the Identifications of Species Described in Blanco’s “Flora”(Manila, 1905), by Elmer D. Merrill, botanist of the Bureau of Government Laboratories at Manila.↑32In Retana’sPeriodismo filipino(pp. 566, 567) Torres y Lanzas describes some copies of this periodical, dated October 5–November 9, 1839, and January 23–February 6, 1841; he cites a letter by Urréjola to show thatPrecios corrienteswas published weekly, beginning July 6, 1839, by private enterprise.↑33By a later royal decree, the fiscal was to settle any case of disagreement between the two censors, and any books seized by the authorities should be only sent back to the shipper, and not kept by them—the archbishop having demanded that confiscated books should be surrendered to him. (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑

2Cf. Forrest,Voyage to New Guinea, p. 368: “They believe the deity pleased with human victims. An Idaan or Maroot [a tribe in northern Borneo] must, for once at least, in his life, have imbued his hands in a fellow creature’s blood; the rich are said to do it often, adorning their houses with sculls and teeth, to show how much they have honored their author, and laboured to avert his chastisement. Several in low circumstances will club to buy a Bisayan Christian slave, or any one that is to be sold cheap; that all may partake the benefit of the execution. So at Kalagan, on Mindano, as Rajah Moodo informed me, when the god of the mountain gives no brimstone, they sacrifice some old slave, to appease the wrath of the deity. Some also believe, those they kill in this world, are to serve them in the next, as Mr. Dalrymple observes.” He also says (p. 271), that they pay “perhaps five or six Kangans” for an old slave, and that the above mountain is “in the district of Kalagan [i.e., Caraga], a little way west of Pandagitan, which emits at times smoke, fire, and brimstone.” This evidently alludes to Mt. Butulan, a volcano (now apparently extinct), in the extreme southern point of Davao province, Mindanao.↑

3See account of this at end of “Events in Filipinas,” the first document inVOL. L.↑

4Seepost, near the end of this volume, the document on the representation of Filipinas in the Spanish Cortes.↑

5“A fanatic, who, styling himself a new Christ, appeared to the fishermen and announced to them their true redemption—freedom from monopolies and tributes, and whatever could allure the unwary. This fanatic and more than seventy of his following, called ‘apostles,’ were seized, with their gowns, litters, flags, and other articles with which ‘the new god,’ as was reported, must make himself manifest.” (Official despatch, cited by Montero y Vidal.)↑

6It may be noted that in 1809 Folgueras had, “in order to quiet the public anxiety” to know what was going on, published on two occasions a sort of gazette (calledAviso al público) of news regarding his encounter and correspondence with the French in that summer. (Montero y Vidal, ii, pp. 390, 391.)↑

7See Retana’sPeriodismo filipino(Madrid, 1895), appendix i (pp. 533–559), in which a detailed account of this gazette, with lists of the articles in most of the numbers, is given by J. T. Medina. He concludes that it had fifteen numbers, irregularly issued, the last of which was dated February 7, 1812.↑

8According to Jagor (Reisen, pp. 108, 109), “the receipts from the sale of the bulls of the Crusade in 1819 were $15,930, in 1839, $36,390, and in 1860, $58,954. In the two years 1844–45 they rose to $292,115, because the families and the heads of barangay were forcibly obliged to accept the certificates of indulgences, ‘with the assistance and supervision of the curas and subordinate officials’ (who for this received 8 and 5 per cent respectively), and thus they were distributed in the houses—certainly one of the most shameless applications of the repartimiento system.”↑

9A note by Montero y Vidal cites José R. Trujillo, a Philippine official, as stating (1887) that the chief opponent and plotter against Gardoqui was Joaquin Cirilo de la Cajigas, the chief accountant of the treasury board and head of the naval bureau; he left a great fortune to his descendants, “who even now figure as rich men in the country, while the naval chiefs and officers who served here at that epoch did not bequeath to their descendants more than poverty and honor, although some of them had risen to high positions in the naval forces.”↑

10“The Holy Office was, however, again abolished by the Cortes, in its session of 1820.↑

11“In 1797, when on account of the decadence of the Society and the opposition of Aguilar it practically ceased its functions, its president at that time, the auditor Don Francisco Javier Moreno, placed on deposit in the Consulate [of commerce] 6,000 pesos, which at that period constituted all its funds. At the time of its reëstablishment, the capital of the Society consisted of 34,224 pesos, two reals, one grano in ready cash; a debt owed by the convent of San Juan de Dios, of 7,525 pesos—the remainder of the sum of 15,890 pesos, four reals, one grano, which by decree of the government dated April 1, 1805, were ordered to be paid for the rebuilding of that convent’s edifice; and twelve gold medals and 241 of silver. It was agreed to invest these funds in commerce by sea or land, according to circumstances.” (Pamphlet cited by Montero y Vidal.)↑

12For a brief account of this Society’s work, see note on “Agriculture” at end ofVOL. LII.↑

13An interesting account of this event is furnished in a letter by Peter Dobell, then Russian consul in the Philippines, which is preserved in the New York Public Library; it is printed in theBulletinof that institution for June, 1903, at pp. 198–200. Dobell went to Macao for medical treatment in July, 1820, and this letter was written from that city, on November 28 of that year. He thus writes: “I arrived with my wife and daughter at Manilla last March, was received with great apparent attention, politeness & hospitality. After living there a couple of months, however, I perceived that there existed a vast deal of jealousy and envy, against all strangers, and particularly those who resided or intended to form establishments in the country. Those ignorant people could not divest themselves of this feeling, even toward those, whose capitals, talents and industry, were directed to the most laudable pursuits, and promised to produce great public as well as private advantages to the colony. At this crisis several french ships were in the port, one or two Americans and a English ship from Bengal. In the French ships, had arrived a naturalist sent out by the government to make collections, and some persons, who intended to remain in the Philippines to cultivate sugar, cotton &c.&c. In the month of July last, I discovered that I had in my travels, contracted a disease, called by the DoctrHydrocele and becoming very troublesome to me, I determined as there are no good surgeons in Manilla to pay a short visit to Macao with my family & return to my post, as soon as circumstanceswould permit, after the operation. This I found, I could do the more conveniently, as my Nephew, a fine young Man of 23 years, had joined me at my arrival and I left him, in full charge of my office &c and departed. This envious disposition, on the part of the Spaniards, increased daily, against the Strangers, until an opportunity presented itself of gratifying their malignant hatred, in the most cruel & bloody manner & without themselves appearing to have any thing to do in the business. It is necessary first to tell you, that the new constitution, had been received during the prevalence of this feeling, giving extensive privileges & liberal encouragement to foreigners, who might think proper to settle in the Philippines & rendering the natives as free & equal, in rights, etc.as their former masters. This certainly made thema little unruly, but, if not secretly instigated, it would never have induced them to commit a crime, that makes humanity shudder. The ship from Bengal, was the Merope Captain Nichols and it was supposed she had brotinto the colony the epidemic, that has ravaged all India, this year, under the name of the ‘Cholera Morbus.’ It made its appearance, in the beginning of October last, carrying off great numbers of the Indians every day. The humane French & other Strangers, who beheld these miserable wretches, dying around them without any medical aid, freely administered what medicines they had, and were actively & daily employed, in endeavoring to alleviate; the distress & cure the complaints of all those, who lived within the sphere of their exertions. This also became, a cause of jealousy and hatred and the villains, began immediately to exasperate the Indians by saying, ‘this poisonous disease, was introduced by the French & the other strangers, they have poisoned even the waters, and they administer poison to the sick, purposely to exterpate the whole race of Tagalians.’ The ferocious Indians wanted nothing farther to excite them to deeds of blood & plunder. On the 9thof October about 10 or 11 in the morning they collected, to the number of about 3,000 Men armed with pikes knives and bludgeons and proceeded coolly and deliberately to plunder and Massacre all the Strangers on whom they could lay their hands!I have not time to give you the details of this shocking business, but you will certainly read them in the gazettes as I have sent both to England and Russia very full accounts for publication. Suffice it now to say that the Governor & the authorities were vainly implored for assistance. They came, it is true, with the troops, but it was only to behold with sang froid the horrid spectacle. Not a musket was fired to save the lives of those unfortunate and defenceless strangers, who to the number of 39 were plundered & cruelly massacred; some of them were so cut up & mangled it was impossible to recognize them. As the most of them were Roman Catholics, they were all collected and thrown into a hole together without the shadow of a ceremony or a stone to mark their graves! What is worse, the last accts from there down to the 9thof November mention that not a spanish life was lost, nor has a single native as yet suffered punishment for this most atrocious & horrible deed. My house was attacked & pillaged, my Nephew & a Mr Prince of Boston, who lived with him, made prisonners, and, after being near two days in the hands of the Indians, suffering the most abominable treatment, they luckily escaped Death. Eighty five Chinese & 11 English seamen were also plundered & assassinated. I have been obliged to represent this affair in its full suit ofBlackto my Government and have at the same time declared my intention of going back to Siberia, next April, where I shall await the orders of His Imperial Majesty …. I leave the place & those miscreants to themselves, from the conviction, that its commerce is ruined forever. In the first place they held their productionstoohigh & paid too low for European commodities, so that, when the allowance of the half duties granted to the importers of sugars shall cease, no french ships will visit the Philippines to pay from 7 to 9 Dollars a pecul for Sugars. The Cadmus, you say will make money. If she does, she will I fancy be the only American ship that profits by its trade to Manilla. All those, who came out last year lost money on the sales of their cargoes, &, from what we hear of prices in America, and on the Continent, they must lose by the returns. But what will give the death blow to the prosperityof the Philippines, is the late horrible massacre. All those french and other foreigners, who were anxious to have established themselves in commerce or on estates in the country, are now frightened off and certainly no one will find himself, confident enough to trust to a Government, which could permit such a massacre to take place, immediately under its eyes, when it had 5,000 men in arms, ready at a minutes notice to disperse the Mob. Thus situated, Manilla offers no chance of profit or Speculation; and I confess, however my hopes and wishes may have been disappointed, I turn from them with disgust & horror, better pleased to be ordered to live, in some remote corner of Siberia, on black bread & salt, than roll in wealth, amidst such an inhuman, illiberal and unchristianlike race of Men …. I must close my letter by informing you that the Captain General has refused all the applications for indemnification, from those who have been plundered; so that as yet, neither the punishment due to the assassins has been inflicted, nor redress made to the unfortunate people who were robbed.”

By the kindness of James A. LeRoy, the Editors have in their hands a copy (furnished by Dr. Pardo de Tavera from the original in his possession) of a decree issued by Governor Folgueras (dated at Manila, October 20, 1820), addressed “to the natives of the Filipinas Islands, and especially to those of the district of Tondo,” in which he rebukes them severely for thus violating the law of nations, under the influence of “a general frenzy,” and “led astray and infuriated by certain malicious persons.” He characterizes their belief that the strangers had poisoned the waters as a foolish and absurd notion, which “the mountain Negritos or the Moros of Joló and Mindanao would be ashamed to entertain;” and reminds them that the strangers whom they have plundered and slain were not only friends and brethren, but the very persons on whom the prosperity of the islands must depend, since they supplied a market for the produce of the country. He then presents the report which has been made by an official whom the governor had specially appointed (October 13) to investigate this idea of the foreigners’ crime, which is to the following effect: “Asthe evidence of guilt [cuerpo de delito, the same as the Latincorpus delicti] in the poisoning which is charged, the Indians have brought to us, among the spoils which they plundered from the houses of the Frenchmen, various animals of different forms, and among them a serpent, of quite the usual size, one of those which they call ‘house-snakes,’ in a dissected state; others, with some little shellfish, preserved in spirits of wine, in a crystal flask; in another, two granos of muriatic baryte; a quantity of Peruvian bark, which in my opinion would weigh about an arroba and a half; and a box of sheet-tin about a vara long, one-fourth as wide, and six dedos thick, in which also was found a mass of insects, but already decaying; and finally, in the house of a woman who had been accused of being an agent of the French for the alleged poisoning, a little package of some black powders in China paper [i.e., rice paper].” The official states that these animal specimens have evidently “no other object than to enrich cabinets of natural history,” and could not in any way have been used for injuring human beings. The muriatic baryte was for use in analyzing mineral waters, and was, moreover, useful in various diseases. The Peruvian bark was, as all might know, a useful medicine and had often been helpful in checking the cholera itself. The black powders, it was also decided, were also of medicinal value; and the entire story is characterized as a fiction and delusion. The official regrets that it was believed by so many persons who should have known better than to accept so gross an error; “but it is certain that they did, and, among them, many of the clergy; and with this the delusion attained such power that it has caused the very scandalous deeds which all good persons lament; for it is certain that there is no better way of propagating an error than for persons of authority to adopt it. There is no doubt, it appears, that this foolish idea of poisoning had its origin in the ignorance of the Indians; but there is as little doubt that malicious persons, imposing upon this folly and lack of knowledge in the Indians, incited them to perpetrate the assassinations and robberies of the disastrous days, October 9 and 10.” He adds that one of the books brought to him by the Indians, which theyhad taken from the house of the French naturalist, was filled with sketches of fishes, mollusks, and birds peculiar to the country, which plainly showed that he was only making zoological observations. In view of all these things, Folgueras calls upon the natives to repent of their sin, to surrender to the authorities the instigators of the tumult, to restore to the plundered foreigners what had been stolen from them, and to denounce the authors of the murders, that justice might be done to these evil persons. These exhortations are especially addressed to the inhabitants of Binondo, “which has been the theatre of the most horrible tragedy, and has covered itself with blood and ignominy.” This decree is published by Dr. Pardo de Tavera, from the original printed edition, in hisBiblioteca filipina, pp. 45–47.↑

14In his scarce third volume of theInforme, Mas says that the governor, either wittingly or unwittingly, did well in not sending out the soldiers, who were natives, until the fury of the people had spent itself; as otherwise all discipline might easily have been lost, and the soldiers have joined with their kindred in the massacre.↑

15Our author gives the name of this periodical incorrectly; it should beEl Noticioso Filipino—see Retana’sPeriodismo filipino,appendix ii (pp. 561, 563). It was apparently begun on July 29, 1821; it was issued on Sundays. Its publication ceased before November 1 of that year. This information was furnished to Retana by Pardo de Tavera; he also supplied accurate data forLa Filantropia(pp. 561–563), which began on September 1, 1821; it seems to have ceased publication in 1822.El Ramillete Patrióticois known only by an allusion in one of the numbers ofFilantropia,which speaks of the former as having been “silenced” (presumably by the authorities). Pedro Torres y Lanzas gives (p. 565) a description of Nos. 27–37 (March 16–May 25, 1822) ofFilantropia.↑

16Regarding this man and his works, see Retana’sEl precursor de la político redentorista(Madrid, 1894); it is specially devoted to Varela’sParnaso filipino(Sampaloc, 1814). Retana says of him: “It is unquestionable that his writings in prose and verse encouraged among the Indians the wrong interpretation which was given to the Constitution of 1812, from which resulted the series of insurrections, fortunately isolated, which took place in Filipinas.”↑

17This publication was begun in January, 1824, and continued until May, 1833; at first two hundred and fifty copies were printed. It was finally obliged to suspend publication, for lack of funds. See Retana’sPeriodismo filipino, pp. 10–14, and 566; at the latter place, Torres y Lanzas describes a file of Nos. 49–109 (lacking two numbers) of this publication, which is presumably preserved in theArchivo generalat Sevilla.↑

18In 1823 the pirates captured the provincial of the Recollects, with one of his friars; and that order had to furnish 10,000 pesos for their ransom. (Montero y Vidal,Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 482.)↑

19General Ricafort published a relation of this enterprise, dated at Manila, December 30, 1829; he describes the island, presents an historical sketch of the insurrection in Bohol since 1744 and the efforts to quell it, and at the end furnishes a tabulated statement of the expeditions sent by his orders, with number of men, expenditures, etc., and of their results—a statement signed by Captain Manuel Sanz, the leader of the expedition, and dated at Talibon, August 31, 1829; to this is added the signed statement by the parish curas of Bohol that the numbers of insurgents who have been conquered or have submitted to the Spanish rule agree with their respective registers. According to this account, the number of insurgents reduced or submitted was 19,420; to this must be added 98 “banished for their rebellious dispositions,” and 395 “obstinate persons who died at the hands of the troops,” and an unknown (“for lack of information”) number of those killed in the year 1827 and on March 28 of 1828, and more than 3,000 souls who have fled to other provinces. Some of the troops were Spaniards from Manila, but the main part of the force was composed of Indians from Bohol and Cebú, to the number of 5,970 and 54 respectively; 294 of the former and 32 of the latter deserted the ranks, and 4,977 Boholans and 22 Cebuans were at the end disbanded, as being on the sick list; and very few were either killed or wounded in the campaign. The reduced insurgents were formed into the following new villages: Catigbian, with 1,967 souls; Batuanan, with 6,266 souls; Cabulao, with 790; Balilijan, with 2,100; and Vilar, with 930. In other villages were distributed the remaining insurgents.↑

20“The Chinese refused to accept their reduction into villages; more than eight hundred elected to return to their own country; four hundred odd were assigned to labor on the public works, as being insolvent; and about a thousand fled to the mountains in order to elude payment and punishment. The intendant, in view of the difficulty in collecting [their] taxes, explained to the government the expediency of modifying the enactment; and this was done in 1834.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑

21These funds were chiefly the obras pías which had been administered by the Jesuit order in Filipinas up to their expulsion from the islands; at that time, nearly half of these foundations were extinguished by the authorities, and such moneys as remained in them were covered into the royal treasury. Forty-five of the Jesuit obras pías were thus left, which were administered by the government in the following manner: The capital was divided (as had long been the custom of all the orders in Filipinas in administering obras pías) into three parts; one of these was invested in the commerce of Acapulco, another in that of the Coromandel Coast and China, and the other third remained on deposit as a reserve to make good any losses in the amounts invested. Much light is thrown on the management of these funds by the Jesuits, in the official report made (June 23, 1797), in pursuit of a command from the Spanish government, by Angel de la Fuente, the chief of the Bureau of Secular Revenues [Contaduría de Temporalidades] at Manila; the original MS. of this is in the possession of Edward K. Ayer, Chicago. Fuente examined the account-books which the Jesuits had kept of these funds, and found them full of confusion, discrepancies, and omissions; but after comparing and verifying them so far as he could, he made a list of them, with statement of their origin, amount, and application. He found that in seventeen of these funds there was no evidence that the money had been applied as directed by the donors, and only partial indications of this in fifteen others. He reported that many of these obras pías had been contributed for the advantage and benefit of the Jesuits themselves, and therefore, since that order had been suppressed, the funds might now justly be applied to any desirable pious purpose. To this end, he recommended that nineteen of the funds be placed in charge of the diocesan authorities, and twelve others used by the government for specified purposes, and that the rest be covered into the royal treasury.↑

22“In order to give aid to the widow of Torres, and pay the expenses of her voyage to España, a subscription was raised which produced 12,000 pesos; but we note that the promoter of this married the widow, and they returned to the Peninsula together.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑

23The “pillar dollar” was so called from the pillars on the reverse of the coin, which represent the pillars of Hercules, or the Straits of Gibraltar; this device was characteristic of the Spanish-American coinage. This dollar was thepeso duro(or “hard dollar”), of eight reals; and its half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and thirty-second parts were represented by smaller coins. The greater part of the supply of pillar dollars were made in Mexico; but this coinage ceased in 1822. In the Peninsula, the coins were the dollar—formerly of ten reals, but now of twenty reals vellón—the half, the peseta or pistareen (which is one-fifth of the dollar, or four reals vellón), and the half and the quarter pistareen. After the Peninsular revolution of 1821, pillar dollars were struck for a short time at Madrid, but these are easily distinguishable from the true pillar dollar. In 1810–16, silver coins were used in Brazil, which were only the Spanish dollar, softened by annealing, and then restamped; the pillars may be distinguished underneath this surface, by close inspection. See Eckfeldt and DuBois,Manual of Gold and Silver Coins(Philadelphia, 1842), pp. 33, 77, 119, 122, See also chapter on Spanish coinage, especially that called “vellón,” in Lea’sInquisition in Spain(New York, 1906–07), i, pp. 560et seq.; this latter, although debased, was the standard of value until 1871, when it was replaced by the decimal system.↑

24“According to a memorial published by Don Francisco Enríquez on leaving his office, there were at that time in the funds [of his department] a surplus of 1,000,000 pesos, and in the storehouses over 275,000 bales of tobacco, the value of which exceeded 4,000,000 hard dollars.” (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑

25Hangers-on of the palace at Manila tried to throw on Galvey the blame for this failure; but Montero y Vidal cites Galvey’s diary, to show that he had to contend with overwhelming difficulties, inadequate supplies and lack of proper facilities, and the insalubrity of the country. He stated therein that he had made “forty-five expeditions into the hill-country, and had received therein four wounds, two of which were mortal.” He died in 1839.↑

26Royal decrees of 1835 and 1836 suppressed the Jesuit order throughout the Spanish empire; all the religious communities and colleges of men (excepting the colleges of missionaries for Asia, the clergy of theEscuelas Píasand the hospital convents of St. John of God), and the houses of the military orders; and all the beaterios whose inmates were not devoted to educational or hospital labors.↑

27“In Filipinas the peseta is worth only 32 cuartos.” (Vidal y Soler,Viajes por Jagor, p. 227; published in 1874.)↑

28Soon after his return to Spain he published a book (Cádiz, 1839) relating his experiences as governor of Filipinas.↑

29Camba’s wife died, three months after their arrival at Manila; and at her funeral certain military honors were paid her, as provided in the regulations of affairs in the Indias, and these were promptly approved by the home government. Camba’s enemies, however, accused him at Madrid of having had the same honors paid to his wife as were customary with royal persons; and, at the time, the artillery officials demanded from him pay for the powder used on that occasion. (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑

30In conjunction with the Audiencia, he commissioned a magistrate, Francisco Otín y Duazo, to draw up new “Ordinances of good government,” in 1838. (Montero y Vidal, ii, p. 360.)↑

31Montero y Vidal says (iii, p. 21): “On March 21, 1840, the Economic Society of Friends of the Country made a grant of 500 pesos to Father Blanco for the expenses of printing and publishing theFlorawhich bears his name.” In 1845 a second edition appeared, corrected and enlarged by the author himself; and a third edition was issued (1877–80) at the cost of the Augustinian order. This last was in four volumes, a limited edition, with an atlas (in two volumes) containing 478 colored plates; it also included a previously unpublished MS. on Philippine botany, written late in the sixteenth century, and an appendix prepared by the editors of Blanco (Fathers Andrés Naves and Celestino Fernández-Villar) in which they endeavored to coördinate Blanco’s species with those of other authors and to enumerate all the species of Philippine plants then known. See an account of Blanco’s work and that of his later editors, with estimate of the scientific value of both, inReview of the Identifications of Species Described in Blanco’s “Flora”(Manila, 1905), by Elmer D. Merrill, botanist of the Bureau of Government Laboratories at Manila.↑

32In Retana’sPeriodismo filipino(pp. 566, 567) Torres y Lanzas describes some copies of this periodical, dated October 5–November 9, 1839, and January 23–February 6, 1841; he cites a letter by Urréjola to show thatPrecios corrienteswas published weekly, beginning July 6, 1839, by private enterprise.↑

33By a later royal decree, the fiscal was to settle any case of disagreement between the two censors, and any books seized by the authorities should be only sent back to the shipper, and not kept by them—the archbishop having demanded that confiscated books should be surrendered to him. (Note by Montero y Vidal.)↑

Back to Index Next