PesosTominsGranosCleaned rice (gantas)450001,080001,085951003,6505,78833109,5002,978403,5073,405002,737951003,6503,9250049,830500004,2056500023,045450002000197,519235002,30400Rice in the husk (fanegas)2,475002,384003,7894020031,435338448332Increases of pay (pesos)1,656792102,458pesostominsgranosConsequently, according to the revision of salaries and rations made by the governor—which, exactly copied from the original, accompanies this certification—it appears that the amount annually saved for his Majesty is thirty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-five pesos three tomins and three granos,31,43533in reals; one hundred and ninety-seven thousand five hundred andnineteen gantas of cleaned rice, which is appraised at one-half real per ganta (about the usual price in the market), and hence is equivalent to twelve thousand three hundred and forty-four pesos seven tomins and six granos;12,34476and three hundred and thirty-two fanegas of rice in the husk, of forty-eight gantas to the fanega, valued at twelve reals per fanega, and thus worth four hundred and ninety-eight pesos.49800That gives a total of forty-four thousand two hundred and seventy-eight pesos two tomins and nine granos.44,27829Subtracting from that sum two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight pesos2,45800for some places that the governor created anew, as the said revision declares, the remainder is forty-one thousand eight hundred and twenty pesos two tomins and nine granos.41,82029That is the amount that is saved for his Majesty annually, in deducting it from the former pay and rations attached to the positions cited by the said revision. Of those posts, and of all others that his Majesty hassustained and sustains in these Filipinas Islands, there is a full account in this auditing department of the royal exchequer which is in my charge. And now, so that it might be apparent to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Yndias, and in any other place, I attest the same, referring to various books, accounts, and other papers of the said office, where it appears, in fulfilment of the command given by the said decree of the governor and captain-general, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. Manila, June twelve, one thousand six hundred and thirty-six.Juan Baptista de Çubiaga[Tribute from Negro slaves]Sire:With the approval of your royal Audiencia, it has been decreed that the negro slaves of the Indians shall pay tribute to your Majesty, in the same manner as it is paid by their masters and by the Indian slaves whom these hold, who are of their own countrymen and people. No one has opposed it, except that the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine say that this is a new imposition, and that it cannot be collected. They do so, because thereis nothing else in which they can oppose the government. These Indians, Sire, formerly cultivated their lands, and they served the Spaniards for what the latter chose to pay them, on the ships and in other kinds of service; but now, as they have become slothful and do not render these services, they purchase these negro slaves and use them for making money—with which gains they pay their tributes and support themselves. It stands to reason that since the Indian slaves of these people pay the tribute as their masters do, the negro slaves should do the same. Your Majesty will be pleased to command that this matter be considered, and to give me such orders as shall be most expedient for the service of your Majesty—whose Catholic person may our Lord preserve in your greatness, as Christendom has need. Manila, June 30, in the year 1636. Sire, your vassal kisses your Majesty’s feet.Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera[Endorsed: “Governor of Philipinas; to his Majesty, June 30, 1636; no. 14; government.”][Endorsed: “December 16, 1637. Tell him that his zeal and solicitude for the profit of his Majesty’s treasury are appreciated; but that this measure seems to be an innovation, and not quite in accordance with law. Accordingly the religious are not without reason for opposing it. Tell him that if any difficulties arise from this, and it shall not be established and current with the consent of all, he shall avoid levying this impost, and shall render account to the Council of what he shall have done.”]1This has been already given inVol. XXV, pp. 216–219.2See this paper inVol. XXV, pp. 243–244.3Continuing from this point, the present document resumes. It is probable that the part omitted in the present document was originally a portion of it; but, being written on a loose sheet of paper, has suffered the fate common to many documents and portions of documents in Spanish archives, and been lost.4One of our two copies of this attestation bears date July 29, 1635, and the other November 19, 1635. We have adopted the date above, as being more probably the correct one, errors in the transcripts being due to the poor writing of the original.5See these letters inVol. XXV, pp. 207–208, 209–210.6Seeante, p. 61, note 12.7Spanish,condenatoria; but the wordcomminatoriais employed in a similar expression in the “Letter from a citizen of Manila.”8So in our transcript, but evidently an error of the transcriber.9As the reader will observe, this letter from Corcuera is, in part, almost the same as that preceding; but it contains a considerable quantity of matter (including several appended documents) which is not found elsewhere, and is for that reason presented here. It is probably one of the letters sent, either partly or wholly in duplicate, by other routes to Spain, so that at least one set of the despatches might reach the home government.10Here used in a technical sense—the option or right to take action or enjoy an advantage alternately with others, as in appointments to ecclesiastical benefices, etc.; the creoles evidently demanding to share those appointments with the clergy brought over from Spain.11Several of the matters discussed in the above letter are answered by the following royal decree:The King. To Don Sevastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein. Your letter of June 30, 636, on ecclesiastical matters has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and reply is now made to you. You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need correction, since they had not obeyed the bulls of his Holiness nor the decrees which have been issued in regard to the alternation; and that it was expedient not to allow them any more religious for eight years. Because they have many religious, as well as on account of the reasons that you bring forward for that, it has seemed best to me to charge you that you shall cause thedecree for the alternation to be punctually executed, without allowing any more religious in each mission than the number which, conformably to my royal patronage, shall be enough for its needs; and that the rest of them occupy themselves in missions and preaching for which they were sent there. As for what you wrote me about the advanced age of the archbishop of those islands—who is so old that his hands and head tremble, and that it would be desirable to give him a coadjutor, and that you would arrange for giving him two thousand pesos of income besides the four thousand which the said archbishop receives, without drawing it from my royal treasury or from my vassals—I charge you to make known to me the measure or means by which that sum could be obtained without loss to my royal exchequer or my vassals, so that I may consent to your carrying it out if it be worthy of acceptance. In order that the religious of St. Dominic and of the other orders who are laboring in those islands may live with the concord and good example which is proper, and that they may not appropriate more Indian villages than those which are allowed them by my decrees, you shall not permit them to select any new ones beyond what shall be conformable to my patronage; and you shall, with the agreement of the archbishop, endeavor to unite some of the villages to others; and in those which are newly established you shall make the same effort, by introducing secular priests when you find them intelligent and competent. Madrid, September 2, 1638.I the KingCountersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the Council. (Conserved inArchivo Historico Nacional, in theCedulario Indico, tomo 39, folio 225b.)12Para el efecto de propaganda fide: evidently an allusion to the Congregation of the Propaganda (vol. xxi, p. 164, note 40), and may be freely rendered, “for carrying on the work of the [Congregation for the] propagation of the faith”—Collado’s friars being assigned to mission work only.13Expenses incurred either directly under the factor—one of the royal officials—or in the trading ports established by the Spaniards.14The above shows the form in which the accounts from this point are entered. For the sake of greater condensation, we have reduced the balance of the document to the following tabular form.15From this and many other entries in these tables, it appears that much of the money reported as paid from the royal treasury never really left it, but that accounts were simply canceled. The benefit of these transactions would accrue to the purchaser of the pay-check, for he bought at a discount from the original holder; and, until the law whereby all the creditors of the royal treasury made avoluntary giftto the king of two-thirds of the account was enforced by Corcuera, he could use the pay-check at its face value, thus making immense profits, or canceling his debts to the royal treasury at small cost to himself.16Probably planks one braza long.17Spanish,de guzmanes;i.e., young men from noble families, who served as midshipmen in the navy, or as cadets in the army.18That is, what is saved on a short voyage is consumed by extra expense on a long one; and the expenses average about the same, one year with another.19That is, the repartimientos or amounts assessed on each district for the royal service, in rice, oil, and other products.
PesosTominsGranosCleaned rice (gantas)450001,080001,085951003,6505,78833109,5002,978403,5073,405002,737951003,6503,9250049,830500004,2056500023,045450002000197,519235002,30400Rice in the husk (fanegas)2,475002,384003,7894020031,435338448332Increases of pay (pesos)1,656792102,458pesostominsgranosConsequently, according to the revision of salaries and rations made by the governor—which, exactly copied from the original, accompanies this certification—it appears that the amount annually saved for his Majesty is thirty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-five pesos three tomins and three granos,31,43533in reals; one hundred and ninety-seven thousand five hundred andnineteen gantas of cleaned rice, which is appraised at one-half real per ganta (about the usual price in the market), and hence is equivalent to twelve thousand three hundred and forty-four pesos seven tomins and six granos;12,34476and three hundred and thirty-two fanegas of rice in the husk, of forty-eight gantas to the fanega, valued at twelve reals per fanega, and thus worth four hundred and ninety-eight pesos.49800That gives a total of forty-four thousand two hundred and seventy-eight pesos two tomins and nine granos.44,27829Subtracting from that sum two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight pesos2,45800for some places that the governor created anew, as the said revision declares, the remainder is forty-one thousand eight hundred and twenty pesos two tomins and nine granos.41,82029That is the amount that is saved for his Majesty annually, in deducting it from the former pay and rations attached to the positions cited by the said revision. Of those posts, and of all others that his Majesty hassustained and sustains in these Filipinas Islands, there is a full account in this auditing department of the royal exchequer which is in my charge. And now, so that it might be apparent to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Yndias, and in any other place, I attest the same, referring to various books, accounts, and other papers of the said office, where it appears, in fulfilment of the command given by the said decree of the governor and captain-general, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. Manila, June twelve, one thousand six hundred and thirty-six.Juan Baptista de Çubiaga[Tribute from Negro slaves]Sire:With the approval of your royal Audiencia, it has been decreed that the negro slaves of the Indians shall pay tribute to your Majesty, in the same manner as it is paid by their masters and by the Indian slaves whom these hold, who are of their own countrymen and people. No one has opposed it, except that the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine say that this is a new imposition, and that it cannot be collected. They do so, because thereis nothing else in which they can oppose the government. These Indians, Sire, formerly cultivated their lands, and they served the Spaniards for what the latter chose to pay them, on the ships and in other kinds of service; but now, as they have become slothful and do not render these services, they purchase these negro slaves and use them for making money—with which gains they pay their tributes and support themselves. It stands to reason that since the Indian slaves of these people pay the tribute as their masters do, the negro slaves should do the same. Your Majesty will be pleased to command that this matter be considered, and to give me such orders as shall be most expedient for the service of your Majesty—whose Catholic person may our Lord preserve in your greatness, as Christendom has need. Manila, June 30, in the year 1636. Sire, your vassal kisses your Majesty’s feet.Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera[Endorsed: “Governor of Philipinas; to his Majesty, June 30, 1636; no. 14; government.”][Endorsed: “December 16, 1637. Tell him that his zeal and solicitude for the profit of his Majesty’s treasury are appreciated; but that this measure seems to be an innovation, and not quite in accordance with law. Accordingly the religious are not without reason for opposing it. Tell him that if any difficulties arise from this, and it shall not be established and current with the consent of all, he shall avoid levying this impost, and shall render account to the Council of what he shall have done.”]1This has been already given inVol. XXV, pp. 216–219.2See this paper inVol. XXV, pp. 243–244.3Continuing from this point, the present document resumes. It is probable that the part omitted in the present document was originally a portion of it; but, being written on a loose sheet of paper, has suffered the fate common to many documents and portions of documents in Spanish archives, and been lost.4One of our two copies of this attestation bears date July 29, 1635, and the other November 19, 1635. We have adopted the date above, as being more probably the correct one, errors in the transcripts being due to the poor writing of the original.5See these letters inVol. XXV, pp. 207–208, 209–210.6Seeante, p. 61, note 12.7Spanish,condenatoria; but the wordcomminatoriais employed in a similar expression in the “Letter from a citizen of Manila.”8So in our transcript, but evidently an error of the transcriber.9As the reader will observe, this letter from Corcuera is, in part, almost the same as that preceding; but it contains a considerable quantity of matter (including several appended documents) which is not found elsewhere, and is for that reason presented here. It is probably one of the letters sent, either partly or wholly in duplicate, by other routes to Spain, so that at least one set of the despatches might reach the home government.10Here used in a technical sense—the option or right to take action or enjoy an advantage alternately with others, as in appointments to ecclesiastical benefices, etc.; the creoles evidently demanding to share those appointments with the clergy brought over from Spain.11Several of the matters discussed in the above letter are answered by the following royal decree:The King. To Don Sevastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein. Your letter of June 30, 636, on ecclesiastical matters has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and reply is now made to you. You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need correction, since they had not obeyed the bulls of his Holiness nor the decrees which have been issued in regard to the alternation; and that it was expedient not to allow them any more religious for eight years. Because they have many religious, as well as on account of the reasons that you bring forward for that, it has seemed best to me to charge you that you shall cause thedecree for the alternation to be punctually executed, without allowing any more religious in each mission than the number which, conformably to my royal patronage, shall be enough for its needs; and that the rest of them occupy themselves in missions and preaching for which they were sent there. As for what you wrote me about the advanced age of the archbishop of those islands—who is so old that his hands and head tremble, and that it would be desirable to give him a coadjutor, and that you would arrange for giving him two thousand pesos of income besides the four thousand which the said archbishop receives, without drawing it from my royal treasury or from my vassals—I charge you to make known to me the measure or means by which that sum could be obtained without loss to my royal exchequer or my vassals, so that I may consent to your carrying it out if it be worthy of acceptance. In order that the religious of St. Dominic and of the other orders who are laboring in those islands may live with the concord and good example which is proper, and that they may not appropriate more Indian villages than those which are allowed them by my decrees, you shall not permit them to select any new ones beyond what shall be conformable to my patronage; and you shall, with the agreement of the archbishop, endeavor to unite some of the villages to others; and in those which are newly established you shall make the same effort, by introducing secular priests when you find them intelligent and competent. Madrid, September 2, 1638.I the KingCountersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the Council. (Conserved inArchivo Historico Nacional, in theCedulario Indico, tomo 39, folio 225b.)12Para el efecto de propaganda fide: evidently an allusion to the Congregation of the Propaganda (vol. xxi, p. 164, note 40), and may be freely rendered, “for carrying on the work of the [Congregation for the] propagation of the faith”—Collado’s friars being assigned to mission work only.13Expenses incurred either directly under the factor—one of the royal officials—or in the trading ports established by the Spaniards.14The above shows the form in which the accounts from this point are entered. For the sake of greater condensation, we have reduced the balance of the document to the following tabular form.15From this and many other entries in these tables, it appears that much of the money reported as paid from the royal treasury never really left it, but that accounts were simply canceled. The benefit of these transactions would accrue to the purchaser of the pay-check, for he bought at a discount from the original holder; and, until the law whereby all the creditors of the royal treasury made avoluntary giftto the king of two-thirds of the account was enforced by Corcuera, he could use the pay-check at its face value, thus making immense profits, or canceling his debts to the royal treasury at small cost to himself.16Probably planks one braza long.17Spanish,de guzmanes;i.e., young men from noble families, who served as midshipmen in the navy, or as cadets in the army.18That is, what is saved on a short voyage is consumed by extra expense on a long one; and the expenses average about the same, one year with another.19That is, the repartimientos or amounts assessed on each district for the royal service, in rice, oil, and other products.
PesosTominsGranosCleaned rice (gantas)450001,080001,085951003,6505,78833109,5002,978403,5073,405002,737951003,6503,9250049,830500004,2056500023,045450002000197,519235002,30400Rice in the husk (fanegas)2,475002,384003,7894020031,435338448332Increases of pay (pesos)1,656792102,458pesostominsgranosConsequently, according to the revision of salaries and rations made by the governor—which, exactly copied from the original, accompanies this certification—it appears that the amount annually saved for his Majesty is thirty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-five pesos three tomins and three granos,31,43533in reals; one hundred and ninety-seven thousand five hundred andnineteen gantas of cleaned rice, which is appraised at one-half real per ganta (about the usual price in the market), and hence is equivalent to twelve thousand three hundred and forty-four pesos seven tomins and six granos;12,34476and three hundred and thirty-two fanegas of rice in the husk, of forty-eight gantas to the fanega, valued at twelve reals per fanega, and thus worth four hundred and ninety-eight pesos.49800That gives a total of forty-four thousand two hundred and seventy-eight pesos two tomins and nine granos.44,27829Subtracting from that sum two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight pesos2,45800for some places that the governor created anew, as the said revision declares, the remainder is forty-one thousand eight hundred and twenty pesos two tomins and nine granos.41,82029That is the amount that is saved for his Majesty annually, in deducting it from the former pay and rations attached to the positions cited by the said revision. Of those posts, and of all others that his Majesty hassustained and sustains in these Filipinas Islands, there is a full account in this auditing department of the royal exchequer which is in my charge. And now, so that it might be apparent to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Yndias, and in any other place, I attest the same, referring to various books, accounts, and other papers of the said office, where it appears, in fulfilment of the command given by the said decree of the governor and captain-general, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. Manila, June twelve, one thousand six hundred and thirty-six.Juan Baptista de Çubiaga[Tribute from Negro slaves]Sire:With the approval of your royal Audiencia, it has been decreed that the negro slaves of the Indians shall pay tribute to your Majesty, in the same manner as it is paid by their masters and by the Indian slaves whom these hold, who are of their own countrymen and people. No one has opposed it, except that the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine say that this is a new imposition, and that it cannot be collected. They do so, because thereis nothing else in which they can oppose the government. These Indians, Sire, formerly cultivated their lands, and they served the Spaniards for what the latter chose to pay them, on the ships and in other kinds of service; but now, as they have become slothful and do not render these services, they purchase these negro slaves and use them for making money—with which gains they pay their tributes and support themselves. It stands to reason that since the Indian slaves of these people pay the tribute as their masters do, the negro slaves should do the same. Your Majesty will be pleased to command that this matter be considered, and to give me such orders as shall be most expedient for the service of your Majesty—whose Catholic person may our Lord preserve in your greatness, as Christendom has need. Manila, June 30, in the year 1636. Sire, your vassal kisses your Majesty’s feet.Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera[Endorsed: “Governor of Philipinas; to his Majesty, June 30, 1636; no. 14; government.”][Endorsed: “December 16, 1637. Tell him that his zeal and solicitude for the profit of his Majesty’s treasury are appreciated; but that this measure seems to be an innovation, and not quite in accordance with law. Accordingly the religious are not without reason for opposing it. Tell him that if any difficulties arise from this, and it shall not be established and current with the consent of all, he shall avoid levying this impost, and shall render account to the Council of what he shall have done.”]1This has been already given inVol. XXV, pp. 216–219.2See this paper inVol. XXV, pp. 243–244.3Continuing from this point, the present document resumes. It is probable that the part omitted in the present document was originally a portion of it; but, being written on a loose sheet of paper, has suffered the fate common to many documents and portions of documents in Spanish archives, and been lost.4One of our two copies of this attestation bears date July 29, 1635, and the other November 19, 1635. We have adopted the date above, as being more probably the correct one, errors in the transcripts being due to the poor writing of the original.5See these letters inVol. XXV, pp. 207–208, 209–210.6Seeante, p. 61, note 12.7Spanish,condenatoria; but the wordcomminatoriais employed in a similar expression in the “Letter from a citizen of Manila.”8So in our transcript, but evidently an error of the transcriber.9As the reader will observe, this letter from Corcuera is, in part, almost the same as that preceding; but it contains a considerable quantity of matter (including several appended documents) which is not found elsewhere, and is for that reason presented here. It is probably one of the letters sent, either partly or wholly in duplicate, by other routes to Spain, so that at least one set of the despatches might reach the home government.10Here used in a technical sense—the option or right to take action or enjoy an advantage alternately with others, as in appointments to ecclesiastical benefices, etc.; the creoles evidently demanding to share those appointments with the clergy brought over from Spain.11Several of the matters discussed in the above letter are answered by the following royal decree:The King. To Don Sevastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein. Your letter of June 30, 636, on ecclesiastical matters has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and reply is now made to you. You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need correction, since they had not obeyed the bulls of his Holiness nor the decrees which have been issued in regard to the alternation; and that it was expedient not to allow them any more religious for eight years. Because they have many religious, as well as on account of the reasons that you bring forward for that, it has seemed best to me to charge you that you shall cause thedecree for the alternation to be punctually executed, without allowing any more religious in each mission than the number which, conformably to my royal patronage, shall be enough for its needs; and that the rest of them occupy themselves in missions and preaching for which they were sent there. As for what you wrote me about the advanced age of the archbishop of those islands—who is so old that his hands and head tremble, and that it would be desirable to give him a coadjutor, and that you would arrange for giving him two thousand pesos of income besides the four thousand which the said archbishop receives, without drawing it from my royal treasury or from my vassals—I charge you to make known to me the measure or means by which that sum could be obtained without loss to my royal exchequer or my vassals, so that I may consent to your carrying it out if it be worthy of acceptance. In order that the religious of St. Dominic and of the other orders who are laboring in those islands may live with the concord and good example which is proper, and that they may not appropriate more Indian villages than those which are allowed them by my decrees, you shall not permit them to select any new ones beyond what shall be conformable to my patronage; and you shall, with the agreement of the archbishop, endeavor to unite some of the villages to others; and in those which are newly established you shall make the same effort, by introducing secular priests when you find them intelligent and competent. Madrid, September 2, 1638.I the KingCountersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the Council. (Conserved inArchivo Historico Nacional, in theCedulario Indico, tomo 39, folio 225b.)12Para el efecto de propaganda fide: evidently an allusion to the Congregation of the Propaganda (vol. xxi, p. 164, note 40), and may be freely rendered, “for carrying on the work of the [Congregation for the] propagation of the faith”—Collado’s friars being assigned to mission work only.13Expenses incurred either directly under the factor—one of the royal officials—or in the trading ports established by the Spaniards.14The above shows the form in which the accounts from this point are entered. For the sake of greater condensation, we have reduced the balance of the document to the following tabular form.15From this and many other entries in these tables, it appears that much of the money reported as paid from the royal treasury never really left it, but that accounts were simply canceled. The benefit of these transactions would accrue to the purchaser of the pay-check, for he bought at a discount from the original holder; and, until the law whereby all the creditors of the royal treasury made avoluntary giftto the king of two-thirds of the account was enforced by Corcuera, he could use the pay-check at its face value, thus making immense profits, or canceling his debts to the royal treasury at small cost to himself.16Probably planks one braza long.17Spanish,de guzmanes;i.e., young men from noble families, who served as midshipmen in the navy, or as cadets in the army.18That is, what is saved on a short voyage is consumed by extra expense on a long one; and the expenses average about the same, one year with another.19That is, the repartimientos or amounts assessed on each district for the royal service, in rice, oil, and other products.
PesosTominsGranosCleaned rice (gantas)450001,080001,085951003,6505,78833109,5002,978403,5073,405002,737951003,6503,9250049,830500004,2056500023,045450002000197,519235002,30400Rice in the husk (fanegas)2,475002,384003,7894020031,435338448332
Increases of pay (pesos)1,656792102,458
pesostominsgranosConsequently, according to the revision of salaries and rations made by the governor—which, exactly copied from the original, accompanies this certification—it appears that the amount annually saved for his Majesty is thirty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-five pesos three tomins and three granos,31,43533in reals; one hundred and ninety-seven thousand five hundred andnineteen gantas of cleaned rice, which is appraised at one-half real per ganta (about the usual price in the market), and hence is equivalent to twelve thousand three hundred and forty-four pesos seven tomins and six granos;12,34476and three hundred and thirty-two fanegas of rice in the husk, of forty-eight gantas to the fanega, valued at twelve reals per fanega, and thus worth four hundred and ninety-eight pesos.49800That gives a total of forty-four thousand two hundred and seventy-eight pesos two tomins and nine granos.44,27829Subtracting from that sum two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight pesos2,45800for some places that the governor created anew, as the said revision declares, the remainder is forty-one thousand eight hundred and twenty pesos two tomins and nine granos.41,82029That is the amount that is saved for his Majesty annually, in deducting it from the former pay and rations attached to the positions cited by the said revision. Of those posts, and of all others that his Majesty hassustained and sustains in these Filipinas Islands, there is a full account in this auditing department of the royal exchequer which is in my charge. And now, so that it might be apparent to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Yndias, and in any other place, I attest the same, referring to various books, accounts, and other papers of the said office, where it appears, in fulfilment of the command given by the said decree of the governor and captain-general, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. Manila, June twelve, one thousand six hundred and thirty-six.
Juan Baptista de Çubiaga
[Tribute from Negro slaves]
Sire:
With the approval of your royal Audiencia, it has been decreed that the negro slaves of the Indians shall pay tribute to your Majesty, in the same manner as it is paid by their masters and by the Indian slaves whom these hold, who are of their own countrymen and people. No one has opposed it, except that the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine say that this is a new imposition, and that it cannot be collected. They do so, because thereis nothing else in which they can oppose the government. These Indians, Sire, formerly cultivated their lands, and they served the Spaniards for what the latter chose to pay them, on the ships and in other kinds of service; but now, as they have become slothful and do not render these services, they purchase these negro slaves and use them for making money—with which gains they pay their tributes and support themselves. It stands to reason that since the Indian slaves of these people pay the tribute as their masters do, the negro slaves should do the same. Your Majesty will be pleased to command that this matter be considered, and to give me such orders as shall be most expedient for the service of your Majesty—whose Catholic person may our Lord preserve in your greatness, as Christendom has need. Manila, June 30, in the year 1636. Sire, your vassal kisses your Majesty’s feet.
Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera
[Endorsed: “Governor of Philipinas; to his Majesty, June 30, 1636; no. 14; government.”]
[Endorsed: “December 16, 1637. Tell him that his zeal and solicitude for the profit of his Majesty’s treasury are appreciated; but that this measure seems to be an innovation, and not quite in accordance with law. Accordingly the religious are not without reason for opposing it. Tell him that if any difficulties arise from this, and it shall not be established and current with the consent of all, he shall avoid levying this impost, and shall render account to the Council of what he shall have done.”]
1This has been already given inVol. XXV, pp. 216–219.2See this paper inVol. XXV, pp. 243–244.3Continuing from this point, the present document resumes. It is probable that the part omitted in the present document was originally a portion of it; but, being written on a loose sheet of paper, has suffered the fate common to many documents and portions of documents in Spanish archives, and been lost.4One of our two copies of this attestation bears date July 29, 1635, and the other November 19, 1635. We have adopted the date above, as being more probably the correct one, errors in the transcripts being due to the poor writing of the original.5See these letters inVol. XXV, pp. 207–208, 209–210.6Seeante, p. 61, note 12.7Spanish,condenatoria; but the wordcomminatoriais employed in a similar expression in the “Letter from a citizen of Manila.”8So in our transcript, but evidently an error of the transcriber.9As the reader will observe, this letter from Corcuera is, in part, almost the same as that preceding; but it contains a considerable quantity of matter (including several appended documents) which is not found elsewhere, and is for that reason presented here. It is probably one of the letters sent, either partly or wholly in duplicate, by other routes to Spain, so that at least one set of the despatches might reach the home government.10Here used in a technical sense—the option or right to take action or enjoy an advantage alternately with others, as in appointments to ecclesiastical benefices, etc.; the creoles evidently demanding to share those appointments with the clergy brought over from Spain.11Several of the matters discussed in the above letter are answered by the following royal decree:The King. To Don Sevastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein. Your letter of June 30, 636, on ecclesiastical matters has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and reply is now made to you. You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need correction, since they had not obeyed the bulls of his Holiness nor the decrees which have been issued in regard to the alternation; and that it was expedient not to allow them any more religious for eight years. Because they have many religious, as well as on account of the reasons that you bring forward for that, it has seemed best to me to charge you that you shall cause thedecree for the alternation to be punctually executed, without allowing any more religious in each mission than the number which, conformably to my royal patronage, shall be enough for its needs; and that the rest of them occupy themselves in missions and preaching for which they were sent there. As for what you wrote me about the advanced age of the archbishop of those islands—who is so old that his hands and head tremble, and that it would be desirable to give him a coadjutor, and that you would arrange for giving him two thousand pesos of income besides the four thousand which the said archbishop receives, without drawing it from my royal treasury or from my vassals—I charge you to make known to me the measure or means by which that sum could be obtained without loss to my royal exchequer or my vassals, so that I may consent to your carrying it out if it be worthy of acceptance. In order that the religious of St. Dominic and of the other orders who are laboring in those islands may live with the concord and good example which is proper, and that they may not appropriate more Indian villages than those which are allowed them by my decrees, you shall not permit them to select any new ones beyond what shall be conformable to my patronage; and you shall, with the agreement of the archbishop, endeavor to unite some of the villages to others; and in those which are newly established you shall make the same effort, by introducing secular priests when you find them intelligent and competent. Madrid, September 2, 1638.I the KingCountersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the Council. (Conserved inArchivo Historico Nacional, in theCedulario Indico, tomo 39, folio 225b.)12Para el efecto de propaganda fide: evidently an allusion to the Congregation of the Propaganda (vol. xxi, p. 164, note 40), and may be freely rendered, “for carrying on the work of the [Congregation for the] propagation of the faith”—Collado’s friars being assigned to mission work only.13Expenses incurred either directly under the factor—one of the royal officials—or in the trading ports established by the Spaniards.14The above shows the form in which the accounts from this point are entered. For the sake of greater condensation, we have reduced the balance of the document to the following tabular form.15From this and many other entries in these tables, it appears that much of the money reported as paid from the royal treasury never really left it, but that accounts were simply canceled. The benefit of these transactions would accrue to the purchaser of the pay-check, for he bought at a discount from the original holder; and, until the law whereby all the creditors of the royal treasury made avoluntary giftto the king of two-thirds of the account was enforced by Corcuera, he could use the pay-check at its face value, thus making immense profits, or canceling his debts to the royal treasury at small cost to himself.16Probably planks one braza long.17Spanish,de guzmanes;i.e., young men from noble families, who served as midshipmen in the navy, or as cadets in the army.18That is, what is saved on a short voyage is consumed by extra expense on a long one; and the expenses average about the same, one year with another.19That is, the repartimientos or amounts assessed on each district for the royal service, in rice, oil, and other products.
1This has been already given inVol. XXV, pp. 216–219.
2See this paper inVol. XXV, pp. 243–244.
3Continuing from this point, the present document resumes. It is probable that the part omitted in the present document was originally a portion of it; but, being written on a loose sheet of paper, has suffered the fate common to many documents and portions of documents in Spanish archives, and been lost.
4One of our two copies of this attestation bears date July 29, 1635, and the other November 19, 1635. We have adopted the date above, as being more probably the correct one, errors in the transcripts being due to the poor writing of the original.
5See these letters inVol. XXV, pp. 207–208, 209–210.
6Seeante, p. 61, note 12.
7Spanish,condenatoria; but the wordcomminatoriais employed in a similar expression in the “Letter from a citizen of Manila.”
8So in our transcript, but evidently an error of the transcriber.
9As the reader will observe, this letter from Corcuera is, in part, almost the same as that preceding; but it contains a considerable quantity of matter (including several appended documents) which is not found elsewhere, and is for that reason presented here. It is probably one of the letters sent, either partly or wholly in duplicate, by other routes to Spain, so that at least one set of the despatches might reach the home government.
10Here used in a technical sense—the option or right to take action or enjoy an advantage alternately with others, as in appointments to ecclesiastical benefices, etc.; the creoles evidently demanding to share those appointments with the clergy brought over from Spain.
11Several of the matters discussed in the above letter are answered by the following royal decree:
The King. To Don Sevastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein. Your letter of June 30, 636, on ecclesiastical matters has been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and reply is now made to you. You say that the religious of the Order of St. Augustine need correction, since they had not obeyed the bulls of his Holiness nor the decrees which have been issued in regard to the alternation; and that it was expedient not to allow them any more religious for eight years. Because they have many religious, as well as on account of the reasons that you bring forward for that, it has seemed best to me to charge you that you shall cause thedecree for the alternation to be punctually executed, without allowing any more religious in each mission than the number which, conformably to my royal patronage, shall be enough for its needs; and that the rest of them occupy themselves in missions and preaching for which they were sent there. As for what you wrote me about the advanced age of the archbishop of those islands—who is so old that his hands and head tremble, and that it would be desirable to give him a coadjutor, and that you would arrange for giving him two thousand pesos of income besides the four thousand which the said archbishop receives, without drawing it from my royal treasury or from my vassals—I charge you to make known to me the measure or means by which that sum could be obtained without loss to my royal exchequer or my vassals, so that I may consent to your carrying it out if it be worthy of acceptance. In order that the religious of St. Dominic and of the other orders who are laboring in those islands may live with the concord and good example which is proper, and that they may not appropriate more Indian villages than those which are allowed them by my decrees, you shall not permit them to select any new ones beyond what shall be conformable to my patronage; and you shall, with the agreement of the archbishop, endeavor to unite some of the villages to others; and in those which are newly established you shall make the same effort, by introducing secular priests when you find them intelligent and competent. Madrid, September 2, 1638.
I the King
Countersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon, and signed by the Council. (Conserved inArchivo Historico Nacional, in theCedulario Indico, tomo 39, folio 225b.)
12Para el efecto de propaganda fide: evidently an allusion to the Congregation of the Propaganda (vol. xxi, p. 164, note 40), and may be freely rendered, “for carrying on the work of the [Congregation for the] propagation of the faith”—Collado’s friars being assigned to mission work only.
13Expenses incurred either directly under the factor—one of the royal officials—or in the trading ports established by the Spaniards.
14The above shows the form in which the accounts from this point are entered. For the sake of greater condensation, we have reduced the balance of the document to the following tabular form.
15From this and many other entries in these tables, it appears that much of the money reported as paid from the royal treasury never really left it, but that accounts were simply canceled. The benefit of these transactions would accrue to the purchaser of the pay-check, for he bought at a discount from the original holder; and, until the law whereby all the creditors of the royal treasury made avoluntary giftto the king of two-thirds of the account was enforced by Corcuera, he could use the pay-check at its face value, thus making immense profits, or canceling his debts to the royal treasury at small cost to himself.
16Probably planks one braza long.
17Spanish,de guzmanes;i.e., young men from noble families, who served as midshipmen in the navy, or as cadets in the army.
18That is, what is saved on a short voyage is consumed by extra expense on a long one; and the expenses average about the same, one year with another.
19That is, the repartimientos or amounts assessed on each district for the royal service, in rice, oil, and other products.