Information which has been sent from the city of Manila of the present condition of the Catholic religion in Philipinas, Japon, and Great China; sent by father Fray Juan Garcia,1 professed religious of the Order of St. Dominic, to the royal convent of San Pablo at Sevilla. Account of how the king our lord has taken an island in Great China, called La Hermosa, with a great fortress which is there.

During the former year of 631, twenty-eight professed religious of the Order of St. Dominic, from different convents in SpaÑa, who voluntarily offered themselves for the service of God our Lord, the holy apostolic Roman see, and their order, left the port of San Lucar de Barameda, having embarked to cross over to the province of Nueva EspaÑa in the Yndias, thence to the Philipinas Islands, Japon, and the kingdom of Great China, in order to preach the faith of Jesus Christ in those said kingdoms to the barbarous and idolatrous heathen there. After a prosperous voyage of eleven months they arrived at the city of Manila, where they were well received by the other religious who reside in those islands. However there died during the said voyage father Fray Juan Quixada, a native of Xerez, and a son of that convent; father Fray Vicente Ripol, a native of ZaragoÇa, and a son of the same convent; father Fray Francisco CastaÑeda and brother Fray Jacinto Robles, both sons of Salamanca; brother Fray Vicenta YbaÑes, a son of the convent of Valencia; and brother Fray Jayme Escuder, native of Mallorca. The rest arrived safe and sound, full of joy at finding themselves where they desired to be busied in the preaching of the holy gospel.

The news from Japon has it that the emperor of that country is holding a large number of Dutch in prison, on account of difficulties which they have had with the Japanese, and even worse [were their dealings] with our people; for through friendship for the Dutch has arisen the great persecution and martyrdom of so many religious, of so many different orders, who have suffered martyrdom in those regions. Having ingratiated themselves with the emperor until they stood well with him, in order that there might be no increase in the faith of Jesus Christ they counseled him that it was altogether inexpedient to consent that any friar of any order should enter his kingdom, for that they were a vile people, driven out of EspaÑa, to preach the faith of a God whom they adored, who had died crucified upon a cross; and that with that humble garb they were doing great harm, converting the people to their faith and straightway delivering over the country to the king of EspaÑa, as they had done in other parts of the Yndias. But as God our Lord is ever mindful of his own, His Divine Majesty has permitted that these works of cunning and these heretical counsels, unfriendly to our holy Catholic faith, should have no success, and so at present they have not. For the emperor has commanded that in no way shall any Japanese be martyred for turning Christian; but that they should be exiled from the realms of Japon, and landed in a Christian country, so that, since they had accepted that faith, they might there be supported and given the necessaries of life. The reason which moved the emperor to order that they be not martyred is because he fears that through the martyrdom many heathen Japanese would be converted, if they were to see those who are martyred dying unwavering in their Christian faith. Accordingly, in the month of May in the past year of one thousand six hundred and thirty-two there arrived in this city of Manila a Japanese ship with more than a hundred Japanese, with their wives and children. They were exiled Christians who had been told in their own country that if they abandoned the faith not only would they not be exiled from their fatherland, but that they would be cared for at the expense of the emperor. They chose to set out as exiles, fathers parting from their sons, wives from their husbands, and children from their parents, to preserve the faith of Jesus Christ, trusting solely to the providence of God. They arrived at this city of Manila, having suffered ill-treatment and disease. As soon as they had landed and been received by the Christians of this city, they all began—men, women, and children—to sing Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, and other psalms, so that it would have moved stones to pity. They were taken immediately to a church, at their own request, in procession. And no sooner did they find themselves in the temple of the Lord for whom they had suffered so much, than they all commenced to sing aloud Nunc dimittis, from beginning to end, so that the Christians of the primitive church could have done no more. They were then taken to a hospital, where they are being cared for at present with liberal good cheer, for on every hand they are supplied with plentiful alms. The heathen Japanese went back astonished at this charitable reception which they received; and therefore they now make martyrs no more, because they realize that this affects the people, and that more are converted in the public martyrdoms which they were inflicting in order to strike the others with fear. What they now do with the ministers of the gospel whom they can capture is as follows—as has been done lately with six religious whom they hold prisoners among them, two of these belonging to our order of St. Dominic: Within the prison they strip the fathers, and throw boiling hot water on them over their whole bodies, until they are horribly burned and wounded, and their skin is quite flayed off. Then they are cared for; and when they are recovering they are again stripped, and the same thing done, and so they have been kept for a year.

Concerning missions in the kingdom of Camboxa, we learn that four years ago, when the king sent to ask for religious in order to make himself and his kingdom Christian, six belonging to our Dominican order only, went there, and carried to him a handsome present on behalf of the governor of Manila. The king received them with much kindness at first. Afterwards, when they instructed him in our faith and told him he must give up his idolatries to receive it, he began to hate them—until, after two years, he ordered them to return; and so that kingdom is without a Christian, as it was impossible to persuade a single person; for they are wild barbarians, who, like the negroes, go about attired in skins.

As for Great China, it is the chief object of our desire; for the people are intelligent, and the country great and populous. The King of EspaÑa has taken an island which lies eighteen leguas from Great China, and is called Hermosa Island—a thing which was considered impossible, for it seemed that all the power in the world would not be enough to conquer it. In this island there is a great fort and a city, where many Spaniards are in garrison; and six of our religious, with none of any other order. A ship-load of provisions, and one company of soldiers, are sent to them every year from this city of Manila. Five of our friars went this year. In that island they are engaged in conquering it with soldiers, although most of it has made peace. Our friars are converting some whose conversion, through the goodness of God, is very effective. From this island two of our religious went to Great China; and eight days ago we received a letter from one of them which reads as follows:

“Your reverences may give thanks to our Lord, for the Order of St. Dominic is already within Great China. They killed my companion immediately after we landed. I am considering how the conversion of this land can be best accomplished, etc. In this city there are about six hundred Christians, natives of Great China, among eleven thousand heathen, largely merchants who come to trade. It should be a matter commended to God to be pleased to open the eyes of this people to a knowledge of Him, as there are so many souls there to be damned—for (so they say) there are more people in Great China than in half of all the rest of the world. It has been revealed to a holy nun, and to one of our friars of rare virtue, that those who are now living will see the conversion of this people. I can assure you that the labor is great, and the workers few; for there are missions in these islands where, on account of the lack of religious, we can have no more than one; and he has more than two thousand souls in his charge, and four villages where he says mass every feast-day, with the permission of the superior, though one village is two leguas or more from another. It is a matter for wonder that even one religious is left, after all this labor and service in so hot and enervating a country.”

The original of this letter was addressed to the father master Fray Alonso Tamariz, formerly prior of this convent of Sevilla.

This information has been sent to the most reverend father-general of the Order of St. Dominic, that his most reverend Paternity may prepare those under his command to continue this great enterprise, and go to those regions, whence so great results are hoped and desired for the increase and propagation of the holy Catholic faith.

With the permission of the lord provisor and of the alcalde Don Pedro Pantoja de Ayala. In Sevilla: sold by Juan Gomez de Blas, close to the Correo Mayor, this year of 1633.