Relation of the events in the city of Manila from the embassy sent by Cotsen,1 captain-general of the coasts of China and king of Hermosa Island, with father Fray Victorio Ricio his ambassador, in the year 1662, until the second embassy, which his son sent with the same father, and which was despatched on July 11, 1663.

On the fifth of May the ambassador of Cot-sen made his entry; this was father Fray Victorio Riccio,2 a Florentine, a religious of the Order of Preachers. He was attired in the garb of a mandarin’s rank, which the barbarian had conferred on him to equip him for this embassy. Little pomp was displayed in his reception, for the unfriendly nature of his errand was already known. Don Sabiniano Manrrique de Lara received the letter which he brought; it was full of arrogance, ostentatiously boasting of Cot-sen’s power, and declaring that his champans were many thousands in number and his perfect soldiers hundreds of thousands; (it is a fact that those champans, counting large and small, amount to 15,000, as is known by eyewitnesses); and, in virtue of this pompous and noisy declaration, he demanded that these islands should pay him tribute, threatening us with the example of the Dutch.3

The insolence of this demand angered all the Spaniards, and our resolute attitude filled the Sangleys with anxiety; for, as it could not be imagined that a less generous one [would be taken], they feared the injuries that would be caused by the war, and that they would be the first to suffer from these. The governor, as pious as prudent, commanded that in the church of the Society of Jesus the blessed sacrament should remain exposed, in order that the archbishop, the three auditors, the superiors of the religious orders, and the military chiefs might assemble in a devout public supplication; and ordered that, at about the same time, a council should be summoned (in order to give the Sangleys less cause for blame), where Cot-sen’s letter should be read and such decision made as in the opinion of the council ought to be adopted.

In regard to the principal point in the letter, there was little discussion; for, as the Spanish blood was coursing impetuously in the heart of every man there, all gave angry reply to Cot-sen’s demand, showing the courage and resolution that was to be expected from their noble blood, and feeling shame that [even in] imagination [he] could dare to cast so black a stigma on the Spanish name. Resolved to die a thousand times rather than consent to such humiliation, and regarding war as certain, as being our honorable decision, the members of the council discussed the question of drawing off beforehand the unwholesome humor from the body of this commonwealth by expelling the Sangleys—who in an emergency would dangerously divide our attention and our forces. Most of the speakers were in favor of driving away all the infidels, leaving only the Christians, who would in part render to the community the many services in which the men of that nation are employed for its benefit; and, since the Christian Sangleys were few, it would be easy to secure ourselves from them. Moreover, we could, profiting by our experience of their procedure, easily get rid of them if that should be expedient for our defense in such an emergency. The council came to the conclusion that the merchants should be allowed to carry their property with them, and return [to China] in peace with their merchandise—not only because they had come here in confidence and on the security afforded by the peace, but because this generous conduct of ours would pacify their resolute attitude, and Cot-sen would feel more anxiety at seeing how little importance we attached to increasing his forces with the men whom we were sending away, and at our contempt for his resources in not appropriating the property of his people.

As this sudden change might cause some disturbances when it should be put into execution, the publication of the council’s decision was delayed until as many of the cavalry horses as possible could be conveyed to the stock-farms; for, after the military authorities had seized the roads promptly with their troops, they could check any rash attempt, and the infidels could be peaceably sent to the ships as had been decreed. It was resolved by unanimous vote to withdraw the garrisons from Ternate, Zamboangan, Calamianes, and Yligan, since everything was at risk in the principal fort [i.e., Manila], which had not more than six hundred soldiers—and of these hardly two hundred were in condition to endure the hardships of a campaign or of service on the walls.4

These conferences, and the activities that necessarily followed from them were perfectly known by the Sangleys (whose fear kept them very attentive to everything), and the lack of secrecy in the members of the council gave them exact knowledge [of its proceedings]; consequently, they were fully assured of a war and of their own danger. This fear was increased by the haste with which the citizens who had wealth in their possession undertook to hide it away. Their desperation was completed by the interpretation which the common people gave to everything—irresponsible soldiers, with mestizos, mulattoes, and blacks, telling the Sangleys that they were to have their heads cut off, as if they were men already sentenced to death; and inflicting on them many injuries and uttering a thousand insults. Such circumstances as these concurring in the insurrection of the year 1603 necessarily caused it, as Doctor Morga observes; and on this occasion their fear of the like proceedings led them to a similar desperation. They heard that the twenty-fifth day of May was to be that of their destruction, because the cavalry troops were to arrive on the day before. Some of them—the most worthless class, as butchers and vegetable-sellers—began to talk of extricating themselves from he danger; but those in the PariÁn displayed no courage for any measures, for, as their interests are so involved in peace, they never have incurred the hazard of war except under compulsion.

On the night of the twenty-fourth, the governor received information from the castellan of Cavite that the PariÁn was to revolt on the next day; but on that very night it was quite evident that their determination was not to revolt, but to flee as best they could from the death which they regarded as certain. For on that night all the talisays5 (which are the fishermen’s boats) departed in flight; and although General Don Francisco de Figueroa talked to the Sangleys, endeavoring to calm their minds, it was not possible to remove their fear. They excused themselves by saying that they knew that on the next day all their heads would be cut off. They said that in planning the insurrection it had been agreed that they would not separate; but they had formed an organization to be prepared, their shops made secure, and such weapons provided as they could find for this purpose.

On the next day, May 25, his Lordship being anxious at this went out with only four captains to stroll through the PariÁn, to learn their intentions by observing what arrangements they had made. He found them all very peaceable, and their shops open; they were furnishing supplies therein, and most of them were eating breakfast. In various places they entreated him very submissively to protect them, because the blacks threatened them, saying that they were to be slain. His Lordship reassured them, and offered to send a force of soldiers who should protect and defend them from the insolent acts of the blacks. In order to obtain further security, his Lordship ordered that the [Sangley] ship-captains be summoned and that a bell be rung to assemble them, in order to provide for the guard and defense of the PariÁn. When they saw the captains enter the city, they regarded the arguments of their fear as confirmed; and the entire PariÁn turned out to watch what was done, all being doubtful of their own courage. Finally, thirty Sangleys from those who were uneasy, seeing the last captain enter, ran toward the gate to detain him and laid hands upon him when he was near the portcullis—either to obtain by this service means to ingratiate themselves with Cot-sen, or to secure a person who at all events could direct them. The men stationed at the gate, who saw the haste with which they approached, seized their arms and shot down some of the Sangleys. The guard on the walls suspected them of greater designs; and from the bulwark of San Gabriel Sargento-mayor Martin Sanchez, without the order that he should have had for this, fired two cannon. At the noise of the shots the people in the PariÁn, who were in suspense waiting to see how this tragedy would end, without further delay raised an outcry; and having heard that all Manila was coming to attack them flung themselves into the river—those who could, in bancas; most of them held up by some piece of bamboo. Others, more alarmed, took to swimming, and as they were confused by fear, went down the current, and many of them were drowned. The multitude of bancas hurried to a champan which was about to depart, which lay outside the bar with only two soldiers to guard it; and the Sangleys going aboard it hoisted sail. The [rest of the] crowd crossed to Santa Cruz where they halted; they talked with the father minister of that village (who was minister to the Chinese), Father Francisco Mesina, and gave him an account of their flight, saying that they feared that our people intended to cut off their heads. The father calmed them and offered to obtain for them pardon from his Lordship, for which purpose he immediately set out. The merchants and peaceable people in the PariÁn, some 1,500 in number, remained in their houses—in hiding, so that it seemed as if there was not a soul in the PariÁn—awaiting their doom. Considering that in the hills they would not better their condition, but that this with excessive hardships would only delay their end, many fore-stalled death by inflicting it upon themselves—some by hanging, and others by plunging into the river.

Without delay his Lordship went to the gate, most fortunately for the Sangleys and with great benefit to the community, as the result showed; for if he had not been present at the gate, the fear of being besieged which all felt, would have led them to engage in hostilities with the PariÁn and use their arms, compelling the governor to give them his entire attention. But his Lordship in so difficult a crisis which demanded prompt and resolute action, took counsel with past experiences and present necessities, his keen and quick mind attentive to everything. Knowing well that this disturbance was caused by fear, he was unwilling to make it greater in the outcome without dissuading [the Sangleys from revolt] by acts of clemency—since an encounter with the PariÁn must of necessity make both [parties among the Sangleys] declared enemies, and desperation would render them terrible as had been experienced in former insurrections. Moreover, our people would be obliged to use time and people when both were scanty for the emergency that we were expecting of further conflict; since the guards necessary for fortifying the city were inadequate, on account of our pursuing the rest of the fugitives. Accordingly, the governor prudently preferred to leave them uncertain and in expectancy rather than in declared and resolute attitude, since in the former condition they were easy to subdue, which in the other case would involve a great expenditure of military supplies—which would of necessity be greatly impaired when, for a long siege, all abundance is moderation. [For economy is needed:] of provisions, when there are no funds in the treasury, and no harvest in the villages with which to supply the city with food; and of men, when there are not enough to man the walls—to say nothing of the severity of fighting and of the inclemencies of the weather with their exposure to the rains.

His Lordship left the Sangleys reassured, and the rage of the Spaniards checked; he retired to the storehouses from which he immediately despatched a champan with a strong force of men in pursuit of the one that the Sangleys had stolen, and furnished all the military posts with abundance of supplies. It was past one o’clock when he returned to the palace; and before he took any rest or sat down at his table, he appointed General Francisco de Esteibar as chief master-of-camp, to act if occasion should arise for a military campaign, and that there might be, either for that purpose or for affairs in the city, an officer to take his own place when absent.

While the governor was at the warehouses the first embassy sent by the Sangleys found him; it came by Father Francisco Mesina, who said that those who had crossed over to Santa Cruz were in the greatest uncertainty, and would return to their obedience if he would pardon them. During the time which the father spent in this mission the scoundrels who had approached the gate, and in the first onslaught had killed two Spaniards, finished crossing the river; these fled in confusion by way of the PariÁn, and completed the terrorization of the other Sangleys, most of whom therefore went out to Sagar and others to Meysilo.

Father Mesina returned with pardon for them and found it necessary to pursue them. He continued his endeavors by means of the father mandarin,6 giving him a paper written in the Chinese language [to assure them] of entire safety. Although the latter set out with it, he did not reach the Sangleys, and Father Francisco Mesina sent his despatch by a messenger whom he encountered, placing it in the hands of a boy who carried it; for lack of a horse, he himself remained at Meyhaligue.

Fathers Nicolas Cani and Bartolome Vesco, who mounted on good horses had been pushing ahead since noon, went as far as San Francisco del Monte where they encountered some troops. They fell in with the soldiers and talked with them about bringing in the Sangleys; it was finally decided that Father Francisco Mesina should go ahead, and that the matter should be settled with him.

While the religious were making these efforts, his Lordship took all suitable measures by way of preparation for any event. He sent for Master-of-camp Don Juan Macapapal, who in the disturbances in Pampanga had proved his constancy and devotion in his Majesty’s service, and ordered him to bring three hundred picked bowmen, the best in his villages; and he commanded that two hundred veteran soldiers be selected from the villages of Pampanga. From two o’clock were continually arriving the cavalry which the governor had ordered to be brought from the ranches7 in order to relieve the Sangleys of the PariÁn from their fears; for the coming of these horsemen would guide the fugitives from the mountains in their decision. His Lordship charged the religious orders to send some fathers in order that they might assist the Spaniards, and by their authority check the insolent acts of those who might try to harm the Sangleys, in order that the latter might not be further upset by their misfortunes. This was a prudent decision; for, even with all this foresight, it was almost impossible to defend the Sangleys from the robberies which were attempted by negroes and base fellows at the risk of frustrating his Lordship’s pious efforts. Among these were not lacking some persons from whom more might be expected, who—some in person, and some by means of their servants—furnished their own houses very well [from the spoils of the Sangleys].

That afternoon, his Lordship walked through the PariÁn; the Sangleys came to their doors, and kneeling before him with faces like those of dead men entreated mercy from him. His Lordship consoled them, telling them that they had no cause to fear; that his anger was not directed against them, and that he was their father; that only the foolish ones who would not submit would find him severe, while those who were discreet and peaceable would experience his great clemency.

From the time when the disturbance began until it was entirely quieted, his Lordship had much to do in defending his prudent decision against the many Spaniards who desired to break entirely with the Sangleys and make an end of them—not considering that such proceedings would ruin the colony, all the more as, since we had to prepare for the war that we regarded as certain, we needed more of the Sangleys’ industry for the many labors required for defending and fortifying the walls, erecting temporary defenses, and harnessing so many horses; for it is they who bear the burdens of the community in all its crafts, notably in those that are most necessary.

The debate became hotter when, at nightfall, our people found the body of Fray JosÉ de Madrid,8 a Dominican whom the seditious Sangleys had slain in that morning’s outbreak in order to crush the rest by the horror of that crime—making the other Sangleys think that after so atrocious a deed there remained for them no hope of pardon, and no other means of saving their lives than to follow [the dictates of] their desperation. There is no doubt that if this murder had been known in the morning, it would have injured the interests of the Sangleys; and that between the scruples of prudence and justice [on the one hand], and the boldness of the counsels given by all the rest of the military men [on the other], the piety of so just a vengeance would have strongly prevailed. But the corpse was quickly buried—either by the father’s assailants, repentant; or by the peaceable Sangleys, in fear—and, detected either by the odor or by the signs made by some servants who, hidden in the convent of the PariÁn, witnessed the occurrence, the body was found that night. The news, which quickly ran through the PariÁn, filled all with horror and caused some of the Sangleys to flee from that quarter. Accordingly, by morning affairs assumed a worse aspect, and the more influential personages and the military leaders became less friendly to the Sangleys. All directed their efforts to persuading his Lordship to have the heads of all the Sangleys cut off, commencing at the PariÁn and conducting a campaign in pursuit of the rest of the fugitives. His Lordship, seeing that they had allotted the Sangleys but a short respite, that they had the day before left the settlement of matters with Father Francisco Mesina and that more time than this was necessary for securing the proper degree of order, resolved to hasten the negotiations for peace and to go to see the father with the Sangleys in company with a Sangley named Raimundo, an agent of Cot-sen in this city.

At this time so many lies were current against the behavior of the Sangleys, and these were so well received by those who desired to destroy them—persons who were actuated more by avarice and selfishness than by interest in the welfare of the community—that they caused hesitation among even the most cautious and prudent. On one hand they said that a battalion of Sangleys had entered the village of Tondo (which is distant a cannon-shot from the city) and had already set fire to the church. Again, the fugitives had retreated upon Sagar, and had fitted up many forges in order to make weapons, and were working these eagerly day and night. But his Lordship—who was well informed regarding the available forces, and knew that he could send hardly one hundred strong men into the field out of the six hundred whom he had in the city, and how important it was to reserve his entire strength for the greater danger; and who very correctly judged that inconsiderate desires for an assault [on the PariÁn] had fabricated these inventions, and that the more discreet gave credit to these tales in order to oppose his own steadfast determination—instantly went in person to satisfy himself regarding this story about Tondo. Finding that it was imaginary, he realized how little credence should be given to novelties brought from afar when some one had dared to concoct such things under his very eyes; and he therefore allowed the peace negotiations to proceed by the agencies which had commenced them.

There is no doubt that the successful outcome of this affair is due solely to the prudent management of the governor; and that, if he had allowed himself to be dragged along by the opinions which prevailed in popular estimation, an insurrection would have been contrived that would have fatigued the soldiery in a campaign of many months, and caused much destruction in the villages; for the insurrections that we keep in mind in these islands included no more [favoring] circumstances [than did this one], nor did this lack anything except the actual assault. But his Lordship knew how evil advisers are the individuals concerned in this matter, in which one seldom finds a person who is not interested in the ruin of the Sangley—some on account of the loot [that they may obtain]; the rest, because there are few persons who do not hold property of the Sangleys in trust, or else owe for much merchandise which they have bought on credit. Many have become depositaries for their acquaintances, who, fearing the removal of their property to other hands, give it to their intimate friends to keep; and by slaying the Sangleys all render account with payment. Accordingly, in the insurrection of 1639 it was found by experience that those in whom the Sangleys placed most confidence were the first and most importunate voters for their ruin. In this decision it is only the king who hazards his treasure, and his governor who risks a point of honor; for finally the very persons who, through either self-interest or greed, advised the assault [on the Sangleys] cast on the governor the blame of the insurrection, as happened to Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. The very persons who, censuring him as a coward and representing to him instances of boldness forced [by desperation] on the part of the Sangleys as causes for employing armed force against them, afterward, when at their importunities he had kindled the fire, declared that by this act he had caused the revolt, compelling the innocent and peaceable to become enemies against their own will. Here this class of persons was protected, and the way left open for [the return of] the others; for with the burning of the PariÁn these would have been enemies, and all would have despaired of reconciliation. This was seen by the response made to Father Francisco Mesina the first time when he went to confer with them about their submission; they said, “To whom shall we turn if the PariÁn is burned now?” But when he assured them that the affair had not reached that stage, they were astonished and readily discussed submission—as those who had gone away, fleeing from our arms which they supposed to be declared against them; and the haste of their flight had not given them leisure to ascertain our decision, as they regarded their own imaginations as facts.

In their mode of action they plainly showed their intentions—that they were not rebels, but terrified fugitives; nor did they injure either life or property, whether of Spaniards or of natives. Nor did they avail themselves of the privilege which the necessity of supporting life gave them, to use the rice, for they used what they needed of the food which the Sangley farm-hands had in their houses; while in the insurrections attested as such they did not leave a village without burning it, or property that was not pillaged in all this province of Tondo—sparing not even what was holy, profaning the churches and the sacred images.

In consequence of his agreement with the Sangley fugitives, Father Francisco Mesina set out again on the twenty-sixth of the month in company with the Sangley Raimundo; and at night he reached Sagar in the fields of which the Sangleys were encamped. Many of them (mostly Christians) hastened toward the father bewailing their misery and asking permission to go down to the PariÁn. So great was their anxiety that, on that very night, they undertook to carry out this plan. How important was the preservation of the dove-cote, in order that these doves might not complete their flight to the mountains and might easily recover their domesticated tranquillity! The father delayed their journey until morning, and on the next day, the twenty-seventh, sent to Manila four hundred of them whom he found most inclined to go and who showed least distrust in the company of Father Nicolas Cani, so that he could assure their safety from any misfortune. On the same day he went with Father Bartolome Besco and the Sangley Raimundo to the place where the fugitives were encamped. On the way he encountered some companies of seamen from the champans and other riff-raff, who were ignorant of the agreement for the submission of their fellows; and these would not allow the fathers to pass. But when this was known at their camp two of their leading men went down to the father and told him that they all would follow his advice; but that Raimundo was not a suitable person for settling the matter with them, because many of the Sangleys were suspicious of him on account of his long residence among us. They told the father to bring two of their ship-captains, so that this business might be concluded with them. The father retired to San Juan del Monte, in order to say mass there the next day, the twenty-eighth (which was the feast of Pentecost), and sent word to his Lordship of what the Sangleys demanded.

In accordance with this his Lordship on the twenty-eighth summoned the ship-captains, and after he had conferred with them they went back to the father and told him that it was not necessary that he should fatigue himself by going to the [Sangley] camp, since all the fugitives had already agreed to come down. They only asked that the ships might go to Nabotas, from which place all the Sangleys who had to embark for China would sail; and that the father would, for this purpose, go there in company with the regimental master-of-camp, Domingo de Ugarte, who was very acceptable to them and well known for his kindness to them. On the thirtieth they came down with this reply; and on the thirty-first the father went back with it to confer with his Lordship. The latter was ill pleased with the stipulation of embarking at Navotas on account of the lack of confidence that they displayed; but the father set out to bring them over to whatever his Lordship should ordain, as he finally decided it—departing on the first of June accompanied by Master-of-camp Domingo de Ugarte and three ship-captains. They arrived that night at the village of Taytay, the nearest village to the place that the Sangleys had occupied; and that very night they despatched the ship-captains fully instructed. On the next day, June 2, the captains came down with the reply and decision of all the Sangleys—that they would come down to the PariÁn from which they would embark in the champans which were ready to depart; while the Christians would come down to the villages of Santa Cruz and Binondo, or as his Lordship should command. This they carried out in the time which they asked, which was two days.

Their resolution was much aided by the one which his Lordship had taken ever since May 26, when he ordered that one of the champans should be made ready for the voyage, promising its captain beforehand a thousand Sangleys, whom he must without fail transport. He commanded one of the three champans that were at Cavite to come to Manila; this was to open the door wide in the face of their mistrust, and it showed that his intention was only to make the country safe and not to avenge on them (as they had believed) the insolence of Cot-sen.

The fugitives thereupon came down in all haste and especially on the day that had been set, June 4; yet notwithstanding this, so great was the anxiety to feed on the wretched Sangleys that [some people attempted to] persuade his Lordship that the whole arrangement was a sham; that all the Sangleys were still in the field, and that they only came down from their camp on this pretext, in order to search for what they needed and to carry away the few who remained in the PariÁn. His Lordship, giving another day of vigilance, apparently yielded to the importunate outcries of the many who clamored for the punishment of the Sangleys—who had committed no crime except their terrified flight; and ordered the soldiers to be made ready in order that he might freely select the troops who were to go out for the campaign.

The bowmen of Master-of-camp Don Juan Macapagal had already arrived, also the 200 Pampango veteran soldiers in charge of Master-of-camp Don Francisco Lacsamana. He [i.e., his Lordship] commanded them to be mustered on June 6; and when all were expecting [that he would select] a strong battalion of Spaniards, Pampangos, Mardicas,9 Japanese, and creoles, he left them all mocked and humiliated who had attributed to cowardice the forbearance dictated by his prudence. He set aside only the regiment of Pampangos, arquebusiers and bowmen; and committed the exploit to the Pampango master-of-camp, Don Francisco Lacsamana—leaving in the lurch those who attached so much importance to the enterprise, and who attributed his delay to fear. Unaffected by considerations of mere policy, his Lordship moved in accordance with right and the light of truth which belongs to those free from prejudice; he had carefully considered the enterprise and saw that but little [poisonous] humor remained to be corrected. He therefore chose to make it evident that his delay was not for the sake of temporizing but to show clemency; and that, able to resist no longer, he was using rigor against those who in so many days had not availed themselves of his clemency. And, to show how great was his courage and how superior he regarded his forces, he did not vouchsafe to send out Spaniards but entrusted the issue to the Pampangos.

This was information which by one act, his discretion gained with great results. He made trial of the fidelity of the Pampangos, whose commotions and recent punishments had left their fidelity uncertain; and he put them on their honor with this so honorable commission, to act then with valor and afterward with constancy. It would make them hated by the Sangleys, to oblige them to become enemies; and would give Cot-sen to understand how little importance the governor attached to the latter’s men, since he was attacking them with natives alone. He could ascertain thus what was the disposition of the Pampangos, and how much courage they had for resisting that pirate; for himself, the injury which the islands had experienced in so many disturbances of the natives gave him some confidence.

He gave them their orders—that they should march to the camp of the Sangleys without doing harm to any peaceable Sangleys whom they might encounter on the way, who should be going to the city; and when they should arrive there, giving the troops a rest, they should make the assault on the next day cutting off the heads of all [whom they should find there]. At the same time his Lordship despatched orders to the alcaldes-mayor of Bay and Bulacan—through whose provinces the Sangleys would necessarily have to disperse after they were routed—to go out with three hundred bowmen from each province to occupy the roads against them; so that wherever they should seek a route to safety they should meet destruction. The Pampangos left the city before noon; his Lordship anticipating all possible events three hours later commanded two companies of horsemen to make ready, who should set out at daybreak for the [Sangley] camp—in order that if the Pampangos met bad luck they might have sufficient protection, and could thus recover their courage and renew the attack in full assurance of victory.

The Pampangos encountered on the way many bands of Sangleys, who were coming to the PariÁn, and allowed these to pass them without any harm. About five o’clock in the afternoon they came in sight of the camp; and, in order not to divide the merit of the exploit with the Spaniards—who, as they knew, were to go thither at daylight—they would not wait until the daylight watch as they had planned. Without taking any rest and unarmed they closed with the Sangleys who numbered some 1,500 men; and in two assaults they routed the enemy without any loss save a captain of their nation who fell dead, and some soldiers who were wounded. The Sangleys left in their camp more than sixty dead men, and all their provisions and baggage remained in the possession of the Pampangos; the latter did not follow in pursuit, partly as the hour was now very late, partly that they might satiate themselves with the booty. But on the morning of June 7 the cavalry appeared, who, learning of the defeat, pursued the fugitives until they entered a region that was rocky and overgrown with thickets, where most of them perished—some from hunger, and many from the cruelty of the Negrillos of the mountains. Then, as the alcaldes-mayor of Bay and Bulacan attacked them with their troops, hardly a Sangley could escape who did not perish either at their hands or those of the Negrillos.

Up to the twenty-fourth of June the troops, both cavalry and infantry, remained in active service—partly to put an end to the remaining fugitives, partly to keep the retirade occupied in case of any disturbance in Manila, since it was a place near that point to which the Sangleys resorted on such occasions. After that date the troops gradually withdrew, his Lordship showing great kindness and many favors to the Pampangos. To those who had shared in this exploit he granted exemption from paying tributes; and, honoring them by the confidence which he had in their fidelity, he gave up to them on the twenty-sixth the guard-room in the palace—with which they left service well content and full of courage for greater enterprises.

Afterward, the regiments from Pangasinan and Ylocos entered Manila, brought by General Don Felipe de Ugalde. After they had been mustered in Manila, so that the Sangleys could see the force that had been provided against Cot-sen, they were ordered to return to their own country so that they could attend to the cultivation of their grainfields; for, as they were nearest to us, they could easily be summoned for an emergency. The same orders were given to the Pampangos and to the men from the provinces of Bay and Bulacan; also that they should keep the picked and trained men separate, so that these might be found ready without confusion or disturbance at the first warning.

The cavalry, a suitable number for 600 horses, were finally assembled by General Don Francisco de Figueroa whom his Lordship had honored with this command. They were divided into six companies each containing twenty-five Spaniards, the remainder being cowherds, negroes, and mulattoes—men very suitable for this service as being dextrous and inured to hardship. They were mustered in the city and along the beach in sight of the champans; and were at once divided among the posts that were most suitable—two companies in Cavite, and the rest in the environs of Tondo.

All the Sangleys in the provinces of this mainland [of LuzÓn] who had not taken refuge in the PariÁn in time were decapitated. Those who thus took refuge were confined to the point of Cavite or to the PariÁn of the city, so that we might keep them within range of our guns, and where they would be of advantage for whatever had to be done for the fortification of both posts and the protection of the shore. His Lordship commanded that lists be made of [the Sangleys engaged in the different] crafts, reserving as many of these as were deemed sufficient for the needs of the city and service; and he ordered that of all the rest as many as space could be found for should be shipped [to China], compelling the captains to transport them. There was one champan which took aboard 1,300 of them; they were so crowded together that they could hardly sit down; but in this the captain had no small profit, for they exacted from each one ten pesos as passage-money.

When the champans were ready to weigh anchor, his Lordship was informed that the two chief leaders of the people who had fled to the mountains had come down in the last bands. These two were infidels; one was the contractor for the slaughterhouses, named Barba, and the other a shopkeeper named [blank space in MS.]; and by the help of some of their followers they had been hidden, so that they could go away in the first champans. We had certain information that these men were among the people on shipboard, but all the efforts of the officials were frustrated by the dissimulation of the Sangleys until his Lordship resorted to direct measures, and, summoning the ship-captains, commanded them to find and surrender those two men, saying that if they did not he would order their heads to be cut off. All were terrified and within a few hours they dragged out the two culprits by the neck—one from the champan on which he had embarked; the other from a hut in which he had hidden himself. On the following day they were executed between the PariÁn and the city in sight of the Sangleys. They had ruled tyrannically, and with their deaths our fear passed away, having inflicted due punishment with so little bloodshed.

The champans departed one after another; and on the day when the last three—those of the ambassador and two others which he carried in his convoy—were to set sail, which was June 10, his Lordship ordered that the chimes should be rung as a token of rejoicing over false news of the ships from Nueva EspaÑa (which he caused to be published), artfully brought in by an advice-boat. This was done in order that the ambassador and the Sangleys, persuaded that we had received succor of men and money, might with this belief aid in repressing the fierceness of the barbarian, artfully supplying what was lacking in our reputation for strength. But God, who directs the hearts of rulers, made the bells ring for true news, bringing to port on that very day the patache which came from Nueva EspaÑa, July 13, when people were becoming discouraged by the delay of the second advice-boat.

His Lordship gave orders to collect in the PariÁn all the remaining Sangleys under penalty of death to any who should leave it; and although in a few days he gave them more space, it did not extend beyond the range of the artillery. With the same severity he compelled them to sleep within the PariÁn; and as the regiment from Cagayan came unexpectedly—a warlike people, who, as they belong to a province so remote, cannot wait for news of the necessity, but can only forestall it—he lodged these near the PariÁn in full readiness for any disturbance. The regiments of Caragas, Cebuans, and Boholans arrived; the Caragas were sent to the point of Cavite, and the rest were quartered in La Estacada,10 the Cagayans proceeding to Santa Cruz. With these forces the river was thoroughly occupied from the bar to the upper reaches, and its passage was closed to the Sangleys. The same plan was observed with the cavalry, the two companies at Cavite being quartered in the fields there and the rest in Binondo and Meyhaligue. The Sangleys were thus more thoroughly imprisoned than if they were in the jail.

From the first day [of the commotion] his Lordship directed all his efforts to supplying the city with provisions, and succeeded in bringing in 120,000 cabans of rice with meat, fish, and vegetables. Now with greater energy he attended to its fortification, personally overcoming the difficulties: in [procuring] the lime—which were great, for the rains had begun and the lime was brought so far (from Bulacan and Bacolor)—and in the construction itself, for eleven defenses were begun in different places. His Lordship gave personal attention to those which were most important—eating his meals and despatching business on the beach in a straw hut that was built for him, so light that it was carried on men’s shoulders from one place to another as the importance of the work required; and was watchful on every side, not only on account of the ardor which caused him to give his aid, but also for the sake of his example. He was the first and most steadfast in the work of conveying earth and stones for earth-works and masonry; and his example was followed by the citizens with the men in their service. Besides this fatigue he was overburdened with the minor cares of the work, sending in all directions for the lime, and himself allotting it as if he had no other matters to attend to. In order that the dissensions among the military leaders might not delay the execution of his plans, he suppressed the office of chief master-of-camp and sargento-mayor—which had been created to divide his cares, and when necessary, to supply his place when absent, since he must render aid in all quarters—and took upon himself all those cares, in order that those who were working should find no obstacle that would delay them. Thus he finished in a short time and with less than 6,000 pesos of expense, works which would have consumed half a million [pesos] and caused ten years of hardships to the provinces—availing himself of the opportunity to attain his endeavor, and arranging that the Sangleys should be exchanged in shifts, 300 together in these. The [various native] peoples [were exchanged] by companies in the same manner as were the Spaniards; and the people of the neighboring villages with longer time for resting their relays, so that they might not be hindered from attending to their grain-fields. And in this there was much latitude in the execution of orders, the neglects and omissions which are so usual to the sloth of those peoples being overlooked—although the way in which the people were treated, their willingness, and their consideration of its importance, all facilitated so difficult an enterprise as the repair of the castle, which toward the river was threatening to fall. A fausse-braye11 was applied to it, which commenced at a cupola and ended at the bar, with a very handsome platform; and five redoubts were erected which ran from that point toward the sea as far as the bulwark at the foundry (which defends the gate on the land side), as the wall was there very weak and its defenses were far apart and not very convenient. From this bulwark to the gate was built a covert-way, and in front of it a ravelin, from which again ran the covert-way until it connected with the bulwark of Dilao, and met the estuary which crosses from Malosa the land as far as the moat. At the gate of Santo Domingo another redoubt was erected, and another at the postern of the Almacenes [i.e., magazines], so that these shook hands with the cupola at the river. At the gate of the PariÁn a spacious ravelin was made with its covert-way toward the bridge over the river, cutting the land between the inner and outer ditches, and leaving a passage sunken around the ditches for a movable bridge. The wall was strengthened toward the river and Bagumbayan by its fausse-braye. A fine bridge was built on the estuary of Santa Cruz, so that the cavalry and troops could reconnoiter unhindered the other side of the river, as well as Sagar and Antipolo.12

At the same time, public prayers were offered. The Augustinian religious began this with the opportunity afforded by the fiesta of the canonization of St. Thomas of Villanova. They were followed by the fathers of the Society of Jesus with the triumphal reception of the bodies of Sts. Martial and Jucundus and the relics of other martyrs, which were deposited in the cathedral, and were carried in a grand procession to the church of the Society; the governor, the Audiencia, the cabildos, and the citizens, with the regiment of soldiers (who fired a salute) took part in this. The governor paid the expenses of an octave festival in the cathedral in honor of the archangel St. Michael on the fourteenth of January; it began with a procession which marched through the Calle de Palacio, past the house of the Misericordia, the convent of San Agustin, and the college of the Society; thence it turned toward the Recollects by way of the convent of San Francisco to that of Santo Domingo; and by the college of Santo Tomas returned to the cathedral. The said prayers were continued until Lent.

In the midst of these pious exercises the ambassador from China found us: this was the same religious as before, Fray Victorio Riccio. To the salute which he fired his Lordship commanded answer to be made with ball, as one who, having been challenged, awaited the envoy on a war footing; and despatched to the shore the sargento-mayor of the garrison to tell him that, on account of the hostilities which he had announced in the name of Cot-sen, we had expected him to come as an enemy and were prepared to receive him with the sternness that is customary in war, and that he must inform the governor of the nature of the despatches that he carried. The ambassador answered that he came in peace; and by the news which he at once related it was learned that, only a few days after his Lordship had placed his forces under the powerful protection of the holy archangel, Cot-sen had died.

That ruler was ready in all the strength given by ships, men, and provisions to deliberate according to the news that he should receive from here upon the measures that would have to be taken, when the first Sangleys [from Manila] arrived. They, driven by fear and urged on by desperation, scorning the cannon-shots that were fired from the castle, seized a royal champan which was ready to sail; and those Sangleys who had left [the Pasig River] in the talisays, for whom there was no room, seized other champans in the channels of Mariveles. These fugitives regarded as already executed that of which their fear persuaded them; and they told the corsair that the governor had commanded that all the Sangleys should be slain, not only the traders but those who were living in this city. At this he was kindled to such anger that he immediately undertook to sally forth for vengeance without heeding the obstacles that he would now meet in the expedition from unfavorable weather. It seemed to the Chinese that with only half of their fleet, even though the other half should perish, they could carry abundant force for the enterprise. Upon this disturbance of his mind came the rebellion of his son whom he had commanded to be slain;13 and the mandarins of his city, Vi-cheo, [Fuh-chau, or Foo-chow] protected the son, having resolved to defend him. With these anxieties Cot-sen was walking one afternoon through the fort on Hermosa Island which he had gained from the Dutch. His mind began to be disturbed by visions, which he said appeared to him, of thousands of men who placed themselves before him, all headless and clamoring for vengeance on the cruelty and injustice which had been wreaked on them; accordingly, terrified at this vision (or else a lifelike presentation by his imagination) he took refuge in his house and flung himself on his bed, consumed by a fierce and burning fever. This caused him to die on the fifth day, fiercely scratching his face and biting his hands—without any further last will than to charge his intimate friends with the death of his son, or more repentance for his cruelty than to continue it by the orders that he gave for them to kill various persons; thus God interrupted by his death many cruel punishments.

Moreover, some mandarins were pacified who were resentful because the alcaldes of Pangasinan and Cagayan had seized some goods from their agents; and the father ambassador made satisfactory answers to the complaints made on account of the incorrect reports of the fugitives. The Chinese therefore solicited peace, and the continuance of the trade. This was a piece of good-fortune so timely that it enabled us to send this year a ship to Nueva EspaÑa for the usual aid, the building of this ship having been stopped for lack of iron; for, since the iron which came in three ships from China had been bought on his Majesty’s account, it became necessary to beg iron from the religious orders and the citizens and to tear out the few iron gratings which such emergencies as these had left in the city. This necessarily made evident to that [Chinese] nation how greatly we depend on them for our means of support.

The ambassador, Fray Victorio Riccio, finally came hither on April 8 with news of the peace; it had been concluded so much to our favor that no further conditions were imposed beyond the restitution of the property which had remained here placed in the hands of private citizens, and that which the alcaldes-mayor had withheld in Cagayan and Pangasinan. Thus the country was quieted, and all its people were freed from the affliction which the haughty and cruel kingdom of China had caused us by its threats.

The people who followed this corsair amounted to over a million of men of war alone. The champans (which are their ships), large and small, numbered 15,000 and many of them carried forty pieces of artillery. So arrogant was the corsair with his power, that he aspired to gain the kingdom from the Tartar king (who is also ruler of Great China) and be crowned at Nanquin, assured that, as Fortune showed herself friendly to him, the entire empire would follow him as the man who maintained the authority of it all—not only as he was captain-general for the dead king but because he had been confirmed in this office by the king now living, who is called Ens-lec.14 He also intended to maintain the superstitions, dress, rites, and customs of his ancestors—especially the garments and [mode of wearing] the hair, to which the Chinese are excessively attached. This purpose had caused them to endure his cruelty, which had been so great that more than three millions of men had died for his satisfaction alone. This fierce captain would have succeeded in that enterprise, if he had not been drawn off from it to gain the neighboring cities, nine in number (the smallest one containing 200,000 souls), thus giving the Tartar king time for better preparation. Nevertheless, he had the courage to invest Nanquin, the court city of Great China, which is defended by three walls two leguas distant from one another, the circuit of the first being thirty leguas.15 He gained the first wall and brought affairs to such a crisis that the king, fearing his fierce determination, talked of fleeing from his court of Pequin. The mandarins warned him that by such a course he would lose the entire kingdom; for the inhabitants of the city, dispirited by such tokens of weakness, would instantly surrender in order not to experience the corsair’s ferocity. They said that this victory would give him so much reputation that he would easily subdue the entire kingdom; that it was most important to make all the rest of their power effective, withdrawing all the troops from other strongholds to increase the royal forces with a multitude of veterans and well-disciplined soldiers. The king did so and attacked the enemy with 400,000 horsemen; and as Cot-sen on account of having left his islands had no cavalry worth mention, he was compelled to yield to a power so formidable. With the loss of 80,000 men and most of his champans, he left the river on which the court city stands, and returned to his own town, Vi-chen. But this blow left him so little inclined to profit by experience and his strength so little diminished that, when the entire Chinese force pursued him in a fleet of many ships, he went out to meet them at a legua’s distance from his principal island,16 and fought with them the greatest battle that those seas have ever seen. Cot-sen sent most of their champans to the bottom, and captured many; few escaped, and those were damaged. This filled that country with such fear that their precautions [against him] wrought more destruction than his cruelty could have accomplished; for these obliged the king of China to depopulate the extensive coasts of his entire kingdom, a strip of land six leguas wide embracing cities of 100,000 or 200,000 inhabitants, in order that they might not be the prey of the conqueror.17 This was a measure tending to the latter’s prosperity; for all those many people, finding themselves without land or settled mode of life, crowded into the corsair’s service to spend their lives and to maintain themselves on the abundant booty offered to them by his power as absolute master of the seas.

The intention of this barbarian [Cot-sen] was to become the master of China, profiting by the hatred of the Chinese to the Tartars, and on the present occasion by the fact of the king’s death. But as Cot-sen needed land whereon to maintain so many people, he was minded to conquer Hermosa and these islands. Accordingly, he landed [on Hermosa] first in April, 1660, with 100,000 men, a hundred cannon for batteries, and a still larger number of field-pieces; the cannons carried balls of forty to fifty libras. At first the Dutch scoffed at their forces, calling them “men of the paypay”—that is, “of the fan,” which all of that nation use, as if they were women. Confident in the impregnable nature of their fortress (into which they gathered the feeble garrison of the island), and in the large and splendid force of men which defended it, more than two thousand in number, although they had nineteen ships, they did not take these out of the river when they could; and the Sangleys attacked them on the sea to great advantage overcoming the Dutch with their champans, and inflicting much injury on them—for these champans are lighter vessels [than those of the Dutch], and their people are very skilful in the management of artillery. The Dutch at once sallied out with 300 men to prevent them from occupying the islet in the Mosamboy entrance,18 on which the Chinese expected to plant their battery; but the multitude charged upon the Dutch and cut off the heads of all, except one or two who escaped by swimming. This humbled the pride of the Dutch and dispirited their men. As soon as the Chinese landed their men they attacked the eminence, where the Dutch had a fort called Chiacam garrisoned with sixty soldiers; but it surrendered on the third day, and the Chinese used the Dutchmen for handling the artillery, assigning them to various stations. In the harbor they burned three ships and boarded one; and such was the fear that filled the hearts of the timid of falling into the hands of so bloody and savage an enemy, that twelve Dutch fugitives with other people went to him [as those who surrendered] with five brigantines which the [Dutch] fort had employed for many purposes.

The Chinese began their enterprise with as much fury as if they had lacked time for the attacks of their batteries; but in their assurance and the manner of their encampment they acted as if time were of no importance, since it was the chief enemy of the besieged. Palmo by palmo they steadily gained the [surrounding] country, carrying with them branches, and baskets [of earth], until they established themselves near the fortifications of the Dutch; and during the ten months while the siege lasted they did not cease firing all their artillery, night or day. In another direction an innumerable throng of laborers were continually at work cultivating the soil, as if they were already its owners; and before the fort surrendered, the Chinese were already enjoying the produce of their farming. For the proud corsair went [to Hermosa] so confident in his strength that among the 500 champans which he took with him for this enterprise many went loaded with plows, seeds, and the other things used in cultivating land with innumerable workmen who were set aside for this service alone. Consequently, while he fought he peopled and cultivated the island without any one being able to prevent him; and, as he is so rich, he carried a great quantity of cloth, in order to attract the poor natives and bring them over to his side, in which he has succeeded.

Only one other engagement was a success for the Dutch, who undertook, when the Chinese first encamped, to bombard them with all their cannon at once; and, having thus demolished their huts and fortifications, the Dutch made a bold sortie, spiked six of the enemy’s cannon, cut to pieces the garrison, 3,000 in number, and were carrying away nineteen pieces of artillery to the fort. But another Sangley officer hurried up with his regiment and attacked the Dutch with such fury that they were obliged to leave the captured cannon behind, and in disorder, take refuge within the fort. With the twelve Dutchmen they put the fortifications in better shape, and their bombardment began to be more effective. Finally they demolished the redoubt with all the fortifications outside, and approached the fort so closely that the men on the walls talked with those in the enemy’s camp. They demolished the second height of the wall, which had no terreplein; the governor of the place was killed by a cannon-ball; and every day the enemy came up to the walls to drink the health of the Dutchmen and display other soldierly civilities.

They had now demolished all of the wall that rose above the terreplein, and talked of making a general assault. The Dutch began to be disheartened by the death of the governor and the loss of so many soldiers; and when they saw the preparations for the assault they talked of negotiating fur surrender, in order that they might not be left exposed to the enemy’s cruelty—since for that arrogant tyrant it was the same to slay five or six thousand men as one. He therefore at once replaced twice the number in a post [which had lost its defenders], as he was so near to his island of Vicheu where he kept the main body of his followers, from which they were continually coming and going; and for every one who died a thousand fresh men came to his camp. They now set out to engage the Dutch with six hundred scaling-ladders, fourteen of their men being allotted to each ladder; but the besieged hung out a white flag, and came out to propose terms of surrender. This was granted with the condition that only the property of private persons should be removed, and that they must surrender intact the property of the [East India] Company, which was done. It is computed according to the Company’s books, that with the military supplies and the artillery of the fort, [this capture] had a value of five millions—an amount which will not cause surprise to any one who knows that this place was the magazine for the two richest traffics in the Orient, those of China and Japon. The artillery found there [by the Chinese] included 150 pieces; the firearms, 4,000; and there were provisions and military supplies for years. The slain in this war, for the entire period, were: of the Dutch, 630; of the Chinese, 10,000 men. The vanquished left the fort on the day of the Purification of our Lady, six hundred in number, and embarked in nine ships which had remained in the harbor.

In short, this [i.e., the Chinese] people is the most ingenious in the world; and when they see any contrivance in practice they employ it with more facility than do the Europeans. Accordingly, they are not now inferior in the military art, and in their method of warfare they excel the entire world. No soldier is hindered by providing his food; every five men have their own cook. All are divided into tens, and every ten have their own flag, and on it are written the names of its soldiers. These tens are gathered into companies and regiments with such concert and such ease in governing them that Europeans who have seen it are astonished.

Consider the anxiety that must be caused by a nation so ingenious, so hardy, so practiced in the military art, so numerous, so haughty and cruel, in a city where all the forts together could not call to arms 2,000 Spaniards—and these of so many colors that not two hundred pure Spaniards could be picked out from them—and occupying so much space that for its suitable garrison it needs 6,000 soldiers. From this may be inferred the joy that was felt throughout the city [at his death] and the so special kindness of God in putting an end to this tyrant in the prime of his life—for he was only thirty-nine years old, and had spent his time in continued military practice from the year 1644 until that of 1662, when he conquered Hermosa Island. He was always favored by fortune, and there was no undertaking in which he did not succeed except the siege of Nanquin—which would be considered foolish temerity by any one who will consider the strength and greatness of that city—an enterprise in which he had to entomb or submerge in blood his fortune and his acquired glories; yet it weakened him so little that he quickly restored the losses, victorious over the entire naval force of China.

At the beginning of June his Lordship gave permission to all the [native] tribes to return home; they went away well satisfied and loaded with praises. He gave the Chinese more freedom, permitting them to remove to the villages adjoining the city, and releasing them from serving on the ships [de las faginas] on account of the great labors which they had performed before his Lordship’s eyes in completing, with so much readiness and with so little expenditure of time and money, [public] works which [otherwise] could not have been finished in ten years of hard labor, with half a million pesos, and the exhaustion of the weak natives of the neighboring provinces.

His Lordship summoned a council, in which by his command were read the letters from the mandarins who were directors and guardians of Cot-sen’s estate, written by order of his son, in which was discussed the stipulation which they made a condition of peace—the restitution of the property which their agents had left here in trust, and other merchandise which the alcaldes-mayor of Ylocos and Cagayan had withheld. In accordance with the [decision of the] first council, this one ordered that such restitution be made. Therein was also discussed the question whether the Sangleys should be permitted to live in the islands; this was done by a few ecclesiastics (only three in number), who opposed such permission; they had attempted, both in the pulpit and in private conversation, to persuade the rest to their opinion. All of the council agreed with only one dissenting voice, that the Sangleys ought to be allowed to remain here up to the number which the decrees of his Majesty regarding this matter have prescribed—that is, 6,000 men—provided that they be not allowed to spread into other provinces, nor go beyond the villages included in the jurisdiction of Tondo (which is in the territory of this city) conformably to the royal ordinances which have fixed these limits. All recognized our need of that [Chinese] nation, in the lack and scarcity of all things to which we see ourselves now reduced—all because the number of the Sangleys has been diminished, since the natives have neither energy nor strength to support the burdens that the Chinese carry; and much more on account of our dependence upon their trade, for everything. For not only does everything necessary for life come to us from China—as wheat, cloth, and earthenware—but it is the Sangleys who carry on all the crafts, and who with their traffic maintain the fortunes of the citizens (without those other products of vineyards and olive-groves that are furnished in the industries carried on in Nueva EspaÑa) from the merchandise of China, having secured in their hands the entire commerce of these islands, since that of Yndia and Japon failed. His Lordship, having handsomely entertained the ambassador, dismissed him, with letters for the prince and the mandarins; and we here remain in peace, affairs settled as they were before, and the fear [removed] that an enemy so powerful and at our very gates must occasion us.