In this volume is a brief outline of events from the restoration of Manila by the English (1764) to 1800; and a group of documents relating to the more important topics in the first decade of that period. The condition of the islands and their people at that time is well described by the able and patriotic officials Viana and Anda; and the “ordinances of good government” are an important addition to our sources of information regarding the administration of justice in Filipinas. The most important event of that time was the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, although its great significance in Europe was but feebly reflected in those remote colonies.

In a brief summary are noted the leading events in Filipinas from 1764 to 1800. Manila is restored to the Spanish authorities by the English on March 31, 1764; a few months before, Archbishop Rojo had died, in captivity. The brief term of the temporary governor, Torre, contains little that is noteworthy, outside of a controversy between the civil government and the religious orders, occasioned by the imprudent utterances of a Jesuit preacher. In July, 1765, arrives the new governor, JosÉ RaÓn, in whose term occurs the expulsion of the Jesuits from the islands, a matter treated more fully in a later document; he also publishes a revision of the laws compiled earlier by Arandia. The city of Manila first coins small copper money about this time. The old controversy regarding episcopal visitation of the regular curas is revived (1767) by Archbishop Santa Justa y Rufina, and it is complicated by RaÓn’s attempt to enforce the royal rights of patronage; bitter controversies arise, and are carried to the Madrid court.

After the capture of Manila by the English, the Moros had renewed their piracies, and ravaged the entire archipelago, year after year—even entrenching themselves and opening a slave market on MindorÓ Island. Later, an expedition is sent to drive them out of this stronghold, which is successful. In 1770, the patriot Anda returns to Filipinas as its governor; he brings suit against RaÓn and other officials for misconduct in office, which is proved against them; but they and their friends rouse bitter opposition against him, and hinder his labors for the country. Incited by reports of another English invasion, he strengthens the fortifications of Manila Bay. His appointment was unwelcome to the friars, and he makes official remonstrance against the abuses prevalent among them, and calls for corrections of these. Attempting to enforce the royal rights of patronage, all the orders save the Dominicans refuse to obey; but later royal orders (1776) make provision for more gradual secularization of the curacies in Filipinas, and somewhat modify the enforcement of the episcopal visitation—to secure which Santa Justa had convened a provincial council at Manila in 1771, which was afterward disapproved by the king. Difficulties arise with the Moros of JolÓ through the imprudence of an envoy sent thither by Anda, and through the military establishment made by the English on an islet near JolÓ. The Moros seize this fort by treachery (1775) and kill most of the Englishmen in it; this success emboldens the Moros to ravage the Spanish islands again. In the following year the king sends 50,000 pesos to Filipinas for building light vessels to follow up those pirates. The weight of Anda’s official responsibility, and the constant attacks of his enemies, cause his death, October 30, 1776. He is succeeded by Basco y Vargas, an energetic, able, and conscientious officer. The auditors conspire against him, but he arrests them and ships them to Spain; he then devotes himself to the welfare of the country and the development of its resources. He makes all possible efforts to promote agriculture, industries, and commerce; founds the celebrated “Economic Society;” improves the schools, punishes highwaymen, reorganizes the army, and repairs the forts; visits the provinces in person, and informs himself of their condition; places the public revenues on a sound basis; and checks the Moro piracies for a time. Nevertheless, he is disliked and opposed by some of the citizens, and resigns his post as governor (1787); his temporary successor is Pedro Sarrio, who finds it necessary to allow the regular curas to resume their parish charges.

The next proprietary governor, FÉlix Berenguer de Marquina, assumes his office on July 1, 1788. After becoming acquainted with the condition of the islands, he sends to the home government proposals for the reforms which seem desirable for Filipinas. Various events in his term of office are related, but there is little in them of unusual importance. In 1793 he is succeeded by Aguilar. New alarms of another English invasion oblige him to give attention first to the defenses of Manila and the improvement of the army. In the last days of 1796, a powerful Spanish fleet, commanded by Álava, arrives at Manila, sent thither for the defense of the islands in the war with Great Britain, which began in that year. Sailing to attack the English trading-fleet from China, Álava encounters a fierce hurricane, which drives him back to Manila. Endeavoring to improve the navy of the islands, and to reorganize the arsenals, he encounters official corruption and other difficulties, and is involved in long controversies with Aguilar and the royal officials at Manila. In 1797, the Acapulco galleon is wrecked soon after leaving Cavite, through “its commander’s complete ignorance of nautical affairs,” occasioning heavy loss to the citizens of Manila. Álava is compelled, by the continual danger of an attack by the English, to remain near the city for its defense; but he does all in his power to protect its commerce and improve the administration of its navy, and finally returns to Spain in 1803. On August 8, 1806, Aguilar dies, having held his office longer than any other governor before or since.

A detailed statement of the financial affairs of the islands in 1766 is furnished by the royal fiscal at Manila, Francisco Leandro de Viana. He aims to show how the Philippines can be made self-supporting, and even more, by proper retrenchments of expense and by increasing the revenues of government through the abolition of certain privileges and exemptions, the establishment of various monopolies, and, if necessary, the increase of the tributes paid by the natives. This last item produces 250,000 pesos annually; but nearly all of this is paid out for “the spiritual administration” of the Indians, so that, according to Viana, “the religious orders profit by and receive almost all the proceeds from the tributes.” Hence the need of the royal situado each year from Mexico, to pay the civil and military expenses of the government. Viana enumerates the other profits derived from the Indians by the religious who are charged with their spiritual care, and mentions numerous other sources of income which they possess. In short, “all the profit of the islands accrues to the ecclesiastical estate;” the royal treasury is heavily indebted, and cannot meet the enormous expenses; “the provinces are at the mercy of the Moros, and everything is in danger of total ruin, unless suitable remedies are applied in time.”

For this purpose Viana advocates various retrenchments of expenses, especially of those now incurred for the support of the ecclesiastical estate in the islands. He recommends that the exemptions of certain Indian chiefs and church servants from tribute-paying be abolished; that the “barangays” be suppressed, and the native villages reduced to parishes; that changes and reforms be made in the dealings of the provincial alcaldes with the crown; that offices be not sold, but granted as rewards of merit; that certain royal imposts be increased; that some privileges be sold at auction; and that monopolies be established on playing-cards, cock-fighting, and tobacco, not only in Manila but throughout the provinces and islands—to all of which the monopolies on wine and buyo might profitably be extended, which “would produce for the royal treasury enormous sums.” From all these sources, the royal treasury will obtain enough income “to maintain the islands with respectable forces, and to make good the expenses hitherto caused to the royal revenue,” without the necessity of increasing the tribute paid by the natives. But, if this last expedient be deemed necessary, he shows what will be the proceeds from increasing the tribute from ten reals to two, three, and four pesos respectively. The fiscal Viana shows himself to be a capable and honest official; but he evidently must contend with forces and conditions—greed for gain, official corruption, fraud, negligence and waste—that cannot be overcome without entire reform and reorganization of the colonial administration. With all his ability, he nevertheless regards the native peoples, as so many other European officials have done, as legitimate subjects for reckless exploitation; but in the light of modern thought and investigation his proposed expedients seem both short-sighted and ruinous. In some cases they would be diabolical, if their author could have realized what their effects would be, as with the proposed extension of the vicious monopolies (gambling, and the use of tobacco and wine) throughout the islands. He himself says, “Even the boys and girls use the said tobacco before they are old enough to exercise their reason.”

Another document of especial interest is a report by Viana (May 1, 1767) to the king and the Council of the Indias, apparently the final one sent by him as fiscal. The subjects which it chiefly discusses are, the necessity of rendering trade free between the Spaniards and the Indians in the provinces, and that of instructing the natives in the Spanish language. As it is, the Indians seldom understand that language, outside of Manila, and dare not use it in presence of the religious. The latter, Viana says, are absolute despots in the islands, and, to conceal this from the authorities, they keep the natives in ignorance of the Spanish language; and they allow no Spaniard to enter their villages except by special permission of the cura, and for the time of three days only. He complains of their insolence, greed for dominion, disregard of all laws that do not suit their convenience, intrigues to prevent the enforcement of law, and oppression of the natives. These evils are incurable so long as the present mode of secular government continues. The interests of the king and his exchequer, and the government of the provinces, are shamefully neglected; the governor is indolent and covetous, seeks his own profit, and leaves business affairs to his secretary—who in turn neglects those which do not yield him gain. Viana urges that the superintendency of the exchequer be separated from the governor’s office, as a partial remedy for the disorder and neglect which it has suffered; also the surrender of civil government in the provinces to the sole charge of the Audiencia, and the reduction of all the natives into parishes. He describes the intrigues within the orders which attend the appointments therein to the parishes under their charge, and claims that the missions are in consequence rapidly decaying. He renews his complaint of the despotic rule practiced by the friar curas, over both natives and alcaldes; and declares that the only cure for this will be, to subject the curas to episcopal visitation. Viana closes by urging that better governors be sent to the islands.

Further light on the condition of the islands after the English invasion is furnished by a notable memorial to the Spanish government, written by the patriot Anda (April 12, 1768). Far the greater part of this is devoted to the abuses resulting from the arrogance and lawlessness of the friars, with Anda’s recommendations for measures to counteract those abuses; and to his text we add the helpful annotations made thereon by Dr. Pardo de Tavera. The inadequate and defective education furnished by the Manila universities leads Anda to recommend that they be abolished, and replaced by a secular foundation. He complains of the tyranny exerted by the regulars over the secular clergy and over the Indians, their refusal to acknowledge the episcopal authority, their defiance of the secular government, their greed for gain (extorting all they can get from the Indians, although they receive large stipends and contributions from the government, and acquiring large estates, besides engaging in a lucrative trade), their persecutions of any Spaniards who attempt to visit or trade in the Indian villages, their protection of the infidel Chinese, their persistent neglect to teach the Spanish language to the Indians and their holding the latter in ignorance in order to retain their domination over them. The regulars also neglect their spiritual work, do nothing to check the vagrant life of many Indians, tyrannize over the alcaldes, and incite the Indians to hate the Spaniards. Anda urges that they be compelled to submit to episcopal visitation, to give up trade, to cease from meddling with all affairs of secular government, and to teach the Spanish language to the natives; and, if they prove contumacious, that they be expelled from the islands. At the end of the memorial, Anda touches on some other abuses which need correction: the choice of friars as bishops, the mismanagement of the royal storehouses, the undue expense of the Acapulco galleon, the failure to tax the production of gold, and the neglect to subdue the inland tribes of LuzÓn. He advocates the operation of the Philippine mines, revision of the commercial regulations, recoinage of money, reorganization of the colonial government, and more care in selecting the governors of the islands, with the grant to them of more power to correct abuses.

Of decided importance in this series are the ordinances of good government of Corcuera and Cruzat (with later additions), and those of RaÓn (revising those of ArandÍa, of 1768), which were intended for the guidance of alcaldes, corregidors, and other judicial officials. While in actual use they were never of the transcendental importance in executive, legislative, and judicial matters that might be imagined from their context, because they are for the most part merely a record on paper (especially those of RaÓn), and were almost entirely disregarded; yet they are valuable, as they show the Spanish treatment of natives, and reveal social and economic conditions. Although the source from which we translate and synopsize presents first the ordinances of RaÓn, we have preferred to follow the more chronological arrangement, and hence begin with those of Corcuera and Cruzat. The ordinances of Corcuera, which were formulated in 1642, are revised by Cruzat, because such revision is demanded by the changed conditions that have come with the lapse of time. The first thirty-eight are the more valuable portion of these first ordinances, and are the result of the revision of those of Corcuera. They are much more clear-cut than most of the remaining twenty-three ordinances, some of which are vague and full of loopholes. As a whole, these first sixty-one ordinances regulate the conduct of the alcaldes-mayor in their official and private life in all lines—moral, religious, judicial, economic, etc. From them one obtains almost a full glimpse of the life of the times; he sees the canker of graft which was working in and through everything; gains a knowledge of the Spanish treatment of their wards, the natives, from the different standpoints of government paternalism, and individual rapacity, half-contempt, and cruelty of subordinate officials and others; notes the corrective measures that were taken, often halting and inadequate; and above all, is conscious of that peculiar method of Spanish legislation which, while apparently giving subordinate officials a free hand, drew them back to the center by threats of the residencia. The ordinances of RaÓn are ninety-four in number, many of which are repetitions of the foregoing, while some contain amendments and additions, and some again, are new. There is, for instance, considerably more legislation relating to the ecclesiastical estate in these later ordinances, which touch upon certain abuses common among them in their treatment of the natives and in their relations with the government. Less drastic, in many ways, than those of ArandÍa (of which no known copy is extant), they are more drastic than those of Corcuera and Cruzat, in the treatment of both religious and natives. The scheme of government outlined in both sets of ordinances is a simple and in some ways effective one, but its effects were never fully seen, because of the almost total disregard of the measures contained therein.

In 1771, Archbishop de Santa Justa issued instructions to the secular clergy which forcibly indicate the need of many reforms among them, in both their official and their private conduct.

One of the most important events in the history of Filipinas was the expulsion of the Jesuit order therefrom in 1768, an account of which is here presented, prefaced by a brief statement of the expulsion of that order from Spain and its domains, and the causes of that measure; it proves to be the final stroke in the long conflict between the Spanish crown and the popes of Rome over the prerogatives of authority claimed by the former in ecclesiastical matters. The Jesuits had always upheld the principle of authority, as exercised by the Holy See, and were therefore opposed to the claims of the Spanish monarchs; moreover, the ideas of freedom brought from France in that period were already fermenting in Spain, and had great influence in the minds of Carlos III and his ministers; and they saw that the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions would remove the chief obstacles to their designs for governmental reforms and independence of papal interference. In Filipinas this expulsion does not proceed as desired by the Spanish court, with secrecy and promptness; the venal governor (RaÓn) warns the Jesuits of their fate, enabling them to make all preparations for their departure. Legal proceedings are therefore brought against RaÓn and his associates in their residencias, but some of them die before the suits are ended; and Anda, who instituted these by royal order, is nevertheless impeded in every way, and afterward sentenced to heavy fines, through the machinations of his enemies. A decree by the archbishop (November 1, 1769) censures the officious proceeding of an auditor, who seized and prohibited certain books hostile to the Jesuits.

A letter (December 13, 1771) from a Franciscan friar at Manila, relates various ecclesiastical disputes in connection with the diocesan council of 1771.

The Editors

April, 1907.