The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 48, 1751-1765

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 48, 1751-1765 - Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

The contents of the present volume (dated 175165) include accounts of the missionary efforts of the Augustinian and Dominican orders, and events in Filipinas from 1739 to the beginning of the English invasion; and the survey of the condition and needs of the islands which is presented in the memorial by the royal fiscal Viana. A valuable feature in the missionary reports is the ethnological information furnished therein regarding the savage tribes of Central Luzn; and the self-sacrifice and devotion of the missionaries themselves appear in striking contrast with the unscrupulous greed displayed, as one of the short documents shows, in the management of the friar estates near Manila. The times are troublous for the colony: several insurrections occur among the natives, the Acapulco galleon of 1743 is captured by the English, the Moro pirates ravage the archipelago with enormous destruction of life and property, and the Spaniards are defeated by them. Governor Arandia attempts to establish reforms, and thus incurs much odium; he is engaged in numerous controversies, and finally dies. Vianas memorial presents a vivid picture of the distressed condition of the Philippine colony after the English invasion, its urgent need of relief, and the ways in which this may be accomplished. [14] A letter by Fernando VI to the Manila Audiencia (November 7, 1751) expresses his approval of the proceedings of Auditor Enriquez in pacifying the insurgent Indians of certain villages near Manila and in Bulacana revolt caused by the usurpation of Indian lands by the managers of the friar estates, and the fraudulent proceedings of government officials who aided such usurpation. Enriquez had pacified the natives, deprived the friars of such lands as they held illegally, and distributed these among those natives who were aggrieved; he also investigated the titles by which the orders held their estates, and regulated the proper boundaries of their lands. The king also commands the Manila government to exercise vigilant care for the welfare of the Indians, and to notify them that in their difficulties they must have recourse to the royal fiscal for redress or aid. In a rare pamphlet published at Manila in 1755, apparently written by one of the Jesuit missionaries in Leyte, are enumerated various instances when the raids of Moro pirates against the Visayan villages in 1754 are repulsed by the natives, under the direction of their spiritual guides; and one of these, the defense of Palompong, is related at length. An official report (in MS.) made by the Augustinian provincial (1760) shows the parishes and missions then in charge of his order in the Philippines, with the population (classified as to sex, age, etc.) of each one. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 54740
Author: Bourne, Edward Gaylord
Release Date: May 17, 2017
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Blair, Emma Helen, 1851-1911 , Robertson, James Alexander, 1873-1939