The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 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, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 36]

I649-I666]

PREFACE

I7

tween them and the maintenance of their trade. Our
writer gives an interesting sketch of Kue-sing's career, especially of his conquest of Formosa (I660 -61), the first occasion when Chinese had defeated a
European nation in war. The death of this formidable enemy relieves the fears of the Manila colony;
and the authorities decide to allow a moderate number of Chinese to reside in the islands, since their
services are so necessary to the Spaniards.
Governor Salcedo sends to a friend (July I6,
I664) some account of the affairs of the colony at his
arrival in the islands - the treasury almost empty,
the soldiers unpaid, commerce paralyzed, and the
natives "irritated by cruel punishments." He takes
vigorous measures, at once, to improve the condition
of the colony.
An unsigned document (I666?) gives the reasons
why the civil authorities have not executed the royal
decrees subjecting the Philippine friars in charge of
parishes to the episcopal visitation. Apparently
written by a friar, it gives the reasons why the missions must be administered by the religious orders
rather than by secular priests, and why the friars ask
that they be not placed under the episcopal authority. They allege that there are still many heathen
and Mahometans to be converted, throughout the
islands; that the missions are full of hardship; that
the courage and strict observance of the religious
would grow lax under diocesan supervision; and
that the most able of them would not consent to such
subjection. Difficulties, also, must necessarily arise
in the attempt of a religious to obey his superiors
when these are both religious and ecclesiastical, and
from interference by the civil authorities. All sorts