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. 12]

I4

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. 12

amount of trade to Peru, government custom-houses
at Acapulco and Manila, etc. A letter from Morga
(December i, 1602) informs the king that Governor
Acufia has aided the expedition sent from India to
seize Maluco; and that some of the trading ships sent
to Nueva Espafna have returned without crossing the
ocean, after great losses by storms, and having risked
seizure on the Japanese coast.
In May, I603, three Chinese mandarins visit Manila. Salazar y Salcedo, the fiscal, informs the king
of this, and sends him a translation of the letter presented by the mandarins to the governor (in which
they explain that they have come in search of a mountain of gold, of which report had reached them);
also a copy of the complaint made by the fiscal to the
Audiencia regarding the manner in which these mandarins have administered justice, according to their
own usages, to the Chinese residing in Manila. The
governor forbids them to continue such procedure,
and takes measures to fortify the city against possible
Chinese invasion.
Fray Miguel de Benavides resigns his bishopric
(July 4), to become archbishop of Manila. On the
next day he reports to the king his arrival at Manila,
and the present condition of affairs in the islands,
which is very disheartening. The Mindanao pirates
have ravaged the coasts, and carried away many captives. The richest part of the city, including the
merchandise stored in the warehouses, has been destroyed by fire; and the ships from Mexico arrived
too late for the merchants to ship goods thither this
year. The people are full of anxiety over a possible
war with the Chinese; and the archbishop deprecates
the laxity of the royal officials in allowing so many