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. 13]

1604-I605] AUGUSTINIANS TO FELIPE III

305

our Lord God, and the loss to our order and the disservice of your Majesty and of your Majesty's holy
zeal, and because your Majesty's directions are not
fulfilled. May your Majesty be pleased to put an
end to all this by exercising your authority and sending as promptly as possible an inspector from the
province of Castilla, accompanied by religious like
himself. Such a one may amend this and take these
two religious from here, depriving them of the titles
of which they have made so bad a use. I beseech
your Majesty to pardon my boldness in having dwelt
so long on this matter. I may have failed, in my
manner of writing, to observe the respect and form
due to my king and lord, but I believe that I have
not been at fault in purpose or zeal. I am now
occupied in the service of your Majesty as chief
chaplain and vicar of the galleys and fleets of your
Majesty in these kingdoms, upon the important expedition which is now being made." In this and in
all things I am the meanest servant and vassal of your
44 The enterprise here mentioned was an attempt to regain possession of the Maluco Islands, which had just been seized by the
Dutch. In June, i605, arrived at Manila the commandant of the
Portuguese fort at Tidore, with some of his soldiers, accompanied
by three Jesuits and many native Christians-all of whom had
been expelled from Amboyna and Tidore by the Dutch. At the
same time came a reinforcement of a thousand troops from Spain;
and Acufia resolved, with this aid, to prepare an expedition for the
recovery of the Spice Islands. In February, I606, a powerful fleet
set out for this purpose, carrying more than one thousand
three hundred Spaniards, who were aided by six hundred Indian
auxiliaries; they were successful, under Acufia's personal command,
in recapturing Amboyna, Tidore, and Terrenate, and carried to
Manila as a prisoner the petty king of the last-named island. See
La Concepci6n's account of this expedition, in Hist. de Philipinas,
iv, pp. 70-93.