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]

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THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. 36

Bishopric of Sebu or Nombre de Jesus
The see of that bishopric is located in the city
called Sebu, as it took that name from that of the
whole island; the Spaniards gave it the name of
Nombre de Jesus. It was so called from the image
of the child Jesus which was found by the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpe in the Indian settlement in the year one thousand five hundred and
sixty-five. It appears that that image was left in that
island in the year one thousand five hundred and
twenty-one, when Hernando de Magallanes (who
died there) arrived at that place. Only one secular
cura lives there, for although dignitaries, consisting
of a dean and the others, have been assigned to Sebu,
they are so only in name; and those dignities are enjoyed by the seculars who have charge of the places
nearest to the said city of Sebu. In that city is
located a convent of calced Augustinian religious,
which was the first convent to be founded in the
said Philipinas Islands. There is a college of the
Society of Jesus, and a convent of discalced Augustinian religious. As far as the secular power is concerned, there is an excellent stone fort with a Spanish
presidio, which is governed by an alcalde-mayor
who generally bears the title of "lieutenant of the
captain-general." There is a cabildo and magistracy, with alcaldes-in-ordinary and regidors. That
island is somewhat prolonged for fifteen or twenty
leguas, and is eight leguas wide. It has a circumference of eighty or ninety leguas, and extends northeast and southwest in ten degrees of latitude.24 The
*: ' city has a Parian or alcaiceria of Chinese who are in
24 The island of Cebui has an area of 1,762 square miles; Bohol,
1,441; 2,722; 5,031; Samar, 5,03I; Negros, 4,881; Bantayan