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

offered to send a force of soldiers who should protect and defend them from the insolent acts of the
blacks. In order to obtain further security, his Lordship ordered that the [Sangley] ship-captains be
summoned and that a bell be rung to assemble them,
in order to provide for the guard and defense of the
Parian. When they saw the captains enter the city,
they regarded the arguments of their fear as confirmed; and the entire Parian turned out to watch
what was done, all being doubtful of their own courage. Finally, thirty Sangleys from those who were
uneasy, seeing the last captain enter, ran toward the
gate to detain him and laid hands upon him when he
was near the portcullis - either to obtain by this service means to ingratiate themselves with Cot-sen, or
to secure a person who at all events could direct them.
The men stationed at the gate, who saw the haste
with which they approached, seized their arms and
shot down some of the Sangleys. The guard on the
walls suspected them of greater designs; and from
the bulwark of San Gabriel Sargento-mayor Martin
Sanchez, without the order that he should have had
for this, fired two cannon. At the noise of the shots
the people in the Parian, who were in suspense waiting to see how this tragedy would end, without
further delay raised an outcry; and having heard
that all Manila was coming to attack them flung
themselves into the river- those who could, in bancas; most of them held up by some piece of bamboo.
Others, more alarmed, took to swimming, and as
they were confused by fear, went down the current,
and many of them were drowned. The multitude of
bancas hurried to a champan which was about to
depart, which lay outside the bar with only two