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. 40]

52 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 40 eral of this archbishopric entrusted the visit and examination of those books in the year one thousand six hundred and nine, for the purpose of preventing errors. That was a holy proceeding, and one that was very proper among so new Christians. The Filipinos easily accustom themselves to the Spanish letters and method of writing. They are greatly benefited thereby, for many of them write now just like us, because of their cleverness and quickness in imitating any letter or design, and in the doing of anything with the hands. There are some of them who commonly serve as clerks in the public accountancies and secretaryships of the kingdom. We have known some so capable that they have deserved to become officials in those posts, and perhaps to supply those offices ad interim. They also are a great help to students in making clean copies of their rough drafts, not only in Romance but also in Latin, for there are already some of them who have learned that language. Finally, they are the printers in the two printing-houses in this city of Manila; and they are entirely competent in that work, in which their skill and ability are very evident. 94. Coming now to the other point, that of their languages, there are many of these. For in this island of Manila alone there are six of them, which correspond to the number of the provinces or civilized nations; the Tagalog, Pampanga, Camarines (or Visayan), Cagayan, and those of the Ilocans and Pangasinans. These are the civilized nations. We do not yet know the number of the nations of the has an unpublished MS. history by Pedro Chirino, probably a copy of the one mentioned by Colin.

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Title
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. 40]
Author
Blair, Emma Helen, 1851-1911.
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Page 52
Publication
Cleveland, Ohio,: The A. H. Clark company,
1903-09.
Subject terms
Missions -- Philippines
Demarcation line of Alexander VI
Philippines -- History -- Sources
Philippines -- Discovery and exploration

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"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. 40]." In the digital collection The United States and its Territories, 1870 - 1925: The Age of Imperialism. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.040. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 22, 2025.
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