An Historical View of the Philippine Islands Volume II Part 5

The Augustine friars still remained prisoners in their convents, although sometimes permitted to leave them, but restricted within the walls of the city. A counter order, however, was very unexpectedly issued, depriving them of that indulgence. It was thought that the English had recourse to this method, to compel them to deliver up the money, which, it was said, they had secreted. Persevering, however, in their firmness, they were accused of a partic.i.p.ation in the plans of the Augustine friars of Pampanga, who favoured the views of Anda, and twelve of them were embarked for Europe, of whom, however, one was liberated at the request of the Archbishop.

The remaining friars being embarked, the English entered the convent, and stripped it of every valuable. They found six thousand dollars in coin in the garden, together with the wrought silver they had hid during the treaty for the million. The reliques of the Saints even were not spared, and were torn down, in order to carry off the cases which contained them. Before the vessels sailed in which the friars were embarked, the British commander determined upon an expedition against Bulacan, in the expectation that this would finally close the undertaking, and enable him to sail for Bombay and England. The convent of Bulacan was in some respect fortified with three small guns and six falconetes, and there were in it some artillerymen, and many Indians with bows and arrows. It was the object of the English, of course, to dislodge these troops, for which purpose a squadron sailed on the 18th of January, 1763, under the command of Captain Eslay, of the grenadiers, who arrived with about six hundred men, ready for action, many of them Chinese, who followed the English. Their intention was to enter the bar of Binoangan, but being prevented by contrary winds, they proceeded to that of Pumarava, close to Malolos. The following day they arrived there, and coasting for two leagues by the marshes they arrived at Malolos, where they effected the landing without any impediment whatever, for the troops which we had there retired precipitately, the Indians to their houses, and the Spaniards to the convent of Calumpit. Whilst the English were marching to Bulacan, Bustos sallied out to reconnoitre them, and seeing they were superior to him in numbers, he returned to the convent, persuading the alcalde mayor and the Franciscan friar who commanded there, to burn the convent and retire; but unable to succeed in his object, he retreated with his people. The English force arriving in sight of the convent, our people did much mischief by means of a cannon loaded with case-shot, which commanded the street, and as the Chinese composed the vanguard, they alone suffered, and that severely. The English commander ordered his field-pieces to be pointed at this gun; and so correct was the aim, that the head of Ybarra, who commanded there, was carried off, which so appalled the Indians, that they fled in a most tumultuous manner; the consequence of which was, that the gates being forced, the enemy entered sword in hand, and an indiscriminate slaughter took place. The alcalde mayor and the Franciscan friar (who was the head of the clergy there) fell in this action, and of two Augustines one escaped, and the other being taken, was, with all the Indians found in the place, delivered up by the English to the Chinese, who murdered them in cold blood, in revenge for the death of their countrymen during the attack. Having got possession of Bulacan, the English commandant despatched the princ.i.p.al part of his force to Manila, remaining with three hundred seapoys only. Bustos and Eslava advanced against him, and though they brought with them eight thousand men, all Indians, six hundred of whom were cavalry, they were not hardy enough to attempt to dislodge him; and they contented themselves with cutting off his communications, and giving him occasional alarms. The English commandant having sent some small parties against them with little effect, he sallied out in person, with the major part of his people, and made our troops run in a most dastardly manner, under the apprehension that he would pursue them to the province of Pampanga; but he did no more than cut down the underwood, which served as an ambush for the Indians, and then returned to the convent.

Bustos, as soon as the English retired, returned to occupy his old position; but from this he was a second time dislodged as shamefully as at first. This kind of warfare, however, was very useful; for the English commander, not daring to advance far, obtained permission from the British council to retire from the position, which he executed in an orderly manner, without any interruption from our people, having first burnt the church and convent of Bulacan.

Admiral Cornish now determined to return to the peninsula, but before his departure, he ordered the remaining two millions to be raised and paid in, threatening to give the city, and its suburbs, up to plunder a second time, if his requisition was not complied with. This gave the Archbishop excessive uneasiness, and he did not rest until he persuaded him to take an order on the treasury of Madrid. Senor Anda, in consequence of the death of the alcalde of Bulacan, appointed Bustos governor of that province, continuing him as his lieutenant-general, and ordering him to raise troops, and teach them the manual exercise, while the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of Manila, with the monks, contributed arms, lead, and other articles of war, exciting, at the same time, desertion from the city, and expecting by all these means to enable Anda to form a respectable body of troops, with which he might confine the English to Manila, and possibly drive them out of it. A French serjeant, named Bretana, favoured much the desertion of the Frenchmen, which the English had brought with them of those they captured in Pondicherry; and he himself having also deserted, Senor Anda made him a captain.

The Spanish regulars, too, who had been made prisoners in Manila, deserted very generally, and at a public entertainment which the English gave, many of them escaped through a small breach in the fort, whilst the attention of the enemy was otherwise engaged.

In order to check this spirit of desertion, Admiral Cornish confined all the Frenchmen, and the Spanish regulars, to the side of the town next the sea, using every precaution in his power to prevent Senor Anda from receiving any succours from the town and its suburbs. In consequence of these precautions, many were caught in the act of absconding, and friars and secular clergy formed a large portion of the number. In that number were Senor Viana, the fiscal, and Senor Villa Corta. This latter, whilst a prisoner, very incautiously wrote to Senor Anda, and gave a man fifty dollars to convey the letter. The guard intercepted the money and letter; and a council of war was held on him, which sentenced him to be hanged, and his four quarters to be exhibited in the public places. Having accordingly confessed, and prepared himself for his fate, the Archbishop obtained his pardon, on condition that Senor Anda would retire from Pampanga to another province. The Archbishop and Villa Corta wrote to Senor Anda, supplicating him to accede to the proposal of the English, in order that that magistrate might be saved from the ignominious death which awaited him. He replied to Villa Corta, lamenting his situation, but refusing to accede to his application. To the Archbishop his letter was of so shameful a nature, that the English having perused it, ordered it to be burnt by the common hangman, not permitting the Archbishop to read it.

This mode of saving Villa Corta's life having failed, he availed himself of other means, and for three thousand dollars paid down, the sentence p.r.o.nounced against him was remitted.

During these transactions in Manila, the commanding officer of Pasig (Backhouse) had gone to the provinces of the Lake and Batangas, in order to intercept the money of the Philipino, which, it was said, was on its way thither. He left his position on the Pasig with eighty mixed troops, arrived at the bar of Tagui, and removing the sampans (which our people had grounded on the bar to prevent his pa.s.sage), he entered the Great Lake, and proceeded to Tunasan; from whence dislodging the troops which had fortified themselves in the government-house, he plundered it of every thing. He did the same in Binan and Santa Rosa, where he embarked for Pagsanhan, the capital of the province of the Lake. As soon as our people perceived him, they set fire to the church and convent, and took precipitately to flight. Backhouse returned to Calamba, and entering the province of Batangas, he traversed it completely, making prisoners of some Augustine friars, who had the direction of that province; and in the town of Lipa he got possession of three thousand dollars, which some Spaniards had secreted there. In this town he took up his quarters, in expectation of the money being landed from the Philipino; but he shortly after understood that it had been secretly ordered away by sea to the opposite coast of Santor, a town of Pampanga, by which precaution the money was saved; and Backhouse, being woefully disappointed of his booty, returned to Pasig. Senor Anda, by the possession of the Philipino's money, was enabled to collect a respectable force; all the Spaniards who had retired from Manila, and lived in misery, enlisting under his banners, to procure pay and subsistence. This force being appointed and rendered effective, he ordered his Lieutenant-General, Bustos, to form a camp at Malinta, a house belonging to the Augustine friars, a league and a half from Manila. The officers took up their quarters in the house, and the soldiers pitched their tents around. This disposition of the encampment being made, to strengthen it some redoubts and palisadoes were constructed by the Serjeant Bretana, who had been promoted to a company, and was apparently the most intelligent of the whole of them. From this place our people made excursions to the outskirts of Manila, and on one occasion they took the horses from the coach belonging to a dignified clergyman. On another occasion, the English commander himself had nearly been taken by them. One night Bustos sent a piquet guard to get possession of the bells of the town of Quiapo, close to the walls of Manila, in order to be cast into cannon, which were much wanted; and so alarmed were the English, that they sent out one hundred fusileers, and fifty horse, with an immense number of Chinese; but notwithstanding this, after an action of an hour and a half, the piquet succeeded in bringing off the bells. The English finding themselves very weak, and rather alarmed at these incursions of the troops of Malinta, called in all the piquets which were without the city, and dug ditches, in order to cut off the communication, and have a less extended line to cover; and in a manifesto which they published, ordering the Spaniards to retire within the walls of the city, out of the range of the artillery, which they were obliged to keep playing against these Malinta troops, to prevent their surrounding them, they bestowed on these troops the appellations of canaille and robbers.

On the 19th of May, 1763, Senor Anda published in Bacolor a counter-manifesto, in which he complains that the English put the guns they took in Bulacan under the gallows, in contempt of the magistrate from whom they had taken them; that they called the King's troops robbers and canaille; that they had promised five thousand dollars for his head, dead or alive; and in consequence of all this, he declared Drake and his colleagues, Smith and Brock, tyrants, common enemies, and unworthy of human society, offering for either of them, alive or dead, ten thousand dollars. The English council replied to all these charges in a manifesto, in which they complain of the conduct of the Spaniards; but as a paper war was of little avail in furnishing them with the provisions they were deprived of by the interruption occasioned by the Malinta troops, they resolved to dislodge Bustos, and with the greatest secrecy despatched three hundred and fifty fusileers, fifty horse, together with a great number of Chinese, to convey the necessary guns and ammunition. The English made this sortie on the 27th of June, and arrived at the river, in front of our post, before day-break. As soon as our people discovered them they began to form, but before we were prepared the fire with their field-pieces commenced, the Spaniards answering with five small guns, followed up by the musketry; but neither daring to pa.s.s the river, they were expending their powder to no purpose until eleven o'clock, when the English retired in good order to the King's house at Maysilo, where they remained until it was understood that Bustos had burnt Malinta house, and removed his camp to Meycavayan. They then retired into Manila in the evening. On our side we had two killed and seven wounded, of which five afterwards died; and of the enemy there were thirteen wounded, of which five or six died afterwards in the hospital. The Indians of Caloocan intercepted some people conveying provisions to the English camp; and another party of Indians made prisoners a party of Chinese, who had strayed for the purpose of plunder. These were the last actions of this war, for on the 23d of July an English frigate arrived with the preliminaries of peace, and a cessation of hostilities of course took place.

CHAPTER XVI.

Of the internal Commotions raised by the Indians and Chinese during the War.

The provinces of Tondo and Cavite, during the war, were in general in a state of tranquillity, submitting patiently to the law of the strongest, but still retaining their bias to the King of Spain. Notwithstanding which, however, many robberies and irregularities occurred, and even murders were perpetrated; for those who had been released so imprudently from prison by the English, joining with others who had been thrown out of employment, or whose inclinations led that way under the shelter of such a convulsed period, committed great atrocities, with impunity, on such Spaniards and Mestees as had quitted Manila, and were scattered about the towns and country; and these disturbances at last attained such a height, that regular parties were formed, which infested the highways, and plundered the estates, even murdering, in some instances, the poor ignorant peasantry, till eventually this cla.s.s of people, wearied out by such attacks, abandoned their farms, leaving their cattle and effects in the power of these wretches.

In the province of Batangas, one of the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of the town of San Pablo collecting a body of Chinese and Indians, murdered the friar, in revenge for some supposed injury. Even the commandant of the troops in the town of Rosario, having collected some of those whom the English had liberated from prison, satiated his fury on the resident minister, (who had complained that he was not allowed the number of servants which the King ordered) by setting fire to his house in the first instance, and murdering him in the act of escaping from the flames.

Another party in this province was commanded by a mulatto, who styled himself a King. His first attack was on Liyan estate, belonging to the Jesuits, upon which were some Spaniards and monks, who made terms with him on his granting them their lives, and delivered up the house to be plundered. Some of his people went to rob the prior of Tanavan, who was an Augustine, and had retired to the granary in order to avoid the English; but finding on him only two rials, they murdered him in a most cruel and wanton manner.

In the province of Lake Bay the Indians made many attacks on the Spaniards, who had retired to that country, particularly on the alcalde mayor, with whom they had before been on very bad terms, and on the monks, because they had favoured the conveyance of the money to Manila, which the Franciscan friars remitted to Senor Anda. The Archbishop issued an order, in which he desired that if the English went into that quarter they might be well treated, and not to make any resistance to them, as, by that conduct, less mischief would be done. The alcalde sent this order over the mountains to Pagsanhan, but the officer commanding there issued a counter-order to that of the alcalde, designating him as a traitor, who wanted to deliver up the province to the English. The alcalde being informed of this, contrived to put him in confinement, and had him publicly whipped under the gallows. This enraged the Indians, and collecting in considerable numbers, they attacked and ill treated the alcalde's family; they killed his cousin, his son in law, and a German who lived with him, and they took the alcalde himself to the gallows, where, after flogging him most cruelly, they stabbed him to death.

The aggressors presented themselves before Senor Anda, suing for pardon for this offence; and he not deeming this a proper season to show due severity, let the matter pa.s.s unnoticed.

The provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga firmly adhered to their allegiance, and, indeed, were the only districts on which the Spaniards could place reliance, although there were not wanting some malicious spirits, who, taking advantage of the times, by menaces extorted money, robbed and plundered the estates, and even murdered a poor Dominican, who resided at Pandi. These, however, were the crimes of individuals, and not chargeable on the body of the people: it may therefore be said, that these provinces, which were in the immediate neighbourhood of Manila, were tranquil, and preserved their allegiance to the Spaniards.

Although the Senor Arandia had sent away all the Pagan Chinese, others replaced them after his death, and the augmentation of their numbers which took place in three years was incredible. There were besides many Chinese Christians in Parian, and scattered over the provinces, and almost all of them declared for the English. The moment they took possession of Manila, these Chinese gave them every aid, and accompanied them in all their expeditions. They had it, indeed, in contemplation to make a general rising, which would have caused much bloodshed had it not been discovered in time, for it was their plan to murder Senor Anda and all his people in Bacolor church, on Christmas eve, 1762; and by committing every description of outrage in the churches that same night, they expected to render the Spaniards incapable of resisting the English, with whom they had a secret understanding.

The authors of this most atrocious scheme were the Chinese of the town of Uava, in the province of Pampanga, where many of that nation had fixed their residence, and fabricated a species of cannon which they made of large cane, well tied together with tarred rushes, and which bore two or three discharges. They deceived the officiating clergyman of the town, telling him they were preparing all those things against the English, but Senor Anda had his suspicions of them. In this state of things a poor simple Chinese, who was going to marry an Indian of a village, called Mexico, advised Senor Anda not to go to ma.s.s, and in the end discovered all the plot. The Indian girl likewise made a full discovery to the Augustine curate of that town, and he communicated her story to Anda, who went to Uava with some troops on the 23d of December.

The Chinese went out to meet him in two detachments, with their cane guns, by a discharge of which one of his people was killed; the Spaniards returned the fire, and obliged the Chinese to retire to the convent. Senor Anda sent a Spaniard to propose an amicable arrangement with them, but, blind and obstinate in their rebellion, they refused it. Our people then advanced, seeing they must have recourse to arms, and made an immense carnage among them; many of them likewise were taken alive, and hanged next day in Bacolor. Senor Anda gave orders that those who escaped should be tried for their conduct, in whatever part they were found; but having found some letters which proved that they had an understanding with those of Parian on the subject of these commotions, he ordered that all the Chinese in the islands should be hanged, which orders were put in execution very generally, but where the order had been disregarded, he readily overlooked the omission.

In the province of Cagayan the disturbances had commenced as soon as the capture of Manila was known, and in the town of Yligan, the Indians, whom we call Timavas, had flogged the commandant of the place. They presented themselves to the chiefs, who were appointed receivers of the royal revenue, declaring themselves no longer tributary to the Spanish government: other towns followed their example, and the rebellion thus gained ground. The chiefs called in the aid of the infidel Indians, and some skirmishes took place; but not being able to succeed in reducing the insurgents to submission, they applied to the fountain head, imploring the a.s.sistance of the Spaniards. Don Manuel de Arza had just arrived in the province with the t.i.tle of Captain-general of the three provinces of Cagayan, Ylocos, and Pangasinan (the two latter being likewise in a state of insurrection); and collecting a number of loyal Indians and some Spaniards, he overpowered the rebels, hanged the ringleaders, and restored tranquillity in the province. His presence being no longer necessary in Cagayan, he went to Ylocos, where sedition had taken a still deeper root. Diego de Silang, an Indian, very quick and artful, and who being a native of Manila, spoke the Spanish language well, began to revolutionize this province, by telling his countrymen, that in order to maintain the Catholic faith, and to preserve the country in obedience to the King, it was requisite to join together and arm against the Spaniards, and deliver them up to the English, against whom they had no means of resistance. These specious arguments made an impression on the minds of the chiefs, and many plebeians, particularly those of Bigan, which is the capital of the province, and residence of the Bishop. The seduced Indians presented themselves armed, and demanded that the Alcalde should give up the staff of government, and deposit it in the hands of the Vicar-general. The majority advised the Alcalde to defend himself against this attack; but instigated by his fears, or swayed by the opinion of injudicious friends, he resigned the command to the Vicar-general, and with no inconsiderable share of hazard of his life, effected his escape from the province. Emboldened by their success in this instance, the rebels demanded of the Bishop elect, Senor Ustariz, a Dominican, an exemption from the tribute, declaring that they acted justifiable in deposing the Alcalde. The Bishop pledged himself to lay before Senor Anda a favourable representation of their claims; but Silang being determined on acquiring the command, and little satisfied with what he had done, began to collect troops for more extensive operations.

The house of the Vicar-general was too well fortified for the rebels to attack it, but they presented themselves armed on the hills in the vicinity. The Vicar-general ordered the loyal Indians to a.s.semble at Bigan, armed and accoutred, from whence the whole sallied out, and surprising the rebels, they took some of them; but discontinuing the action too soon, and separating in their usual unsoldier-like manner, they thus gave the rebels an opportunity to rally, and a day or two after they set fire to and burnt down part of the city. The Indians from the south, who came to the defence of the town, seeing it in flames, returned, as did those of the north, by which means the rebels were enabled to take possession of the Vicar-general's house, and the arms it contained.

Silang, rendered vain by these successes, despatched emissaries towards the north, who, raising all the native towns, committed many robberies and atrocities, directing their vengeance in particular against some of the chiefs and Augustine friars, insisting on its having been their fault that the tribute had not been abolished; but in the end their avarice prevailed, and they agreed to accept a consideration in money by way of ransom for their lives. The authority of Silang being acknowledged by the towns of the north, his emissaries proceeded to those of the south, directing each of them to name a chief as their representative, who was ordered to Bigan, where their powers were to be ratified. By this means he levied considerable sums of money. In a few days he found himself master of the whole province, and he appointed Jesus of Nazareth to be Captain-general of it, he himself a.s.suming the t.i.tle of his Alcalde Mayor for the protection of the Catholic religion, and of the dominions of the King of Spain. He published a manifesto, which breathed the true spirit of Christianity; always wore his rosary; and obliged the Indians to hear ma.s.s, ordering them to confess, and to take care that the children went regularly to school. In the midst of all the sepious actions, he, by means of his emissaries, robbed the estates of cattle, and obliged the proprietors to ransom their lives with money: he levied a sum of one hundred dollars from every friar, but reduced the fine to eighty dollars, on the pet.i.tion of one of them who had formerly done him favours. Under the pretext of defending the province from the English, he had centinels placed in all directions, with a view to prevent information being conveyed to Senor Anda of what pa.s.sed. An Augustine friar, however, contrived to forward a despatch to that effect; but Senor Anda having scarcely troops enough to defend himself, merely sent an order to Silang to present himself at Bacolor in nine days, to give an account of his conduct, under the penalty of being considered as a traitor, and arrested, for which purpose he threatened to send a force to Pampanga, if necessary.

This order was published, accompanied by many vague reports that the Spaniards were coming against Ylocos; in consequence of which, and the friars refusing to grant absolution to the rebels, many of them deserted from Silang, particularly those of the northern towns, and on this account many of the clergy were made prisoners and conducted to Bigan, although Silang very soon liberated them; for he still affected to respect the Catholic religion, whereby he deceived the clergy, and many Indians who put confidence in him. This rebel had sent to Manila, as a present to the English, two junks, loaded with various effects, which he had plundered in the provinces. A letter accompanied this present, in which he acknowledged the King of Great Britain to be his legitimate Sovereign, and offered to deliver up the province to them. The English government sent a vessel bearing despatches, and a present to Silang, and conferred on him the t.i.tle of Alcalde Mayor, which he directly made public, to the great regret of the Indians, who had urged him to deliver them from the English, and now saw themselves subjected to them under the orders of the despot, Diego Silang, who exacted from them contributions, and subjected them to more vexations than they ever suffered before; at the same time that they no longer dared to express their sentiments. As the chief magistrate of the English, and in their name, he ordered some soldiers whom he had raised from the mountaineers of other provinces, who had taken refuge at Ylocos, to make all the friars prisoners; and that there might be no resistance on the part of the towns, he promised them that the English should send them other clergy to administer the sacrament to them. The monks, who were Augustines, made no resistance, and with all possible despatch joined their Bishop in the convent of Bantay (which is merely a short walk from Bigan), waiting the ultimate determination of the tyrant. The Bishop declared Silang excommunicated; and he, pretending to be sensible of his error, granted permission to some of the clergy to return to their towns; but they had received intelligence of arrangements he had made for murdering them all, and that he was in expectation of the arrival of some infidels from the mountains to execute his wicked designs, for the Indians not only refused to lay their hands on the clergy, but were determined to die with them. They all prepared for death, without further hopes than what arose from the intentions of the princ.i.p.al Indians, who were making dispositions to come to their a.s.sistance; but this was delayed so long, that a Spanish mestizo, named Vicos, presenting himself to the Bishop, said, "Senor, I am going to make an end of that vile Indian; give me your benediction, that I may go and kill the tyrant." He went out of the convent, accompanied by Captain Buecbuee, with a blunderbuss in very bad condition, and reaching the house of Silang, discharged the contents in his side, which caused his immediate death. In consequence of this his party became completely broken and dismayed, and the same evening the bells were set a ringing, and the evening service sung, to the satisfaction of all, and in the midst of exclamations of "Long live the King of Spain!" The Bishop wished to appoint Vicos chief justice, but the latter advised him to name Buecbuee, who had a considerable party, and could therefore the better overawe any ill disposed persons. The friars immediately returned to their towns, and through their persuasions, seconded by the authority of Don Manuel Arza, who had just arrived, they tranquillized such as were in any way discontented. The death of Silang happened the 28th of May, 1763, and he had commenced his rebellion the 14th of December, 1762.

The most obstinate rebellion of the Indians was that in the province of Pangasinan. The sedition broke out at the town of Binalatongan on the 3d of November, 1762, in consequence of the Alcalde Mayor having sent a commission to collect the royal tribute. The news spread over all the towns of the province; a general request was made that the tribute should be remitted, and that the Alcalde Mayor and judges of the different towns should be replaced by others. About the end of November arrived Don Antonio Panelo at Pangasinan, with the t.i.tle of lieutenant-general, and with orders from Senor Anda to confine the Alcalde, who was a creature of the Archbishop, and suspected of tampering with the English, although nothing like this was ever proved. As soon as Panelo arrived, the revolted Indians presented themselves, demanding that the tribute should be abolished, and that the Spaniards should quit the province. The latter were fourteen in number, with muskets and pattereros, and the Dominican friars advised them to defend themselves against this mob; but they were alarmed at their numbers, and abandoning the province, the Indians continued their rebellious proceedings.

The Dominican friars a.s.sembled in the town of Asingan, and wrote to their respective parishioners that they would forsake them if they did not submit to the King of Spain; the result of which was, that the Indians came from all quarters, supplicating them to return to their towns, and promising to go to Pampanga to beg of Senor Anda, an Alcalde Mayor; however, they performed none of their promises, so that our Governor and Captain-general was obliged to send troops to reduce them to subjection. Don Fernando Araya went out with thirty-three Spaniards and four hundred Indian archers; they took with them five hundred cartridges, which was all the ammunition that could be spared, in consequence of the scarcity of that article at Pampanga. These troops arrived in Lent time at the river Bayamban, on the opposite bank of which the enemy had entrenched themselves with some cannon and pattereros. The firing commenced on both sides; our people pa.s.sed over the river, took the entrenchments, and put the Indians to flight, although they were ten thousand in number, and followed them up a short distance; but before they expended all their cartridges they thought proper to retreat, which they did in good order; on our part four Spaniards and four Indians were killed, whose heads the rebels carried off to the towns, where they amused themselves with dancing, according to their custom, and became bolder than ever. The Dominican friars, in endeavouring to escape, often ran the risk of their lives; some were, however, enabled to get away, but those who remained were obliged to refuse the sacrament to the Indians, and for which they intended to murder them, until the voice of the women, as also of those who had not entered into the rebellion by choice, prevailing, it was resolved to spare their lives. To add to all their troubles, those poor friars had the additional regret to find their fidelity suspected, merely because they were not murdered by the Indians. Miserable, indeed, was the situation of the missionaries in those times; if they abandoned their duty they were blamed, because it was said the flame of rebellion became more extended; and if they remained among them, and were not killed by the Indians, out of respect, or because they wanted a confessor in the hour of death, they were deemed accomplices in their crimes.

The Dominican friars completely vindicated their honour by means of their discourses, and by the aid of the Bishop Ustariz, who, having tranquillized the inhabitants of Ylocos, came to give his a.s.sistance in the pacification of the province of Pangasinan. The rebels were in some degree quieted, and, at last, were induced to proceed to Pampanga to solicit an Alcalde Mayor of Senor Anda. They were very kindly received, their former crimes were pardoned, and he gave them Azevedo for their Alcalde, who took possession of his magistracy on the 5th of December, 1763.

Senor Azevedo was not long in discovering that the flame of rebellion was only smothered, and not extinguished; and he gave information to Senor Anda to that effect, requesting him to send a force to keep the deluded in awe. Senor Anda despatched one hundred and eighty men from his camp to Pangasinan, and gave orders to Don Manuel Arza to extirpate the last remains of the rebellion from Ylocos, that he might form a junction with the troops going to Manila under command of Don Pedro Bonardel. As soon as the rebels knew that troops were going from Manila, they a.s.sembled tumultuously in the town of Calasiao, where the Alcalde was with two Spaniards and two Dominican friars in the convent. The Indians besieged them, but they defended themselves with their muskets; and the rebels not daring to make an a.s.sault on the convent, chose the alternative of setting it on fire. The unfortunate party besieged had no other resource but to take refuge on the tower of the church, with the little provisions they could find at hand, where they maintained themselves five days, until our troops learning their unfortunate situation made a forced march to their a.s.sistance, routing the rebels in their way.

Bonardel pursued his march to Lingayen, the capital of the province, and putting every detachment of rebels to flight which came in his way, he fortified that town, and was joined by Don Manuel de Arza with a body of Indians which he brought from Ylocos, both by sea and land. Bonardel leaving the remainder of his people in Lingayen, took fifty men, and went to St. Fabian to liberate the Bishop and some Dominicans, whom the rebels detained as prisoners; he routed them, and although they had possessed themselves of the pa.s.ses, he managed to join the rest of the army.

In the beginning of the year 1764 n.o.body opposed our authority in the towns, the rebels had retired to the mountains, taking with them the friars who were not able to join the Spaniards: each troop of rebels had its particular chief, and the rebellion could not be quelled merely by one battle. It was therefore determined upon to distribute detachments over the country, and subdue it in detail. They proceeded by hanging the leaders of the mutiny as they took them, pardoning the great ma.s.s of their followers; but they were so very obstinate, that although sensible they could offer no resistance, and that it was easy for them to obtain a general amnesty, they still continued in rebellion, nor was it effectually quelled till March, 1765. On our side we lost in this expedition seventy Spaniards, and one hundred and forty Indians, and of the rebels more than ten thousand perished. Many of the rebels too died of hunger, or pa.s.sed over to other provinces, and the first enumeration that was made of the province after the rebellion, it was found that twenty-six thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven persons were deficient of the proper number, composing nearly half the population. All the other provinces of the islands were restored to tranquillity, and maintained in their allegiance to the King of Spain, under the orders of Senor Anda.

CHAPTER XVII.

Of the Restoration of Manila by the English at the Peace, anno 1763.

On the 23d of July, 1763, an English frigate arrived with the armistice which had been agreed on by the powers of Spain, France, and England. In any other part of the world hostilities would have ceased, and the chiefs of the contending parties would have been anxious to exchange reciprocal civility and kindness the moment such intelligence was received; but in the Philippines, such were the misunderstandings which had arisen, that the armistice which in Europe had been carried into effect, was here of no avail. The English commander acknowledged no other governor than the Archbishop, and to him he communicated, in the usual form, the contents of his despatches from his court. The Archbishop transmitted them to Senor Anda, who replied, "That in a matter of such importance and delicacy, the English commander ought immediately to have made him acquainted with it, without the intervention of his Excellency." On the 27th of August, an English vessel arrived with the preliminaries of peace, and the British council directly handed over the despatches to Senor Anda, sealed and directed to the Commander in Chief of his Catholic Majesty's arms; but because the addition of Captain-general of the Philippines was omitted, he would not receive it, observing, that being without the corresponding t.i.tles, it might be doubted whether the despatches were intended for him.

The British commander, to establish the authority of it, published a manifesto on the 19th of September, pointing out the line of conduct he had observed to Senor Anda, in order to procure a cessation of hostilities as soon as he received the preliminaries of peace, and which, he stated, had been forwarded to him by the prime minister, signed by the British and Spanish amba.s.sadors, and he declared Senor Anda responsible for the blood which might be spilled in consequence of the measures he adopted, so contrary to those laws of humanity which had induced the European powers to sheath the sword. Senor Anda replied to this manifes...o...b.. another, published in Bacolor the 28th of September, in which he set forth that he had not been made acquainted with the preliminaries of peace in due form; that as Governor he had not been treated as such, but in that character he should answer the English manifesto, by protesting that the continuation of hostilities could not be imputed to him, but to those who, pursuing a line of conduct little conformable to the orders of their sovereign, had indirectly impeded their execution.

From this moment, however, the English allowed greater lat.i.tude to the prisoners in Manila; and Senor Villa Corta, who was considered in that light, availed himself of the indulgence to conceal himself in the house of Don Tomas Dorado, from whence he escaped in a coach under a female dress, and embarked for Pampanga. Senor Anda received him with great affability; and as a mark of his friendship and affection, he left him in Bacolor to transact some matters of business for him, and departed for the camp, in order to transfer it to the town of Polo from Maycavayan, where he had taken up his quarters since the battle of Malinta. In his absence the Archbishop being taken ill, the question was agitated who should be Governor in the event of his death, and Senor Villa Corta observed, that he thought it fell to him, as being senior Oidor. This conversation was not so secret but Senor Anda became acquainted with it, and without waiting to remove his camp to Polo, he left proper instructions, and returning to Bacolor he retorted on Villa Corta, who endeavoured to exculpate himself, by pleading that it was merely conversation, and undeserving serious notice: his enquiries and solicitude terminated in discovering that Senor Galban and the royal fiscal were of opinion that Senor Ustariz, Bishop of New Segovia or Ylocos, ought to succeed to the government, in case of the death of the Archbishop, conformable to the recent orders of his Majesty. Senor Anda was anxious to obtain the opinions of the various parties in the islands, and consulted Senor Matos, Bishop of Camarines, and the provincial clergy on the subject. Senor Matos returned him for answer, that the subject was quite foreign to his profession, and that it was the province of the Royal Audience to decide the point, and that he, as a good subject, should acquiesce in that decision. The provincial friars of St. Augustine and St. Domingo answered him in nearly the same terms; but the provincial of the Jesuits and the Franciscans told him, that in the then situation of the islands he alone could preserve the public tranquillity, and on that account he ought to retain the supreme authority. This diversity of opinion was not very gratifying to Senor Anda, and although the troops were in his favour, he was by no means desirous of having recourse to violence. This induced him to submit so far as to take the opinion of the British commander, and he accordingly wrote to him from Bacolor the 2d of November, 1763.

Major Fell, who commanded the English troops, had at this time quitted his command, with the view of proceeding to London, to complain of certain proceedings respecting Monsieur Faller, who was ordered for execution by Admiral Cornish, on account of letters written by him to the commandant at Batavia, in which he termed the admiral a pirate and robber. Governor Drake protected him, and kept him in the hall of the Royal Audience. Fell demanded him, and the Governor refusing to deliver him up, Fell took with him a file of grenadiers, and repaired to the palace. Ascending the staircase, he met the Governor coming down, when an altercation took place, and Fell s.n.a.t.c.hing a fusee from a grenadier, was in the act of bayoneting the Governor, when one of his own soldiers prevented him, and took the musket from him. During this disturbance on the staircase, the grenadiers went to the hall of the Royal Audience, took Faller, and carried him on board ship. Major Fell, in consequence of this, embarked for London, in order to complain of the Governor, and Don Thomas Backhouse took the command. To him it was that Senor Anda wrote, complaining bitterly of the vexations which the English soldiers had given to his soldiers, and finished by observing, that if he meant to write, he must address him by the t.i.tles and in the style due to his rank. Backhouse replied by disclaiming the ground of his complaints, as they referred to a period when he had not the command; and in regard to the government of the islands, he pleaded ignorance of our statutes and laws, but he said he saw, with great grief, strong symptoms of civil war, which threatened the desolation of Manila as soon as evacuated by his Britannic Majesty's troops. Senor Anda well knew that the English would not acknowledge any other Governor than the Archbishop, and began to spread suspicions that the preliminaries of peace were forged by the English Governor, who found himself driven to extremity by the incursions our people made from the camp of Polo, and which occasioned a scarcity of provisions in Manila.

The English adhering to the resolution of committing no act of hostility, and keeping on the defensive, only endeavoured to procure their provisions in the provinces. With this view they sent to the province of Batan a sloop, with a very few people, to the town of Orion, and taking refuge in the convent, they purchased what provisions they wanted. Senor Anda hearing of this, sent troops against them: the Indians a.s.saulted them through the kitchen, and surprised them, but they saved themselves in the sloop by the negligence of the officer who commanded, and who arrived too late with the rest of the people. In the river Pasig also our people made them abandon two vessels which were going to the Lake for provisions, and they took a galley from the very door of the store-houses. In this manner did the two nations continue their hostilities until the 30th of January, 1764. On this day the Archbishop died, oppressed in mind by the miseries he saw the people suffer, and the many inquietudes his employment occasioned him at a moment of such calamity. His Excellency was guilty of only one material error during this war, and that was his engagement to pay four millions to the English, and deliver up the islands to them. It would have been better to have surrendered at discretion than with conditions so hard, and out of his power to comply with: it must be remembered, however, in his justification, that he granted them with the bayonet at his breast, and that the Spaniards who were with him signed the same terms.

Immediately after the funeral of the Bishop, Senor Anda received despatches, by way of China, from his Catholic Majesty, communicating the conclusion of peace with the English, to his Governor at Manila; he informed the English commandant of it, offering a suspension of hostilities, and requesting them to take measures for delivering up the place. The English a.s.sented to this, and sent to the town of Tambobon the chief engineer, Stevenson, accompanied by Don Edward Vogan as an interpreter, who had been at St. Joseph's College, and returned to the islands with this expedition as a pilot or guide. On our side was appointed Don Francisco Salgado, with his interpreter, Don Geronimo Ramirez. Their respective powers being produced, they entered on the negociation; but all was reduced to mere squabbling, Salgado exaggerating our strength, which, he said, was equal to the capture of Manila, to which the English officer very archly replied, by asking why they did not take the fort on the Pasig, which was scarcely in a state of defence? Nine days were thus wasted, and nothing concluded on. While under these circ.u.mstances, an English vessel arrived, with orders to evacuate the place, and the negociation ceased. This occurrence served to revive the old disputes relative to the succession to the government, and receiving the place from the English. Senor Villa Corta had his supporters, and Senor Ustariz, who had the greatest right, did not want for partizans. Senor Anda had in his favour the circ.u.mstance of having defended the islands, and having prevented the English from advancing to the northern provinces; and, above all, he commanded the troops, who were attached to him, and this served to check the pretensions of the others. Most fortunately, at this time, arrived at Marinduque, in the Santa Rosa frigate, Don Francisco de la Torre, despatched by the Viceroy of Mexico as the King's Lieutenant. Senor Anda sent him a galley, on board of which he embarked and came to Bacolor, where Senor Anda, with much honour and disinterestedness, resigned the government into his hands, conformable to his Sovereign's orders, on the 17th of March, 1764.

Senor Torre sent to Backhouse and Brereton, his Britannic Majesty's commanding officers at Manila, the despatches, by which he ordered the evacuation of Manila, and they replied, that they were ready to deliver up the place to him in form. He took possession of a house in Santa Cruz, placed a Spanish guard, with advanced centinels, as far as the great bridge, where the advanced guard of the English was, and a friendly communication took place. Governor Drake felt hurt that he had not been consulted on these proceedings, and ordered the Spanish Governor to retire, or abide the consequences. Brereton and Backhouse ordered the troops under arms to arrest the Governor for sending such a hostile message, as the sincerity of both parties was unquestionable. Drake heard of it, and escaping from the city with his suite, embarked on board the frigate and put to sea.

The terms were concluded in an amicable manner, and the day was fixed for giving possession of the place, for which purpose Senor Anda came with the troops which he had in Polo; and Senor Torre being indisposed, he received the town from the English, placed the Spanish guards at the gates, and hoisted the Spanish flag on the fort of Sant Jago, in the midst of salutes of artillery.

The English commander, before he quitted Manila, published a manifesto, in which he desired any person who had cause of complaint against the late government to apply to him, and he would do him justice. Senor Villa Corta presented himself, and demanded the repayment of the three thousand dollars he had paid, to redeem the sentence of death pa.s.sed on him. Brereton ordered them to be returned, observing, that if the sentence was just, it ought to have been put in execution, and not be commuted for money; and if unjust, the rest.i.tution of the sum was highly proper. The provincial of the Jesuits claimed a sloop which Governor Drake had requested of him, and which he had given gratuitously for the service of the King of Great Britain; but the Governor having appropriated it to his own use, he now requested it might be returned, or four thousand dollars paid for it, which was the sum it was valued at. This was immediately paid him: various other demands were made of less magnitude, which Brereton satisfied with justice and equity.

At the instance of the English chiefs, our government published a manifesto, in which a pardon was granted to the Chinese who had joined their party, although some of the ringleaders, not confiding in the manifesto, went away with the English, as did also Faller and Orandain, who were under apprehensions, if they remained in Manila, that they would be beheaded as traitors. Orandain, in his retreat, pa.s.sed over to Tonquin, and having landed, the natives rose on him, in consequence of some excesses which had been committed by the sailors: they attacked him, and being unable to gain the boats in consequence of waiting for his daughter, whom he had married to an Englishman, and who was on sh.o.r.e with him, both he and his daughter were murdered, thus atoning for the crimes with which he was charged.

Manila, Cavite, and Pasig, being delivered up, Brereton embarked and went to Mariveles, where the transport ships were waiting for him; and having despatched a packet-boat with the King of Jolo to restore him to his throne, he set sail for India.