The Inhabitants of the Philippines Part 61

1665. 19th June, violent and destructive earthquake in Manila.

1669. During the government of Manuel de Leon, further troubles occurred between the archbishop and the Audiencia. The archbishop was banished, and sent by force to Pangasinan. But a new governor, Gabriel de Cruzalegui, arrived, and restored the archbishop, who excommunicated the dean and chapter.

1675. Destructive earthquake in South Luzon and Mindoro.

1683. Great earthquake in Manila.

1689. Archbishop Pardo having died, was succeeded by P. Camacho, and now great disorders arose from his insisting on making the diocesan visit, which the friars refused to receive, and would only be visited by their own Provincial. Again Judge Sierra required the Augustinians and Dominicans to present the t.i.tles of the estates they possessed in virtue of a special commission he had brought from Madrid, which they refused to obey, and the end of the dispute was that Sierra was sent back to Mexico, and another commissioner, a friend of the friars, was appointed, to whom they unofficially exhibited the t.i.tles.

1716. Destructive eruption of the Taal volcano, and violent earthquake in Manila.

1717. Fernando Bustillo Bustamente became governor, and re-established garrisons in Zamboanga and Paragua. He caused various persons who had embezzled the funds of the colony to restore them, imprisoning a corrupt judge. He was a.s.sa.s.sinated by the criminals he had punished, and nothing came of the inquiry into his death.

1735. Earthquake in Baler, and tidal wave.

At this time, the audacity of the Moro pirates was incredible. They ravaged the Visayas and southern Luzon, and carried away the inhabitants by thousands for slaves. The natives began to desert the coast, and take to the interior. Pedro Manuel de Arandia, obeying repeated orders, decreed the expulsion of the Chinese.

1744. Another rising in Bohol, due to the tyranny of a Jesuit priest named Morales. The chief of this rising was a native named Dagohoy, who put the Jesuit to death, and maintained the independence of Bohol, paying no tribute for thirty-five years. When the Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines, Recollets were sent to Bohol, and the natives submitted on receiving a free pardon.

1749. Eruption of the Taal volcano, and earthquake in Manila. The eruption lasted for twenty days.

1754. Violent eruption of the Taal volcano, which began on 15th May, and lasted till the end of November. This was accompanied by earthquakes, an inundation, terrifying electrical discharges, and destructive storms. The ashes darkened the country for miles round, even as far as Manila. When the eruption ceased, the stench was dreadful, and the sea and lake threw up quant.i.ties of dead fish and alligators. A malignant fever burst out, which carried off vast numbers of the population round about the volcano.

1762. A British squadron, with troops from India, arrived in the bay 22nd September, and landed the forces near the powder-magazine of S. Antonio Abad. On the 24th, the city was bombarded. The Spaniards sent out 2000 Pampangos to attack the British, but they were repulsed with great slaughter, and ran away to their own country.

The civil population of Manila were decidedly in favour of resisting to the last drop of the soldiers' blood; but the soldiers were not at all anxious for this. Confusion arose in the city, and whilst recriminations were in progress, the British took the city by a.s.sault, meeting only a half-hearted resistance.

The natives immediately began plundering, and were turned out of the city by General Draper. The Chinese also joined in the robbery, and a few were hanged in consequence. The city was pillaged. The British regiments are said to have behaved well, but the sepoys ravished the women, and killed many natives.

Cavite was about to be surrendered, but as soon as the native troops there knew what was going on, they began at once to plunder the town and a.r.s.enal.

1763. A British expedition sailing in small craft took possession of Malolos on January 19th, 1763. The Augustin and Franciscan friars took arms to defend Bulacan, where two of them were killed in action.

It was said that the Chinese were conspiring to exterminate the Spaniards. Simon de Anda, the chief of the war-party amongst the Spaniards, issued an order that all the Chinese in the Philippines should be hanged, and this order was in a great measure carried out. This was the fourth time the Spaniards and natives exterminated the Chinese in the Philippines.

Peace having been made in Europe, the British evacuated Manila in March, 1774.

In order to satisfy their vanity, and account for the easy victory of the British, the Spaniards made various accusations of treachery against a brave Frenchman named Falles, and a Mexican, Santiago de Orendain. Both those men gallantly led columns of Pampangos against the British lines in the sortie before mentioned. Although the Pampangos, full of presumption, boldly advanced against the British and sepoys, they were no match for disciplined troops led by British officers, and were hurled back at the point of the bayonet. The inevitable defeat and rout was made a pretext for the infamous charges against their leaders. It may be asked, Was there no Spaniard brave enough to lead the sorties, that a Frenchman and a Mexican were obliged to take command?

The Spaniards in this campaign showed themselves more at home in making proclamations, accusations, and intriguing against each other, than in fighting. However, the friars are exempt from this reproach, for Augustinians, Dominicans and Franciscans, fought and died, and shamed the soldiers.

No less than ten Augustinians fell on the field of battle, nineteen were made prisoners, and twelve were banished. The British are said by the Augustinians to have sacked and destroyed fifteen of their conventos, or priests' houses, six houses of their haciendas, and to have sold everything belonging to them in Manila. The Augustinians gave their church bells to be cast into cannon for the defence of the islands.

Spaniards and natives, however, showed great unanimity and enthusiasm in ma.s.sacring or hanging the unwarlike Chinamen, and in pillaging their goods. Nearly all the Chinese in the islands, except those in the parts held by the British, were killed.

During the Anglo-Spanish war there were revolts of the natives in Pangasinan and in Ilocos, then a very large province (it is now divided into four), but both these risings were suppressed. The same happened with a revolt in Cagayan. Disturbances also occurred in many other provinces.

Simon de Anda became Governor-General, and carried out the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Philippines. Great troubles again occurred between the Archbishop and the friars over the diocesan visit.

1766. 20th July, violent eruption of the Mayon volcano.

23rd October, terrible typhoon in Albay, causing enormous destruction of life and property.

1777. Jose Basco y Vargas, a naval officer, came out as Governor-General, and found the country overrun with banditti. He made a war of extermination against them, and then initiated a vigorous campaign against the Moros. He repaired the forts, built numbers of war vessels, and cut up the pirates in many encounters. Basco governed for nearly eleven years.

1784. During the government of Felix Marquina, a naval officer, the Compania de Filipinas was founded to commence a trade between Spain and the Philippines. Marquina was succeeded by Rafael Maria de Aguilar, an army officer, who organized the land and naval forces, and made fierce war on the Moros. He governed the islands for fourteen years.

1787. Violent and destructive earthquake in Panay.

1796. Disastrous earthquake in Manila.

1800. Destructive eruption of the Mayon volcano.

1807. Rebellion in Ilocos.

When the parish priest of Betal, an Augustinian, was preaching to his flock, exhorting them to obedience to their sovereign, a woman stood up in the church and spoke against him, saying that they should not believe him, that his remarks were all humbug, that with the pretence of G.o.d, the Gospel, and the King, the priest merely deceived them, so that the Spaniards might skin them and suck their blood, for the priests were Spaniards like the rest. However, the townsmen declared for the King, and took the field under the leadership of the priest.

1809. The first English commercial house established in Manila.

1811. Rebellion in Ilocos to change the religion, nominating a new G.o.d called Lungao. The leaders of this rebellion entered into negotiations with the Igorrotes and other wild tribes to exterminate the Spaniards, but the conspiracy was discovered and frustrated.

1814. Rebellion in Ilocos and other provinces.

Prisoners released in some towns in Ilocos. This rebellion was in consequence of General Gandaras proclaiming the equality of races, which the Indians interpreted by refusing to pay taxes.

1st February, violent earthquake in south Luzon and destructive eruption of the Mayon volcano. Astonishing electrical discharges.

A discharge of ashes caused five hours' absolute darkness, through which fell showers of red hot stones which completely burnt the towns of Camalig, Cagsana, and Budiao with half of the towns of Albay and Guinchatau, and part of Bulusan.

The darkness caused by the black ashes reached over the whole of Luzon, and even to the coast of China. So loud was the thunder that it was heard in distant parts of the Archipelago.

Great epidemic of cholera in Manila.

1820. Ma.s.sacre of French, English, and Americans in Manila by the natives who plundered their dwellings, after which they proceeded with the fifth ma.s.sacre of the Chinese. They a.s.serted that the Europeans had poisoned the wells and produced the cholera. The ma.s.sacre was due to the villainous behaviour of a Philippine Spaniard named Varela, who was Alcalde of Tondo, equivalent to Governor of Manila, and to the criminal weakness and cowardice of Folgueras the acting governor-general, who abstained from interference until the foreigners had been killed, and only sent out troops when forced by the remonstrances of the friars and other Spaniards.

The archbishop and the friars behaved n.o.bly, for they marched out in procession to the streets of Binondo, and did their best to stop the ma.s.sacre, whilst Folgueras, only attentive to his own safety, remained with the fortifications.

1822. Juan Antonio Martinez took over the government in October. Folgueras having reported unfavourably of the officers of the Philippine army, Martinez brought with him a number of officers of the Peninsular army to replace those who were inefficient.

This caused a mutiny of the Spanish officers of the native army, and they murdered Folgueras in his bed. He thus expiated his cowardice in 1820. The mutiny was, however, suppressed, and Novales and twenty sergeants were shot. Novales' followers had proclaimed him Emperor of the Philippines. The const.i.tution was abolished by Martinez, without causing any rising.

1824. Destructive earthquake in Manila.

Alonzo Morgado appointed by Martinez to be captain of the Marina Sutil, commenced an unrelenting persecution of the piratical Moros, causing them enormous losses.

1828. Another military insurrection, headed by two brothers, officers in the Philippine army.

From this date Peninsular troops were permanently maintained in Manila, which had never been done before.