The Philippine Islands Part 6

For many years after the conquest, deep religious sentiment pervaded the State policy, and not a few of the Governors-General acquired fame for their demonstrations of piety. Nevertheless, the conflictive ambition of the State and Church representatives was a powerful hindrance to the progress of the Colony.

The quarrel between Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera (1635-44) and the Archbishop arose from a circ.u.mstance of little concern to the Colony. The Archbishop ordered a military officer, who had a slave, either to sell or liberate her. The officer, rather than yield to either condition, wished to marry her, but failing to obtain her consent, he stabbed her to death. He thereupon took asylum in a convent, whence he was forcibly removed, and publicly executed in front of Saint Augustine's Church by order of the Governor. The Archbishop protested against the act, which, in those days, was qualified as a violation of sanctuary.

The churches were closed whilst the dispute lasted. The Jesuits, always opposed to the Austin friars, sided with the Governor. The Archbishop therefore prohibited them to preach outside their churches in any public place, under pain of excommunication and 4,000 ducats fine, whilst the other priests agreed to abstain from attending their religious or literary _reunions_. Finally, a religious council was called, but a coalition having been formed against the Archbishop, he was excommunicated--his goods distrained--his salary stopped, and he was suspended in his archiepiscopal functions under a penalty of 4,000 ducats fine. At this crisis, he implored mercy and the intervention of the Supreme Court. The magistrates decided against the prelate's appeal, and allowed him twelve hours to comply, under pain of continued excommunication and a further fine of 1,000 ducats. The Archbishop thereupon retired to the Convent of Saint Francis, where the Governor visited him. The Archbishop subsequently made the most abject submission in an archiepiscopal decree which fully sets forth the admission of his guilt. Such a violent settlement of disputes did not long remain undisturbed, and the Archbishop again sought the first opportunity of opposing the lay authority. In this he can only be excused--if excuse it be--as the upholder of the traditions of cordial discord between the two great factions--Church and State. The Supreme Court, under the presidency of the Governor, resolved therefore to banish the Archbishop from Manila. With this object, 50 soldiers were deputed to seize the prelate, who was secretly forewarned of their coming by his co-conspirators. On their approach he held the Host in his hand, and it is related that the sub-lieutenant sent in charge of the troops was so horrified at his mission that he placed the hilt of his sword upon the floor and fell upon the point, but as the sword bent he did not kill himself. The soldiers waited patiently until the Archbishop was tired out and compelled, by fatigue, to replace the Host on the altar. Then they immediately arrested him, conducted him to a boat under a guard of five men, and landed him on the desert Island of Corregidor. The churches were at once reopened; the Jesuits preached where they chose; terms were dictated to the contumacious Archbishop, who accepted everything unconditionally, and was thereupon permitted to resume his office. The acts of Corcuera were inquired into by his successor, who caused him to be imprisoned for five years; but it is to be presumed that Corcuera was justified in what he did, for on his release and return to Spain, the King rewarded him with the Governorship of the Canary Islands.

It is chronicled that Sabiniano Manrique de Lara (1653-63), who arrived in the galleon _San Francisco Xavier_ with the Archbishop Poblete, refused to disembark until this dignitary had blessed the earth he was going to tread. It was he too who had the privilege of witnessing the expurgation of the Islands of the excommunications and admonitions of Rome. The Archbishop brought peace and goodwill to all men, being charged by His Holiness to sanctify the Colony.

The ceremony was performed with great solemnity, from an elevation, in the presence of an immense concourse of people. Later on, the pious Governor Lara was accused of perfidy to his royal master, and was fined P60,000, but on being pardoned, he retired to Spain, where he took holy orders.

His successor, Diego Salcedo (1663-68), was not so fortunate in his relations with Archbishop Poblete, for during five years he warmly contested his intervention in civil affairs. Poblete found it hard to yield the exercise of veto in all matters which, by courtesy, had been conceded to him by the late Governor Lara. The Archbishop refused to obey the Royal Decrees relating to Church appointments under the Royal patronage, such preferments being in the hands of the Gov.-General as vice-royal patron. These decrees were twice notified to the Archbishop, but as he still persisted in his disobedience, Salcedo signed an order for his expulsion to Mariveles. This brought the prelate to his senses, and he remained more submissive in future. It is recorded that the relations between the Governor and the Archbishop became so strained that the latter was compelled to pay a heavy fine--to remain standing whilst awaiting an audience--to submit to contumely during the interviews--and when he died, the Governor ordered royal feasts to celebrate the joyful event, whilst he prohibited the _de profundis_ Ma.s.s, on the ground that such would be inconsistent with the secular festivities.

The King, on being apprised of this, permitted the Inquisition to take its course. Diego Salcedo was surprised in his Palace, and imprisoned by the bloodthirsty agents of the _Santo Oficio_. Some years afterwards, he was shipped on board a galleon as a prisoner to the Inquisitors of Mexico, but the ship had to put back under stress of weather, and Salcedo returned to his dungeon. There he suffered the worst privations, until he was again embarked for Mexico. On this voyage he died of grief and melancholy. The King espoused the cause of the ecclesiastics, and ordered Salcedo's goods, as well as those of his partisans, to be confiscated.

Manuel de Leon (1669-77) managed to preserve a good understanding with the clergy, and, on his decease, he bequeathed all his possessions to the Obras Pias (q.v.).

Troubles with the Archbishop and friars were revived on the Government being a.s.sumed by Juan de Nargas (1678-84). In the last year of his rule, the Archbishop was banished from Manila. It is difficult to adequately appreciate the causes of this quarrel, and there is doubt as to which was right--the Governor or the Archbishop. On his restoration to his See, he was one of the few prelates--perhaps the only one--who personally sought to avenge himself. During the dispute, a number of friars had supported the Government, and these he caused to stand on a raised platform in front of a church, and publicly recant their former acts, declaring themselves miscreants. Juan de Nargas had just retired from the Governorship after seven years' service, and the Archbishop called upon him likewise to abjure his past proceedings and perform the following penance:--To wear a penitent's garb--to place a rope around his neck, and carry a lighted candle to the doors of the cathedral and the churches of the Parian, San Gabriel and Binondo, on every feast day during four months. Nargas objected to this degradation, and claimed privilege, arguing that the Archbishop had no jurisdiction over him, as he was a Cavalier of the Military Order of St. James. But the Archbishop only desisted in his pretensions to humiliate Nargas when the new Governor threatened to expel him again.

Fernando Bustamente Bustillo y Rueda (1717-19) adopted very stringent measures to counteract the Archbishop's excessive claims to immunity. Several individuals charged with heinous crimes had taken church asylum and defied the civil power and justice. The Archbishop was appealed to, to hand them over to the civil authorities, or allow them to be taken. He refused to do either, supporting the claim of immunity of sanctuary. At the same time it came to the knowledge of the Governor that a movement had been set on foot against him by those citizens who favoured the Archbishop's views, and that even the friars had so debased themselves as to seek the aid of the Chinese residents against the Governor. Jose Torralba (q.v.), the late acting-Governor, was released from confinement by the Governor, and reinstated by him as judge in the Supreme Court, although he was under an accusation of embezzlement to the extent of P700,000. The Archbishop energetically opposed this act. He notified to Torralba his excommunication and ecclesiastical pains, and, on his own authority, attempted to seize his person in violation of the privileges of the Supreme Court. Torralba, with his sword and shield in hand, expelled the Archbishop's messenger by force. Then, as judge in the Supreme Court, he hastened to avenge himself of his enemies by issuing warrants against them. They fled to Church asylum, and, with the moral support of the Archbishop, laughed at the magistrates. There the refugees provided themselves with arms, and prepared for rebellion. When the Archbishop was officially informed of these facts, he still maintained that nothing could violate their immunity. The Governor then caused the Archbishop to be arrested and confined in a fortress, with all the ecclesiastics who had taken an active part in the conspiracy against the Government.

Open riot ensued, and the priests marched to the Palace, amidst hideous clamourings, collecting the mob and citizens on the way. It was one of the most revolting scenes and remarkable events in Philippine history. Priests of the Sacred Orders of Saint Francis, Saint Dominic, and Saint Augustine joined the Recoletos in shouting "Viva la Iglesia,"

"Viva nuestro Rey Don Felipe Quinto." [28] The excited rabble rushed to the Palace, and the Guard having fled, they easily forced their way in. One priest who impudently dared to advance towards the Governor, was promptly ordered by him to stand back. The Governor, seeing himself encircled by an armed mob of laymen and servants of Christ clamouring for his downfall, pulled the trigger of his gun, but the flint failed to strike fire. Then the crowd took courage and attacked him, whilst he defended himself bravely with a bayonet, until he was overwhelmed by numbers. From the Palace he was dragged to the common jail, and stabbed and maltreated on the way. His son, hearing of this outrage, arrived on horseback, but was run through by one of the rebels, and fell to the ground. He got up and tried to cut his way through the infuriated rioters, but was soon surrounded and killed, and his body horribly mutilated.

The populace, urged by the clerical party, now fought for the liberty of the Archbishop. The prison doors were broken open, and the Archbishop was amongst the number of offenders liberated. The prelate came in triumph to the Palace, and a.s.sumed the Government in October, 1719. The mob, during their excesses, tore down the Royal Standard, and maltreated those whom they met of the unfortunate Governor's faithful friends. A mock inquiry into the circ.u.mstances of the riot was made in Manila in apparent judicial form. Another investigation was inst.i.tuted in Mexico, which led to several of the minor actors in this sad drama being made the scapegoat victims of the more exalted criminals. The Archbishop held the Government for nine years, and was then transferred to the Mexican Bishopric of Mechoacan.

Pedro Manuel de Arandia (1754-59) is said to have expired of melancholy, consequent, in a measure, on his futile endeavours to govern at peace with the friars, who always secured the favour of the King.

On four occasions the Supreme State authority in the Colony has been vested in the prelates. Archbishop Manuel Rojo, acting-Governor at the time of the British occupation of Manila in 1763, is said to have died of grief and shame in prison (1764) through the intrigues of the violent Simon de Anda y Salazar (q.v.).

Jose Raon was Gov.-General in 1768, when the expulsion of the Jesuits was decreed. After the secret determination was made known to him, he was accused of having divulged it, and of having concealed his instructions. He was thereupon placed under guard in his own residence, where he expired (_vide_ Simon de Anda y Salazar).

Domingo Moriones y Murillo (1877-80), it is alleged, had grave altercations with the friars, and found it necessary to remind the Archbishop Payo that the supreme power in the Philippines belonged to the State--not to the Church representative.

From the earliest times of Spanish dominion, it had been the practice of the natives to expose to view the corpses of their relations and friends in the public highways and villages whilst conveying them to the parish churches, where they were again exhibited to the common gaze, pending the pleasure of the parish priest to perform the last obsequies. This outrage on public decorum was proscribed by the Director-General of Civil Administration in a circular dated October, 18, 1887, addressed to the Provincial Governors, enjoining them to prohibit such indecent scenes in future. Thereupon the parish priests simply showed their contempt for the civil authorities by simulating their inability to elucidate to the native petty governors the true intent and meaning of the order. At the same time, the Archbishop of Manila issued instructions on the subject to his subordinates in very equivocal language. The native local authorities then pet.i.tioned the Civil Governor of Manila to make the matter clear to them. The Civil Governor forthwith referred the matter back to the Director-General of Civil Administration. This functionary, in a new circular dated November 4, confirmed his previous mandate of October 18, and censured the action of the parish priests, who "in improper language and from the pulpit," had incited the native headmen to set aside his authority. The author of the circular sarcastically added the pregnant remark, that he was penetrated with the conviction that the Archbishop's sense of patriotism and rect.i.tude _would deter him from subverting the law_. This incident seriously aroused the jealousy of the friars holding vicarages, and did not improve the relations between Church and State.

CHAPTER V

Early Relations With j.a.pan

Two decades of existence in the 16th century was but a short period in which to make known the conditions of this new Colony to its neighbouring States, when its only regular intercourse with them was through the Chinese who came to trade with Manila. j.a.panese mariners, therefore, appear to have continued to regard the north of Luzon as "no-man's-land"; for years after its nominal annexation by the Spaniards they a.s.sembled there, whether as merchants or buccaneers it is difficult to determine. Spanish authority had been a.s.serted by Salcedo along the west coast about as far as lat. 18 N., but in 1591 the north coast was only known to Europeans geographically. So far, the natives there had not made the acquaintance of their new masters.

A large Spanish galley cruising in these waters met a j.a.panese vessel off Cape Bojeador (N.W. point), and fired a shot which carried away the stranger's mainmast, obliging him to heave-to. Then the galley-men, intending to board the stranger, made fast the sterns, whilst the Spaniards rushed to the bows; but the j.a.panese came first, boarded the galley, and drove the Spaniards aft, where they would have all perished had they not cut away the mizzenmast and let it fall with all sail set. Behind this barricade they had time to load their arquebuses and drive back the j.a.panese, over whom they gained a victory. The Spaniards then entered the Rio Grande de Cagayan, where they met a j.a.panese fleet, between which they pa.s.sed peacefully. On sh.o.r.e they formed trenches and mounted cannons on earthworks, but the j.a.panese scaled the fortifications and pulled down the cannons by the mouths.

These were recovered, and the Spanish captain had the cannon mouths greased, so that the j.a.panese tactics should not be repeated. A battle was fought and the defeated j.a.panese set sail, whilst the Spaniards remained to obtain the submission of the natives by force or by persuasion.

The j.a.panese had also come to Manila to trade, and were located in the neighbouring village of Dilao, [29] where the Franciscan friars undertook their conversion to Christianity, whilst the Dominican Order considered the spiritual care of the Chinese their especial charge.

The Portuguese had been in possession of Macao since the year 1557, and traded with various Chinese ports, whilst in the j.a.panese town of Nagasaki there was a small colony of Portuguese merchants. These were the indirect sources whence the Emperor of j.a.pan learnt that Europeans had founded a colony in Luzon Island; and in 1593 he sent a message to the Governor of the Philippines calling upon him to surrender and become his va.s.sal, threatening invasion in the event of refusal. The Spanish colonies at that date were hardly in a position to treat with haughty scorn the menaces of the j.a.panese potentate, for they were simultaneously threatened with troubles with the Dutch in the Moluccas, for which they were preparing an armament (_vide_ Chap. vi.). The want of men, ships, and war material obliged them to seek conciliation with dignity. The j.a.panese Amba.s.sador, Farranda Kiemon, was received with great honours and treated with the utmost deference during his sojourn in Manila.

The Governor replied to the Emperor, that being but a lieger of the King of Spain--a mighty monarch of unlimited resources and power--he was unable to acknowledge the Emperor's suzerainty; for the most important duty imposed upon him by his Sovereign was the defence of his vast domains against foreign aggression; that, on the other hand, he was desirous of entering into amicable and mutually advantageous relations with the Emperor, and solicited his conformity to a treaty of commerce, the terms of which would be elucidated to him by an envoy.

A priest, Juan Cobo, and an infantry captain were thereupon accredited to the j.a.panese Court as Philippine Amba.s.sadors. On their arrival they were, without delay, admitted in audience by the Emperor; the treaty of commerce was adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties; and the Amba.s.sadors, with some j.a.panese n.o.bles, set sail for Manila in j.a.panese ships, which foundered on the voyage, and all perished.

Neither the political nor the clerical party in Manila was, however, dismayed by this first disaster, and the prospect of penetrating j.a.pan was followed up by a second expedition.

Between the friars an animated discussion arose when the Jesuits protested against members of any other Order being sent to j.a.pan. Saint Francis Xavier had, years before, obtained a Papal Bull from Pope Gregory XIII., awarding j.a.pan to his Order, which had been the first to establish missions in Nagasaki. Jesuits were still there in numbers, and the necessity of sending members of rival religious bodies is not made clear in the historical records. The jealous feud between those holy men was referred to the Governor, who naturally decided against the Jesuits, in support of the King's policy of grasping territory under the cloak of piety. A certain Fray Pedro Bautista was chosen as Amba.s.sador, and in his suite were three other priests. These embarked in a Spanish frigate, whilst Farranda Kiemon, who had remained in Manila the honoured guest of the Government, took his leave, and went on board his own vessel. The authorities bade farewell to the two emba.s.sies with ostentatious ceremonies, and amidst public rejoicings the two ships started on their journey on May 26, 1593. After 30 days'

navigation one ship arrived safely at Nagasaki, and the other at a port 35 miles further along the coast.

Pedro Bautista, introduced by Ferranda Kiemon, was presented to the Emperor Taycosama, who welcomed him as an Amba.s.sador authorized to _negotiate a treaty of commerce, and conclude an offensive and defensive alliance for mutual protection._ The Protocol was agreed to and signed by both parties, and the relations between the Emperor and Pedro Bautista became more and more cordial. The latter solicited, and obtained, permission to reside indefinitely in the country and send the treaty on by messenger to the Governor of the Philippines; hence the ships in which the envoys had arrived remained about ten months in port. A concession was also granted to build a church at Meaco, near Osaka, and it was opened in 1594, when Ma.s.s was publicly celebrated.

In Nagasaki the Jesuits were allowed to reside unmolested and practise their religious rites amongst the Portuguese population of traders and others who might have voluntarily embraced Christianity. Bautista went there to consult with the chief of the Jesuit Mission, who energetically opposed what he held to be an encroachment upon the monopoly rights of his Order, conceded by Pope Gregory XIII. and confirmed by royal decrees. Bautista, however, showed a permission which he had received from the Jesuit General, by virtue of which he was suffered to continue his course pending that dignitary's arrival.

The Portuguese merchants in Nagasaki were not slow to comprehend that Bautista's coming with priests at his command was but a prelude to Spanish territorial conquest, which would naturally r.e.t.a.r.d their hoped-for emanc.i.p.ation from the Spanish yoke. [30] Therefore, in their own interests, they forewarned the Governor of Nagasaki, who prohibited Bautista from continuing his propaganda against the established religion of the country in contravention of the Emperor's commands; but as Bautista took no heed of this injunction, he was expelled from Nagasaki for contumacy.

It was now manifest to the Emperor that he had been basely deceived, and that under the pretext of concluding a commercial and political treaty, Bautista and his party had, in effect, introduced themselves into his realm with the clandestine object of seducing his subjects from their allegiance, of undermining their consciences, perverting them from the religion of their forefathers, and that all this would bring about the dismemberment of his Empire and the overthrow of his dynasty. Not only had Taycosama abstained from persecuting foreigners for the exercise of their religious rites, but he freely licensed the Jesuits to continue their mission in Nagasaki and wherever Catholics happened to congregate. He had permitted the construction of their temples, but he could not tolerate a deliberate propaganda which foreshadowed his own ruin. [31]

Pedro Bautista's designs being prematurely obstructed, he took his pa.s.sage back to Manila from Nagasaki in a j.a.panese vessel, leaving behind him his interpreter, Fray Jerome, with the other Franciscan monks. An Imperial Decree was then issued to prohibit foreign priests from interfering with the religion of j.a.panese subjects; but this law having been set at naught by Bautista's colleagues, one was arrested and imprisoned, and warrants were issued against the others; meanwhile the Jesuits in Nagasaki were in no way restrained.

The Governor of Nagasaki caused the Franciscan propagandists to be conducted on board a Portuguese ship and handed over to the charge of the captain, under severe penalties if he aided or allowed their escape, but they were free to go wherever they chose outside the j.a.panese Empire. The captain, however, permitted one to return ash.o.r.e, and for some time he wandered about the country in disguise.

Pedro Bautista had reached Manila, where the ecclesiastical dignitaries prevailed upon the Governor to sanction another expedition to j.a.pan, and Bautista arrived in that country a second time with a number of Franciscan friars. The Emperor now lost all patience, and determined not only to repress these venturesome foreigners, but to stamp out the last vestige of their revolutionary machinations. Therefore, by Imperial Decree, the arrest was ordered of all the Franciscan friars, and all natives who persisted in their adhesion to these missionaries'

teachings. Twenty-six of those taken were tried and condemned to ignominious exhibition and death--the Spaniards, because they had come into the country and had received royal favours under false pretences, representing themselves as political amba.s.sadors and suite--the j.a.panese, because they had forsworn the religion of their ancestors and bid fair to become a constant danger and source of discord in the realm. Amongst these Spaniards was Pedro Bautista. After their ears and noses had been cut off, they were promenaded from town to town in a cart, finally entering Nagasaki on horseback, each bearing the sentence of death on a breast-board.

On a high ground, near the city and the port, in front of the Jesuits'

church, these 26 persons were crucified and stabbed to death with lances, in expiation of their political offences. It was a sad fate for men who conscientiously believed that they were justified in violating rights and laws of nations for the propagation of their particular views; but can one complain? Would Buddhist missionaries in Spain have met with milder treatment at the hands of the Inquisitors? [32]

Each Catholic body was supposed to designate the same road to heaven--each professed to teach the same means of obtaining the grace of G.o.d; yet, strange to say, each bore the other an implacable hatred--an inextinguishable jealousy! If conversion to Christianity were for the glory of G.o.d only, what could it have mattered whether souls of j.a.panese were saved by Jesuits or by others? For King Philip it was the same whether his political tools were of one denomination or the other, but many of the Jesuits in j.a.pan happened to be Portuguese.

The Jesuits in Manila probably felt that in view of their opposition to the Franciscan missions, public opinion might hold them morally responsible for indirectly contributing to the unfortunate events related; therefore, to justify their acts, they formally declared that Pedro Bautista and his followers died excommunicated, because they had disobeyed the Bull of Pope Gregory XIII.

The general public were much excited when the news spread through the city, and a special Ma.s.s was said, followed by a religious procession through the streets. The Governor sent a commission to j.a.pan, under the control of Luis de Navarrete, to ask for the dead bodies and chattels of the executed priests. The Emperor showed no rancour whatsoever; on the contrary, his policy was already carried out; and to welcome the Spanish lay deputies, he gave a magnificent banquet and entertained them sumptuously. Luis de Navarrete having claimed the dead bodies of the priests, the Emperor at once ordered the guards on the execution ground to retire, and told Navarrete that he could dispose as he pleased of the mortal remains. Navarrete therefore hastened to Nagasaki, but before he could reach there, devout Catholics had cut up the bodies, one carrying away a head, another a leg, and so forth. It happened, too, that Navarrete died of disease a few days after his arrival in Nagasaki. His successor, Diego de Losa, recovered the pieces of the deceased priests, which he put into a box and shipped for Manila, but the vessel and box of relics were lost on the way.

Diego de Losa returned to Manila, the bearer of a polite letter and very acceptable presents from the Emperor to the Governor of the Philippines.

The letter fully expatiated on recent events, and set forth a well-reasoned justification of the Emperor's decrees against the priests, in terms which proved that he was neither a tyrant nor a wanton savage, but an astute politician. The letter stated, that under the pretext of being amba.s.sadors, the priests in question had come into the country and had taught a diabolical law belonging to foreign countries, and which aimed at superseding the rites and laws of his own religion, confused his people, and destroyed his Government and kingdom; for which reason he had rigorously proscribed it. Against these prohibitions, the religious men of Luzon preached their law publicly to humble people, such as servants and slaves. Not being able to permit this persistence in law-breaking, he had ordered their death by placing them on crosses; for he was informed that in the kingdom where Spaniards dominated, this teaching of their religious doctrine was but an artifice and stratagem by means of which the civil power was deceitfully gained. He astutely asks the Gov.-General if he would consent to j.a.panese preaching their laws in his territory, perturbing public peace with such novelties amongst the lower cla.s.ses?

Certainly it would be severely repressed, argued the Emperor, adding that in the exercise of his absolute power and for the good of his subjects, he had avoided the occurrence in his dominions of what had taken place in those regions where the Spaniards deposed the legitimate kings, and const.i.tuted themselves masters by religious fraud.

He explains that the seizure of the cargo of a Spanish ship was only a reprisal for the harm which he had suffered by the tumult raised when the edict was evaded. But as the Spanish Governor had thought fit to send another amba.s.sador from so far, risking the perils of the sea, he was anxious for peace and mutual good-feeling, but only on the precise condition that no more individuals should be sent to teach a law foreign to his realm, and under these unalterable conditions the Governor's subjects were at liberty to trade freely with j.a.pan; that by reason of his former friendship and royal clemency, he had refrained from killing all the Spaniards with the priests and their servants, and had allowed them to return to their country.

As to religion itself, Taycosama is said to have remarked that among so many professed, one more was of little consequence,--hence his toleration in the beginning, and his continued permission to the Jesuits to maintain their doctrines amongst their own sectarians. Moreover, it is said that a map was shown to Taycosama, marking the domains of the King of Spain and Portugal, and that in reply to his inquiry: "How could one man have conquered such vast territory?"--a certain Father Guzman (probably a Portuguese) answered: "By secretly sending religious men to teach their doctrine, and when a sufficient number of persons were so converted, the Spanish soldiery, with their aid, annexed their country and overthrew their kings." Such an avowal naturally impressed Taycosama profoundly. [33]

In Seville there was quite a tumult when the details of the executions in j.a.pan were published.

In the meantime, the lamentable end of the Franciscan missionaries did not deter others from making further attempts to follow their example. During the first 20 years of the 17th century, priests succeeded in entering j.a.pan, under the pretence of trading, in spite of the extreme measures adopted to discover them and the precautions taken to uproot the new doctrine, which it was feared would become the forerunner of sedition. Indeed, many j.a.panese n.o.bles professing Christianity had already taken up their residence in Manila, and were regarded by the Emperor as a constant danger to his realm, hence he was careful to avoid communication with the Philippines. During the short reigns of Dayfusama and his son Xogusama, new decrees were issued, not against foreign Christians, but against those who made apostates amongst the j.a.panese; and consequently two more Spanish priests were beheaded.