The Philippine Islands Part 8

Governor Berenguer y Marquina (1788-93) was accused of bribery, but the King absolved him.

In the last century a Governor of Yloilo is said to have absconded in a sailing-ship with a large sum of the public funds. A local Governor was then also _ex-officio_ administrator; and, although the system was afterwards reformed, official extortion was rife throughout the whole Spanish administration of the Colony, up to the last.

A strange drama of the year 1622 well portrays the spirit of the times--the immunity of a Gov.-General in those days, as well as the religious sentiment which accompanied his most questionable acts. Alonso Fajardo de Tua having suspected his wife of infidelity, went to the house where she was accustomed to meet her paramour. Her attire was such as to confirm her husband's surmises. He called a priest and instructed him to confess her, telling him that he intended to take her life. The priest, failing to dissuade Fajardo from inflicting such an extreme penalty, took her confession and proffered her spiritual consolation. Then Fajardo, incensed with jealousy, mortally stabbed her. No inquiry into the occurrence seems to have been made, and he continued to govern for two years after the event, when he died of melancholy. It is recorded that the paramour, who was the son of a Cadiz merchant, had formerly been the accepted _fiance_ of Fajardo's wife, and that he arrived in Manila in their company. The Governor gave him time to confess before he killed him, after which (according to one account) he caused his house to be razed to the ground, and the land on which it stood to be strewn with salt. Juan de la Concepcion, however, says that the house stood for one hundred years after the event as a memorial of the punishment.

In 1640 Olivarez, King Philip IV.'s chief counsellor, had succeeded by his arrogance and unprecedented policy of repression in arousing the latent discontent of the Portuguese. A few years previously they had made an unsuccessful effort to regain their independent nationality under the sovereignty of the Duke of Braganza. At length, when a call was made upon their boldest warriors to support the King of Spain in his protracted struggle with the Catalonians, an insurrection broke out, which only terminated when Portugal had thrown off, for ever, the scourge of Spanish supremacy.

The Duke of Braganza was crowned King of Portugal under the t.i.tle of John IV., and every Portuguese colony declared in his favour, except Ceuta, on the African coast. The news of the separation of Portugal from Spain reached Manila in the following year. The Gov.-General at that time--Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera--at once sent out an expedition of picked men under Juan Claudio with orders to take Macao,--a Portuguese settlement at the mouth of the Canton River, about 40 miles west of Hongkong. The attempt miserably failed, and the blue-and-white ensign continued to wave unscathed over the little territory. The Governor of Macao, who was willing to yield, was denounced a traitor to Portugal, and killed by the populace. Juan Claudio, who was taken prisoner, was generously liberated by favour of the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa, and returned to Manila to relate his defeat. [37]

The Convent of Santa Clara was founded in Manila in 1621 by Geronima de la Asuncion, who, three years afterwards, was expelled from the management by the friars because she refused to admit reforms in the conventual regulations. The General Council subsequently restored her to the matronship for 20 years. Public opinion was at this time vividly aroused against the superiors of the convents, who, it was alleged, made serious inroads on society by inveigling the marriageable young women into taking the veil and to live unnatural lives. The public demanded that there should be a fixed limit to the number of nuns admitted. An ecclesiastic of high degree made strenuous efforts to rescue three nuns who had just been admitted, but the abbess persistently refused to surrender them until her excommunication was published on the walls of the nunnery.

In 1750 a certain Mother Cecilia, who had been in the nunnery of Santa Catalina since she was 16 years of age, fell in love with a Spaniard who lived opposite, named Francisco Antonio de Figueroa, and begged to be relieved of her vows and have her liberty restored to her. The Archbishop was willing to grant her request, which was, however, stoutly opposed by the Dominican friars. On appeal being made to the Governor, as viceregal patron, he ordered her to be set at liberty. The friars nevertheless defied the Governor, who, to sustain his authority, was compelled to order the troops to be placed under arms, and the commanding officer of the artillery to hold the cannons in readiness to fire when and where necessary. In view of these preparations, the friars allowed the nun to leave her confinement, and she was lodged in the College of Santa Potenciana pending the dispute. Public excitement was intense. The Archbishop ordered the girl to be liberated, but as his subordinates were still contumacious to his bidding, the Bishop of Cebu was invited to arbitrate on the question, but he declined to interfere, therefore an appeal was remitted to the Archbishop of Mexico. In the meantime the girl was married to her lover, and long afterwards a citation arrived from Mexico for the woman to appear at that ecclesiastical court. She went there with her husband, from whom she was separated whilst the case was being tried, but in the end her liberty and marriage were confirmed.

During the Government of Nino de Tabora (1626-32), the High Host and sacred vessels were stolen from the Cathedral of Manila. The Archbishop was in consequence sorely distressed, and walked barefooted to the Jesuits' convent to weep with the priests, and therein find a solace for his mental affliction. It was surmised that the wrath of G.o.d at such a crime would a.s.suredly be avenged by calamities on the inhabitants, and confessions were made daily. The friars agreed to appease the anger of the Almighty by making public penance and by public prayer. The Archbishop subjected himself to a most rigid abstinence. He perpetually fasted, ate herbs, drank only water, slept on the floor with a stone for a pillow, and flagellated his own body. On Corpus Christi day a religious procession pa.s.sed through the public thoroughfares solemnly exhorting the delinquents to restore the body of Our Saviour, but all in vain. The melancholy prelate, weak beyond recovery from his self-imposed privations, came to the window of his retreat as the _cortege_ pa.s.sed in front of it, and there he breathed his last.

As in all other Spanish colonies, the Inquisition had its secret agents or commissaries in the Philippines. Sometimes a priest would hold powers for several years to inquire into the private lives and acts of individuals, whilst no one knew who the informer was. The Holy Office ordered that its _Letter of Anathema_, with the names in full of all persons who had incurred pains and penalties for heresy, should be read in public places every three years, but this order was not fulfilled. The _Letter of Anathema_ was so read in 1669, and the only time since then up to the present day was in 1718.

During the minority of the young Spanish King Charles II. the regency was held by his mother, the Queen-Dowager, who was unfortunately influenced by favourites, to the great disgust of the Court and the people. Amongst these sycophants was a man named Valenzuela, of n.o.ble birth, who, as a boy, had followed the custom of those days, and entered as page to a n.o.bleman--the Duke del Infantado--to learn manners and Court etiquette.

The Duke went to Italy as Spanish amba.s.sador, and took Valenzuela under his protection. He was a handsome and talented young fellow, learned for those times,--intelligent, well versed in all the generous exercises of chivalry, and a poet by nature. On his return from Italy with the Duke, his patron caused him to be created a Cavalier of the Order of Saint James. The Duke shortly afterwards died, but through the influence of the Dowager-Queen's confessor--the notorious Nitard, also a favourite--young Valenzuela was presented at Court, where he made love to one of the Queen's maids-of-honour--a German--and married her. The Prince, Don Juan de Austria, who headed the party against the Queen, expelled her favourite (Nitard) from Court, and Valenzuela became Her Majesty's sole confidential adviser. Nearly every night, at late hours, the Queen went to Valenzuela's apartment to confer with him, whilst he daily brought her secret news gleaned from the courtiers. The Queen created him Marquis of San Bartolome and of Villa Sierra, a first-cla.s.s Grandee of Spain, and Prime Minister. He was a most perfect courtier; and it is related of him that when a bull-fight took place, he used to go to the royal box richly adorned in fighting attire, and, with profound reverence, beg Her Majesty's leave to challenge the bull. The Queen, it is said, never refused him the solicited permission, but tenderly begged of him not to expose himself to such dangers. Sometimes he would appear in the ring as a cavalier, in a black costume embroidered with silver and with a large white-and-black plume, in imitation of the Queen's half mourning. It was much remarked that on one occasion he wore a device of the sun with an eagle looking down upon it, and the words, "_I alone have licence_."

He composed several comedies, and allowed them to be performed at his expense for the free amus.e.m.e.nt of the people. He also much improved the city of Madrid with fine buildings, bridges, and many public works to sustain his popularity amongst the citizens.

The young King, now a youth, ordered a deer hunt to be prepared in the Escorial grounds; and during the diversion His Majesty happened to shoot Valenzuela in the muscle of his arm, whether intentionally or accidentally is not known. However, the terrified Queen-mother fainted and fell into the arms of her ladies-in-waiting. This circ.u.mstance was much commented upon, and contributed in no small degree to the public odium and final downfall of Valenzuela in 1684. At length Don Juan de Austria returned to the Court, when the young King was of an age to appreciate public concerns, and he became more the Court favourite than ever Valenzuela or Nitard had been during the Dowager-Queen's administration. Valenzuela fell at once from the exclusive position he had held in royal circles and retired to the Escorial, where, by order of Don Juan de Austria, a party of young n.o.blemen, including Don Juan's son, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the Marquis of Valparaiso, and others of rank, accompanied by 200 hors.e.m.e.n, went to seize the disfavoured courtier. He was out walking at the time of their arrival, but he was speedily apprised of the danger by his bosom friend, the Prior of Saint Jerome Monastery. The priest hid him in the roof of the monastery, where, being nearly suffocated for want of ventilation, a surgeon was sent up to bleed him and make him sleep. The search party failed to find the refugee, and were about to return, when the surgeon treacherously betrayed the secret to them, and Valenzuela was discovered sleeping with arms by his side. He was made prisoner, confined in a castle, degraded of all his honours and rank, and finally banished by Don Juan de Austria to the furthermost Spanish possession in the world--the Philippines,--whilst his family was incarcerated in a convent at Talavera in Spain.

When the Pope heard of this violation of Church asylum in the Escorial committed by the n.o.bles, he excommunicated all concerned in it; and in order to purge themselves of their sin and obtain absolution, they were compelled to go to church in their shirts, each with a rope around his neck. They actually performed this penance, and then the Nuncio accredited to the Spanish Court, Cardinal Mellini, relieved them of their ecclesiastical pains and penalties.

Valenzuela was permitted to establish a house within the prison of Cavite, where he lived for several years as a State prisoner and exile. When Don Juan de Austria died, the Dowager-Queen regained in a measure her influence at Court, and one of the first favours she begged of her son, the King, was the return of Valenzuela to Madrid. The King granted her request, and she at once despatched a ship to bring him to Spain, but the Secretary of State interfered and stopped it. Nevertheless, Valenzuela, pardoned and liberated, set out for the Peninsula, and reached Mexico, where he died from the kick of a horse.

In 1703 a vessel arrived in Manila Bay from India, under an Armenian captain, bringing a young man 35 years of age, a native of Turin, who styled himself Monseigneur Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon, Visitor-General, Bishop of Savoy, Patriarch of Antioch, Apostolic Nuncio and Legate _ad latere_ of the Pope. He was on his way to China to visit the missions, and called at Manila with eight priests and four Italian families.

Following the custom established with foreign ships, the custodian of the Fort of Cavite placed guards on board this vessel. This act seems to have aroused the indignation of the exalted stranger, who a.s.sumed a very haughty tone, and arrogantly insisted upon a verbal message being taken to the Governor (Domingo Sabalburco) to announce his arrival. In Manila these circ.u.mstances were much debated, and at length the Governor instructed the custodian of Cavite Fort to accompany the stranger to the City of Manila. On his approach a salute was fired from the city battlements, and he took up his residence in the house of the Maestre de Campo. There the Governor went to visit him as the Pope's legate, and was received with great arrogance. However, the Governor showed no resentment; he seemed to be quite dumfounded by the Patriarch's dignified airs, and consulted with the Supreme Court about the irregularity of a legate arriving without exhibiting the _regium exequatur_. The Court decided that the stranger must be called upon to present his Papal credentials and the royal confirmation of his powers with respect to Spanish dominions, and with this object a magistrate was commissioned to wait upon him. The Patriarch treated the commissioner with undisguised contempt, expressing his indignation and surprise at his position being doubted; he absolutely refused to show any credentials, and turned out the commissioner, raving at him and causing an uproarious scandal. At each stage of the negotiations with him the Patriarch put forward the great authority of the Pope, and his unquestionable right to dispose of realms and peoples at his will, and somehow this ruse seemed to subdue everybody; the Governor, the Archbishop, and all the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, were overawed. The Archbishop, in fact, made an unconditional surrender to the Patriarch, who now declared that all State and religious authority must be subordinate to his will. The Archbishop was ordered by him to set aside his Archiepiscopal Cross, whilst the Patriarch used his own particular cross in the religious ceremonies, and left it in the Cathedral of Manila on his departure. He went so far as to cause his master of the ceremonies to publicly divest the Archbishop of a part of his official robes and insignia, to all which the prelate meekly consented. All the chief authorities visited the Patriarch, who, however, was too dignified to return their calls. Here was, in fact, an extraordinary case of a man unknown to everybody, and refusing to prove his ident.i.ty, having absolutely brought all the authority of a colony under his sway! He was, as a matter of fact, the legate of Clement XI.

The only person to whom he appears to have extended his friendship was the Maestre de Campo, at the time under ecclesiastical arrest. The Maestre de Campo was visited by the Patriarch, who so ingeniously blinded him with his patronage, that this official squandered about P20,000 in entertaining his strange visitor and making him presents. The Patriarch in return insisted upon the Governor and Archbishop pardoning the Maestre de Campo of all his alleged misdeeds, and when this was conceded he caused the pardon to be proclaimed in a public Act. All the Manila officials were treated by the Patriarch with open disdain, but he created the Armenian captain of the vessel which brought him to Manila a knight of the "Golden Spur," in a public ceremony in the Maestre de Campo's house in which the Gov.-General was ignored.

From Manila the Patriarch went to China, where his meddling with the Catholic missions met with fierce opposition. He so dogmatically a.s.serted his unproved authority, that he caused European missionaries to be cited in the Chinese Courts and sentenced for their disobedience; but he was playing with fire, for at last the Emperor of China, wearied of his importunities, banished him from the country. Thence he went to Macao, where, much to the bewilderment of the Chinese population, he maintained constant disputes with the Catholic missionaries until he died there in 1710 in the Inquisition prison, where he was incarcerated at the instance of the Jesuits.

When King Philip V. became aware of what had occurred in Manila, he was highly incensed, and immediately ordered the Gov.-General to Mexico, declaring him disqualified for life to serve under the Crown. The senior magistrates of the Supreme Court were removed from office. Each priest who had yielded to the legate's authority without previously taking cognisance of the _regium exequatur_ was ordered to pay P1,000 fine. The Archbishop was degraded and transferred from the Archbishopric of Manila to the Bishopric of Guadalajara in Mexico. In spite of this punishment, it came to the knowledge of the King that the ex-Archbishop of Manila, as Bishop of Guadalajara, was still conspiring with the Patriarch to subvert civil and religious authority in his dominions, with which object he had sent him P1,000 from Mexico, and had promised a fixed sum of P1,000 per annum, with whatever further support he could afford to give him. Therefore the King issued an edict to the effect that any legate who should arrive in his domains without royal confirmation of his Papal credentials should thenceforth be treated simply with the charity and courtesy due to any traveller; and in order that this edict should not be forgotten, or evaded, under pretext of its having become obsolete, it was further enacted that it should be read in full on certain days in every year before all the civil and ecclesiastical functionaries.

CHAPTER VII

British Occupation of Manila

In 1761 King George III. had just succeeded to the throne of England, and the protracted contentions with France had been suspended for a while. It was soon evident, however, that efforts were being made to extinguish the power and prestige of Great Britain, and with this object a convention had been entered into between France and Spain known as the "Family Compact." It was so called because it was an alliance made by the three branches of the House of Bourbon, namely, Louis XV. of France, Charles III. of Spain, and his son Ferdinand, who, in accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, had ascended the throne of Naples. Spain engaged to unite her forces with those of France against England on May 1, 1762, if the war still lasted, in which case France would restore Minorca to Spain. Pitt was convinced of the necessity of meeting the coalition by force of arms, but he was unable to secure the support of his Ministry to declare war, and he therefore retired from the premiership. The succeeding Cabinet were, nevertheless, compelled to adopt his policy, and after having lost many advantages by delaying their decision, war was declared against France and Spain.

The British were successful everywhere. In the West Indies the Caribbean Islands and Havana were captured with great booty by Rodney and Monckton, whilst a British Fleet was despatched to the Philippine Islands with orders to take Manila.

On September 14, 1762, a British vessel arrived in the Bay of Manila, refused to admit Spanish officers on board, and after taking soundings she sailed again out of the harbour.

In the evening of September 22 the British squadron, composed of 13 ships, under the command of Admiral Cornish, entered the bay, and the next day two British officers were deputed to demand the surrender of the Citadel, which was refused. Brigadier-General Draper thereupon disembarked his troops, and again called upon the city to yield. This citation being defied, the bombardment commenced the next day. The fleet anch.o.r.ed in front of a powder-magazine, took possession of the churches of Malate, Ermita, San Juan de Bagumbayan, and Santiago. Two picket-guards made an unsuccessful sortie against them. The whole force in Manila, at the time, was the King's regiment, which mustered about 600 men and 80 pieces of artillery. The British forces consisted of 1,500 European troops (one regiment of infantry and two companies of artillery), 3,000 seamen, 800 Sepoy fusileers, and 1,400 Sepoy prisoners, making a total of 6,830 men, including officers. [38]

There was no Gov.-General in the Philippines at the time, and the only person with whom the British Commander could treat was the acting-Governor, the Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo, who was willing to yield. His authority was, however, set aside by a rebellious war party, who placed themselves under the leadership of a magistrate of the Supreme Court, named Simon de Anda y Salazar. This individual, instead of leading them to battle, fled to the Province of Bulacan the day before the capture of Manila in a prahu with a few natives, carrying with him some money and half a ream of official stamped paper. [39]

He knew perfectly well that he was defying the legal authority of the acting-Governor, and was, in fact, in open rebellion against his mandate. It was necessary, therefore, to give an official colour to his acts by issuing his orders and proclamations on Government-stamped paper, so that their validity might be recognized if he subsequently succeeded in justifying his action at Court.

On September 24 the Spanish batteries of San Diego and San Andres opened fire, but with little effect. A richly laden galleon--the _Philipino_--was known to be on her way from Mexico to Manila, but the British ships which were sent in quest of her fell in with another galleon--the _Trinidad_--and brought their prize to Manila. Her treasure amounted to about P2,500,000. [40]

A Frenchman resident in Manila, Monsieur Faller, made an attack on the British, who forced him to retire, and he was then accused by the Spaniards of treason. Artillery fire was kept up on both sides. The Archbishop's nephew was taken prisoner, and an officer was sent with him to hand him over to his uncle. However, a party of natives fell upon them and murdered them. The officer's head having been cut off, it was demanded by General Draper. Excuses were made for not giving it up, and the General determined thenceforth to continue the warfare with vigour and punish this atrocity. The artillery was increased by another battery of three mortars, placed behind the church of Santiago, and the bombardment continued.

Five thousand native recruits arrived from the provinces, and out of this number 2,000 Pampangos were selected. They were divided into three columns, in order to advance by different routes and attack respectively the churches of Santiago, Malate, and Ermita, and the troops on the beach. At each place they were driven back. The leader of the attack on Malate and Ermita--Don Santiago Orendain--was declared a traitor. The two first columns were dispersed with great confusion and loss. The third column retreated before they had sustained or inflicted any loss. The natives fled to their villages in dismay, and on October 5 the British entered the walled city. After a couple of hours' bombardment, the forts of San Andres and San Eugenio were demolished, the artillery overturned, and the defenders' fusileers and sappers were killed.

A council of war was now held by the Spaniards. General Draper sustained the authority of the Archbishop against the war party, composed chiefly of civilians determined to continue the defence in spite of the opinion of the military men, who argued that a capitulation was inevitable. But matters were brought to a crisis by the natives, who refused to repair the fortifications, and the Europeans were unable to perform such hard labour. Great confusion reigned in the city--the clergy fled through the Puerta del Parian, where there was still a native guard. According to Zuniga, the British spent 20,000 cannon b.a.l.l.s and 5,000 sh.e.l.ls in the bombardment of the city.

Major Fell entered Manila (Oct. 6) at the head of his troops, and General Draper followed, leading his column unopposed, with two field-pieces in the van, whilst a constant musketry fire cleared the Calle Real (the central thoroughfare) as they advanced. The people fled before the enemy. The gates being closed, they scrambled up the walls and got into boats or swam off.

Colonel Monson was sent by Draper to the Archbishop-Governor to say that he expected immediate surrender. This requisition was disputed by the Archbishop, who presented a paper purporting to be terms of capitulation. The Colonel refused to take it, and demanded an unconditional surrender. Then the Archbishop, a Colonel of the Spanish troops, and Colonel Monson went to interview the General, whose quarters were in the Palace. The Archbishop, offering himself as a prisoner, presented the terms of capitulation, which provided for the free exercise of their religion; security of private property; free trade to all the inhabitants of the Islands, and the continuation of the powers of the Supreme Court to keep order amongst the ill-disposed. These terms were granted, but General Draper, on his part, stipulated for an indemnity of four millions of pesos, and it was agreed to pay one half of this sum in specie and valuables and the other half in Treasury bills on Madrid. The capitulation, with these modifications, was signed by Draper and the Archbishop-Governor. The Spanish Colonel took the doc.u.ment to the Fort to have it countersigned by the magistrates, which was at once done; the Fort was delivered up to the British, and the magistrates repaired to the Palace to pay their respects to the conquerors.

When the British flag was seen floating over the Fort of Santiago there was great cheering from the British Fleet. The Archbishop stated that when Draper reviewed the troops, more than 1,000 men were missing, including sixteen officers. Among these officers were a Major fatally wounded by an arrow on the first day of the a.s.sault, and the Vice-Admiral, who was drowned whilst coming ash.o.r.e in a boat.

The natives who had been brought from the provinces to Manila were plundering and committing excesses in the city, so Draper had them all driven out. Guards were placed at the doors of the nunneries and convents to prevent outrages on the women, and then the city was given up to the victorious troops for pillage during three hours. Zuniga, however, remarks that the European troops were moderate, but that the Indian contingents were insatiable. They are said to have committed many atrocities, and, revelling in bloodshed, even murdered the inhabitants. They ransacked the suburbs of Santa Cruz and Binondo, and, acting like savage victorious tribes, they ravished women, and even went into the highways to murder and rob those who fled. The three hours having expired, the troops were called in, but the following day a similar scene was permitted. The Archbishop thereupon besought the General to put a stop to it, and have compa.s.sion on the city. The General complied with this request, and immediately restored order under pain of death for disobedience. Some Chinese were in consequence hanged. General Draper himself killed one whom he found in the act of stealing, and he ordered that all Church property should be restored, but only some priests' vestments were recovered.

Draper demanded the surrender of Cavite, which was agreed to by the Archbishop and magistrates, but the Commanding Officer refused to comply. The Major of that garrison was sent with a message to the Commander, but on the way he talked with such freedom about the surrender to the British, that the natives quitted their posts and plundered the a.r.s.enal. The Commander, rather than face humiliation, retired to a ship, and left all further responsibility to the Major.

Measures were now taken to pay the agreed indemnity. However, the consequent heavy contributions levied upon the inhabitants, together with the silver from the pious establishments, church ornaments, plate, the Archbishop's rings and breast-cross, only amounted to P546,000. The British then proposed to accept one million at once and draw the rest from the cargo of the galleon _Philipino_, should it result that she had not been seized by the British previous to the day the capitulation was signed--but the one million was not forthcoming. The day before the capture of Manila a royal messenger had been sent off with P111,000, with orders to hide them in some place in the Laguna de Bay. The Archbishop now ordered their return to Manila, and issued a requisition to that effect, but the Franciscan friars were insubordinate, and armed the natives, whom they virtually ruled, and the treasure was secreted in Majayjay Convent (Tayabas Province). Thence, on receipt of the Archbishop's message, it was carried across country to a place in North Pampanga, bordering on Cagayan and Pangasinan. The British, convinced that they were being duped, insisted on their claim. Thomas Backhouse, commanding the troops stationed at Pasig, went up to the Laguna de Bay with 80 mixed troops, to intercept the bringing of the _Philipino_ treasure. He attacked Tunasan, Vinan and Santa Rosa, and embarked for Pagsanjan, which was then the capital of the Laguna Province. The inhabitants, after firing the convent and church, fled. Backhouse returned to Calamba, entered the Province of Batangas, overran it, and made several Austin friars prisoners. In Lipa he seized P3,000, and established his quarters there, expecting that the _Philipino_ treasure would be carried that way; but on learning that it had been transported by sea to a Pampanga coast town, Backhouse returned to his post at Pasig.

In the capitulation, the whole of the Archipelago was surrendered to the British, but the magistrate Simon de Anda determined to appeal to arms. Draper used stratagem, and issued a proclamation commiserating the fate of the natives who paid tribute to Spaniards, and a.s.suring them that the King of England would not exact it. The Archbishop, as Governor, became Draper's tool, sent messages to the Spanish families, persuading them to return, and appointed an Englishman, married in the country, to be Alderman of Tondo. Despite the strenuous opposition of the Supreme Court, the Archbishop, at the instance of Draper, convened a council of native headmen and representative families, and proposed to them the cession of all the Islands to the King of England. Draper clearly saw that the ruling powers in the Colony, judging from their energy and effective measures, were the friars, so he treated them with great respect. The Frenchman Faller, who unsuccessfully opposed the British a.s.sault, was offered troops to go and take possession of Zamboanga and a.s.sume the government there, but he refused, as did also a Spaniard named Sandoval.

Draper returned to Europe; Major Fell was left in command of the troops, whilst Drake a.s.sumed the military government of the city, with Smith and Brock as council, and Brereton in charge of Cavite. Draper, on leaving, gave orders for two frigates to go in search of the _Philipino_ treasure. The ships got as far as Capul Island and put into harbour. They were detained there by a ruse on the part of a half-caste pilot, and in the meantime the treasure was stealthily carried away.

Simon de Anda, from his provincial retreat, proclaimed himself Gov.-General. He declared that the Archbishop and the magistrates, as prisoners of war, were dead in the eye of the law; and that his a.s.sumption of authority was based upon old laws. None of his countrymen disputed his authority, and he established himself in Bacolor. The British Council then convened a meeting of the chief inhabitants, at which Anda was declared a seditious person and deserving of capital punishment, together with the Marquis of Monte Castro, who had violated his _parole d'honneur_, and the Provincial of the Austin Friars, who had joined the rebel party. All the Austin friars were declared traitors for having broken their allegiance to the Archbishop's authority. The British still pressed for the payment of the one million, whilst the Spaniards declared they possessed no more. The Austin friars were ordered to keep the natives peaceable if they did not wish to provoke hostilities against themselves. At length, the British, convinced of the futility of decrees, determined to sally out with their forces, and 500 men under Thomas Backhouse went up the Pasig River to secure a free pa.s.sage for supplies to the camp. Whilst opposite to Maybonga, a Spaniard, named Bustos, and his Cagayan troops fired on them. The British returned the fire, and Bustos fled to Mariquina. The British pa.s.sed the river, and sent an officer with a white flag of truce to demand surrender. Bustos was insolent, and threatened to hang the officer if he returned. Backhouse's troops then opened fire and placed two field-pieces, which completely scared the natives, who fled in such great confusion that many were drowned in the river. Thence the British drove their enemy before them like a flock of goats, and reached the Bamban River, where the Sultan of Sulu [41] resided with his family. The Sultan, after a feigned resistance, surrendered to the British, who fortified his dwelling, and occupied it during the whole of the operations. There were subsequent skirmishes on the Pasig River banks with the armed insurgents, who were driven as far as the Antipolo Mountains.

Meanwhile, Anda collected troops; and Bustos, as his Lieutenant-General, vaunted the power of his chief through the Bulacan and Pampanga Provinces. A Franciscan and an Austin friar, having led troops to Masilo, about seven miles from Manila, the British went out to dislodge them, but on their approach most of the natives feigned they were dead, and the British returned without any loss in arms or men.

The British, believing that the Austin friars were conspiring against them in connivance with those inside the city, placed these friars in confinement, and subsequently shipped away eleven of them to Europe. For the same reason they at last determined to enter the Saint Augustine Convent, and on ransacking it, they found that the priests had been lying to them all the time. Six thousand pesos in coin were found hidden in the garden, and large quant.i.ties of wrought silver elsewhere. The whole premises were then searched, and all the valuables were seized. A British expedition went out to Bulacan, sailing across the Bay and up the Hagonoy River, where they disembarked at Malolos on January 19, 1763. The troops, under Captain Eslay, of the Grenadiers, numbered 600 men, many of whom were Chinese volunteers. As they advanced from Malolos, the natives and Spaniards fled. On the way to Bulacan, Bustos came out to meet them, but retreated into ambush on seeing they were superior in numbers. Bulacan Convent was defended by three small cannons. As soon as the troops came in sight of the convent, a desultory fire of case-shot made great havoc in the ranks of the resident Chinese volunteers forming the British vanguard. At length the British brought their field-pieces into action, and pointing at the enemy's cannon, the first discharge carried off the head of their artilleryman Ybarra. The panic-stricken natives decamped; the convent was taken by a.s.sault; there was an indiscriminate fight and general slaughter. The _Alcalde_ and a Franciscan friar fell in action; one Austin friar escaped, and another was seized and killed to avenge the death of the British soldiers. The invading forces occupied the convent, and some of the troops were shortly sent back to Manila. Bustos reappeared near the Bulacan Convent with 8,000 native troops, of whom 600 were cavalry, but they dared not attack the British. Bustos then manoeuvred in the neighbourhood and made occasional alarms. Small parties were sent out against him, with so little effect that the British Commander headed a body in person, and put the whole of Bustos' troops to flight like mosquitoes before a gust of wind, for Bustos feared they would be pursued into Pampanga. After clearing away the underwood, which served as a covert for the natives, the British reoccupied the convent; but Bustos returned to his position, and was a second time as disgracefully routed by the British, who then withdrew to Manila.

At this time it was alleged that a conspiracy was being organized amongst the Chinese resident in the Province of Pampanga with the object of a.s.sa.s.sinating Anda and his Spanish followers. The Chinese cut trenches and raised fortifications, avowing that their bellicose preparations were only to defend themselves against the possible attack of the British; whilst the Spaniards saw in all this a connivance with the invaders. The latter no doubt conjectured rightly. Anda, acting upon the views of his party, precipitated matters by appearing with 14 Spanish soldiers and a crowd of native bowmen to commence the slaughter in the town of Guagua. The Chinese a.s.sembled there in great numbers, and Anda endeavoured in vain to induce them to surrender to him. He then sent a Spaniard, named Miguel Garces, with a message, offering them pardon in the name of the King of Spain if they would lay down their arms; but they killed the emissary, and Anda therefore commenced the attack. The result was favourable for Anda's party, and great numbers of the Chinese were slain. Many fled to the fields, where they were pursued by the troops, whilst those who were captured were hanged. Such was the inveterate hatred which Anda entertained for the Chinese, that he issued a general decree declaring all the Chinese traitors to the Spanish flag, and ordered them to be hanged wherever they might be found in the provinces. Thus thousands of Chinese were executed who had taken no part whatever in the events of this little war.

Admiral Cornish having decided to return to Europe, again urged for the payment of the two millions of pesos instalment of the indemnity. The Archbishop was in great straits; he was willing to do anything, but his colleagues opposed him, and Cornish was at length obliged to content himself with a bill on the Madrid Treasury. Anda appointed Bustos _Alcalde_ of Bulacan, and ordered him to recruit and train troops, as he still nurtured the hope of confining the British to Manila--perhaps even of driving them out of the Colony.

The British in the city were compelled to adopt the most rigorous precautions against the rising of the population within the walls, and several Spanish residents were arrested for intriguing against them in concert with those outside.