The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898—Volume 39 of 55, 1683-1690: Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

In Short

This volume collects primary documents and observational narratives from 1683 to 1690 detailing the Philippine archipelago under Spanish colonial administration and European maritime incursions. It combines the precise sea journal of English navigator William Dampier—who charts the geography, natural resources, and trade dynamics of Mindanao and surrounding waters—with detailed colonial records covering the bitter jurisdictional conflict between Archbishop Pardo and the secular Audiencia in Manila. Preserved through official letters, decrees, and contemporary accounts, the text survives as an unvarnished window into the geopolitical rivalries, ecclesiastical power struggles, and economic realities of the early modern Pacific.

The Story

The volume proceeds along two distinct narrative tracks, beginning with the maritime observations of William Dampier and transitioning into the political crises of Manila. Dampier arrives in the southern Philippines aboard privateering vessels, detailing the geography of Mindanao, the cultivation of high-grade yellow and dark tobaccos, and local commerce involving gold, beeswax, and spice-island trade networks. Observing the strategic position of the islands relative to Dutch spice monopolies, Dampier chronicles daily interactions with local rulers, the internal dynamics of his own crew, and perilous weather conditions—including a severe September storm that drives his ship to sea, forcing the crew to cut away anchors and scud under bare poles before returning to retrieve stranded crewmen.

The narrative then shifts abruptly to the walled city of Manila, documenting an intense institutional war between the ecclesiastical authority of Archbishop Pardo and the secular government's royal Audiencia. Tensions escalate as the Audiencia issues successive royal decrees demanding the archbishop present his legal acts. Archbishop Pardo repeatedly defies the secular court, claiming higher allegiance to the Inquisition and higher ecclesiastical tribunals. The government responds by decreeing the archbishop banished, removing him from his see.

The arrival of a new governor, Admiral Don Gabriel de Cruzalaegui, alters the balance of power. Cruzalaegui enters Manila amid dramatic omens—an earthquake and the collapse of a public balcony at the Puerta Real. Supported by Dominican friars and carrying mandates from Mexico, Cruzalaegui works to restore the exiled archbishop. Upon his return, Pardo refuses to reconcile quietly; instead, he aggressively asserts his authority, declaring members of the Audiencia and secular officials excommunicated under papal bulls and forcing the removal of official platforms from the cathedral coram omni populo.

The struggle turns into outright political persecution. Officials aligned with the secular court, such as the auditor Don Pedro de Bolivar and Don Diego de Viga, are systematically arrested, hidden in sanctuary, or banished to remote posts like Mariveles, Abucay, and Cagayan. Soldiers surround religious houses, violently wrenching locks from doors to hunt down hidden judges. An investigating visitor arrives, working closely with the governor and Dominicans to validate the archbishop's actions while suppressing opposing testimony. The narrative reaches its climax with the suspicious death of auditor Bolivar—who collapses after drinking a cup of chocolate while returning under summons—and the ongoing disputes over university precedence, commercial seizures, and military council debates regarding the reëstablishment of the Zamboanga fort.

How It Unfolds

The privateer charts the southern seas William Dampier documents the trade in gold, beeswax, and tobacco in Mindanao, analyzing how local commerce connects with Dutch outposts and Manila. He details the strategic potential of establishing an English trade settlement among the nearby spice-rich Meangis Islands.

Tempests and abandoned crewmen A sudden fierce northern storm strikes the vessel at anchor, forcing the crew to drop their sheet-anchor and eventually cut away their primary bower anchor to avoid foundering. Driven into deep water under bare poles, they return days later to recover six men left on shore.

The institutional schism opens Archbishop Pardo defies four successive royal decrees from the Audiencia regarding his legal actions against Don Juan de Vargas. The secular government retaliates by issuing a decree of banishment against the archbishop, igniting a prolonged constitutional crisis.

A governor arrives amid omens Admiral Cruzalaegui enters Manila pledged to restore the archbishop. His arrival is marked by an earthquake and a structural collapse at the city gate, after which he immediately aligns himself with Dominican factions and banished clerics.

The archbishop returns and retaliates Restored to his see, Archbishop Pardo rejects reconciliation, excommunicating secular officials and barring them from sacred functions. He enforces strict ecclesiastical discipline while requiring oaths from citizens never to assist in the banishment of clergy.

Purges, searches, and mysterious deaths Secular auditors are hunted down, arrested, or driven into exile across the islands. Military guards breach religious sanctuaries to search for Don Pedro de Bolivar, who later dies suddenly under widespread rumors of poison after consuming a cup of chocolate.

The People

• William Dampier: A meticulous English navigator and privateer whose objective journal records the trade patterns, natural resources, local customs, and maritime hazards of Mindanao and the East Indies.
• Archbishop Pardo: The formidable ecclesiastical leader of Manila who fiercely defends church authority against secular interference, utilizing excommunication, interdicts, and political alliances to triumph over his secular opponents.
• Governor Don Gabriel de Cruzalaegui: The newly arrived Spanish governor who orchestrates the return of Archbishop Pardo, allying the secular executive power with Dominican interests against the judicial authority of the Audiencia.
• Don Pedro de Bolivar: A secular auditor of the Audiencia who resists ecclesiastical overreach, faces intense persecution and sanctuary searches, and ultimately dies mysteriously in transit from exile in Cagayan.
• John Fitz-Gerald: An opportunistic Irishman who speaks Spanish, sets up practice as a surgeon in the islands using basic salves and immense confidence, marries well, and prospers under Spanish rule.
• Prince Jeoly: A native of the gold- and clove-rich Meangis Islands held as a slave in Mindanao, whose knowledge represents potential trade routes for English merchant vessels.

In Its Own Voice

"The Manila Tobacco is of a bright yellow colour, of an indifferent size, not strong, but Pleasant to Smoak."

Context: William Dampier compares the physical characteristics and market preparation of Mindanao tobacco with the superior leaf produced by Spaniards in Manila.

"At last we were driven off into deep Water, and then it was in vain to wait any longer: Therefore we hove in our Sheet Cable, and got up our Sheet Anchor, and cut away our best Bower..."

Context: Dampier describes the desperate seamanship required during a violent typhoon off the coast that forced his ship out to sea, leaving shore crew behind.

"...he replied that he was encumbered with affairs of more importance than those of Don Juan de Vargas, and could not make answer."

Context: Father Luis Pimentel recounts Archbishop Pardo's blunt, defiant response to the royal decrees issued against him by the Audiencia.

What It's Really About

The text examines the intense friction between ecclesiastical power and civil authority within the early modern Spanish Empire. It reveals how colonial governance was constantly fractured by jurisdiction struggles, where papal bulls, royal decrees, and church interdicts were weaponized for political dominance. Beyond the urban power struggles of Manila, the volume illustrates the imperial commercial rivalries of the late seventeenth century. Through the eyes of an English privateer, the archipelago is framed not merely as a pious Catholic outpost, but as a strategic trade node rich in timber, gold, and agricultural produce, vulnerable to Dutch monopolies and English commercial expansion.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to historians, maritime enthusiasts, and readers interested in early colonial history. It offers an immediate, unvarnished look at seventeenth-century Southeast Asia, free from modern historical framing. The prose alternates between William Dampier's crisp, pragmatic observations of navigation and local life, and the dense, dramatic legal rhetoric of Spanish colonial administrators.

Reading this work requires patience. The text presents raw historical documents, including complex legal disputes, period-specific religious terminology, and archaic administrative titles. Yet beneath the formal colonial prose lies a deeply human drama of political survival, high-seas peril, and institutional intrigue. It stays with the reader as a vivid portrait of an era when a single cup of chocolate could spark rumors of political assassination, and a sudden change in the monsoon winds could reshape the fate of a ship's crew.

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