Majesty; again, to keep themselves longer in the government—­have promised more than the land could raise.  The truth is that the islands are utterly drained by the wars and the loss of the six galleons which Don Juan de Silva had built, and with other misfortunes that have been written to the king our lord at greater length.  It is a marvel that Don Alonso de Faxardo has not died or become grievously ill with pain at finding these states so weakened, and his honor and that of the crown of Espana so jeopardized.  If any one thinks that Eastern India can aid us, I have seen, and Don Geronimo de Azevedo, viceroy of India, assured me, when he gave me four galleons with five hundred infantry and ninety-two pieces of artillery, that he was giving all he had to give.  And this was true, for he dismantled the forts to arm the galleons, and the latter were burned by the Dutch in the year one thousand six hundred and sixteen; so that we depend upon Espana alone for our aid.  Although the great advantages that have been enumerated should be enough to cause this aid to be given, yet for the pious and so Christian heart of your Lordship I think it better to set forth the multitude of souls converted—­who in the time of Don Francisco Tello, governor of these islands, numbered six hundred thousand baptized; and this city of Manila, small as it is, is the key to such great kingdoms as Japon, Coria, Great China, Sian, Patan, Camboja, the Xavas, Sunda, and Maluco, with which Manila is encompassed as is the center of a circle by its circumference.  If your Lordship have any interest in its preservation, I hope, through the divine Majesty, that it will be kept, for the honor of the Lord himself.  May He protect your Lordship for many years, according to the desire of your humble servant and chaplain.  Manila, December 20, 1618.

Joan de Ribera, rector of the college of the Society of Jesus at Manila.

[Endorsed:  “Madrid, November 20, 621.  To the Council for examination.”]

DOCUMENTS OF 1619-1620

Philippine ships and shipbuilding.  Sebastian de Pineda; [1619].  Royal decree regarding religious expelled from their orders.  Felipe III; February 19, 1619.  Proposal to destroy Macao.  Diego Aduarte, O.P.; [1619].  Relation of events in the Filipinas Islands, 1618-19. [Unsigned]; July 12, 1619.  Letter to Felipe III.  Pedro de Arce; July 30, 1619.  Letter to Felipe III.  Alonso Fajardo de Tenza; August 10, 1619.  Grant to seminary of Santa Potenciana.  Juan Onez, and others; 1617-19.  Reforms needed in Filipinas (to be concluded).  Hernando de los Rios Coronel; 1619-1620.

Sources:  All these documents save one are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the fourth is taken from a MS. in the Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid.

Translations:  All these documents save one are translated by James A. Robertson; the fourth, by Herbert E. Bolton, Ethel Z. Rather, and Mattie A. Austin, of the University of Texas.