Note 1 — Letter from Domingo de Salazar to Felipe II

It is very evident, and can be denied by no one, that the loss of that particular ship was ordained by God; for, three days before it reached the coast [of California], another ship—from Macao, bound for Mexico—passed the same place and was not sighted by the Lutherans. When news was received in Piru of the coming of this pirate, the viceroy sent in pursuit of them a good fleet, with many soldiers and ammunition sufficient to engage an equal or greater number. When they came to the port of Acapulco, supplies were needed; and they requested these from the purveyor who had them in your Majesty's warehouses. He was unwilling to give them; and they even say that an order was given to detain some pack-teams which brought biscuits, so that the captain of the fleet from Peru could not take them. Thus they say that, as it Page 59was not desired to supply them with provisions, and because Doctor Palacios1 became dictatorial in regard to several points, they returned to Piru; while the Lutheran remained free to attack and capture, as he did. So great was our misfortune that, at the time when the two captains were debating as to who should take command, the pirate was near Puerto de la Navidad, which is not very far from Acapulco, repairing his ships. Had they attacked him, it would have been impossible for him to escape; but God chose to blind our men, so that we might be punished by this pirate. The punishment of God did not stop here; for, having set fire to the ship “Santa Ana,” they left it half burnt, set sail, and came to these islands. With more than human courage, they passed through the midst of them with a ship of one hundred toneladas, where the natives venture with trembling in very light boats; but this infidel dared not only to come into our midst, but to collect tributes from your Majesty's vassals. A Spaniard was captured, and after having told him what they wished him to say to us, they put him ashore. What they said was in boast that they had left the coasts of Peru and Nueva España utterly ruined; and that they had robbed and burned the ship “Santa Ana,” and hanged a canon who was on his way from this city to Mexico. In testimony of his prowess and our misfortune he displayed the silks, brocades, and cloths of gold which he had seized as plunder. Not content with this, he went away threatening us that he is to return soon to drive us all hence, and to destroy the nest that we Page 60have made here—meaning thereby the stone fortress built here. The grief that afflicts me is not because this barbarian infidel has robbed us of the ship “Santa Ana,” and destroyed thereby the property of almost all the citizens; but because an English youth of about twenty-two years, with a wretched little vessel of a hundred toneladas and forty or fifty companions, should dare to come to my own place of residence, defy us, and boast of the damage that he had wrought. As your Majesty has here an army of captains, who, as I understand, are certainly as many as the companions of the Lutheran, he went from our midst laughing, without anyone molesting or troubling him; neither has he felt that the Spaniards are in this land to any purpose. In this matter, I do not care to blame anyone, because I understand that the governor did his duty—although I was always of the opinion that the pirate should be pursued and that the result thereof would not be so bad as some say. The belief here, however, is that God is chastising us for our sins, and is making us the laughing-stock of other nations, who have all hitherto stood in such fear of us. I must explain to your Majesty two other points bearing on this subject, although it detains me somewhat, as I consider that I do thereby a very great service. The first is the failure of the expedition to Maluco. We all had been certain that with fewer men and less equipment than there actually were, the king of Terrenate could be subdued; but, quite to the contrary, our men came back as if fleeing from an unknown foe. The Indians of this archipelago, who feared us, now laugh; and, together with those of Terrenate, threaten us. The second point is that in the island of Mindanao, which is subject to your Page 61Majesty, and for many years has paid you tribute, the law of Mahoma has been publicly proclaimed, for somewhat more than three years, by preachers from Burney and Terrenate who have come there—some of them even, it is believed, having come from Meca. They have erected and are now building mosques, and the boys are being circumcised, and there is a school where they are taught the Alcoran. I was promptly informed of this, and urged the president to supply a remedy therefor at once, in order that that pestilential fire should not spread in these islands. I could not persuade them to go, and thus the hatred of Christianity is there; and we are striving no more to remedy this than if the matter did not concern us. Such are the calamities and miseries to which we have come, and the punishments which God inflicts upon us. The reason for it, He only knows; but, as I infer and fear, it is because we have ill acquitted ourselves in this land, where it is so needful that we be upright and furnish good examples. I have written to your Majesty on this point at other times; and I think that either my letters are not read, or what I say is not credited. I assure your Majesty that I have never written anything which is not true, and free from all outward influence, or self-interest, or human considerations; but I have only done my duty. The temporal affairs of this land are in the condition which I have related to your Majesty; and I consider that there will never be improvement, since cupidity is increasing so immeasurably that neither the punishments of God nor the threats of men are effectual to produce any moderation, nor do the manifold outrages cease to be felt.