Note 15 — And in Neighboring Provinces and Realms, From July, 1618, to the Present Date in 1619

The island of Mindanao is one of these Philipinas; it is inhabited by Mahometan and heathen people, who make fierce war upon us. They sally out with their little fleets, repeatedly plunder the towns, desolate the fields, capture many Indians, and even Spaniards, and kill a great number of people. This year the Lord has been pleased that they should not be able to sally forth as usual, as they have been very much occupied in civil wars. And if the Hollanders were not so constantly engaging our attention, and we were to go there, they might be destroyed—as is asserted by a Franciscan friar who has been a captive among them for a long time, and has recently come from there.15 But we leave it to God; for He, with His most lofty providence, knows how to govern in His own way.