Note 15 — Chapter XVIII

The governor and Audiencia determined to restore Don Fray Hernando Guerrero to his church, and on June 6, 1636, they withdrew him from the island of Mariveles. He entered Manila amid the great rejoicing of all, who could not look enough at their beloved shepherd; and commenced to govern his church. But it was not with the peace that he ought to have had, for new contentions and new causes for anger arose daily with the governor, who was ever despotic in his actions.15 The archdean Don Andrés Arias Xirón took possession of his prebend, but God did not permit that he who had been the origin of so many disasters should obtain much; for in a short time he sickened with dropsy and other bad complications, and died in the flower of his age. The greatest evil was that he died impenitent, refusing to be absolved from the excommunication and censures by which he was bound, although the archbishop, as a pious shepherd, sent a priest to his house to persuade him to be absolved. The soldiers who took the archbishop into exile all died within two years, by quick and sudden deaths. The auditor Zapata died suddenly, being found dead in his bed, although he had retired in perfect health. The governor lost his nephew, Don Pedro de Corcuera, whom he loved dearly; and another nephew, named Don Juan de Corcuera, perished while going as commander of the ship “Nuestra Señora de la Concepción,” which was dashed to pieces in the islands of the Ladrones (today the Marianas), where many people were lost, and where the governor lost a great quantity of riches, which his greed (which was great) had amassed during his term. At this same time, Don Pedro de Francia, brother-in-law of Don Pedro [de] Corcuera, died; and so that no branch of that house might be left, God took to himself Don Pedro de Francia, son of Don Pedro Corcuera and Doña Maria de Francia. The same year the governor received news of the death of his brother, Don Iñigo Hurtado de Corcuera. His entire government was fatal and unfortunate; and later, in his residencia for it, he suffered many troubles, for he was kept prisoner for five years in a castle, and all his property was confiscated. Misfortune followed him into all parts, for having returned to España, where he was corregidor of Córdoba, they tried to kill him, and he got out of it by the skin of his teeth. Finally, when he was governor of the Canarias, it is said that he died suddenly. I write here only the results; I shall not consider what so many disasters together demonstrate. I leave the generally-known things which these islands still bewail, since the universal knowledge of them frees me from it; and in the following chapter, another and better pen [will take it up.]16