Volume 29 — Relation of the Insurrection of the Chinese

Its causes and beginning

Advice is given in Manila. First assault of the enemy, and its result

The enemy advance to San Pedro. They are pursued, and are defeated in Calamba

The Chinese of Sagar and Santa Cruz rebel

The Sangleys of the Parián revolt

Events at the port of Cavite and other places at this time

Encampment of the insurgents; damages which they inflict; levies of men to oppose them

The enemy are dislodged, and pursued as far as Bocaue

The enemy return to Sagar and San Mateo

The governor had no information of the road that the enemy took in their flight; accordingly, while he was waiting for this, he endeavored to have his army take some rest in the village of Bocaue. But little rest did the insurgents have; for, seeing the misfortunes that pursued them, and so many of their men (in whose numbers they were trusting to make themselves masters of the country) dead, or wounded, or disheartened, they resolved to remove from [the vicinity of] our camp. Returning to their familiar haunts of Sagar and San Mateo—which is a visita of the village of Pasig, belonging to the fathers of St. Augustine—desirous of avenging their defeats and the loss of their dead, and feeling safe on account of our troops being so far away, they sent some bands of their people to burn the church and village of Pasig, which they did. Other Sangleys, roaming through the hills, found among them some tiny hamlets of the natives, where they had concealed their valuables, and their children and wives, to save them from the common danger; and these were in very great danger of falling into the hands of these enemies. Our Lord delivered these people, although the Sangleys took possession of what they found in the huts. Then their scattered bands being reunited with those whom they had sent to hunt for provisions, they formed their camp on a hill, and the various bands built shelters for themselves.

As soon as the governor knew where the enemy were now encamped, he went in pursuit of them, and on the twelfth [of January] he halted on the river San Mateo. The next day he went in person, with some few horsemen, to reconnoiter, and on the way encountered a troop of about a hundred Sangleys; fifty of them were armed, and the rest were laden with rice and other provisions. Our men attacked them and killed twenty or more of the Sangleys, without any loss on our side—although Captain Juan Fiallo found himself in great danger. On this as on other occasions he displayed honorable proofs of his valor; for, having wounded a Sangley in the forehead with a lance-thrust, and felled him to the ground, the latter, suddenly raising himself from between the horse’s feet, slashed at him with a Japanese catana, with which at one thrust he wounded both the captain and the horse. The captain quickly turned his horse about, and securing room for using his lance, ran it entirely through the Sangley’s body, at one side; it pierced so deeply that it was impossible to pull out the weapon, so he had to leave it sticking in the body. But the Sangley, with the anguish or the desperation of death, eager to avenge it rather than endure it, with his own hands drew out the lance, and, bracing himself with it on the ground, attempted to attack the man who had wounded him. But at this moment he was himself attacked by a lay religious belonging to the Society of Jesus, who rendered good service in the war throughout its active period—and at this time with especial good fortune, since he freed the captain from danger by completing the killing of the Sangley. All the rest of the Sangleys fled, and the governor returned to his camp, to give orders for the attack on the enemy, who during all the time while they remained in the hills never ceased from inflicting damages. They burned the church of San Mateo, and that of Taytay, a house and church of the Society of Jesus, and a visita of Antipolo; also Santa Cruz and Mahayhay. According to what many of them said, their chief incentive to setting these fires was what happened to a certain Sangley. Desiring to become a Christian, he buried an idol which he had, of which they relate fables very similar to those about Mars, calling it “the god of battles.” This Christian Sangley was one of the insurgents, and, desiring to appease this god, managed with others to disinter it, entreating its protection on the present occasion. They say that the idol spoke to them, saying that it considered itself appeased and satisfied for the previous injury done to it; and promising them, besides this, its favor, provided that they would burn all the churches, profane all that was sacred, and inflict on the Christians all the harm that they possibly could.

Success of our troops, and defeat of the enemy in Antipolo

The enemy, not regarding themselves as safe in the mountains where they had hidden, managed to retreat to those of Antipolo, as being more suitable for the fortified post which they built there. On account of the extent of the place, the greater part of their people had gone into it, after burning the village and the residence of the Society of Jesus; they attempted to do the same with the church, but could not accomplish this, as it was built of stone. Some remained behind, and, desirous of reconnoitering the place, and doing the enemy some damage, Captain Juan Fiallo went out with as many as thirty horsemen, and a large number of Indians with lances and bows. The roads were exceedingly rugged, and both footmen and horsemen had to trust to their own exertions for success. They commenced to make their way through the mountains, with more spirit than reflection, for at the middle of their journey they found themselves unable to go on. The enemy were on their rear, and at either side were precipices and deep ravines—all the fault of ignorant guides. It was impossible either to advance or to retreat; and so they fell in death, one after another, their courage ineffectual, and without room in which to make resistance. Accordingly, they rushed to fling themselves down the precipices, abandoning some their horses and some their weapons, and all in this danger losing their presence of mind. The enemy had the opportunity to put an end to all of our men, if God had not blinded their eyes. Five or six Spaniards, with their arms and horses, returned to the camp and gave news of this disaster; and within a few days some others returned, unarmed and on foot; as for the rest, the Sangleys disposed of them as we shall see later.

The governor, grieved at this result, collected more horses from the neighboring ranches, and, sending to Manila for saddles, equipped his men anew, all eager for vengeance. This consumed much time, which gave the enemy leisure to fortify themselves in four places, in the village of Antipolo and in the mountain region thereabout; but it deprived our troops of [the opportunity of] marching against the enemy until they arrived in sight of the new fortifications. The difficulty of the attack was very evident, for the enemy held the heights, and had stones with which they had built their enclosures, by hand-work, very strong and well-arranged, as was remarked by our men. In this work, the great number of their men, and their strenuous efforts, had made up for the lack of time. No less active were our men in making ready [for the attack]; and the more difficult the undertaking, the more their courage rose. The Indians displayed great gallantry, with a few Spaniards making themselves masters of the first two strongholds or intrenchments—from which the enemy retreated with the loss of some of their men; the rest, a crowd of armed men, taking refuge in the other two defences, at the highest part of the fortification, regarded these as impregnable, and accordingly kept in them provisions of all kinds, enough to last a long time. There they awaited our men, who marched in good order, and attacked the first intrenchment on three sides. They were everywhere preceded by Indian shield-bearers, in order that these might with their shields stop the stones and other missiles that the Sangleys were throwing; the Indians did this valiantly, being thus very helpful to the rest of the army; for the Spaniards, being able to use their firearms without hindrance, with them everywhere drove back the enemy. The latter, discouraged at the death of so many of their number, and seeing our soldiers ascending the hill, took to flight. This gave new energy to our victorious men, who in order to complete their conquest at once continued their march, with the same good order and precaution, to the innermost fortification, the strongest and most difficult of all, and the most skilfully built and best provided with supplies. Nothing withstood the perseverance of our men, flushed by their recent success, and stimulated by the sight of their governor, who was present throughout the action; they eagerly attacked the enemy, who valiantly resisted, replying with their firearms to the volleys from our arquebuses, and with stones to the javelins and arrows [of our Indians]—relying on these weapons alone, as they had the advantage in position. But their courage alone could not equal that of our men; and, seeing that ours were now pressing them hard, and, almost on their hands and knees, steadily gaining possession of their last height, the Sangleys, having little strength to defend it, turned their backs and began to flee. Our men kept up the pursuit of the enemy for more than a legua, until they drove out the fugitives from their hiding-places, and many of the latter flung themselves over the cliffs in those mountains—where the enemy, although at the outset he had been well defended, was on this occasion thoroughly defeated.

Those [of the Spaniards] who were killed in this combat and assault were about twenty; and as the victory had been so glorious, not only by the strength of the enemy but by the valor of our soldiers, all the bells were rung in Manila, and on the following day, at the governor’s request, solemn mass was said in all the churches, and the most holy sacrament was exposed, in thanksgiving for so fortunate a success.

In the enemy’s camps were found large quantities of supplies and arms; and on the ground were many books which they had taken from the religious houses that they burned; from these they made breastplates and other defensive armor. In the cemetery of Antipolo, which was the quarters of their leaders, were found several of their proclamations, in Chinese characters; these were fastened to the trees, to serve for the proper government of their forces. There were twenty dead horses who had fallen into the ravines, with their saddles broken; and three Spaniards were found whose heads had been cut off. These were part of those who had flung themselves from the precipices; among them was a lay religious of the Augustinians, who had accompanied the soldiers on that expedition. These bodies, although they were putrid, were so tightly bound that the cords had cut into the flesh, all indicating the cruelty of the Sangleys. Although this moved our men to deserved compassion and just indignation, they felt much more keenly the discovery of many fragments of holy images that lay on the ground. In especial, there was found a carved figure of the holy Christ, three palmos in height, among the embers and ashes of a house which the Sangleys had undertaken to burn; the fire had been content to blacken the image a little, in order that it might testify to the miracle—since all regarded it as such, that the image should remain unhurt in the midst of so hot a fire. The soldier who found the image presented it to the governor, who at sight of it was deeply moved, as were the army also when it was raised on high, [made] by him who had abased it more glorious than before; and all entertained hopes that the army which should fight under such a banner would annihilate the enemy by a signal victory.

Injuries which the enemy committed during their flight

It is characteristic of cowards to affect courage when they meet no opposition or do not fear resistance; the enemy did not encounter this in the ranch of Antipolo, whither he went when he emerged from the mountains and hollows in which he had taken refuge from our attacks and the slaughter which he could not make among our troops. For the latter were marching accompanied by the governor, who was desirous of catching the enemy in the flat country that he might offer them battle there, when they would not be able to avail themselves of the ruggedness of the mountains or the depth of the ravines; the armies faced each other, now ready to come to blows, and the enemy were almost surrounded by our troops on all sides. Although without realizing how little they could depend upon their hands, they trusted to their feet; they now placed their main defense in flight, burning the village and church of Baras—valiant for only such acts of cowardice. Our men kept at the heels of the enemy, although it was one of the greatest hardships of this war to have to march so long through very rough roads amid the inclemencies of heat and rain. The insurgents pursued the route toward the village of Tamar, whither also our army proceeded, in order to compel them to give battle, or else to harass and disturb them by never allowing them opportunity to have any rest. Our men reached the flat top of a hill, and halted on the summit, without having any knowledge of the enemy—who were so near that even their voices could soon be heard. When our men perceived the enemy, and saw how few they were (for at that time they did not number two thousand), they began to surround the Sangleys in order to attack them; and the battle began with such fury that the enemy, in desperation, came close to the mouths of the Spanish arquebuses. Our men defended themselves valiantly, at little cost to themselves but with much loss to the enemy; since, although the battle began with great risk [to us] on account of their multitude, our weapons were well plied on both sides [of them]. When the enemy had attacked our position and would have gained the advantage, Don Rodrigo de Guillestegui arrived, whom the governor had sent with a company of horsemen and five hundred Indians, sounding the alarm to them through the rearguard. At the sound of the drums, and when the enemy saw themselves attacked on both sides, and knew that the rest of our army (which had been absent) was there, they already used their weapons with less spirit; and, their hopes of gaining the victory being dashed, they began to retreat, so as not to give it to our men—but with much loss of their own—and as they were in a place where the cavalry could range freely. The damage that they received was much greater [than what they inflicted], and was sufficient to enable those of their number who had more prudence to urge more strenuously, from that time on, negotiations for peace—of which they had begun to talk a few days before, but with little, if any, effect.

Garrisons are placed in the churches, and peace is discussed

Peace is concluded, and both armies return to Manila

After thorough reflection, while those of our camp were waiting for the enemy to submit and give up their arms, the latter saw that the conditions demanded for making peace did not depend on him whose strength had been broken, but on him who was able to boast of his advantage and superiority; and how, if the negotiations for peace arose more from the needs of the case and from our strength than from mercy and compassion, the governor would have closed, as it were, the gates of mercy with the determination to destroy them, if he had not checked his anger, and given to the religious in whose hands was this affair time for endeavoring to convert them to a more prudent decision. Finally, they agreed that all should surrender themselves and give up their weapons. A place was appointed at a little distance from our camp, between which and theirs was a river; at its crossing stood our men in two ranks, before whom the Sangleys passed, laying down the weapons that they carried. As soon as all of them, some eight thousand in number, had reached their station, arrangements were made for their return to Manila, the governor charging the master-of-camp to set out with the two armies. This was done, and they marched until they arrived in the parade-ground at Bagumbayan, opposite the city, on the evening of Friday, March. 15. The governor arrived that same evening, and the two armies encamped there for the night. At dawn of the following day, the drums sounded for the march, which was conducted in this order. In the vanguard went Captain Juan Fiallo with the cavalry, to the sound of trumpets; next some companies of Pampango infantry, those of the Cagayan Indians, the Zambal archers, and the Indians who carried javelins and shields in the battalion. Next came all the Sangley forces, and in the rearguard the Spanish infantry, with the master-of-camp. The halberdiers of the governor followed, and in their midst was one on horseback, who carried as a standard the image of the blessed Christ from Antipolo, mounted on a staff. Last of all came the governor, accompanied by his suite, and by many volunteer horsemen who had gone to the war. In this order they proceeded along the causeway to the bridge over the river, and across it to Tondo; and there our troops left the Sangleys inside a stockade which they had built as a precaution, with soldiers guarding them on all sides. The governor went thence to his palace by water, and the master-of-camp marched with his soldiers to the city. The people received them with great joy at seeing the war ended, as it had caused them so much anxiety and lasted so long a time—for it began on November 20, 1639, and came to an end on March 15, 1640.

The slain in both armies; the enemy’s weapons and mode of warfare; and the damage committed by them.

The persons who most distinguished themselves in our army

The activities in Manila during the time of the war, not only in defense of the city, but in prayers

[The following additional points regarding the Chinese insurrection are taken from a pamphlet entitled Relacion verdadera del levantamiento de los Sangleyes (i.e., True relation of the Sangley insurrection), which was printed in Madrid, by Catalina de Barrio y Angulo, in 1642 (our transcript of the same having been made from the original existing in Biblioteca y Museo de Ultramar, Madrid): “Calamba is twelve leguas from Manila. The Chinese corresponded with a Chinese pirate named Yquan Sanglus; it was arranged that he should come to aid them on Christmas Eve, 1639 (the day set for the treason), and to capture the galleons from New Spain. There were 35,000 licensed Sangleys in Manila and its vicinity, besides 10,000 more in remote provinces. In Manila at this time there were thirty foot-soldiers, thirty horsemen, fifty Japanese, and seventy Siyaos. The value of the goods destroyed in the Parián was 5,000,000 pesos; and the houses (built of molave wood), with the church and the stone houses, all together were worth 2,000,000. Twenty champans brought to Mariveles the Sangleys from neighboring provinces, to join the Manila insurgents; but a Spanish and Pampango force went out against than, who sank eleven of the champans and killed six hundred and fifty men. Among the troops levied by the governor were a company of Japanese, and two of Sangley mestizos. Chinese prisoners confessed that their general had offered, to each Sangley who should bring in a Spanish head, a large reward, including a Spanish woman to be his wife. A body of religious from all the orders, aided by some Indians and ten soldiers, undertook to defend the passage across the river, and killed many of the enemy. On February 24, 1640, the starving Sangleys surrendered, to the number of 7,793.”]