Volume 37 — CHAPTER XVII

Second election as provincial of our father Fray Diego de Ordás; loss of the galleon “Victoria;” and insurrection in Pampanga.

During all his three years in the government of this province, our father Fray Alonso de Quijano proved himself a prudent and devout superior—and such were needed in times so calamitous as were those of which we are writing; for a great deal of misfortune fell to the lot of our province, as we were very short of religious to serve in the hard work of the missions. For as an offset to the small reënforcement that had come in the year 1654 from Nueva España, twenty had died—among whom were the former provincial fathers, Fray Jerónimo Medrano and Fray Andrés Verdugo, who were equivalent to the loss of many, as they were two firm columns of this province. The procurator who was sent during the past years, Fray Cristobal Enriquez, had died in Cáceres, his birthplace, before obtaining a mission, because of the many difficulties that he had to encounter, and that is the main cause of his early death. Father Fray Juan de Torres, who had been despatched after him, died in this Southern Sea while sailing toward Acapulco. Thus did this afflicted province find itself reduced to so short a number of religious that they were unable to sustain so great a weight. That lack of religious was suffered not alone by our province but by all the other orders, who complained of the same affliction; for the loss of so many galleons, and the difficulty in securing despatches in España because of the many war expenses, delayed the reënforcements necessary for the aid of the missions. The worst was, that as they were so few and carried the work of many, more of them died; for they were worn out by the too heavy load which necessity laid upon them. All those adversities were tempered by the wisdom and great prudence of our father Fray Alonso Quijano during his afflicted triennium; for his peaceful countenance quieted the most severe storms, and gave proofs of the great wealth of prudence and sagacity which reposed in his breast, so that he left all the province desirous of again placing him in the foremost place of the command whenever they had an opportunity of making so wise a choice—as happened in the year 1665, which will be related in its proper place.

[That insurrection is continued in chapter xviii, and that chapter and the two following deal also with the insurrection of the Pangasinans in 1660–1661. Chapter xxi deals with the raid of the Pangasinans and Zambals into the province of Ilocos in 1660–61, and the insurrection of the latter people is continued also in the three following chapters. All of these insurrections will be dealt with later in this series.]