Two Letters from Gomez Perez Dasmarinas to Felipe II

Sire: 

Last year, 1592, I gave your Majesty an account, in various letters (written in duplicate), of the condition of matters in this country, and of everything that had occurred up to that time of which I should advise you, and at greater length.  Now I repeat that information sending with the present letter a brief summary or memorandum of the various points about which I wrote, so that, being thus reminded of what required deliberation, your Majesty may be pleased to order that all these matters be examined and suitable action taken.  But lately (April 27), on the arrival at this port of a vessel from Mexico, I received no letter from your Majesty or your councils, because no fleet went hence to Mexico this year.  Consequently I shall note here only what has happened since last year.  Since I have had, this year, no news of your Majesty’s health, may it please His Divine Majesty, that when this letter reaches you, it will find your Majesty enjoying the health needed by the interests of Christendom, and the prosperity for which we, your Majesty’s vassals and servants, pray; and may this continue so for many long and happy years, so that the disturbed and embarrassed condition of affairs which now generally prevails may be reduced to order.

As I have written to your Majesty of our need here of ministers to give Christian instruction, I have great hopes that your Majesty has done us the favor to send a great force of missionaries to this vineyard and to this new field of Christendom, which so sorely needs them.  I hope, too, that these laborers will not come from Mexico, but from Espana, and that they will be among those who are most needed there; for this land, so new and so distant from your Majesty’s royal sight, demands such men.  Likewise they should be humble, peaceful subjects, loving God and your Majesty, and attentive to their ministry of preaching the holy gospel and the salvation of souls.  They should not be men with selfish interests, or have special objects or pretensions in view which would divert them from their chief aim.  I am hoping for them chiefly because of the great need for them in the province of Tuy.  This province was rendered obedient to your Majesty without bloodshed and voluntarily, by means of the fathers.  At that time they paid some beads, and rice, and some small articles of little or no value, only as a slight token of recognition.  I thought it better, according to our promises to them, not to collect any tribute from them inside of one year; and although this time has expired, still I have not thought it proper to collect the tribute, because of our lack of ministers to instruct them, and because I am thinking of founding a Spanish settlement there.  This latter I propose doing, on account of the fertility of that region, and its superior climate, as well as the robustness of the Indians,