I The King

By order of the king, our sovereign: 

Juan de Civica

I, Pedro Muno de Herrera, who exercise the office of scrivener of the assembly of the royal Audiencia and Chancilleria of the Philipinas Islands, had this copy drawn and drew it from the original royal decree which is in my possession, by order of Don Alonso Faxardo de Tenca, comendador of the redoubt in the order of Alcantara, governor and captain-general of these Philipinas Islands, and president of this royal Audiencia.  It is a certified copy and is thoroughly revised and collated with its original.  In the city of Manila, on the twentieth day of the month of August, one thousand six hundred and twenty, witnesses being Ambrosio Corrales and Pedro Munoz de Herrera, junior.

Pedro Munoz de Herrera

[86] In the preceding document, this name appears as Juan Saenz de Hegoen.

[87] The original if read strictly requires the above translation.  It reads “porque son gente de mucho fruto y no se buelven tantos dellos como de otras Religiones y particularmente la de Santo Domingo que e entendido sean ydo delta mas de los que yo quissiera.” “Della” should refer then to “la” and thence back to “religiones.”  But the meaning cannot be that the religious left the order, but rather their brethren in the islands and returned to Nueva Espana or Spain.  Fajardo’s language throughout this letter is loose and complicated, and it is possible that, “della” refers to the word “tierra” ("country”) understood, in which case the translation would be “have left the country.”

[88] Alonso Baraona was a native of Quintanario, of the province of Bargos.  He took his vows in the Augustinian college of Burgos in 1596, and was prior of the college of Santo Nino in 1607.  He ministered in Dumangas (1608), Batan (1609), Jaro (1616), Aclan (1613), and Passi (1614); and became definitor ami prior provincial in 1617.  In 1623 he was at Bay, and died, in 1626.  See Perez’s Catalogo.

[89] The cardinal archduke Albert of Austria was the sixth son of Maximilian II and Maria of Austria, and was born in Austria November 13, 1559.  In 1570 he was sent to Spain, where he rose rapidly in Philip’s favor.  In 1577 he received the cardinal’s hat from the pope and was made archbishop of Toledo by Philip in 1594.  He was viceroy of Portugal from 1584-1595, when Philip, thinking to appease the people of the Low Countries, made him commander or regent there, and determined to marry him to his daughter Isabel.  The sovereignty of all the Netherlands was to be left jointly to them and their heirs, and, in case of no issue, to revert to the Spanish crown.  Philip formally abdicated his authority over the Low Countries, May 6, 1598, and their marriage was solemnized jointly with that of Philip III, April 13, 1599, after Albert had renounced his cardinalate and archbishopric.  He died July 13, 1621, after ruling his provinces humanely and generously, although unable to stem the current toward Dutch independence.  See Moreri’s Dictionnaire.