(as they have no others to serve them except slaves); there are, then, 523U752 Christians in these encomiendas.  There are assigned to the royal crown 33U516 tributarios, and the rest are assigned and granted to deserving soldiers.  This is exclusive of the people who pay no tributes, that is, the chiefs.  There are, in all these one hundred and eighty-six encomiendas, the same number of monasteries and churches.  Some of them have two monasteries each as they are too large to be administered by two religious; ordinarily, to each one are assigned five hundred tributarios.  There are other encomiendas which have one monastery between two of them.  Averaging these, I suppose there are about three hundred and seventy-two priests, besides the laymen.  In the city there are about eighty or ninety, in four monasteries—­one of St. Dominic, another of St. Francis, another of St. Augustine, another of the Recollect Augustinians—­and the cathedral.  These places of worship have as handsome buildings as are those of the same class in Espana; and the whole city is built of cut-stone houses—­almost all square, with entrance halls and modern patios [i.e., open courts]—­and the streets are straight and well laid out; there are none in Espana so extensive, or with such buildings and fine appearance.  The city has as many as five hundred houses; but, as these ate all, or nearly all, houses which would cost 20U or more ducados in this court, they occupy as much space as would a city of two thousand inhabitants here.  For the wall, as measured by me, is 2U250 geometrical pasos in circumference, at five tercias for each paso, which makes three quarters of a legua. [53] In all these islands there are none unconverted except the Zambales, as I have said above, and those in the mountains where the mines are, and a few villages behind these same mountains, which are called the province of Ituri—­so called because it was discovered by Don Luys Perez de las Marinas, in the time of his father, who sent him there.  For lack of religious, the gospel has not been preached to them.  They are a peaceable people, and make no opposition.  In Nueva Segovia, which is under the charge of the Order of St. Dominic, there are some to be converted, who have not yet been settled peacefully, as they are warlike and restless Indians.  On the contrary, they have rebelled several times; but it has always been on account of injuries which the Spaniards have inflicted upon them.

Chapter III.  Of the islands of Maluco, and others adjacent to them; and of the spice and other articles that are contained in them.