Conquest and Pestilence in the Early Spanish Philippines

CHAPTER 8 Southwest Luzon

133 C H A P T E R 8 Southwest Luzon F or the purposes of this study, southwest Luzon comprises the administrative jurisdictions of Laguna de Bay and Cavite, together with regions on the south coast variously known as Balayan, Bonbón, Batangas, Calilaya, and Tayabas, as well as the island of Mindoro.1 The history of southwest Luzon was closely tied to that of Manila. The friar estates that developed in the west of the region became major suppliers of provisions for the city and gave it a distinct economic and social structure. Also located in the west were the shipbuilding industry and naval dockyards at Cavite. Elsewhere the imprint of colonial rule was weaker. Indeed, remoter parts of the region emerged as zones of refuge for large numbers of vagabonds, whose activities earned them a reputation for banditry. Mindoro was a significant trading center in pre-Spanish times, but it was soon eclipsed by the growth of Manila , although beeswax and honey remained significant items of trade throughout the colonial period.2 Gold deposits were found in Mindoro and gold figured among early Spanish exactions, but there is no evidence that the deposits were worked in colonial times.3 Mindoro therefore became an economic backwater where the missionary orders worked intermittently. Moro raids from Sulu and Mindanao occasionally afflicted the southern coast, Cavite, and Mindoro, but they were not as frequent as in the Visayas. Spanish contacts with the region were initiated by Juan de Salcedo early in 1570 when on an exploratory expedition from Panay he touched the island of Ilin, sacked the town of Mamburao in Mindoro, and destroyed some settlements on the island of Lubang.4 The expedition that returned in May 1570 under Martín de Goiti also explored Mindoro and had skirmishes with Filipinos in the province of Taal.5 Landing at Cavite, this expedition was well-received because the local inhabitants hoped to gain Spanish support against Raja Soliman. Nevertheless, a permanent settlement was not established at that time. It was only after the founding of Manila and the defeat of the Moro strongholds at Taytay and Cainta that Juan de Salcedo was ordered by Legazpi to proceed with the pacification of Laguna de Bay. Accompanied by the Augustinian father Alonso de Alvarado, he headed for Bay, which was the largest settlement in the region, and, having persuaded the inhabitants to recognize Spanish authority, moved on with a small contingent to pacify hostile communities in the hills. Here it was claimed he brought more than two hundred villages under Spanish rule without shedding a drop of blood.6 Prior to pacification, 134 Part III Southern Luzon in January 1571 the coastal towns between Manila and Cavite, including Cavite itself , had been made tributary to the Crown, and Martín de Goiti had assigned 8,000 tributaries in Laguna de Bay and the River Bonbón.7 In November a further eleven encomiendas were distributed, and the following year several others were assigned. In total more than 130 villages were allocated. Once pacification had been achieved, the religious orders rapidly established a permanent presence in Laguna de Bay. An Augustinian father accompanied Juan de Salcedo on his expedition in 1571, and some attempts were made to suppress devil worship and sacrifice in the vicinity of Mahayhay, Lilio, and Nagcarlan before the Augustinians established a monastery at Bay in 1578.8 It was apparently a populous town whose inhabitants produced silk and cotton stockings.9 The Augustinians also founded residences at San Pablo de los Montes and Los Baños in 1586 and 1602 respectively.10 By then the Franciscans had established a monastery and hospital for Spaniards at Los Baños and were exploiting its medicinal waters.11 They had arrived in Laguna de Bay in 1578 and had immediately begun to learn Tagalog.12 By the 1590s they had established residences at Pila, Lumban, Mahayhay, Nagcarlan, Panguil, Paete, Siniloan, and Morón, where they were ministering to 7,620 tributos and 22,903 Christians.13 In fact, southwest Luzon became a predominantly Franciscan province. The Augustinians retained only two residences at Bay and San Pablo, which in 1610 together had 3,000 tributos and 9,000 “indios de confesión.”14 However , they founded others in the province of Taal at Batangas, Tabuco, Tanauan, and Lipa (San Sebastián), where in 1610 they were administering 4,100 tributos or 12,300 “indios.”15 Meanwhile, early Franciscan work in the province of...