The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof, Volume 1 (of 2)

The Spaniards were long behind their neighbours the Portuguese in prosecuting the important task of eastern investigation. The Papal division of the world between the discoverers of the two nations by the boundary of a certain meridian, made them follow the line of exploration to the westward.

The Father Andres de Urdaneta, who, previous to entering himself as a monk of the order of the Augustins, had been a skilful navigator, persuaded Philip II to realize the conquest of the Philippines, where the voyages and the life of the celebrated Magellan were brought to a close. This prince consequently issued orders to the viceroy of Mexico, to send out an expedition under the command of a native of Mexico, named Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, and desired that Andres de Urdaneta should accompany him, together with four other Augustines, viz., Diego de Herrera, Martin de Herrada, Pedro de Gamboa, and Andres de Aguirre. The fleet arrived in 1565 at the island of Zebu. On the 1st of June the same year, the Father Andres de Urdaneta returned to Mexico. In 1566 Legaspi built the town of Zebu, and the Augustines established a monastery as a station for their missions among the natives. The Spaniards, pursuing their conquests, arrived in 1571 at the island of Luzon, the most northerly and the largest of this archipelago: Legaspi here founded the city of Manilla.

The work of conversion and civilization was scarcely begun, when the island was engaged in a quarrel by the attacks of the Malays of Borneo and Mindanao. These pirates, too cunning to venture on an open struggle, landed suddenly on the coast, slaughtered or extorted money from the missionaries, and carried away several of the natives, whom they afterwards sold as slaves. In 1574 a more serious aggression diverted attention from the attacks of these pirates: a Chinese corsair, who was called King Limahon, appeared before Manilla. For a long time he had resisted the squadrons of his emperor, but at last, vanquished by numbers and forced to flee, he entertained the project of conquering Luzon with seventy-two vessels, which carried two thousand soldiers, bold adventurers, besides the sailors and one thousand five hundred women. They effected a landing on the 29th of November 1574, just after Lopez de Legaspi had been appointed governor-general of the Philippines. The corsairs marched against the Spanish town, which they expected to surprise; but a little corps of advanced guard, under the orders of Captain Velasquez, having given the garrison time to rally, a general battle took place, and ended in the defeat of the Chinese. Limahon in vain essayed to renew the attack: repulsed afresh, he took refuge at the mouth of the river Lingayen, in Pangasinan, the northern province of Luzon. At the time of his attack, he had been closely followed by a Chinese captain, charged to watch him, and who had a conference with the Spanish governor. The latter thought this a favourable occasion for introducing the Gospel into China. Having sent for Alfonso de Alvarado, provincial of the Augustins, a venerable and holy old man, one of those whom Charles V had sent to the discovery of New Guinea, he told him to select missionaries for the Celestial Empire. The provincial in his joy offered to go there himself, old as he was; but the governor would by no means consent to this proposal. The choice fell upon Martin de Herrada, or Rada, a native of Pampeluna, in Navarre, who had already filled the office of provincial, and who burned with such desire to convert the Chinese, that after having studied their language, he had made a proposal to some merchants of that nation who had come to the Philippines, that they should carry him as a slave to their country, where by this means he hoped to introduce the knowledge of the Gospel. They chose also Friar Geronimo Marin, a native of Mexico, a man equally distinguished for his piety and learning, and in company with these two missionaries, who they hoped would be able to remain a considerable time in China and to spread the knowledge of the Gospel there, they sent two soldiers, who were to bring back news respecting the progress of the mission. Besides other presents, the governor gave the Chinese captain all the slaves of his nation which the Spaniards had taken from Limahon, who was at that time held under blockade, to take them back free to their country. The 5th of July 1575, the friars landed at Tansuso [Gan-hai], whence, on their way to visit the governor of Chincheo [Tsiuen-cheu] they passed through the town of Tangoa [Tong-gan] in China.6 The mandarin of Chincheo, of whom the captain who conducted them held his commission, gave them a good reception; but as the ambassadors were sent by a simple lieutenant of the king of Spain, and not direct from the monarch, he insisted that they should address him on their knees. This mandarin, after having entertained them at a banquet, sent them with a good escort to the Tutan or viceroy of the province. They then made a journey of thirty leagues, carried in palanquins. At Aucheo [Focheou, so pronounced in the Fokien dialect] they met with an honourable reception. Each of the monks received a present of six pieces of silk tissue, which they crossed upon their breast in the manner of a stole, and two bouquets of silver: the other members of the embassy also had presents. As to the alliance proposed between Spain and China, and the permission requested by the missionaries for the exercise of their apostolic ministry, the viceroy referred them to the emperor. While waiting the reply from Pekin, the monks bought many books in the Chinese language, and visited the pagodas. The principal contained one hundred and eleven idols, all carved in relief and gilded. Three in particular attracted their attention. The first was a body with three heads, which looked at one another: they believed they saw in it a vague symbol of the Trinity. The second was a woman who held a little infant in her arms; they called her the Virgin Mother and the Divine Infant. The third represented to them an apostle. The monks having been to examine the gates of the city, this demand awakened the suspicions of the viceroy, who would seldom permit them to go out after. Upon his desiring to see some piece of writing by their hand, they copied for him the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, putting the Chinese translation to the Spanish text; and the viceroy took great pleasure in reading them. He only retarded their departure till the arrival of the visitor of the province, who desired to see them. The curiosity of this functionary once satisfied, he gave them rich presents for the Spanish governor of the Philippines, saying that they might return when they brought Limahon dead or alive. They then left Aucheo to return to Chincheo, where they made no lengthened stay, the mandarin of this town attending them to the port of Tansuso. After fresh entertainments, the Chinese captain who had brought them, was charged with the task of reconducting them to Manilla, and they embarked on the 14th of September 1575. En route, they learned that Limahon, who had been blocked up by the Spaniards, had contrived to escape with part of his troops, and had gained the island of Formosa.

The flight of Limahon disconcerted the Chinese captain who brought back the missionaries, and who feared that he should be disgraced on this account when he returned to China. This captain, to whom they explained the principal points of the Christian faith, would have embraced it, had he not feared the punishment inflicted in his country on those who forsake the national religion. He said even that they would easily succeed in converting the Chinese, if they could first gain over the emperor, by means of an embassy sent to him by the King of Spain.

Herrada, thus prevented from preaching, had not been idle during his stay in China; he composed a vocabulary of the Chinese language, now apparently unknown, and drew up a succinct account of his voyage, respecting which we translate some very curious remarks by the Friar Geronimo de Ramon, in his Republicas del Mundo. He says that this treatise fell into his hands, but was taken away by some one, he could not tell by whom, and never returned to him; a circumstance which caused him much annoyance, because he wished to write the Republic of China; but it turned out, he says, the better for him, for he wrote in consequence to the Licenciate Juan de Rada, Alcalde of the Upper Court of Navarre and brother of Martin, who sent him a great number of interesting papers of his brother's. He then proceeds to speak of the high respectability and credibility of De Rada, on account of his rank and distinguished piety. An original letter by De Rada, however, giving a succinct account of his embassy is inserted by the Friar Gaspar de San Augustin, in his Conquistas de las Islas Philipinas, to which we refer the reader for full accounts of all the movements of those zealous preachers of the gospel in the Philippines and in China at that early period.

De Rada's treatise formed the basis of the narrative compiled by Mendoza, which is now republished. On his return from China, his ship being stranded on the island of Bolinao, he and his companions were stript of everything and left naked; but were saved by the providential arrival of a Spanish armament, which conducted them safe to Manilla, where he died in 1577.

His narrative was transmitted to Philip II, in the year 1576, by the hands of his companion, the Friar Geronimo Marin, and the king consequently nominated three ambassadors; viz., Marin, the Father Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza (the compiler of the work now reprinted, a native of Toledo, and who had left the career of a soldier for the garb of a monk of the order of St. Augustine), and Father Francisco de Ortega: all these were Augustinians. They were dispatched to Mexico for the purpose of making suitable additions to the costly presents provided by the king; but the viceroy of Mexico, instead of favouring their immediate departure, threw so many obstacles in the way, that it was not till 1584 that the embassy was carried out, and it ultimately proved a complete failure.