The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER THREE: THE GOVERNMENT OF JUAN DE ESQUIVEL, May 1606-March 1609

Governor Acuña, after conquering Ternate, left for Manila on May 3, 1606, where he arrived on June 2, 1606. Before leaving Ternate, he appointed the “mestre de campo” Juan de Esquivel as commander of the fortress of Ternate.1 At his return, Acuña will be short-lived, in fact he will die on June 24, 1606, perhaps poisoned, a few days after his arrival in Manila.

A PRECARIOUS CONQUEST

Acuña’s haste to return to Manila, and the sultan’s deportation to Manila will be the main causes that will prevent the consolidation of Spanish power in the islands and therefore consequently will allow the Dutch to find fertile ground among the Ternatese natives. Esquivel also recognizes that Acuña left Ternate in a confused situation, without having completely subjected the population and especially the chiefs who had remained and who had retreated to the coast of Halmahera in the villages of Sabubo and Gilolo. ¹

NEW FORTIFICATIONS IN TERNATE AND TIDORE

In Ternate, where the old fortress was small and not very defensible, it was decided to build a new fortress in an “eminent part, mayor y más fuerte”. Unlike what it tells us Argensola² that is, that the new fort before Acuña’s departure for Manila was already finished and equipped with embankments and that the old fort had been reduced to “a short sitio”, it seems that the new fort was still to be built and that the old one was in bad condition, its walls according to Esquivel’s judgment would not have resisted any artillery fire and moreover its position was dominated by a hill which made the fort practically indefensible “with a gran padrastro a la parte del volcán, de suerte que no servía al enemigo de más que de casa en que bivir”, the only noteworthy defensive works of the city seem to have been the two walls that defended the two sides of the settlement, they each had two round ramparts to defend the entrance to the city.

Since the city stretched along the sea, the two walls were more than 2,000 paces apart, the land along the sea between the two walls is defined by Esquivel as pestilential. The place where the new fort was to be built was located behind the old fortress, right on the “padrastro” (stony hill?, rocky eminence?) which dominated the city, here the conformation of the land and the dominant position was judged perfect for construction of the new fortress. According to Acuña’s orders, the fort to be built had to be square in shape, “que tenga de centro 600 pies”, and have three bulwarks.

Before his departure Acuña had also ordered the construction of a Spanish fort on the island of Tidore, according to his orders a captain with 50 Spanish soldiers was to reside there. The site chosen for the construction of this new fortress was located very close to the king’s city (“lugar del Rey”) and about a quarter of a league from where the fort stood, which was burned “cosa de un quarto de legua de donde antes estaba, la que se boló y en la misma parte que dicen que Hurtado de Mendoça quizo hacerla quando estuvo aqu픳. The new fort had to be built on a hill above the sea, it was located in a highly defensible position, because it had two precipices on both sides, while behind it was the volcano, under the artillery fire of the fort they could repair 2 or 3 Galleons. ⁴

In garrison of the fort of Ternate and of the new fortress to be built in Tidore, they were left 600⁵ Spanish soldiers, 100 Philippine soldiers, two “galeotas”⁶ of 19 and 20 “bancos” and two or three other small boats with some sailors. The soldiers were divided into six companies, each consisting of 100 men, in command of each company was appointed a captain. Then there were 12 gunners. For the improvement and construction of the fortifications of Ternate and Tidore, 100 “gastadores herreros y carpinteros” from the Philippines were also left, of which 65 “gastadores” and 35 stonecutters.⁷

In addition to the position of commander of the fortress of Ternate entrusted, as we have seen, to the “mestre de campo” Juan de Esquivel. Other important positions were entrusted to Pedro de Heredia, who was appointed infantry captain of the fortress of Ternate and in the absence of the governor Juan de Esquivel he also had to take care of the things of Tidore. ⁸ While Lucas de Vergara was appointed captain and sergeant major of Ternate. ⁹

Juan de Esquivel with the force at his disposal, had the order to fight against the remnants of the Ternate forces who had taken refuge in Halmahera (also called Batachina del Moro) and to proceed with the improvement of the fortifications of the Ternate fortress. But life in the islands is not simple: already in early May 1606, Esquivel complains of the unhealthy climate of the islands (about half of the Spaniards are feverish), the sterility of the soil and the lack of meat and food. ¹⁰

PROBLEMS WITH THE TERNATESE

Immediately after Acuña’s departure, on May 4, 1606, Juan de Esquivel ordered the captains Martín de Esquivel and Pascual de Alarcón together with some Spaniards and the king of Tidore to leave for Sabubú, where the sultan’s uncles had taken refuge. Kaicili Suki and Kaicili Kafati. These dignitaries had been designated by the sultan as governors in his stead. The purpose of the Spanish expedition was to quickly convince them to respect the will of the sultan and to go to Ternate where they would have to deal with the government of the state. But the two refused to follow the Spaniards and remained in Sabubú where the last rebels and followers of the sultan were holed up. On the contrary, the two governors gathered around them several other citizens of Ternate who had initially remained under Spanish protection. Practically most of the population of the island of Ternate moved to Halmahera, leaving Ternate depopulated. The Ternatese, according to Esquivel, also elected a new sultan, son of the exiled sultan in Manila. ¹¹

In 1606, the Spanish planned to send garrisons garrisoning the islands of Tidore and Makian, the Jesuits will have to take care of the spiritual care of these soldiers.¹² In fact, a Spanish army was sent, in April 1606, to Makian with the aim of subjecting the island to the dominion of Tidore. In addition, Esquivel sent Spanish soldiers to Tacome and Malayo to protect the population from possible reprisals by the Tidorese.¹³

THE RETURN OF THE DUTCH

In the meantime, two Dutch ships arrived in the waters of the Moluccas, one of which was the one that had fled from Ternate at the arrival of Acuña’s armada. They anchored in the port of Talangame and then took refuge in the port of Xilolo (Geilolo) where most of the rebels were gathered.¹⁴

The Spaniards also found various difficulties in completely subjugating the island of Ternate, only two villages (Takome and Wakayu) close to the fortress, swore allegiance to the king of Spain, and asked for the presence of a Spanish garrison for defence, but also the inhabitants of these two villages, having learned of the arrival of Dutch ships, broke their oath and took refuge with other rebels in Geilolo, in the island of Halmahera (Batachina) where they fortified themselves.¹⁵

The arrival of the two Dutch ships reinvigorated the hopes of the Ternatese and to counteract this, the Spaniards organized several punitive expeditions.

THE SPANISH ATTACKS ON THE ISLAND OF HALMAHERA

By order of Esquivel, an army of galleys, at the head of which was Fra Antonio Flores, and caracoras, with 120 Spanish soldiers and troops of Tidore,¹⁶ commanded by Vergara, and with the king and prince of Tidore was sent against the Ternatese rebels and the villages that remained loyal to them in the island of Halmahera. Unable to attack their stronghold of Geilolo due to the presence of Dutch ships¹⁷, the Spanish launched a series of attacks on other villages in Halmahera.

The first attack was carried out against Gamocanora or Gran Bocanora or Ngamoconora (Gamkonorah, in the island of Halmahera) where after a bitter battle they managed to destroy the city, also capturing a good caracoa and to disperse the enemy troops. The village of Gamocanora is described as not inferior to Ternate in size and population. ¹⁸ It was then the turn of the village of Loloda, which was however abandoned by its inhabitants and occupied and destroyed by the Spaniards. In the village of Bisoa¹⁹ the inhabitants resisted the Spanish attack hard, but were then forced to give way, the battle ended without losses on the Spanish side even if there were many wounded. Even in the island of Doy the Spaniards conquered and destroyed the enemy fortress, after a fierce resistance.

The expedition was a great success, the villages were conquered and destroyed without losing even a single soldier, thanks to the aggressive and courageous temperament that Vergara instilled in the soldiers, who with him they said could also go to “conquestar el infierno”. The expedition continued reaching San Juan de Tolo and Morotay these places submitted to the Spanish without a fight. The Spaniards also obtained the submission and the promise of conversion to Catholicism of the city of Tolo, capital of the province of Moro and of the villages of Chiava (Cawa or Tjawa) and Samafo (Camafo).²⁰ During the stop in Tolo an indigenous messenger was sent to the population of the Tabelos, who lived in the mountains six leagues inland, the messenger requested submission to the King of Spain, this population known as barbaric and warlike, recognized obedience to the King of Spain and declared himself a vassal of the Spaniards, as a sign of submission and obedience, some land was sent. ²¹

The villages of the Laguna of Galela were then attacked, thanks also to the indications of the inhabitants of Tolo, who with a caracoa showed the way to the Spaniards, here in three days two fortresses were attacked and conquered, and this despite the valor with which the defenders fought. It was then the turn of the village of Mamuya, located halfway between San Juan de Tolo and Galela, this too was destroyed. The Spaniards returned to Tolo where a small garrison was placed with 25 Spanish soldiers and artillery, under the command of Juan Cortes, appointed captain of Tolo. Later, in August 1606, Juan Cortes was replaced as commander of the garrison of Tolo by Juan de la Torre, together with the new captain, the Jesuit father Gabriel Rengifo da Cruz also arrived in Tolo. Control of this area was very important for the livelihood of the Spanish troops in Ternate because it was an area that produced many foods, such as sago, rice, chickens, pigs and goats.

The city of Tolo was named San Juan de Tolo (São João do Tolo in Portuguese), because the Spaniards arrived at dawn on June 24, 1606, the day of Saint John the Baptist, at the request of the Christians of the village, a cross was immediately erected. The Jesuit friar Lorenzo Masonio was also part of the expedition. The expedition returned to Ternate where it was received with great jubilation. The whole area of Moro had already given good results of conversion to Catholicism during the Portuguese presence.

In Tolo a church and a residence was built for the father and 500 people were soon baptized, given the promising beginnings of this mission, the superior of the Jesuits of Ternate, father Luís Fernandes, also sent a second friar to Tolo, Jorge de Fonseca, in the first nine months of his mission, 1,400 people were baptized. Meanwhile, the island of Morotai, which had over twenty villages, also submitted to the Spanish. ²² The conversions were numerous especially in the villages of Tolo, Samafo and Chiava (Cawa), all located in the NE area of Halmahera. Also in Morotai the Jesuits obtained many conversions.²³

Juan de Esquivel, also in 1606, sent to the island of Mateo (Celebes) an expedition made up of a “galeota”, a brigantine and some other small boats at the command of which he appoints the standard-bearer Cristobal Suárez. The purpose of this expedition is to receive acts of vassalage towards the king of Spain from the peoples previously subject to the dominion of Ternate. The kings of Bool, Totoli and the queen of Cauripa submitted to Spain.²⁴

In August 1606, Esquivel sent a desperate plea for help to Manila, urgently asking for “comida, rropa, dineros y gente”. ²⁵

SUBMISSION OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SULTAN OF TERNATE

Later, with another expedition (in which the Augustinian Fra Antonio Flores also took part), Vergara together with the king of Tidore and the prince reached the fortress of Sabugo, where the rebels had retreated. Here the cachil Quipart met him on the beach where they had landed (according to what Baltasar (Delgas?), together with this cachil was also the cachil Suguil), uncle of the Sultan of Ternate and one of the governors whom the sultan had appointed to govern in his absence. The cachil followed in Ternate Vergara, where he signed the capitulations with Esquivel, then he returned to Sabugo. Thus it was that on 27 November 1606, as a consequence of the victories reported by the Spaniards at Halmahera, the capitulations were signed with the rebel leaders of Ternate. In them, the Ternatense recognized the king of Spain as their lord, and undertook in 15 points to submit to the Spanish requests.

Later, Vergara with another large army made up of caracoas, galleys and galliots, went to Jilolo, where he besieged the fortress, shelling it for three days both from the sea and from the land side, but failed to conquer it. However, the rebels, tried by the siege, made a promise of vassalage to the King of Spain and promised to eliminate all the artillery they had. Vergara, given the strength of the enemies and also because of the heavy losses he had suffered (25 or 26 Spaniards had died in the battle) accepted the promise, which however was not kept. ²⁶

LUIS VAEZ DE TORRES ARRIVES IN TERNATE

It was in this period that a Spanish expedition arrived in Ternate. This was the expedition of Pedro Fernandez de Queiros. A ship of the expedition of Pedro Fernandez de Queiros, the one captained by Luis Vaez de Torres, received the first news of the capture of Ternate by Acuña from an emissary of the Cape of Biliato. This emissary who converses with the Spaniards in Portuguese, is met by the Spaniards when the Spanish expedition arrived in the land of the low Papua, located five days’ journey from the kingdom of Bachan, where according to this emissary a Jesuit father was present.

The day following this meeting, the Spaniards had a visit from the village chief of Biliato and from a Moor who spoke Italian very well. A few days later the Spaniards arrived in Bachan, where they were well received and where they anchored in the port of Labua on 16 December 1606. From here the Spaniards sent a message to Ternate to the “mestre de campo” Juan de Esquivel, who replied with a letter carried by the Jesuit father Fonseca, who arrived in Labua on Christmas Eve. Esquivel asked to go to Ternate immediately to help him since almost the whole area was in open rebellion against the Spanish.

First, however, at the request of the king of Bachan it was decided to undertake a punitive expedition against a village, Cayoa (Kayoa), which had rebelled against his authority, and which was located halfway along the route to Ternate. The king of Bachan participated in the punitive expedition with a force consisting of 4 carracks and 500 men. The sangace of Labua, who was a Christian and spoke Portuguese very well, also participated in the enterprise. The enemy fort, made of stone and square in shape, was surrounded by a moat full of water, and could easily resist the attack, but was quickly conquered thanks also to the disorderly flight of the defenders. The village was looted and burned. Prado tells us that the impression aroused by this victory in the region was so great that some kings of the island of Gilolo (Halmahera) who were on the point of allying themselves with the Ternatese rebels went over to the Spanish side. ²⁷

After the conquest of Cayoa, the Spaniards stopped first in Maquien and then in Tidore, finally arriving in Ternate (about 8 months after the Spanish conquest, “el armada fue a dar a las yslas Malucas que auia ocho meses que se auian ganado las dihas fuerzas”)²⁸, where due to the shallowness of the port they were forced, on the advice of Esquivel, to anchor in the port of Rume on the island of Tidore.

At the express request made by the “mestre de campo” Juan de Equivel directly to Luis Vaez de Torres, don Juan de Espinosa y Zayas remained in Ternate, he was appointed adjutant to the sergeant major. ²⁹ Torres’ expedition probably arrived in Ternate in January 1607, in fact Esquivel tells us, on March 31, 1607, that “abra dos meses llego a estas yslas Luis Baez de Torres”. ³⁰ The license given by Luis Vaez de Torres to Juan de Espinosa y Zayas to remain in Ternate is dated Terrenate, March 19, 1607. His appointment (dated March 20, 1607) is necessary since the position of adjutant to the sergeant major was vague, due to the death of the old aide, the ensign Luis Suazo y Serain. ³¹

THE FIRST “SOCCORRO” FROM MANILA

After the conquest of Ternate, the Spanish received no help from Manila for several months. This delay in sending help is certainly due to the sudden death of Acuña. Due to the sudden death of Acuña, in fact, the first ships of the first “soccorro”, sent by the Audiencia, arrived only in 1607. Prado’s report informs us that the first reinforcements sent from Manila to Esquivel arrived on April 28, 1607, over a year after the taking of Ternate. ³²

Other documents inform us that Esquivel had sent the Franciscan friar Alonso Guerrero on a small champan to Manila to urgently ask for reinforcements. He succeeded in his mission and returned, on April 28, 1607, to Ternate with 8 small boats captained by Juan Iñiguez, with food and ammunition, these were the first supplies that arrived in the Moluccas after the conquest of the city by the Spaniards. ³³ Of this socorro, the Dutch were unable to capture a single vessel, but the Spaniards still lost to bad weather three frigates and a boat with material and food. ³⁴

With this “soccorro” insufficient aid arrived in Ternate: 5,700 baskets of rice (a quantity not even necessary for a year, greatly reducing the normal ration), a certain quantity of wine (less than half of that necessary for a year, giving a meager daily ration of “medium quartillo”), then meat arrived (this too was sufficient for only six months at meager rations of 4 ounces per day), furthermore even the clothes and shoes sent were insufficient for the needs of the troops. Esquivel requested the Audiencia to send new supplies for the month of October, which is the month in which the winds allow communications between the Philippines and the Moluccas to begin. Esquivel’s letter clearly reveals the sense of unease, abandonment and isolation in which the Spanish garrisons of Ternate find themselves, which he defines as “esta pobre gente en la parte mas rremota del mundo”. ³⁵

To try to settle the issue with the rebels from Ternate, Esquivel had appealed to Manila requesting that the sultan, prisoner in Manila, send his own heir with letters and precise orders of submission to Spain for his uncles and other rebel leaders. Despite Esquivel’s request that this person be neither a cachil nor a sangaje, the audiencia sent two important sangajes to Ternate with orders from the sultan.

Upon the arrival of the relief fleet with the two sangajes on board, Esquivel had to obey the orders of the audiencia and although he wanted to attack the rebels with the reinforcements he had received, he had to bow to the wishes of the audiencia and send one of the two sangajes to the rebels. However, the action of the sangaje was of a completely different nature than what the Spaniards had hoped for, in fact he rekindled the rebels’ desire to fight and ordered absolutely not to surrender their weapons to the Spaniards, trusting in the help of the Dutch.

THE MOTIVATIONS OF THE REBELS ACCORDING TO ESQUIVEL

The two reasons that Esquivel judges as the main causes of this attitude on the part of the Ternatese. The first is the belief that once the arms were surrendered to the Spaniards, the latter would have made them tributaries and would have forced them to become Christians, taking as an example what the Spaniards themselves they had done in Peru, New Spain and the Philippines. Probably information, this, brought to the ears of the Ternatese from interested stories of the Dutch, although according to Esquivel they were rumors spread by Portuguese and mestiços residing in the Moluccas. The rebels also expected shortly the arrival of a large Dutch fleet, which in their intentions will allow them to drive the Spaniards out of Ternate. However, Esquivel shows confidence that if more help is sent to him, he will also be able to cope with the Dutch. ³⁶

To try to solve once and for all the problem of the depopulation of the island of Ternate after the flight of its inhabitants to Halmahera, Esquivel proposed to elect the king of the island as the king of Tidore and to establish groups of the population of Tidore in the island of Ternate as well as resettle some Ternatese who after the Spanish conquest of Ternate had taken refuge and settled on the island of Tidore. Esquivel’s purpose was to divide the rebellious Ternatese so that most of the common people who had fled to Halmahera (in the villages of Gilolo and Sabubo) returned to Ternate abandoning their leaders and swearing allegiance to the king of Tidore.

The idea was discussed by Esquivel with the Jesuit Luis Fernandes and with the Spanish captains and it was decided to propose the plan to the king in order to implement it. Probably if this had actually been done in time, the Dutch would not have had the opportunity to settle in Malayo, as we will see later. Another idea, proposed by the “mestre de campo” was to populate the islands (including Tidore) with Christian people from the Philippines, he thought that with about 1,000 Christian Indians for each island, the Dutch and rebels’ chances of reconquering Ternate would be stay null. ³⁷

THE RESULT OF THE FIRST YEAR OF SPANISH CONTROL IN TERNATE

About a year after the conquest of Ternate, the toll of human lives required by the unhealthy climate, the scarcity of food and the lack of aid not received from the Philippines is heavy for the Spaniards, in fact as of March 31, 1607, 220 soldiers had died and more than 70 slaves and convicts plus many other sick and infirm men. ³⁸ Probably tired of the situation. In one of his letters from this period, Esquivel requested permission to return to Spain. ³⁹

The construction work of the fortifications was slow due to the lack of money and men, in fact no more than 100 “gastadores” remained capable of the work, including carpenters, stonemasons and blacksmiths. Esquivel informs us that he had built and nearly completed a 20-foot-basic “tierra y fagina” wall with which the city of Ternate was enclosed. He urgently requests the sending of “gastadores” in order to complete the fortification works. Of the fortifications of the city of Ternate, Esquivel also sent a plan to the King of Spain “de esta tengo casi ya çerrado el lugar en la forma que V. M.d. mandara ver por una planta que va con esta” ⁴⁰

Esquivel also gives news that eight days before, information had arrived through a Portuguese boat that had arrived from Malacca that the planned Portuguese expedition of the Viceroy to recover Ambon had not been completed due to the presence in Malacca of eleven Dutch ships and other vessels they had besieged the city. In order to find out what the Dutch were doing, Esquivel sent a caracoa with two Spaniards to Ambon at the end of March 1607, their task was to spy on the fortification works and find out about the quantity of troops and the relationship between the Dutch and the natives. ⁴¹

The fortress of Ternate was surrounded, on the orders of Juan de Esquivel, by a wall of earth and fagots with well-distributed bulwarks. Interesting is the information that Esquivel provides us in his letter of 1608 on the houses present in the city of Ternate, they are all covered with “nipa” (probably straw) for which at great risk of fire, he expresses his concern particularly for the royal warehouses and for the powder magazine and requires the sending of tiles in order to at least cover these two important buildings with a solid roof. ⁴² In April 1607, the island of Maquién (Makian), was still without a Spanish garrison⁴³ however, it seems that there are soldiers of the king of Tidore in charge of the island.

THE RETURN OF THE DUTCH AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FORT IN MALAYO

On May 13, 1607, a fleet of eight Dutch ships arrived in Ternate (Orange, Mauricio, Erasmo, Enchuisa, Delft, Pequeño Sol, Pichon and a yacht, with 531 men on board), commanded by Cornelis Matelief the younger. This fleet planned to attack Tidore. The Dutch despite the scarce reinforcements that arrived with the young sultans of Ternate and Jailolo, in all a boat with about 200 warriors, however, they decided to attack the island, which was defended by only thirty Spanish soldiers in addition to the Tidorese. The attempt ended miserably both due to the inexperience and lack of knowledge of the seabed by the Dutch, the boats risked running aground in the barrier, and because the governor Juan de Esquivel rescued the island with some Spanish soldiers ‘… con cierto golpe de spañoles, … ‘. So Matelief then fell back on Ternate, where the fort of Malayo was founded. ⁴⁴

The entire Dutch fleet then proceeded to Ternate and landed on the east coast of the island, two and a half leagues⁴⁵ from the Spanish fortress; here the Dutch, helped by the locals and protected by the cannons of their ships, began the construction of a fortress. The site chosen was the seat of a small village, called Malaio⁴⁶, and which will become the current city of Ternate. They named the new fortress Fort Malayu (Maleye). ⁴⁷ After the construction of the fort, the Dutch left a garrison of 50 soldiers in Ternate. ⁴⁸

Shortly after the construction of the Dutch fort, on Esquivel’s orders, a troop of 100 Spanish soldiers, led by Vergara, ventured to observe the fort the Dutch had made at Malayo. During this operation the Spaniards had a hard fight with the Dutch, which lasted more than an hour and a half, in this fight it seems that the captain of the Malayo fort was killed, while the Spanish captain Vergara was wounded on the forehead by a pike blow, which luckily didn’t kill him. ⁴⁹ This is probably the reason why, starting from 1607 and up to 1609, when he governed Ternate, Vergara disappeared from the scene and other captains and sergeant majors were appointed in his place. Juan de la Umbria probably also took part in this battle, the battle lasted according to another document more than two hours. ⁵⁰

A DUTCH DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN OF TIDORE

The voyage report of Admiral C. Matalief (1607), contains an interesting description of the Spanish fortifications of the city of Tidore: The Dutch fleet is anchored in front of the city of Tidore, on the east coast of the island. Along the beach the Spaniards have a stone rampart whose walls are as high as a man, and a few musket shots long in the north to south direction. In the southern part there is a mountain of round shape and difficult to access, on top of which there are Spanish soldiers and three cannons. Even on the north side the city is protected, in fact at the distance of a big cannon shot there is the old Portuguese fort. In front of the city in the sea there is a coral reef that can only be crossed at high tide, it starts from the south of the city and reaches the Portuguese fort. ⁵¹

Fortunately for the Spaniards, upon the arrival of the Dutch fleet, the kings of Tidore, Bachan and Siao remained loyal to them, this loyalty seems to be essentially due to the good relations maintained with them by Juan de Esquivel.⁵²

FROM THE DOCUMENTS IT APPEARS THAT MORE HELP FROM MANILA HAS ARRIVED

Other documents seem to indicate that other Spanish ships reached Ternate from Manila carrying troops and aid. During the government of the Audiencia, after news had arrived that eight Dutch ships had arrived in Ternate, Esteuan de Alcasar was sent to Ternate as head of the ship “almiranta” of the “socorro” and captain of infantry, despite the attempt of two ships Dutch to capture the “socorro”, the Spaniards managed to reach Ternate. ⁵³ A small “champan” owned by Alonso de Cisneros, arrived in Ternate on November 3, 1607. Still in 1607 other relief soldiers arrived in Ternate with the captain Juan (Joan) Baptista de Molina. ⁵⁴

A royal decree dated October 29, 1607, orders that the Moluccas must remain under the jurisdiction of the governor of the Philippines and must not revert to Portuguese possession. ⁵⁵ Another royal decree of November 17, 1607, establishes that the trade of cloves is done through Portuguese India, the Portuguese must buy the cloves of the Moluccas in Manila and from there transport them to Malacca. ⁵⁶

THE BRITISH ARE COMING

In January 1608, an English vessel arrived in the port of Tidore. The Spaniards, due to the hardships in which they were recovering, decided, after a consultation held at the end of February, to trade with the English and, in exchange for cloves, artillery and ammunition were purchased. The English boat was the “Consent”, a 115-ton “pinnace”, commanded by David Middleton. David was the younger brother of Henry Middleton, who in 1605 commanded the first English ship to reach the Moluccas. David, had already visited the Moluccas together with his older brother in 1605.

For the occasion, Francisco de Uribe, “contador” of Ternate, was charged with the control of the exchange of goods, for this reason he went to Tidore, and then escorted with two galleys, on 18 March, the English boat out of the waters of the Moluccas. The Spanish were careful that no one could trade with the British. The British, who also apparently visited the new Dutch fort at Malayo, brought news of the imminent arrival of a large Dutch army and also of the possible arrival of an Iberian army from Malacca. Due to the danger of running into the Dutch armada, Esquivel issued a ban prohibiting the shipment of cloves to Manila. ⁵⁷

The Dutch supremacy on the seas is evident, the apprehension of the Spaniards and the Jesuits garrisoned in Ternate is great.⁵⁸

THE SITUATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN THE MOLUCCAS

As regards the situation of the religious in Ternate, we have some documents which inform us that the Jesuits, in March 1607, had only five fathers and one “hermano” for the mission of the Moluccas: Antonio Pereira in Siau, Gabriel Rengifo da Cruz and Jorge de Fonseca in Moro and Luís Fernandes, Lorenzo Masonio and the layman Giampaolo Mafrida in Ternate.⁵⁹ In 1607, Esquivel donated a house to the Franciscans in the immediate vicinity of the mosque (where the Franciscans had settled the year before), this donation allowed the use of the mosque as a church (consecrated to San José) and the transfer of the convent and hospital in the new house.⁶⁰ The bishop of Malacca appointed and sent a vicar to Ternate. ⁶¹

According to the Jesuits’ annual report, in 1608 missionaries established five churches in the Maluku Islands. The main headquarters of the mission is in Ternate, where two fathers (including Father Masonio) and a brother (Mafrida) reside, another missionary resides in Tolo, while the other three churches of Labuha, Siau and Morotai are without of missionaries, because the three other fathers who were part of the mission were recalled to Malacca in this year (1608) by order of the provincial father.

Towards the end of 1608, the Jesuit church of Ternate (built in brick in 1568 by friar Luís de Gois), was restored and enlarged with the construction of a chapel and a new stone sacristy. The altarpiece was also redone and new ornaments were also made. ⁶² The patron saint of the Jesuit church of Ternate is São  Paulo (San Pablo).⁶³ The Jesuit church of Tidore is dedicated to the Madre de Deus (Deos).⁶⁴

In Ternate, two brotherhoods were established by the Jesuits, one called “..do nome de Jesu”, the other named “..das almas do purgatorio”. Of the confraternity “confraria do nome de Jesu”, the captain-mor is named “mordomo”. The Jesuits translate the catechism and some prayers into the Ternate language. In Ternate the Jesuits baptize 200 people in their church.⁶⁵

The church on the island of Labuha (Bachan), which had fallen into disrepair following the departure of the Jesuit father Jorge de Fonseca (end of 1606), was repaired thanks to the work of the village women, it was then decided to build a new church at the expense of the villagers.

Some Christians who arrived from Tidore after the surrender of the Portuguese fortress to the Dutch (1605) resided in Labuha. Among them were some orphans, daughters of Portuguese. After Father Jorge de Fonseca moved to Tolo at the end of 1606, the Christians who had fled from Tidore and settled in Labuha moved to Ternate, where they contributed to strengthening the Christian presence and helping the Spanish soldiers in the fight against the Ternate rebels.⁶⁶

The mission that seems to give the Jesuits the most satisfaction is the one established in S. João do Tollo (San Juan de Tolo), where the Spaniards maintain a garrison. While another Spanish fort is in Cawo (Chavo), a village located in the southern part of the western coast of the island of Morotai, at the mouth of the Cawo river. Here the Jesuits founded another mission which also seems to bear fruit. Thanks to the work carried out, starting from 1604, by Father Antonio Pereira, there are also many conversions on the island of Siau.

THE “SOCCORRO” OF 1608 AND THE DUTCH FLEET OF VAN CAERDEN

With a document dated 1 April 1608, Pedro de Hermua was appointed captain of the ship San Pedro destined to bring relief to Ternate since in a previous expedition two frigates and a ship had been lost (according to Esquivel and also according to Vivero and Azqueta 3 frigates and a “nauio” or “nao”). Infantry troops were embarked on the ship.

The rescue departed from Cavite on April 13, arrived in Ternate on May 23, 1608, its arrival, Esquivel tells us, was unexpected, in fact many enemy boats had arrived a few days earlier, on May 18. On 18 May 1608, in fact, nine Dutch ships arrived in Ternate with a “pataxo” and two “galiottas”⁶⁷, this fleet was commanded by Admiral Paulus van Caerden. The Dutch had at anchor in Malayo, located two and a half leagues from Ternate, seven ships, two galliots and a patacco, for a total, Esquivel always says, of 10 boats. On May 24, another large Dutch ship and a patach arrived. The Dutch with two ships and a galliot tried to prevent the arrival of help, but failed in their attempt thanks also to the intervention of the Spanish galley. ⁶⁸

THE ABORTED DUTCH ATTACK ON TIDORE

The Dutch, after having discarded a direct attack on Gammalamma (the Spanish city of Ternate), decided at first to try to conquer the city of Tidore. 2 ships and a garrison of 65 men were left to defend the fortress of Malayo.

A “caracora” carrying the Malayo fort commander, Gerrit Gerritsz van der Buys, and Apollonius Schotte was sent to Tidore to get acquainted with the city’s defences. They found that the Spaniards had barricaded themselves on a hill on the east coast, called Tahoela, where they had placed two artillery positions, also they could not find a suitable place to land, the only place judged suitable was located in front of the old fort Portuguese, but the path leading to the city was narrow and blocked by bamboo palisades which made it difficult for the troops to advance. During the observation the Dutch had also witnessed the march of three platoons of soldiers, about 60 men, most likely Spanish due to their marching discipline.

After this first reconnaissance, on 15 June, the Dutch ships (according to Esquivel 7 ships, a patacco and a galliot participated in the attack) helped by a contingent of 26 boats and soldiers from Ternate, left for Tidore. Their intention was to attack the city, but they could not find a suitable place to land due to the coral reef that was present in front of the city. The only point where a landing was possible was in front of the old and dilapidated Portuguese fort which was located a “gootelincx shoot” (a cannon shot?) from the city, here in fact the coral reef ended and made the landing possible.

On the 16th they anchored in front of the old Portuguese fort. The old fort did not appear to be in a state of defence, it is in fact described as dilapidated, but the surrounding land was covered by dense bush which allowed the Spanish to attempt to repel the landing. Furthermore, the path to be followed along the beach to reach the city was practicable only at low tide, finally, various obstacles were positioned along the road from which the Spaniards and the Tidorese could slow down the march of the troops.

The city was also surrounded by a weak wall, but had a strong bulwark of wood and earth on the sea side, which the Dutch however judged possible to conquer. Finally, dominating the city was the hill of Tahula where the Spanish troops were stationed (according to Dutch estimates at least 200 soldiers), this hill must have been very steep since the Dutch saw the Spanish climb on all fours. Further inland was the fort of the king of Tidore where the Tidorese troops were located which may have been formed of about 1,000 / 3,000 men. For all these reasons the Dutch gave up the operation.

THE DUTCH ATTACK ON MAQUIEN ISLAND

Van Caerden then proposed the construction of a fort on Makian Island. On 19 June 1608, the Dutch together with their allies from Ternate took the decision to attack the fortress of Tafsó (Tafasoho, called Tarasaua by Esquivel) on the island of Maquiem (Makian). According to their plans, once this fortress was taken, the whole island would have rebelled against the Spaniards. The Dutch from their ships anchored in Tidore continued, as a diversionary manoeuvre, to fire musketry charges to make it clear that they intended to land, in the late evening of 19 June they even put several launches into the water to make it clear that in the same night they would attempt a landing, but the whole thing was, as Esquivel well says, a stratagem to attack the island of Maquien.

In fact, in the dark of the night between June 19 and 20 part of the fleet⁶⁹ set sail for the island of Maquien. The Spaniards had the good fortune, on the morning of June 20, to see these boats in the distance before they reached Maquien. Captain Vidauia (Vidaña) immediately asked the King of Tidore to send 3 or 4 caracoas with 40 Spanish soldiers to reinforce the fort of Maquien, but the King, persuaded by his advisers that it was only a ploy by the Dutch to divide his forces, decided not to intervene.

However, the Dutch had taken precautions and to prevent the sending of help to Makian by the king of Tidore, they had left two ships in front of the city of Tidore. In the late evening of 20 June the Dutch fleet arrived in front of the fort of Tafasohoe and the following morning, 21 June 1608, with the help of a contingent of Ternatese from Ternate, the Dutch easily conquered Fort Tafasoho, despite what appears to be a timid attempt at resistance by the garrison.

After the fall of the fort the entire island of Makian, the richest in cloves and practically left unguarded by the Spaniards “que estava sem presido de espanhoes”, fell into the hands of the Dutch. Caerden’s wildest hopes had come true.⁷⁰ This island was “la mas rica y prospera de clauo de toda aquela comarca”. ⁷¹

However, the Tidorese do not seem to worry too much about the loss of Makian, also because they count on being able to reoccupy the island when reinforcements arrive from the Philippines. Esquivel, on the other hand, is concerned about the situation also because it is not certain that the aid will arrive in such abundance, instead it is certain that the following year important aid will arrive for the Dutch. The concern that Esquivel expresses is that of the risk of a change of front of the King of Tidore, he trusts the King, but has strong doubts regarding many of his advisers and leaders, moreover the large part of the population intimidated by the power of the Dutch press for an agreement to be made with the enemies. After the attempted attack on Tidore by the Dutch in June, the Spaniards were forced to reinforce the garrisons of the island, in August 1608 the actual Spaniards present in Tidore consisted of 140 soldiers and a galley with 40 other soldiers for a total of 180 men.⁷²

The king of Tidore, in July 1608 sent a letter to the Spanish governor of the Philippines Rodrigo Vivero, urgently requesting the sending of Spanish troops, food and ammunition to be able to face the large army that the Dutch are expecting for this year and which according to the information in the possession of the king of Tidore consisted of more than 1,000 Dutch soldiers. ⁷³

THE SPANISH ATTACK IN JAILOLO

To disturb the Dutch who were busy fortifying themselves at Makian in the place of Tarasava (Tafasoho), the Spanish and the Tidorese organized an expedition against the fortress of Gilolo, in the late evening of 29 June 1608, 5 caracoras left from Ternate (3 supplied by the King of Tidore, one arrived by the King of Bachan and one of the Merdicas) and a galliot (the San Xpoval) with 70 soldiers on board, under the command of Pedro de Heredia⁷⁴. During the night the expedition reached Jailolo and at dawn a group of 60 Spanish soldiers landed and attacked the fortress, in a short time the Spaniards defeated the resistance of the defenders, 30 people were killed and captured, among the dead there were also two Dutch soldiers, while most, largely women and children fled to the mountain. Among the Spaniards there was no loss. The village was burned as well as the mosque, the Spaniards did not maintain a garrison in the conquered fort but they took care to make as much destruction as possible and then the same evening they abandoned the village, arriving the next morning in Ternate. Jailolo was then fortified again by the people of Ternate with the help of some Dutch.⁷⁵

THE CONQUEST PLANS OF THE DUTCH

Thanks to these first successes, the Dutch also plan to attack other islands controlled by the Spanish and by the Tidorese, in particular: Bacham (Bachian), an island rich in sago, a very useful food for the maintenance of the troops. Then Payay (Payahi) village on the west coast of Batachina Island (Halmahera), located opposite Makian and belonging to Tidore and also rich in sago. Another of their objectives is the fort of Tafongo, the stronghold of the Sultan of Tidore, located on the westernmost point of Kau bay on the island of Halmahera, it was very important from a strategic point of view, because it was a collection point for supplies for Tidore originating from the island of Halmahera.⁷⁶

Precisely for fear of a Dutch attack, the kings of Tidore and Bacham asked for help from the Spanish, their allies, who sent Spanish soldiers to garrison the forts of Tafongo and Payay.⁷⁷ The sangaje of Cayoa (island between Makian and Bacan), which had rebelled with the arrival of the Dutch, was repeatedly defeated by the Spanish and Tidorese troops, who first conquered the village of Mava⁷⁸, and then the villages of Foya and Mafa (both located on the east coast of the southernmost peninsula of Halmahera, on Weda Bay). The sangaje, took refuge in Makian, where he died.⁷⁹

Finally, another objective of the Dutch plans was the Moro area (an area that included the northern part of Halmahera and the island of Morotai), an area where the missionaries had been more successful and therefore potentially dangerous for the inhabitants of Ternate and the Dutch. However, the Dutch plans proved to be difficult to implement, and in July 1608, they lost two “naos” due to a storm”⁸⁰, a “lancha” and a “pataxo”. In another storm, which occurred between the first and second of August, the Spaniards lost a champan that had arrived shortly before from China, they also risked losing the galley San Cristóbal. ⁸¹ In an ambush made a few days later in front of the fort of Malayo, 8 enemies were captured by the Spaniards. ⁸²

According to information in the possession of Don Rodrigo Vivero, the new governor of the Philippines, 1,800 Spanish soldiers are present in all the Philippine islands, dispersed in the garrisons of Manila, Cavite, Cagayán, Cebú, Pintados and Maluco. He requires every year a reinforcement of at least 400 men because especially “el Maluco” consumes many men. The consumption of the fortified garrisons of Ternate is also enormous from an economic point of view, in fact 120,000 pesos are needed every year, compared to 130,000 for all of the Philippines. ⁸³

CRITICISM TO ESQUIVEL

The new governor of the Philippines Vivero receives rumors from Ternate of complaints against Esquivel. Furthermore, he is accused of not being the right man to manage the situation on the islands. Particularly harsh is the judgment expressed by the “oidor” Don Juan de la Vega, he judges Esquivel a little suitable man and of little experience for matters of war, furthermore he judges his conduct too little aggressive, especially he does not forgive him for the loss of Makian, island, which he defines as “la nata yema de todo el Maluco”.

De la Vega also recalls that Esquivel had also allowed the Dutch to occupy and fortify Malayo without doing anything important to prevent it. Another concern of de la Vega is the feared assault that the Dutch intend to lead to the Spanish city of Ternate, which according to information that he has “está tan mal prevenida por interno que si le planta 20 piezas de artilleria que dicen puede plantar, es tan flaca la muralla que la a de arrasar”. The solution proposed by de la Vega is the replacement of Esquivel with a more worthy soldier and therefore he deems it necessary to immediately send Gallinato to Ternate with as many soldiers as possible. ⁸⁴

Shortly after D. Rodrigo de Vivero took possession of the office of governor of the Philippines, the new governor sent a “socorro” to Ternate, also this like the first of 1607 commanded by Iñiguez. ⁸⁵ This relief was actually sent on 19 August 1608 and included about 200 soldiers, however it seems that the soldiers were under the command of Gallinato. Vivero absolves Esquivel of the blame for the loss of Makian, in fact according to him Esquivel cannot be blamed for having been 12 leagues from the place where the enemy attacked and captured the fortress. However, Gallinato is also entrusted with the task of investigating the veracity of the rumors against Esquivel who accuse him of trading cloves on his own account and of not proceeding as due with the fortification works. ⁸⁶

The Spaniards still devoted themselves to improving the defenses of Ternate, but they were mowed down by disease and hunger, about 200 will die. But 140 soldiers⁸⁷ arrived in 1608, from Manila as reinforcements, also many Portuguese casados who inhabited Tidore and Ambon, settled in Ternate. Also in 1608, a “nao e hum pataixo” called at Ternate. As we have seen, they were the ships commanded by Luis Vaez de Torres, which had an almost entirely Portuguese crew and which had left Peru to discover the South Pacific and New Guinea.⁸⁸

THE DUTCH ATTACKS IN THE MORO AREA AND THE FIRST CAPTURE OF VAN CAERDEN

Again in 1608, the Dutch sent an expedition to the Moro area, under the command of Admiral van Caerden, they attacked and plundered the villages of Saquita and Mira, all on the west coast of the island of Morotai. The Spanish garrison of Chavo (Chao) was then attacked, also in Morotai, where a new church had recently been built⁸⁹, the Spanish garrison fought for two days and then surrendered, 8 (or 7 according to other sources) Spaniards were captured and about 400 indigenous Christians including the village sangage, who were deported to Ternate, in this engagement three Spanish soldiers were killed.⁹⁰ In 1608, the Spaniards reinforce the defenses of the garrison of Tollo and thwart an attempt to betray by the sangaje of Tollo, aided by that of Gamoconora.⁹¹ Even in Mira, a village located in the southern part of the east coast of Morotai, the Spaniards, after the destruction of the garrison of Chavo, established a garrison, in a “sitio muy bom”.⁹²

The Spaniards, having learned of van Caerden’s raids, sent a galley led by Pedro de Heredia to the Moro area, which was to meet another Spanish galley, commanded by the sergeant major Juan de Tiejo (Texo)⁹³, already present in the area. The encounter between the two Spanish boats took place twenty leagues from Ternate, and luck would have it that shortly after (about 5 leagues away) the Dutch galliot was sighted on which the admiral and head of the fleet Paulus van Caerden was embarked Math over 70 Dutch crew⁹⁴, who had in tow more than a hundred ⁹⁵ small boats loaded with goods looted during his raids.

Heredia gave the order to the other galley to attack and disperse the small boats, while he with his boat attacked the Dutch galliot, the battle which took place on September 17, 1608, lasted for over two hours, but finally the Spaniards got the better of their enemies who surrendered. In the collision with the Dutch boat two Spaniards were wounded, while the Dutch had 8 dead and 20 wounded. The Dutch admiral was captured and transferred to Ternate, where he was held in custody.⁹⁶ 74 Dutch were captured with him. In addition, 22 pieces of artillery were captured on board the ship as well as many muskets, arquebuses and other types of weapons. Finally, many of the prisoners the Dutch had taken in their raids were freed.

The capture of their admiral was a severe blow to Dutch ambitions. Heredia visited the villages previously attacked by van Caerden bringing the good news of the victory and showing the captured galliot. ⁹⁷ Many of the prisoners taken by the Dutch in their attacks on the villages of the island of Morotai, including also the sangage of Chauo (Chavo, Chao), managed to escape from the Dutch fort of Ternate and took refuge in the Spanish fort.⁹⁸ The Dutch, who had 12 ships anchored in Malayo, repeatedly attempted to ransom their captured admiral from the Spanish with a sum of money, but the Spanish demand was the return of all fortresses captured by the Dutch, so initially, the two sides failed to come to an agreement.⁹⁹ Later, on March 16, 1610, the admiral will still be freed during an exchange of prisoners. After his release van Caerden was appointed governor of the Moluccas. A few months later, in July 1610, van Caerden was again captured by the Spanish, as we will see later.

Having heard of a shipwreck off the coast of Halmahera of a Dutch ship of about 600 tons, Pedro de Heredia was sent to see what might be of interest in the vessel, which had previously been deprived of artillery by the Dutch. Heredia reached the ship and managed to take about 33 quintals of “xareta” and cinnamon. Shortly after, due to the death of the captain and sergeant major Juan Texo (which occurred before Esquivel’s death), Esquivel entrusted his company to Heredia, promoting him to captain and sergeant major, a position he held from December 1608. ¹⁰⁰ On this occasion, on December 13, 1608, Juan de Espinosa y Zayas was promoted to Heredia’s post as head of the galleys. Later, on March 11, 1609, Esquivel entrusted the company that had been the Heredia company to Juan de Espinosa y Zayas, this because of the “dexaçion” of Pedro de Heredia. ¹⁰¹

THE DUTCH FORTRESSES IN THE MOLUCCAS

The Dutch were in possession, at the end of 1608, of four fortresses in the north of the Moluccas, “tem tres fortalezas muy boas e outra mediocre”.¹⁰² The main fortress is located on the island of Ternate, in the place called Malayo, at a distance from the fortress and the Spanish city of Ternate, which the sources indicate between two and three leagues. The other three fortresses of which two “boas and bem fortificadas” are all located on the island of Maquien, an island conquered in June 1608 by the Dutch.

The first is the fortress of Tafso, the old fortress of the king of Tidore (“que os portugueses semper procurarão de defenderem entanto que esterirão en Tidore”), located in the south-eastern tip of the island. At Tafso, the Dutch greatly improve the defenses of the fort, they build four new great bastions (the fourth is still under construction in early 1609), and surround the place with walls of “entulho e faxina e algum de pedra e cal”.

The second is located in the north-eastern part of the island, in Mofaquea (Ngofakiaha), a fortress begun by André Furtado (“que André Furtado començou, de pedra e cal muy forte”). Halfway between these two fortresses “muy boas e bem fortificadas”, in the south-west area of the island, there is the third fortress defined as “mediocre”, called Tabilolo (Tabelolo, Tobalola).¹⁰³

Despite the Dutch successes, the Spanish try to maintain their influence in the Moluccas, and are sometimes successful. The king of Bohol (Buol), a village located on the north coast of Sulawesi, arrives in Ternate in 1608, asking to be baptized.¹⁰⁴ In 1608, in Labua, on the island of Bacan, the sangage dies, and due to the minor age of his son, his successor, Paulo de Lima, a Portuguese casado, is sent with the title of sangage and judge of the village, with him arrives also a garrison of Spaniards to garrison the village.¹⁰⁵

THE DEATH OF ESQUIVEL

According to what is reported in Fernando Centeno Maldonado’s “informaciones”, the date of Esquivel’s death must be placed in March 1609, in fact, in this document there is a document signed by Juan de Esquivel dated March 10, 1609. Another document, signed by Esquivel it is dated March 11, 1609. ¹⁰⁶ The date of Esquivel’s death is therefore to be placed after March 11 and before March 20, 1609, the date of a letter from the Jesuit Lorenzo Masonio in which Esquivel’s death is mentioned. ¹⁰⁷

Already in November 1607, the King of Spain had nominated Esquivel’s successor as governor of Ternate, he was Mateo Ruiz de Lobera, who however died before reaching the Moluccas. ¹⁰⁸

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

2 (Argensola p. 345)

3 (“Letter by Equivel to the king, Ternate, 2 May 1606” in Pastells “Historia general de Filippines” tomo V, pp. ccxxix-ccxxx) The fortress “que se boló” was the old Portuguese fort, conquered by the Dutch on May 19, 1605, thanks to the explosion of the fort’s powder magazine.

4 (“Letter by Equivel to the king, Ternate, 2 May 1606” in Pastells “Historia general de Filippines” tomo V, pp. ccxxix-ccxxx)

5 700, according: (Doc.Mal. III pp. 119 Doc. n°35)

6 “bergantines buenos” secondo: (Argensola p. 345)

7 (Argensola p.345) (Pastells “Historia general de Filippines” tomo V, p. ccxxix) (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

8 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. clxv “Relacion de los servicios del Almirante Pedro de Heredia, 4-08-1634” AGI 67-6-8)

9 (“Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco, Terrenate, 31 maggio 1619” AGI Patronato, 47, R. 37) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. clxvii-clxviii, here are some excerpts from Vergara’s letter)

10 (“Letter by Equivel to the king, Ternate, 2 May 1606” in Pastells “Historia general de Filippines” tomo V, pp. ccxxx)

11 (Argensola p. 346-347) )(Malucas y Celebes p. 685) (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

12 (Doc.Mal. III p. 9 Doc. n°1) However, it seems that no Jesuit settled in Tidore before 1610.

13 (Argensola p. 347)

14 (Argensola p. 347)(Malucas y Celebes p. 685)

15 (Doc.Mal. III p. 117 Doc. n°35)

16 (Argensola p. 348)

17 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 117 Doc. n°35)

18 (Doc.Mal. III p. 118 Doc. n°35)

19 Chiamata Visoa da (Argensola p. 348).

20 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 61-69 Doc. n°16)

21 (On this episode see the declaration of the ensign Torralva, AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

22 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 118 Doc. n°35) (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12) (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12) (Doc.Mal. III pp. 61-69 Doc. n°16) (Doc.Mal. III pp. 118 nota 11) e (Doc.Mal. III pp. 122-125 Doc. n°35) (Doc.Mal. III pp. 117 Doc. n°35)

23 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 125 Doc. n°35)

24 (Argensola p. 349-350)

25 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

26 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

27 (Prado “The discovery of Australia” p. 20-23)

28 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 571 nota n°1) Declaration of Juan de Silva in: (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

29 (A.G.I. “Expediente: Juan de Espinosa y Zayas” Filipinas,47,N.11)

30 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

31 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

32 (Prado “The discovery of Australia” p. 20-23)

33 (Pérez p. 686) (Prado “The discovery of Australia” p. 20-23) (AGI: “Carta de la Audiencia enviando la de Juan de Esquivel, 23-07-1607” Filipinas,20,R.1,N.12)

34 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. xliii AGI 67-6-7)

35 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

36 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

37 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

38 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

39 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

40 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

41 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

42 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xxxviii-xxxix dove è riportata la “lettera di Esquivel all’Audiencia del 13 agosto 1608” AGI 1-2-1/14, ramo 30)

43 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 70-75 Doc. n°17)

44 (Tiele “De Europeers in den Maleischen archipel, 1606-1610” pp. 70-72)

45 Two leagues second: (Doc.Mal. III p. 119 Doc. n°35)

46 The place chosen by the Dutch is called “Geilolo, duas legoas de Ternate” in the document: (Doc.Mal. III pp. 119 Doc. n°35)

47 (Doc.Mal III p. 96) (Prevost “Historia General …” vol. XIII p. 66-67)

48 (ARA 1.04.02 inv. 466. Cited in: van Veen-Klijn “A guide to de sources of the history of Dutch-Portuguese relations in Asia, 1594-1797”)

49 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

50 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Marinduque, etc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1623” Filipinas,47,N.60)

51 (Commelin’s “Begin ende voortgangh” Vol. 2 page 63; Report of the voyage of Admiral C. Matelief, written in 1607)

52 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 95-97 Doc. n°29)

53 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57)

54 It seems that he was not at the head of the relief that arrived in the spring of 1607 (in fact in another document Juan Iñiguez is indicated as the head of that “rescue”), another relief was probably sent later in the year (AGI: “Carta de Francisco de Uribe al Rey escasez ropas, socorros, 15-05-1608” Patronato,47,R.33)

55 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27, p. 99)

56 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 p. 100)

57 (AGI: “Carta de Francisco de Uribe al Rey escasez ropas,socorros, 15-05-1608” Patronato,47,R.33) (“The voyage of Sir Henry Middleton to the Moluccas, 1604-1606” p. xxxiii)

58 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 108-110 Doc. n°32)

59 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 61-69 Doc. n°16)

60 (Pérez p. 684 nota 1)

61 (AGI: Patronato, 47, R.22 “Carta de Juan de Esquivel al Rey progresos islas del Maluco, 31-03-1607”)

62 (Doc. Mal. III p. 138 Doc. n°38)

63 (Doc.Mal. III p. 41 Doc. n°7)

64 (Doc.Mal. III p. 85 Doc. n°22, nota 1)

65 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 120 Doc. n°35)

66 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 121-122 Doc. n°35)

67 Two “pataxos” and a “galiotta” (Doc. Mal. III pp. 135 Doc. n°38)

68 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28)

69 (According to Esquivel: a ship, a patacco, a galliot, some launches and 20 caracoras from Ternate. According to (Doc. Mal. III pp. 135 Doc. n°38): The Dutch expedition consisted of two “naos”, a “galiotta”, a “pataxo” and some “caracolas”)

70 (“Informatie van den stant van de Molucques, door Jan Bruyn, 12 may 1609” In: “De reis van de vloot van Pieter Willemsz Verhoeff naar Azie, 1607-1612” vol. II pp. 303-304) (de Booy “De derde reis van de VOC naar Oost-Indië onder het beleid van admiraal Paulus van Caerden uitgezeild in 1606” vol. I pp. 63-64) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xxxvi-xxxvii where the “letter of Esquivel to the Audiencia of 13 August 1608 is reported” AGI 1-2-1/14, ramo 30) (Doc. Mal. III pp. 135 Doc. n°38) (Doc.Mal. III pp. 98-107 Doc. n°30)

71 (AGI: “Carta de Rodrigo de Vivero al Rey conquista de Maquén, 25-08-1608” Patronato,47,R.27)

72 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xxxvii-xxxviii where the “letter of Esquivel to the Audiencia of 13 August 1608 is reported” AGI 1-2-1/14, ramo 30)

73 (AGI: “Carta del rey de Tidore a Rodrigo Vivero sobre el Maluco, 7-07-1608” Filipinas,7,R.3,N.36)

74 In 1608, Pedro de Heredia was appointed head of the galleys. He attacked and burned twice the village of “Gran Bocanora” (Gamocanora).

75 (Doc. Mal. III p. 135 Doc. n°38) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xxxvii-xxxviii where the “letter of Esquivel to the Audiencia of 13 August 1608 is reported” AGI 1-2-1/14, ramo 30) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. clxv “Relacion de los servicios del Almirante Pedro de Heredia, 4-08-1634” AGI 67-6-8)

76 (Doc. Mal. III p. 135-136-137 Doc. n°38)

77 (Doc. Mal. III p. 147 Doc. n°38)

78 Possibly located on the west coast of Halmahera, south of Payahi.

79 (Doc. Mal. III p. 135-136-137 Doc. n°38)

80 The two vessels were the 420-ton “China” and the 700-ton “Walcheren”. They were part of the Caerden fleet. (Dutch-Asiatic shipping II pp. 22-23)

81 Francisco de Uribe, “contador” of Ternate, also gives us news of the arrival of a “Sanglei” boat from China, with which the Spaniards traded. Captain Joan Rrodriguez Vermeyo was in charge of the galley “San Xpoual”. (AGI: “Carta de Francisco de Uribe al Rey escasez ropas, socorros, 15-05-1608” Patronato,47,R.33)

82 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xxxvii-xxxix where the “letter of Esquivel to the Audiencia of 13 August 1608 is reported” AGI 1-2-1/14, ramo 30)

83 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xxvii-xxix in which passages of the document are reported: AGI 67-6-7)

84 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. xl-xli AGI 1-2-1/14, ramo 27 and AGI 67-6-20)

85 (Pérez p. 686)

86 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. xliii “Lettera di Vivero al Re, 25 agosto 1608” AGI 67-6-7) (AGI: “Carta de Rodrigo de Vivero al Rey conquista de Maquén, 25-08-1608” Patronato,47,R.27) (AGI: “Carta de Vivero sobre socorro a Juarez Gallinato 25-08-1608 Filipinas,7,R.3,N.41)

87 200 soldati secondo: (Doc. Mal. III p. 137 Doc. n°38)

88 (Doc.Mal. III pp. 119 Doc. n°35)

89 (Doc. Mal. III pp. 145 Doc. n°38 & Doc. Mal. III p. 171 Doc. n°44)

90 (Doc. Mal. III pp. 139-140 & 145-146 Doc. n°38)

91 (Doc. Mal. III p. 153 Doc. n°38)

92 (Doc. Mal. III p. 141, 154 Doc. n°38)

93 (AGI: “Meritos Pedro de Heredia, 22-09-1628” Indiferente,111,N.78)

94 Probably 75 people in all including the admiral. (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 311 note n°1) Even if 74 prisoners plus the admiral and 8 dead would bring the total of the Dutch to 83.

95 According to some letters from the Jesuits, the sources differ on the number of boats following van Caerden, the Dutch ship was escorted by 5 (or 4) “caracolas” from Ternate

96 (Doc. Mal. III pp. 135-137 Doc. n°38) e (Doc. Mal. III pp. 140-141 Doc. n°38)

97 (Letter of the Felipe III to de Silva, 20 november 1611; in Blair vol. 17 p. 179) (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Pedro de Heredia, 20-07-1612” Filipinas,20,R.6,N.50)

98 (Doc. Mal. III pp. 146 Doc. n°38) (Robert Kerr “A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. VIII” “Third Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1607, by Captain William Keeling” Sec. 4. “Voyage of the Hector to Banda, with Occurrences there”)

99 (Doc. Mal. III p. 147 Doc. n°38)

100 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Pedro de Heredia, 20-07-1612” Filipinas,20,R.6,N.50) (AGI: “Meritos Pedro de Heredia, 22-09-1628” Indiferente,111,N.78)

101 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

102 (Doc. Mal. III p. 148 Doc. n°38)

103 (Doc. Mal. III p. 148 Doc. n°38)

104 (Doc. Mal. III p. 142 Doc. n°38)

105 (Doc. Mal. III p. 138 Doc. n°38) e (Doc. Mal. III p. 152 Doc. n°38)

106 Present in: (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

107 (Doc. Mal. III Doc. 38: “Masonio a Acquaviva, Ternate, 20 March 1609” pp. 151-152) (AGI: “Informaciones Fernando Centeno Maldonado, 1615” Filipinas,60,N.18)

108 (AGI “Nombramiento de sargento mayor a Mateo Ruiz de Lobera, 19-11-1607” “Real Provisión nombrando al capitán Mateo Ruiz de Lobera como capitán y sargento mayor de la gente que de España y México va a Filipinas con Juan de Silva, gobernador de esas islas. También estaba provisto como alcaide y gobernador de la gente de guerra del presidio de Terrenate en lugar de Juan de Esquivel” Filipinas,340,L.3,F.12v-14r) (AGI “Real Provisión al capitán Mateo Ruiz de Lovera, nombrándolo alcaide de la fortaleza de Terrenate y gobernador de la gente de guerra, 21-11-1607” Indiferente,449,L.A1,F.136v-137) (AGI “Bienes de difuntos: Mateo Ruiz de Lobera: Testamento de Mateo Ruiz de Lobera, gobernador de Terrenate otorgado en San Juan de Ulúa” Contratacion,5579,N.12) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. clxxi)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER FOUR: THE GOVERNMENT OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA (who performs the functions), March 1609-February 1610

THE APPOINTMENT OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA AS GOVERNOR OF TERNATE

At the beginning of 1609, on the death of Juan de Esquivel, Lucas Vergara Gabiria became governor (who acts as) of Ternate, he had married, shortly before (the day before, according to the source), with an orphan, daughter of a captain who served with his company in Ternate.¹ An interesting piece of information on the succession to captain after Esquivel’s death is given to us by the testimony of Fra Rroque de Barrio Nuebo, in fact he informs us that Acuña, in the event of the death of the “mestre de campo” Juan de Esquivel, had nominated as his successor firstly Alarçon and secondly Vergara. It seems that Alarçon renounced the position. Fernando Becerra provides us with some other details (also confirmed by Baltasar (De Ega)), informing us that there were two “provisiones” that indicated Esquivel’s successor. One was from Acuña, and had been kept in the Jesuit headquarters, and the other from the Audiencia which governed the Philippines at Acuña’s death, both of which stated that in the event of Esquivel’s death, the government of Ternate was to be entrusted to Lucas de Vergara Gaviria. ²

Lucas Vergara Gabiria was a Moluccan veteran having come from Spain to the Philippines in 1605. The expedition in which Vergara participated departed from the port of San Lucas de Barameda, together with Esquivel’s troop. Vergara had participated in the conquest of Ternate in 1606. In Ternate he was chosen by Acuña among the 4 captains who first landed on the island. He was among the first soldiers to attack the bastion of Cachil Tulo, which was conquered, and the first to enter the main fortress, which was the house of the King (the old Portuguese fort), making enemies flee through the windows, and to place the Spanish flag there.

Thanks to his courageous conduct he was appointed sergeant major of the Ternate camp. He participated in several successful expeditions against the Ternatese in the island of Halmahera. He obtained the submission of San Juan de Tolo and Morotai. He was greatly respected and loved by his soldiers for his courage and dedication and feared by his enemies for his great aggressiveness. ³ In 1616, Vergara had been serving the King of Spain for over 35 years. On January 26, 1616, Juan de Silva gave him the “encomienda” of the village of Araut in the Philippines. He took part in De Silva’s expedition to Malacca as head of a galleon. ⁴

The “oidor” Don Juan de la Vega, indicates that the only capable soldier who was present in Ternate was the sergeant major Vergara, he had never failed in the enterprises that had been assigned to him, moreover all that had been conquered by the Spaniards outside Ternate it was due to his work. ⁵

THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR OF THE GOVERNMENT OF VERGARA

On 23 June 1609, other Dutch ships arrived in Ternate, “tres naos olandesas com hum patacho e duas lanchas” commanded by Vice Admiral François Wittert. Another Dutch “patacho”, however, reported fragmentary news on the peace negotiations between Spain and Holland, which would later lead to the twelve-year truce (1609-1621).⁶ The Dutch also concluded a new commercial contract with the Ternatese in this period. ⁷

In the year of Vergara’s government, the Dutch had 14 ships in Ternate and the Ternatese 60 caracoas, with which they besieged the Spanish forts. Despite this enormous power fielded by the enemies, Vergara managed to improve the fortifications of the city of Ternate by replacing the walls of “fajina” with walls of “cal y canto”. According to the testimony of Torralua, this large Dutch fleet seems to have attempted a siege of Tidore, but thanks to the moves of Vergara and the works to improve the defenses that he carried out with great diligence, the Dutch failed to carry out their plans, and this happened in a year when no help was sent to Vergara from Manila. ⁸

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORT OF SAN PEDRO Y SAN PABLO DE DON GIL

The Spaniards, given the enormous naval overwhelming power of the Dutch, feel surrounded, only Tidore remains their ally. The Dutch planned the construction of another fort in Ternate, almost halfway between the Spanish and Dutch fortresses, on the strait between Ternate and Metara (Maitara) “está o sitio no buquerão que faz esta ilha com otra de Metara pegada com a de Tidore”. The place was located one league from Ternate and was known, according to the testimony of Torralua, with the name of Don Gil “una legua de Terrenate en el sitio que decian de Don Gil”. But the Spanish governor Vergara, having learned of the Dutch intentions, played in advance, in fact, he immediately sent 80 soldiers with 200 “gastadores” to fortify the place. The Dutch attempted to prevent the fort from being built, some ships crossing near where the Spanish were building the fort, but were forced to flee after the Spanish had positioned a cannon overnight to guard the position.

The construction of the fort was soon completed (1609), it will be called “San Pedro y San Pablo en el sitio de Don Jil”⁹ and was about three-quarters of a league (or a league¹⁰) from the Spanish fortress of Ternate, its strategic position forced Dutch ships to avoid the stretch of sea between Ternate and Maitara. The fort then prevented direct attacks on the Spanish fortress of Ternate and also limited the attempts to escape, numerous in periods of food shortages, by slaves and soldiers to the enemy. With the construction of this outpost, the Spaniards also secured a strip of land free from the risk of attacks, and therefore where it was possible to trade and start small crops. The fort was equipped with a large-scale cannon.¹¹

SPANISH FORTIFICATIONS IN THE OTHER ISLANDS

The fortification works of Vergara did not stop with the construction of San Pedro y San Pablo and the improvement of the walls of the city of Ternate. He fortified the post of Marieco and the fort on the island of Tidore, which the Dutch conquered from the Portuguese in 1605. These were places of great importance for the defense of the island of Tidore (“hiço de nuebo los fuertes de Marieco el fuerte vejo de portugueses”). He also fortified San Juan de Tolo, Payayo and Tafongo, all villages located on the island of Halmahera and from where the food for the islands of Ternate and Tidore came.

Vergara in his year of government developed and improved the fortifications considerably, which had not been done in the least by Esquivel in the previous three years. The ensign Torralua tells us that he was sent by Vergara to Payayo to fortify and defend the place, and that a fleet of 10 Caracoa from Ternate and the Dutch attacked the place without success. The fort of Payayo was practically rebuilt again and together with that of Tafongo it allowed the regular flow of food to the Spanish garrisons of the islands of Ternate and Tidore. ¹²

A NEW DUTCH FLEET

Another Dutch fleet arrived in Ternate on 25 September 1609, it was what remained of the expedition commanded by Admiral Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff, who had suffered a serious reverse in the Banda Islands where Verhoeff himself had lost his life along with many of his soldiers. ¹³ The Dutch, after Verhoeff’s death, were commanded by Vice Admiral François Wittert, who arrived with his fleet in Ternate. In 1609 they built a fort on Moti Island, located between Tidore and Maquiem (Machian), the island is rich in cloves.¹⁴

THE CONQUEST OF BACHAN BY THE DUTCH

On November 30, 1609, the Dutch commanded by Captain Simon Jansz Hoen occupied the island of Bachan, conquering the small Spanish fort of Labuha.¹⁵ In the fight for the fort, 16 Spanish soldiers were killed “sin otros naturales”.¹⁶ On this occasion the Dutch made a contract of mutual assistance with the king of Bachan against the Spanish and the Portuguese. ¹⁷ It seems that the taking of Bachan was facilitated by the betrayal of the king of the island. 17 Spanish soldiers and some Portuguese casados who had settled on the island defended the fortification. When the Dutch arrived, they were invited to flee by the king who then helped the Dutch to capture them, some soldiers were killed, others were taken prisoner. The sangaje of Bocanora also submitted to the Dutch. ¹⁸

Interesting details on a Spanish expedition to help Bachan are reported to us in a document present in the General de las Indias archive in Seville, according to this document (which does not indicate a precise date but most likely certainly refers to this episode) a Spanish expedition was sent to rescue the King of Bachan. The expedition was commanded by the captain don Juan de Espinosa y Sayas, at the head of a boat was Juan de Azevedo and Juan de la Umbria also took part in it. The expedition consisted of the galley captain with 70 soldiers on board and 5 caracoas. After landing on the island, the Spaniards were ambushed by Dutch and Ternatese troops, but the reaction of the Spaniards managed to put the enemies to flight, who also suffered losses. ¹⁹

THE SITUATION IN THE MOLUCCAS IN 1610

At the beginning of 1610, when Vergara leaves the post of governor of Ternate to Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca, the Dutch have the following fortifications in the Moluccas:²⁰

Makian (Maquién): 3 forts

Bacan (Bachán): 1 fort

Moti (Motel): 1 fort

Ternate: 2 forts

Taliabu, Sula Islands (Taliavo): 1 fort. Here it seems from other sources that the Dutch did not have a fort at the time, but only a resident merchant.

According to a letter from Adriaan Corsz, dated 1610, about 450 Dutch soldiers were stationed in the garrisons of the forts on the islands of Ternate, Bachian, Makian and Moti. ²¹ In this period the Dutch tried, with attacks on the Spanish bases in the Philippines, to cut off the supplies for the Moluccas so that the Spanish garrisons of Ternate would be forced to surrender by starvation. ²²

In November 1609 (they arrived in Oton on 27 October) the Dutch attempted an attack against Ilo Ilo on Oton Island with 5 boats. The sergeant major Fernando de Ayala (appointed captain and sergeant major of the Ternate camp) arrived to relieve the port²³, with a company of soldiers who were en route to Ternate. The Dutch withdrew to Cavite and then to Playa Honda in Frayle Harbor where they blockaded the harbor and captured all incoming vessels. In April 1610 the Spanish counterattacked, on the 24th the decisive battle took place in Playa Honda in which the Dutch were severely defeated. Among others in the naval engagement at Playa Honda, Dutch Vice Admiral François Wittert was killed. ²⁴

In April 1611 Vergara was back in Ternate as shown by the “certificacion” present in the “informaciones” of Fernando Centeno Maldonado, dated Ternate, 9 April 1611. He probably had arrived in Ternate with the expedition of Juan de Silva. ²⁵ Later he will go to Manila where he will uselessly ask for permission to be able to return to Spain. In 1611 he will present a petition in which he will ask for the granting of a “terçio” of Spanish infantry in the governments of Cartgena or La Hauana (Havana) and a habit of Santiago as well as an annuity for his services. The opinion of the audience of July 1611 is that he is granted by one of the things he asks for. ²⁶

Vergara will return to Ternate in 1617 again with the position of governor. ²⁷

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES

1 (Doc. Mal. III p. 151 Doc. n°38) e (Doc. Mal. III p. 201 Doc. n°56, nota 4)

2 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

3 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

4 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Araut, 25-06-1618” Filipinas,47,N.9)

5 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. xli AGI 67-6-20)

6 (Doc. Mal. III p. 159 Doc. n°41) Pastells says that Dutch ships arrived at Malayo at the end of May 1609 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. lxxxii )

7 (ARA 1.04.02 inv. 550, 551. In: van Veen-Klijn “A guide to the sources…” p. 120)

8 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

9 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

10 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

11 (Doc. Mal. III p. 160-161 Doc. n°41)

12 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

13 Dutch Admiral Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff died on an expedition to Banda where he and several of his crew were ambushed and murdered by natives of Banda Island while negotiating with them for the Dutch East India Company (ARA 1.04.02 inv. 552-555, 560-563 In: van Veen-Klijn “A guide to th sources…” p. 120)

14 (Doc. Mal. III p. 161 Doc. n°41)

15 (Doc. Mal. III p. 8*) e (Doc. Mal. III p. 176 Doc. n°48, nota 7)

16 (Doc. Mal. III p. 180 Doc. n°48A)

17 (ARA 1.04.02 inv. 552-555, 560-563 In: van Veen-Klijn “A guide to th sources…” p. 120)

18 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. lxxxii-lxxxiii)

19 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bondoc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1630” Filipinas,48,N.41) (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

20 (Doc. Mal. III p. 176-177 Doc. n°48)

21 (Van de Wall p. 257)

22 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. lxxx)

23 (See: AGI: “Meritos, Fernando de Ayala, 27-07-1643 Indiferente,112,N.47)

24 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. lxxix-lxxx e lxxxiii-xciii AGI 67-6-20)

25 (AGI: “Informaciones Fernando Centeno Maldonado, 1615” Filipinas,60,N.18) Even his statement dated Terrenate, April 3, 1611 confirms this: “Confirmación de encomienda de San Salvador de Palo, etc.Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de San Salvador de Palo, Sampoetan y Ormoc en Leyte a Hernando del Castillo. Resuelto, [f] 1623-08-11” FILIPINAS,47,N.58 Bl. 2 f. 7-8

26 (AGI: “Informaciones Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, 1611” Filipinas,60,N.12)

27 (“Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco, Terrenate, 31 maggio 1619” AGI Patronato, 47, R. 37) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. clxvii-clxviii, here are some excerpts from Vergara’s letter)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

THE ARRIVAL OF CRISTÓBAL DE AZCUETA MENCHACA IN TERNATE

The new governor of Ternate, the “mestre de campo” Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca, was appointed by the governor of the Philippines Don Juan de Silva.¹ On February 4, 1610 we find Azcueta still in Arevalo about to leave for Ternate. ² He arrived in Ternate in February 1610 in command of a small squadron of boats. 4 Franciscan friars were also part of the expedition. Probably the captain and sergeant major Fernando de Ayala also arrived with Azqueta. ³

When they arrived in sight of the island of Ternate, only 6 leagues from the port of Ternate, the Spanish boats sighted an imposing Dutch squadron. The Spanish ships fled and most of them managed the same night under cover of darkness to reach Ternate, but the Dutch managed to capture a galley and a champan with their crews. On this occasion the Dutch captured about 60-70 people among whom was an infantry captain, a “contador” of the royal company, an ensign and two religious.⁴ In this period, on 2 February 1610 to be precise, the Jesuit father Gabriel Rengifo da Cruz died in Ternate. He had arrived in Ternate in 1606 and had preached among other things in the Moro area on the island of Halmahera.⁵

One of Azcueta’s first actions at Ternate was an attack on a Dutch vessel. On Azcueta’s orders, the sergeant major Fernando de Ayala, who had recently arrived in Ternate with the new “socorro”, attacked with the galley San Xpoual (San Cristobal, i.e. the “captain” galley), together with 50 soldiers and Captain Juan de Espinosa y Sayas, a Dutch Patak, the Masambique (Maçanbique), armed with 20 pieces of artillery and loaded with provisions, which was anchored in the port of Malayo, the Dutch vessel, after a hard battle lasting an hour, was burnt and sank, everything happened within sight of the walls of the Dutch fort of Malayo, some Dutch prisoners were also taken in the battle. ⁶ Juan de la Umbria also took part in this assault and was seriously wounded in the right thigh. ⁷

Azqueta, shortly after his arrival in Ternate, became aware of the chronic lack of men and equipment. So he sent Pero de Hermua to Manila to ask for urgent help. Hermua returned to Ternate on August 3, 1610 with a ship loaded with food and ammunition. ⁸

THE LIBERATION OF VAN CAERDEN

Another of the acts that the “mestre de campo” Christobal de Axqueta did as soon as he arrived in Ternate was to negotiate the release of Admiral van Caerden with the Dutch. The Dutch admiral was freed on March 16, 1610, in exchange for some Spanish prisoners (mostly the crews of the two boats captured upon Azcueta’s arrival in Ternate, and also the men captured in the Bachian fort) and a sum of money.

There are conflicting testimonies as to the number of prisoners released and the amount of ransom paid by the Dutch for van Caerden, but according to Don Juan de Silva and also according to Heredia’s “Meritos”, there were 50 Spanish soldiers and sailors and 30 Indians, “gastadores” and officers released in the exchange, as well as 6,000 pesos in cash. ⁹ According to other sources such as the report of Father Gregorio Lopez, for the admiral’s ransom, the Dutch paid 80,000 pesos as an advance in 1609, then at the time of the ransom they paid another 6,000 pesos in addition to the frigate and all its cargo, and also freed 52 Spaniards and 100 native allies of the Spaniards. ¹⁰

In one of his reports dated June 1610, van Caerden judged invincible the fortifications of the Spanish city. Therefore the works undertaken by the Spaniards must have already been well advanced. He also informs us of the construction of the fort of Don Jil, which he strangely calls Nouckenorre, it had three stone bastions and was located between Malayo and the Spanish city.

In the same letter he informs the administrators of the VOC of the scarce knowledge that the Dutch had of the island of Tidore, in particular they had no information of the defenses of the capital of the island, while they were informed of a Spanish fort in Marieco and of three small posts fortified in the island of Halmahera: Solo (=Tolo), Payjay and Taffongo. The Spanish forces amounted, according to the Dutch admiral, to about 500 Spanish soldiers in addition to many natives of the Philippines who worked on the construction of the fortifications. For the connections between their garrisons the Spaniards maintained 2 boats, a 18-bank galley and a galliot. ¹¹

VAN CAERDEN’S NEW CATCH

On 15¹² July 1610, as already mentioned above, the Dutch admiral van Caerden was again captured by the Spaniards near the island of Tidore, in fact a Spanish galley, the San Christobal (San Xpoual), led by Captain Pedro de Avellaneda¹³ and on which there were 50 Spaniards, he had, for three hours, a hard naval clash with the “patacco”¹⁴ of van Caerden who embarked besides him 25 Dutch. The battle ended with the Spanish victory and with the new capture of the admiral.

Some Spaniards were injured in the clash, including Pedro de Avellaneda himself, “cauo superior de las ysla y fuezas de Tidore”, who died a few days later due to the wounds suffered during this clash. On August 23, 1610, Pedro de Hermua, who had just arrived from Manila, was appointed by Azcueta, in place of the deceased Pedro de Avellaneda, in charge of the island and the fortresses of Tidore and the garrisons of Payáy and Tafongo. ¹⁵

Paulus van Caerden (Pablos Brancaerden in the Spanish), was in command of all Dutch troops present in the Moluccas and Banda Islands. After his new capture the Dutch position, according to the enthusiastic reports of the Spaniards, seems to be weakening, in fact the Spaniards say that only a “nauio” and a patacco remain with the Dutch in all their possessions, from Banda to the Moluccas. Furthermore, there was little hope that reinforcements could reach the Dutch in the following months.

According to some papers found after the capture of van Caerden, the income that the possession of the Moluccas gave to the Dutch amounted to more than 4 million pesos a year. Despite the new capture of the admiral and the Spanish hopes, the Dutch position is still very solid, mainly thanks to the alliance with Ternate where a younger son of the old Said Berkat had been installed as sultan.

The Spaniards, on the other hand, had no allies among the Ternatese. Their only and faithful ally was the king of Tidore, where, however, the majority of the population was hostile to the Spaniards. To try to undermine the compactness of Ternatese, the governor of the Philippines Juan de Silva thought of bringing the old sultan Said Berkat back to Ternate, on the occasion of the great expedition that he was planning to make in Ternate. This was supposed to contribute, according to his plans, to dividing the Ternatese and making at least part of the population pass over to the Spanish side. ¹⁶

The captured Dutch “patacco” with van Caerden was sent, on July 30, 1610, to Manila where he arrived in August 1610. In Ternate, Juan de Azevedo, received the task of guarding the Dutch general van Caerden. ¹⁷ In April 1612 Caerden was still a prisoner of the Spanish in the fortress of Ternate.¹⁸ Paulus van Caerden (Blancardo for the Spanish), was later taken to Manila where he remained until his death.¹⁹ Van Caerden appears to have left Ternate for Manila on May 24, 1612. ²⁰ The Spanish demanded for Caerden’s ransom 40,000 reals from eight. ²¹

The confirmation that Caerden died in Manila comes from a document written in Manila on September 17, 1618, which mentions the ‘general Pablo Brancaerden que murio en esta ciudad’. ²²

THE FRANCISCANS IN THE MOLUCCAS

In 1610 the Franciscans moved their convent outside the city walls. In fact, thanks to the interest of the new “mestre de campo” of Ternate, Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca, who bought a house (“buenas de tabla”) at his own expense with a piece of land that belonged to a Spaniard. The house was located outside the walls of the city of Ternate, and here the Franciscans moved their convent, named S. Antonio de Padua, and built their church on the plot of land. After these improvements, in addition to the church and convent, all of wood, the friars also had a large vegetable garden and continued to take care of the old hospital. The Franciscans present in Ternate this year were six: Br. Diego de Santa Maria (who took care of the hospital), Fr. Juan del Caño (appointed president of the convent), Br. Antonio de Santa Ana, Br. Sebastian de S. José, Br. Cristobal Gomez and Br. Alonso Guerrero. ²³

The Franciscan friar Sebastián de San José had been nominated, in 1609, provincial commissioner for the Moluccas. In June 1610, he visited the island of Macasar (Manados), where he made many conversions. On the beach at the mouth of the Rio Cauripa, Fr. Sebastian founded a small wooden chapel and died, in fact he was killed on June 18, 1610 during an attack by the natives. His traveling companion, the lay brother friar Antonio de Santa Ana, was captured by the same natives, deported to the island of Tagolanda and killed a few days later, on 28 (24 according to Trinidade) June 1610. ²⁴

THE JESUITS IN THE MOLUCCAS

In October 1610 a group of 5 Jesuits arrived from Malacca (João Baptista, Andrea Simi, Giambattista Scalamonti, Manuel Leitão and Jorge da Fonseca) destined for the mission of the Moluccas, they were led by Fr. João Baptista. ²⁵ Father Jorge da Fonseca was immediately assigned to the spiritual care of the Spanish garrison of Tidore. ²⁶ He describes the island of Tidore in his letter of April 8, 1612: “que hé huma ilha quatro legoas de Ternate, de mouros amigos nossos, onde há alguns christãos da terra, portuguezes casados e hum presidio de soldados hespanhoes, que todo este tempo atrás avia estado sem padre por falta de sarcedotes”.²⁷ The Jesuit mission of Tidore remained without a father until the end of 1610, in the continuation of his letter Fonseca again describes Tidore, this time making mention of two Spanish garrisons present on the island (according to Jacobs’ note [Doc. Mal. III p 224 note 45] the two garrisons were the old Portuguese fort, near Soasio and the fort of Marieko on the west coast). ²⁸

In Ternate, thanks also to the goodwill of the governor Cristobal de Azcueta Menchaca, the Jesuits founded the “confraria do Santissimo Sacramento”. ²⁹ The Jesuits took care not only of the conversion of the natives but also of the spiritual care of the crews of the galleys and of the soldiers in the garrisons, regularly visiting the Spanish garrisons. Captain D. Juan de Castro Verde y Ayala bears witness to this, informing us that when he was captain of a fort on the “frontera de Malayo” (most likely Don Jil or San Pedro y San Pablo) the fathers came to say Mass every public holiday. Captain D. Diego de Quiñones y Arguelles (captain of the forts of San Pedro y San Pablo in Ternate and then of the “fuerça” of Tomañira in Tidore) also tells us in one of his testimonies that the fathers often visited the garrisons and sometimes stopped even many days to confess and say Mass.³⁰

THE SPANISH FORTIFICATIONS AT TERNATE AND TIDORE IN 1610

A Dutch report written in 1610 gives us a description of the Spanish-held fortifications on the islands of Ternate and Tidore: On the island of Ternate, the Spaniards are in possession of the great city of Gammelama, which is called Nuestra Signora del Rosario. Between this city and Malaya, there is another fort called “Pedro ende Paulo”. On Tidore there are three places, the first is a large city where the king of the island resides it has a fortification on a high hill, called Taroula, this fortification has 10 cannons and a garrison consisting of 50 Spaniards and 8-10 Filipinos . The second place is the old Portuguese fort, which in 1605 was conquered by Cornelis Bastiaensz, but which was now in the possession of the Spanish, 2 cannons were mounted in the fort and the garrison consisted of 13 Spanish soldiers. The third place is the small town of Marieco, which is located opposite the town of Nuestra Signora del Rosario, some Tidorese live here and the Spanish have surrounded the place with two bastions, where 14 Spanish soldiers and two cannons are stationed. ³¹

According to some documents it was during the government of Azcueta that the fort of Don Gil was built about halfway between Ternate and Malayo. But as we saw in the fourth chapter, the construction of the fort is due to Lucas Vergara. Azcueta probably finished it. The fortress guarded the path and pass that connected the two enemy positions. Near the city of Ternate, Azcueta built the fort of S. Pablo on a hill (“padrastro”) which dominates it. Then he built the wall around the city of lime and stone, fortifying several bastions among which one called San Juan, which controlled the beach on one side and the hill on the other. Among his works is also the restoration of the hospital of the Franciscans. ³²

In 1611, Juan de Azevedo, had the task of commander of the troops of the king of Tidore, always in the same year he received the task of controlling the mouth of an enemy port so that no aid would reach the enemies during this assignment he fought with two boats from Ternate managing to capture one and run the other aground. ³³

THE EXPEDITION OF JUAN DE SILVA

The governor of the Philippines Don Juan de Silva had been preparing a large expedition for some time to eliminate the Dutch presence in the seas of Southeast Asia once and for all. For this purpose he had thought of building three large boats in the Philippines specially equipped for shipping to the Moluccas. The viceroy of Portuguese India, Ruy Lorenzo de Tavora, guaranteed his support for the planned expedition and offered the participation of 7 large galleons which had been sent, via Malacca, to Macao under the command of Don Diego de Vasconcellos. The commander of the galleon squadron Don Diego de Vasconcellos also wrote from Malacca to de Silva expressing his willingness to participate in the expedition, ³⁴ this offer from the Portuguese side rendered useless the construction of the three large boats designed by de Silva which then remained only in the projects.

Having received news that the Portuguese galleons promised by the Viceroy were anchored in the port of Macao, Don Juan de Silva sent a delegation to Macao (commanded by Juan Juarez Gallinato) to invite the flotilla commander, Don Diego de Vasconcellos, to join him and thus carry out the orders given by the viceroy. Gallinato set sail from Cavite in September 1610, reached Macao and had several meetings with Vasconcellos which the bishop of Macao also attended.

Vasconcellos initially showed himself willing to participate in the enterprise, but then when Gallinato proposed the immediate need to leave for the expedition, Vasconcellos, in defiance of the orders received from the Viceroy, despite repeated appeals from the Spaniards, and against the advice of the admiral of his fleet and of the soldiers embarked, he refused to take part in the expedition, preferring to use his army for personal gain by trading between Goa and Macao. De Silva had provided Gallinato with money to be able to ensure sufficient food for the Portuguese army and Gallinato also had carte blanche to use de Silva’s personal money to soften the reluctant Portuguese commander. De Silva, who had also received a favorable report from the governor of the Moluccas, Azcueta, on the lack of consistency of the Dutch forces present in the islands, also sent this report to Macao hoping thus to move the Portuguese commander, but even this last attempt did not had the desired effects. ³⁵

De Silva’s plans were to leave for Ternate, by the end of November 1610, once the Portuguese galleons had arrived, in order to reach Ternate at the beginning of January 1611 and therefore be able to close the matter with the Dutch by the beginning of May in order to anticipate a possible arrival of reinforcements for the Dutch troops. In addition to the galleons he hoped would arrive from Macao, he had in Manila, as “capitana” and “almiranta” 2 large ships captured from the Dutch, and then the ship “Espiritu Santo” and the ship “San Andres”, as well as two “pataccos” and three galleys. A last project of de Silva was to bring the sultan of Ternate Said Berkat with him in the expedition together with a large part of his retinue, the governor’s intentions were to bring the majority of the population of Ternate to the Spanish side, and once eliminated the Dutch leave the old sultan on the throne as a vassal of the king of Spain.

In 1611, D. Juan de Silva, having received the news of Vasconcellos’ refusal, nevertheless decided to leave, trying to take advantage of the moment of relative weakness of the Dutch forces. De Silva’s motivations are clearly indicated in one of his letters, in which he explains how this is the propitious year, even if by waiting a year the Spaniards could probably have had more forces for the expedition, but surely in the meantime the Dutch would have fortified themselves more. ³⁶

THE OLD SULTAN OF TERNATE PARTICIPATES IN THE EXPEDITION

Also taking part in the Spanish expedition were the old sultan of Ternate, Said Berkat, held until then in exile in Manila, his son, Prince Sulampe together with the principal cachiles who were held with him in exile in Manila. The hope of the Spanish governor was to be able to balance the excessive Dutch power with the return of the old sultan, who had promised to help the Spanish and with his presence to bring the majority of the inhabitants of Ternate to the Spanish side. Taking part in the expedition were 2 large boats captured the year before from the Dutch, another ship (called Espiritu Santo), 3 old boats (San Elifonso, Santiago and San Pedro y San Pablo) and 2 galleys with about 2,000 soldiers on board and sailors.³⁷ With the position of admiral Pedro de Heredia also returned to Ternate with this expedition, he was appointed by Juan de Silva sergeant major of the garrisons of the Moluccas. ³⁸

Despite the unfavorable opinion of most of the Real Audiencia of Manila³⁹, the governor wanted to captain the expedition himself. His direct participation was repeatedly requested expressly by the Sultan of Ternate, who said that without de Silva’s presence he could not keep his promise. This seems to have been the main reason de Silva took a direct part in the expedition.⁴⁰

The expedition was a failure for the Spanish. The attempt to install the old sultan on the throne of Ternate soon foundered due to the aversion of the population, as a counter move the Dutch had installed on the throne of the sultanate, as early as 1610, another son of the old sultan, Modafar.⁴¹

However, the failure of the expedition is largely due to de Silva’s renunciation, it seems that at the crucial moment, upon his arrival in Ternate, he stalled seeking agreements with the Ternatese, instead of immediately attacking the Dutch fortress of Malayo, which was in bad shape and with few men to defend it. Estaban de Alcazar was sent to Malayo and was commissioned by de Silva to deliver a letter (where the ransom of prisoners captured by the Spaniards in Manila was dealt with) to the Dutch in the fort of Malayo so as to have the opportunity to see and study from nearby the defenses set up in the fort by the Dutch. ⁴²

His indecision allowed the Dutch and their allies to improve the defenses of the fort and to receive soldiers and aid from the Dutch garrison of the fort “Jacome” on the island of Makian.⁴³ When he decided to attack the fort, he judged it too well defended and did not dare to attack it. Instead, it was decided to send a caracoa of the King of Tidore to Ambon to observe the movements of the Dutch, and when the governor learned that 5 Dutch galleons were present in Ambon, he inexplicably ordered the ships that had accompanied him to return to Manila.⁴⁴ The governor remained in Ternate with all the infantry troops, the “San Buenaventura” patrol and the two galleys.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SPANISH FORT AT TOLOCO

As the only activity of some weight, the place of Toloco was occupied, near Malayo, and the Spaniards built a fort of “faxina”. ⁴⁵ According to Azcueta’s testimony it seems that an attempt was made by occupying Toluco and building a fort there: “auiendo acordado el Señor D. Juan de Silva …….. tomar y fortificar al puesto de Toloco serca de Malayo”), in 1611, the governor of the Philippines D. Juan de Silva, decided to occupy and fortify the post of Toloco near Malayo (“serca de Malayo”), for this he ordered that three companies were to occupy the place. At the head of the three companies was appointed Fernando Centeno Maldonado who with his company and together with those commanded by Andres Hinete and Pedro Çapata began to fortify the post “acudio ala fortificacion del por cauo de tres compañias de infanteria españolas”.

However, it seems that the Spanish did not complete the work and the occupation of the fort, but this attempt still served as an alarm bell for the Dutch who built the fort of Toloco a few months later. This testimony shifts the construction, or occupation, by the Dutch of the fort of Toloco, which is generally dated 1610, by one year. ⁴⁶

Another interesting reference to the construction of a Spanish fort in Toloco is made in another Spanish document, the “Meritos” of Fernando de Ayala, where it is mentioned that this captain and sergeant major on the occasion of Juan de Silva’s expedition to Ternate built the fort of San Juan de Toloco: “con mucho trauaxo y rriesgo hiço el fuerte de San Juan de Toloco”. ⁴⁷

A more detailed testimony of the effective construction of a fort, by the Spaniards, in Toloco is given to us in Fernando de Ayala’s “Meritos y servicios”, here in fact it is clearly indicated that Fernando de Ayala on the orders of the governor Don Juan de Silva built the fort called San Juan de Toloco in the vicinity of Malayo: “Por horden del diho Cap.n Gen.l (don Juan de Silva) paso de otra vanda de Malayo (que ?) llaman Toloco muy cerca dellas fuercas del enemigo que es a tiro de cañon y fabrico un fuerte de faxina con grandisimo travajo e riesgo para tener mas oprimido y sitiado al diho enemigo” “hizo un fuerte llamado de San Juan de Toloco çerca del de Malayo” “por mandado del diho Gouer.or. (don Juan de Silva) hizo un fuerte llamado San Joan de Toloco que está a tiro de cañon della fuerça de Malayo”.

Don Fernando Centeno Maldonado, in his testimony specifies that the expedition led by Ayala was made up of 5 companies and he took part in the expedition himself. From Toloco then sailed the expedition of de Silva directed to Halmahera and with which the forts of Jailolo and Sabugo were captured. ⁴⁸

Another testimony in the “Meritos” of Pedro de Heredia, even if Toloco is not explicitly mentioned, most likely refers to this episode. Indeed here is cited an act performed by Heredia during Juan de Silva’s expedition of 1611, on de Silva’s orders, he landed at the head of 400 men a quarter of a league from the Dutch fort “tomo puerto e se fortifico alli”. ⁴⁹ The Spanish probably abandoned the fort shortly after its construction, almost certainly as early as de Silva’s departure for Halmahera.

THE ATTACK ON JAILOLO AND SABUGO

De Silva then decided to attack two secondary objectives such as the forts of Jailolo and Sabugo on the western coast of Halmahera. ⁵⁰ The two villages were conquered by Spanish troops. But in these battles the Spaniards apparently lost 300 men.⁵¹ The death toll that the Spaniards paid in the conquest of Sabugo was particularly heavy. The village of Jilolo, on the other hand, appears to have fallen under Spanish control almost without a fight after an agreement with the local population⁵², decisive, in this negotiation, seems to have been the presence of the prince of Ternate accompanied by Esteban de Alcazar “y fue a Gilolo con el Principe de Terrenate al trato que con el se tuuo, y por su medio se entregô”. ⁵³

In the expedition that led to the conquest of Sabugo, 10 captains with their companies took part together with the “mestre de campo” Azcueta, who attacked the stronghold by land. Among these was also Captain Pedro de Hermua who distinguished himself, after observing the fortifications, at the head of a platoon of 50 “picas” with which he attacked and crossed the river which served as a moat. Thanks also to this action, the enemies were then forced to surrender, among the prisoners there were also some Dutch soldiers, Hermua was wounded in the thigh by a musket shot in the clash. After this episode Hermua returned to govern the Spanish forts of the island of Tidore. ⁵⁴

Another captain, Juan de Espinosa y Sayas, also distinguished himself in the assault on Sabugo. Sayas was entrusted with all the troops equipped with muskets and 25 pikes made up of reformed captains and ensigns with whom Governor Azcueta had also arrived, who gave orders to Sayas to recognize and attack a “fuerte dificultoso” that they had found during the march towards Sabugo. Sayas succeeded well in his task, the Spaniards thanks to his action managed to cross a river that stood between them and Sabugo, and fighting they advanced up to the Dutch fort, conquering it together with the village of Sabugo. ⁵⁵ Juan de Azevedo also participated in the conquest of Sabugo as a captain in command of 40 “picas”. ⁵⁶

After the conquest of Sabugo, Azcueta appointed, on April 9, 1611, Juan de Espinosa y Zayas “cauo superior” of the “fuerza de Sabugo y su districto”, his task was to fortify the village and establish good relations with the local population that he wanted to submit to the Spaniards. ⁵⁷ To garrison Sabugo and to proceed expeditiously with the improvement of its fortifications, three companies of Spanish infantry and two companies of Pampanga infantry were left under the command of Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. In addition to reinforcing the existing fortifications, the Spaniards built a new fort in Sabugo located at the “boca del rio”. ⁵⁸

THE RESULTS OF DE SILVA’S EXPEDITION

These were the only two successes of D. Juan de Silva’s expedition which had aroused great hopes among the Spaniards present in Ternate.⁵⁹ The expedition, which had set itself the goal of eliminating the Dutch presence in the spice islands, ended in a colossal fiasco that cost the state’s meager coffers over 200,000 pesos.⁶⁰

From a practical point of view, however, the conquest of the two strongholds was of great importance, because the possession of Sabugo and Jilolo ensured the Spaniards an important source of food for the garrisons and at the same time deprived the Dutch of this source of food.

Without a doubt, the non-arrival of the 7 galleons promised by the viceroy was the main cause of the failure of de Silva’s expedition. Most likely de Silva began the adventure disheartened by the defection of the Portuguese galleons. Another reason was that the governor trusted the promises too much (“que nunca complio lo que prometio”⁶¹) in the promises of the sultan of Ternate to bring the great majority of the local population to the Spanish side with his arrival, it seems in fact that the sultan played a double game and instead of favoring an agreement has stalled. Another cause was the reluctance to quick action shown by de Silva at the crucial moment of arrival, when the Malayo Dutch were not yet prepared for a siege. The whole thing seems to have been aggravated by the poor health of the governor.⁶² All these causes led to the failure of the entire expedition.

Juan de Silva’s expedition lasted only 4 months. Juan de Silva had probably arrived in Ternate in February 1611 ⁶³ and left again in May 1611. ⁶⁴

THE DUTCH FLEET OF PIETER BOTH

A few months after the governor’s departure for Manila, at the end of September 1611, a fleet of Dutch ships⁶⁵ arrived in the waters of the Moluccas, it was the fleet of Pieter Both. These boats headed for the island of Halmahera where they tried to bring the inhabitants of Jailolo (Tyrol) and Sabugo to their side. The population of Jailolo (Geillollo) remained faithful to the Spanish, but that of Sabugo agreed with the Dutch and rebelled, but despite this, the Spanish did not abandon the “posto e forte de Sabugo”.⁶⁶ Sabugo, was important because sago was produced there, “que es el pan de aquella tierra”⁶⁷, very important food for the sustenance of the garrisons of Tidore and Ternate and of the local population.

The Dutch of this fleet, with the help of the inhabitants of Ternate, besieged the Spanish fort of Jailolo, which was commanded by Fernando Centeno Maldonado, but the prompt intervention of the Spanish rescue forces, a galley and some “caracoas”, led by Fernando de Ayala with his company and that of Pedro Çapata (Zapata), managed, after a hard battle against the enemy “caracoas”, to rout the Dutch and to bring reinforcements and ammunition to the fort.

The Spanish troops then moved to the fort of Sabugo, which was commanded by don Juan de Espinosa y Sayas, and which was also under close siege by a fleet composed of two Dutch ships and many Ternatese “caracoas”. Here, due to the tight siege, the Spaniards, with their boats, could not bring help to the besieged garrison, so the commander of the expedition Fernando de Ayala landed the troops at Jailolo and by land they reached Sabugo where they managed to bring the help of men and munitions, these two actions forced the Dutch to lift the siege on the two forts. The population of Sabugo later submitted again to the Spanish. ⁶⁸

In September 1611, the Dutch captured the only galley the Spanish had in Ternate, this loss was a serious blow to the Spanish. ⁶⁹ The galley was probably lost during the clashes that took place in Jilolo or Sabugo in September or October 1611, in fact Geronimo de Silva also indicates that in April 1612 the Dutch had captured the Spanish galley since more than 6 months. ⁷⁰

A TRADE FACTORY FOR THE SPICE TRADE

Pedro de Baeza, in November 1611, was appointed by the king, factor of Ternate, he had the task of developing the production of cloves and of administering the royal properties of Ternate. According to the King, the main purpose of this farm was to make the Philippines and the Moluccas financially independent, thus avoiding money remittances from New Spain to put the island’s budgets back on track.⁷¹

THE RIVALRY BETWEEN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

In the years 1610-1611 there were several discussions in Spain as to which of the two crowns of Portugal and Spain should have rights to the Maluku Islands. The Portuguese demanded the return of the islands due to their past rule, while the Spanish argued that it was better to leave them under Spanish control because it was easier to send troops and supplies from the Philippines than from Malacca and Goa. However, the islands remained under Spanish control. As far as the trade in cloves was concerned, the Council of the Indies expressed the opinion that it should be managed by the Portuguese, because it was more economically convenient to sell the cloves in the Indies of Portugal, however to carry out the negotiation of the cloves had to be Spanish royal officers. ⁷²

Notes on Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca:

Azcueta served in the Philippine Islands and the Moluccas for 36 years, from 1575 until 1612, the year of his death during a shipwreck between Manila and Macao, when he was on his way to India where he had to negotiate with the viceroy the preparation of a joint expedition against the Dutch.

During his services in the Philippines he was appointed ensign, alcaide, galley captain, ship captain, army admiral, infantry captain, regidor of the city of Manila, sergeant major, he then participated in the great expedition of 1606 which led to the conquest of Ternate with the rank of senior sergeant and admiral of the Moluccan Army.

He was familiar with things in Ternate as he had already been there twice before this expedition. During the attack on the fortress (1606) he was among the first to land, he was also responsible for the rapid ground movements of the Spanish troops, which in less than an hour after the landing were within sight of the enemy walls. He helped the advance troops to take possession of an eminence facing the Cachiltulo Bulwark, and was among those who attacked and captured the same Bulwark. In 1610 he was appointed governor of Ternate where he remained until 1612. ⁷³

In the report on the merits of Diego de Azcueta y Menchaca, son of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca, it is indicated that his father was appointed general of the Ternate galleys and for a second time “mestre de campo” of the “gente de guerra della”. ⁷⁴

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 (AGI “Meritos: Diego de Azcueta y Menchaca, 1632” Indiferente, 111, N.134)

2 See: (“Informaciones: Jerónimo Enriquez Sotelo. Informaciones de oficio y parte: Jerónimo Enriquez Sotelo, general. Información con parecer. [f] 1640” Filipinas,61,N.20 bl. 1 f. 97-98)

3 (AGI: “Méritos y servicios Fernando de Ayala Filipinas, 23-07-1622” Patronato 53 R.25)

4 (Doc. Mal. III p. 180 Doc. n°48A, note 2) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” pp. 689-690) (AGI “Meritos: Diego de Azcueta y Menchaca, 1632” Indiferente, 111, N.134) (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Pedro de Heredia, 20-07-1612” Filipinas,20,R.6,N.50) (AGI: “Meritos Pedro de Heredia, 22-09-1628” Indiferente,111,N.78)

5 (Doc. Mal. III p. 175 Doc. n°48, note 3)

6 (AGI: “Meritos, Fernando de Ayala, 27-07-1643 Indiferente,112,N.47) (AGI: “Méritos y servicios Fernando de Ayala Filipinas, 23-07-1622” Patronato 53 R.25) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

7 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Marinduque, etc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1623” Filipinas,47,N.60) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bondoc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1630” Filipinas,48,N.41)

8 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28)

9 (AGI: “Carta de Juan de Silva sobre los holandeses y el Maluco. Cavite, 05-09-1610” Filipinas,20,R.4,N.38). (AGI: “Meritos Pedro de Heredia, 22-09-1628” Indiferente,111,N.78)

10 See “Extract from the Relation of events in the Filipinas during the years 1609 and 1610, by father Gregorio Lopez, 1 luglio 1610” In Blair vol. 17 p. 140) (According Fr. Gregorio de S. Esteban the ransom amount was only 5,000 pesos. (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 690 nota 1))

11 (de Booy “De derde reis van de VOC naar Oost-Indië onder het beleid van admiraal Paulus van Caerden uitgezeild in 1606” vol. II p. 239 “Copie van het scrijven van Paulus van Caerden aan de bewindhebbers dd. 17 juni 1610”)

12 (More likely on the 13th?, see van Veen-Klijn “A guide to the sources…” p. 117)

13 According to Fr. Gregorio de S. Esteban he was the captain “de las fuerzas” of Tidore. (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 690 nota 1)

14 The “patacco” of Caerden was called “Buena Esperanza” ie “Goede Hoop”. (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 690 nota 1) (AGI “Trasunto de la relación de los papeles que se hallaron en el navio que se tomó al el enemigo…” In: “Cartas del Virrey Luis de Velasco (el hijo) 1607-1611” Mexico 28, N2

15 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28) (AGI: “Carta de Juan de Silva sobre los holandeses y el Maluco. Cavite, 05-09-1610” Filipinas,20,R.4,N.38)

16 (AGI: “Carta de Juan de Silva sobre los holandeses y el Maluco. Cavite, 05-09-1610” Filipinas,20,R.4,N.38) (See: “Letter by Don Juan de Silva to king Felipe III, 9 september 1610” in Blair vol. 17 p. 145-149) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 690 nota 1)

17 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

18 (Doc. Mal. III pp. 212-213 Doc. n°59)

19 (Montero y Vidal p. 155)

20 (“Generale Missiven” vol. I pp. 8-15)

21 (See van Veen “A guide to the sources…” p. 117)

22 “Confirmación de encomienda de Albay, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Albay y Canaman en Camarines y Catanduanes, a Gregorio de Vidaña. Resuelto, [f] 1620-10-21” FILIPINAS,47,N.38 blocco 2 foglio 26

23 (See: “Entrada de la seraphica religion de nuestro P. S. Francisco en las Islas Filipinas” pp. 45-46, manuscript of 1649, published in: Rentana, W. E. “Archivo del bibliófilo filipino” Tomo 1) (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 306) (Pérez p. 684 nota 1 e pp. 691-692)

24 (“Early Franciscan missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 pp. 291-292 note 75 e 76) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” pp. 692-694 e pp. 204-209) (Trinidade “Conquista espiritual do Oriente” vol. III pp. 484-486)

25 (Doc. Mal. III p.216 Doc. n°59) e (Doc. Mal. III p. 27*)

26 (Doc. Mal. III p. 192 Doc. 53) e (Doc. Mal. III p. 24*)

27 (Doc. Mal. III p. 217-218 Doc. n°59)

28 (Doc. Mal. III p. 224 Doc. n°59)

29 (Doc. Mal. III p. 219 Doc. n°59) This brotherhood was already present in Ternate at the time of the Portuguese (Doc. Mal. I p. 382 Doc. 116 nota 3)

30 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 569-571 note n°1)

31 (Voyage of Admiral Pieter W. Verhoeven, written in 1610 p. 112)

32 (Gregorio de S. Esteban “Historia de las Malucas” p. 50 this passage is reported in: Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 214)

33 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo, 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

34 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 301 nota n°1) (AGI: “Carta de Juan de Silva sobre los holandeses y el Maluco. Cavite, 05-09-1610” Filipinas,20,R.4,N.38)

35For the entire course of the negotiations with Vasconcellos, see the testimonies reported in: (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 297-309 nota n°1) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. clviii-clxiii AGI 67-6-29) (AGI: “Carta de Juan de Silva sobre los holandeses y el Maluco. Cavite, 05-09-1610” Filipinas,20,R.4,N.38)

36 (AGI: “Carta de Juan de Silva sobre los holandeses y el Maluco. Cavite, 05-09-1610” Filipinas,20,R.4,N.38)

37 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 299 nota n°1) There were instead 6 ships, 3 triremes, “celoces fere decem” and many sampams on these ships were embarked about 2,000 Spanish and Filipino soldiers, according to (Doc. Mal. III p. 194 Doc. n°54). According to Father Francisco Colin, the expedition included 6 ships, 2 galleys, 8 frigates and many other small boats on board which were over 2,000 Spaniards and Indians, with them, in addition to other religious, also the Jesuit Father Angelo Harmano (Armano), a native of Lucca in Tuscany. (Colin “Labor Evangelica” vol III pp. 262-263, 277-278)

38 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Pedro de Heredia, 20-07-1612” Filipinas,20,R.6,N.50)

39 Those in favor of the expedition were only three or four “corregidores” all the others advised the governor, given the weakness of the army, not to expose himself directly, but to send soldiers and ammunition in large numbers to Azcueta so that in case of failure the Spaniards did not lose their reputation with the natives. (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 263 nota n°1)

40 This also according to the opinion of Cristobal de Sequeira: “…entiende este testigo por cierto que si no fuera por la promessa que el rrey de Terrenate hizo a Su Señoria no fuera a el Maluco…” (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 301 nota n°1) Anche Juan Ronquillo da lo stesso parere (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 302 nota n°1)

41 (Doc. Mal. III p. 197 Doc. n°55)

42 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57).

43 The soldiers sent from Makian were led by the same commander of the fortress “Jacome” of Makian, the captain “Escoto”.

44 Even in his statement, Admiral Rodrigo de Guillestigui, increases the dose by saying that the departure of the ships was so hasty that they did not even finish unloading the goods and food they were carrying for the garrisons of the Moluccas. (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 263 nota n°1; AGI Filipinas: 67-6-20)

45 (AGI: “Informaciones Fernando Centeno Maldonado, 1615” Filipinas,60,N.18, foglio C36 (anche foglio A 32)(AGI: “Meritos, Fernando de Ayala, 27-07-1643 Indiferente,112,N.47) (AGI: “Méritos y servicios Fernando de Ayala Filipinas, 23-07-1622” Patronato 53 R.25) (AGI: “Meritos Pedro de Heredia, 22-09-1628” Indiferente,111,N.78)

46 (AGI: “Informaciones Fernando Centeno Maldonado, 1615” Filipinas,60,N.18, foglio C36 (anche foglio A 32)

47 (AGI: “Meritos, Fernando de Ayala, 27-07-1643 Indiferente,112,N.47)

48 (AGI: “Méritos y servicios Fernando de Ayala Filipinas, 23-07-1622” Patronato 53 R.25)

49 (AGI: “Meritos Pedro de Heredia, 22-09-1628” Indiferente,111,N.78)

50 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 263 nota n°1)

51 (Montero y Vidal p. 159)

52 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57)

53 (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

54 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28)

55 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

56 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo, 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

57 (“Carta di Azcueta, Sabugo, 9 aprile 1611” in AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

58 (“Carta di Fernando de Ayala, Terrenate, 1 maggio 1613” in AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

59 (Doc. Mal. III p. 197-198 Doc. n°55)

60 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 262-263 nota n°1)

61 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 299-300 nota n°1 “Traslado de una informacion hecha por orden del Gobernador de Filipinas Don Juan de Silva…, 26-07-1611” AGI 67-6-29)

62 (“Informaciones Juan de Silva, 1613” AGI:Filipinas,60,N.16”)

63 (There is an order signed by him dated Terrenate, February 17, 1611 “Confirmación de encomienda de Masbate. Expediente de confirmación de la encomienda de la isla de Masbate en Ibalon (Albay) a Fernando [Hernando] Suárez. Resuelto, [f] 1623-11-22” FILIPINAS,47,N.65 blocco 2 foglio 11)

64 (“Informaciones Juan de Silva, 1613” AGI:Filipinas,60,N.16”)

65 (5 ships according to G. de Silva (“Lettera di D. Gerónimo de Silva al re Felipe III, Ternate, 13 aprile 1612” In: Correspondencia p. 7))

66 (Doc. Mal. III p. 213 Doc. n°59)

67 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 264 nota n°1; AGI Filipinas: 67-6-37)

68 (AGI: “Méritos y servicios Fernando de Ayala Filipinas, 23-07-1622” Patronato 53 R.25) (“Carta de Fernando de Ayala, Terrenate, 1 May 1613” in AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

69 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to Don Juan de Silva, Ternate, 2 May 1612” In: Correspondencia pp. 17-18) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) p. clxix “Letter by Geronimo de Silva to Don Juan Ruiz Contreras, Terrenate 8-04-1612” AGI 1-2-1/14, r. 31)

70 (AGI: “Carta de Jerónimo de Silva a Juan Ruiz de Contreras. Terrenate, 8-04-1612” Patronato,47,R.35)

71 (AGI “Real Provisión a Pedro de Baeza, dándole título de factor de Terrenate, 12-11-1611” INDIFERENTE,449,L.A2,F.204v-206) (AGI “Orden de dar instrucciones al factor de Terrenate. Real Cédula a Juan de Silva, gobernador de Filipinas, avisándole de que se ha nombrado a Pedro de Baeza como factor de la real Hacienda de Terrenate y encargándole que le dé las instrucciones convenientes para el ejercicio de su cargo, 05-11-1611” Filipinas, S,329,L.2,F.128r-128v) (Lettera del Re Felipe III a de Silva, 12 novembre 1611; in Blair vol. 17 p. 176) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 309 note n°1)

72 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. Cxvi-cxxxii)

73 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 319-320 note n°1) (AGI “Meritos: Diego de Azcueta y Menchaca, 1632” Indiferente, 111, N.134) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. clxxv-clxxvii)

74 (AGI “Meritos: Diego de Azcueta y Menchaca, 1632” Indiferente, 111, N.134)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER SIX: THE GOVERNMENT OF D. JERÓNIMO DE SILVA, March 1612-April 1617

THE ARRIVAL OF D. JERÓNIMO DE SILVA IN TERNATE

In the first months of 1612 several ships arrived in Ternate to reinforce the Spanish garrisons in the Moluccas. These boats were part of the fleet of the new governor of the Moluccas, D. Jerónimo de Silva. Da Silva arrived in Manila in June 1611 with the post of Governor of the Moluccas.

The vanguard of this fleet were the “patache” S. Buenaventura and the ship Santa Ana (almiranta) with Captain Rodrigo de Guillestigui and the Franciscans Br. Gregorio de S. Esteban and Br. Juan Montero on board. The two ships sailed from the Philippines and in the port of Otong two frigates and three large rushes (champanes) joined the expedition, the expedition then stopped in the port of the “caldera” in the island of Mindanao and for about two days in the island of Siao.

Here the ship “Almiranta” lost contact with the rest of the fleet and alone managed to reach Tidore, despite the presence of some Dutch ships. The ship managed to reach the port safely, thanks also to the help of 5 or 6 “caracolas” of the king of Tidore and the castellan of Tidore, Jerónimo (Gregorio) de Vidaña. It is almost certainly the rescue of this boat, called “Santana” (=Sant Ana) that is attributed to Esteban de Alcazar together with the Prince of Tidore. ¹

Three more vessels from the fleet arrived a few days later, but one of the three was sunk for fear that the Dutch would capture it. However, the Dutch captured the sailors of this vessel and also two of the “champanes” from Cebu. ²

The Dutch continued to have almost complete control of the sea, and the Spanish cried a miracle when the Spanish ship “almiranta” arrived safely in Tidore loaded with “mantimentos” and money for the soldiers’ pay.³ Juan Gutierrez Paramo also took part in this rescue as an infantry captain of the relief troops. ⁴

The patacco on which D. Jerónimo de Silva, the new governor, had embarked, set sail from Manila a few days after the departure of the ship “almiranta”. De Silva was on board the “capitana” ship on which were also two other Franciscan friars (one of them was the provincial commissioner and personal confessor of Jeronimo de Silva, Father Pedro de los Combos). The journey to the port of the Caldera was covered in just nine days, here the expedition stopped for three days. The subsequent journey, due to the calm wind, was instead covered in 19 days, and at dawn on 17 March 1612 (i.e. 4 days after the arrival of the ship “Almiranta”), the ship arrived in sight of Ternate.

However, here the problems began for the governor, in fact there were three Dutch ships at the mouth of the port. For fear of the Dutch ships, the governor attempted to disembark with the lifeboat together with the two Franciscan religious, some rowers (“seis hombres que remasen”) and with money (it seems 13,000 or 16,000 pesos) for the garrisons, but the attempt was not initially successful, in fact the currents pushed the small boat away from the coast of Ternate, in the direction of the island of Makian.

Only in the evening (at 9 pm) of the following day, March 18, 1612, and after running serious risks, the governor managed to set foot on the island of Ternate, did he land near the fort of Nuestra de Señora.⁵ According to the testimony of Captain Gregorio de Vidaña, the small boat on which de Silva had taken refuge managed to reach Ternate thanks to Azcueta’s prompt dispatch of a galliot. Despite this help, the new governor reached Ternate 20 hours after the arrival of his “capitana” ship.⁶

On March 18, the “patache” S. Buenaventura and the frigate on which Juan Mexia was embarked also arrived. These ships were anchored outside the port due to the shallowness of the port itself.

A NAVAL BATTLE

On March 19, the Dutch, commanded by Captain “Escoto”, with a galley (which was the one previously captured, in September 1611, from the Spanish) and 5 boats, attempted to capture the frigate in the port of Ternate, but they committed a serious mistake, in fact they got too close to the bulwarks of the Spanish city and were hit by Spanish artillery fire. The first damage was done by the artillery positioned in fort San Lorenzo, then it was the turn of that of fort San Felipe and finally that of the fort Nuestra Señora⁷.

In an attempt to get away from artillery fire, the Dutch galley approached the Spanish frigate anchored outside the port. This allowed the Spanish soldiers defending the frigate to storm the galley, also aided by some soldiers who had embarked on the boats managed to capture the Dutch galley. The battle ended after more than two hours with an important Spanish victory, the losses among the Dutch were serious, many dead (more than fifty) and 43 prisoners, among the Spanish there were 5 dead and some wounded.

This victory, in which the sergeant major Esteban de Alcazar also played an important role, served to raise the Spanish prestige in the islands, the king of Tidore and his son visited the new governor in the castle of Ternate to congratulate him on the victory. The galley captured from the Dutch, however, proved useless due to the damage it had suffered. ⁸

THE DUTCH MAINTAIN NAVAL CONTROL

The arrival of the new governor and of the other boats, in addition to the victory and the capture of the galley, brought some relief to the Spanish population of the city and to the various garrisons, in fact for about six months, that is, from when the Spanish galley had been captured by the Dutch, the Dutch and Ternatese had established a sort of naval blockade on the city of Rosario, preventing the arrival of goods and supplies from the other islands.

The joy for the victory did not last long, in fact the day after the Dutch sank the frigate San Nicolas which was carrying rice for the garrisons, with it 50 Spaniards were captured and the commander of the ship Juan García. ⁹

According to the new governor himself, upon his arrival, the Dutch had 9 “naos grandes de armada” in Ternate as well as many small local boats, thanks to this naval superiority the Dutch managed to capture more than half of the relief that arrived with Gerónimo de Silva from the Philippines, this was also attributed by the new governor to the fact that the Spanish ships arrived in Ternate in a scattered and unarmed way, confident in the peace stipulated in Europe. ¹⁰

As for the religious. In April 1612, three fathers and a brother were present in the Jesuit residence of Ternate. ¹¹ While the Franciscan friar Xpoval (Cristóbal) de la Copcecion (de la Concepción) was in Tidore in 1612.¹²

THE CHRISTIAN INDIGENOUS THE “MERDICAS”

As Governor Gerónimo de Silva tells us, all the natives of the island of Ternate are allies of the Dutch, the Spaniards have with them a few Christian natives, called “merdicas” or free people, who took refuge in Ternate coming mainly from nearby islands , who fled with the Spanish as the Dutch occupied their islands. Of these natives de Silva highlights the high prolificacy: “mas estos serán poderosos, si hay paces, á poblar estos dos lugares, porque multiplican mucho.” ¹³

Gregorio de Vidaña informs us of the governor’s misconduct also towards the indigenous Christian population, loyal to the Spaniards, they were considerably penalized by de Silva’s decision to prevent them from selling captured slaves to the enemy, this decision is also penalizing against the Spaniards because it is the cause of a notable decrease in the number of raids (usually 2 or 3 per week) made by the “merdicas” against the Dutch fortress in search of slaves, moreover these raids, in addition to damaging the Dutch economically, allowed the Spaniards to know through the testimonies of prisoners the situation in the enemy fortress.¹⁴

The part of Ternate in Spanish hands is practically unproductive, only small gardens in the vicinity of the city are maintained for their livelihood by some indigenous families.

THE PRODUCTION OF THE CLOVE AND THE SPANISH

The production of cloves from Ternate is zero (“…porque de esta isla no se coge hasta agora ninguno”), only from the island of Tidore the Spaniards get a certain amount (“…y Tidore da un año con otro cuatrocientos bases” i.e. 2,400 quintals) of cloves, compared to a total production in the Moluccas Islands, estimated by de Silva at 9,000 quintals “mil y quinientos bases de clavo que son nueve mil quintales”.

According to de Silva, another flaw of the Spanish government is the marketing of cloves. This quantity, albeit minimal, could, if traded, as the Dutch do, through a farm controlled by the King, yield 30,000 ducats if traded in India, while even more if traded directly in Europe, while with the current system often controlled by private individuals, no income came to the Spanish crown. If the Spaniards could have entirely in their hands the clove production of these islands which is about 1,500 “bases de clavo” or nine thousand quintals a year, they could obtain 150,000 ducats a year if sold directly on the European market.. ¹⁵

For the supply of food, the Spaniards of Ternate depend a lot on the aid that sporadically arrives from the Philippines, something also arrives from nearby islands such as Tidore (“Tidore….el sustento de las viandas de pescado y gallinas, y otras vituallas que de allá se traen”), Halmahera (“Sabugo….Es rio e lugar de mucha sagú, bastimento que sirve de pan á los naturales y extranjeros y al enemigo, y á V.M. muy importante para el sustento de la gente que tiene estas islas….”) and Celebes.¹⁶

In May 1612, the Spanish captured the Dutch ship “Gouda”, in this clash, in which Estaban de Alcazar also took part, Juan de la Umbria was wounded by an arquebus shot in the right knee.¹⁷ He probably refers to this episode even if the document mentions the year 1613: In 1613 Juan de Azevedo, as head of the “patrona” galley, fought with a Dutch boat and managed to capture it.¹⁸

It seems that the Dutch admiral van Caerden left Ternate for Manila on May 24, 1612. The Dutch tried to negotiate with the Spaniards the exchange of some prisoners, in Dutch hands there are 25 Spaniards, 5 or 6 Portuguese, 20 Filipinos and many Christian Chinese. The Dutch complained that among their troops there are many Catholic soldiers who refuse to fight against the Spanish. Some Dutch reports also describe signs of discontent on the part of the Tidorese towards the Spanish. ¹⁹

In 1612, Fernando de Ayala was sent to Manila to inform the governor don Juan de Silva of the state of the “presidios” of the Moluccas. Shortly thereafter he successfully led the new relief for Ternate bringing ammunition and new soldiers to the garrisons.²⁰ Governor Geronimo de Silva appointed, probably in 1612 (in any case after the March 1612 date of arrival of Geronimo de Silva and before the date of this letter, May 1, 1613) Juan de Espinosa y Zayas, head of the garrisons of Tidore, Payaje, Marieco, and of the Portuguese fort.²¹ In July 1612, the ensign Juan Centeno was head of the garrison of Maxico el Grande.²²

THE SITUATION IN THE MOLUCCAS IN 1613

At the beginning of 1613, the situation of the forces in the Moluccas is as follows: The Spaniards in the island of Ternate are in possession of the city of Gammalamma or Ciudad de Nuestra Señora del Rosario as it is called by them. This is the main Spanish base in the islands, the city is surrounded by stone walls and bulwarks, guarded by a garrison of 200 Spanish soldiers and 90 pampangos, and with 33 iron cannons. Thirty Portuguese families, 60 or 80 Chinese merchant families and 50 or 60 local Christian families live in the Spanish city.

Also in Ternate the Spanish have another fort called San Pedro y Pablo, it is located a league from the Spanish city of Ternate on a hill on the road that leads to the Dutch fort of Malayo, its position controls the passage of boats between Ternate and Tidore. The artillery of this fort consists of six cannons, while the garrison includes 27 Spaniards, 20 Pampangos and a few other Filipinos.

On the island of Tidore, which is entirely in their possession, the Spaniards have three fortresses, the most important being the fortress of Taroula, it is situated on a hill in the great city where the king of Tidore resides. This fort is equipped with 10 large iron cannons, and a garrison of 50 Spanish soldiers and 8 or 10 pampangos. The second fort in Spanish hands is the old castle of the Portuguese which is armed with 2 cannons and has a garrison of 13 Spaniards and several natives. The third fort is called Marieco, it is located in front of the city of Gammalamma, it is also armed with two cannons and has 14 Spaniards and some pampangos as a garrison.

On the island of Gilolo (Halmahera), the Spaniards have forts at Sabougo, Gilolo and Aquilamo. In all these forts the Spanish have small garrisons. On the island of Moro²³ there are Spanish garrisons in the forts of Jolo (perhaps Tolo ?), Isiau and Joffougho.

This is the situation of the Spanish garrisons, now we see the Dutch forts: On the island of Ternate they have three forts, the most important is the fort called Malayo or Orange, where the king of Ternate lives; half a league N. of Malayo, on a hillock is the fort of Toluco or Hollandia; finally the third fort called Tacomma or Willemstad, is located in the northwestern part of the island and was built by Admiral Simon Jansz Hoen. Two more Dutch forts (de Silva gives us more plausibly three places fortified by the Dutch, a fourth being “tan fuerte de suyo” does not need to have defenses and garrison) are found on the island of Maquian: Taffalo and Tabillola. This island is the most populous and the most clove-rich of all the Moluccas and is controlled entirely by the Dutch. Finally on the island of Bachian the Dutch have the fort of Gammedource. On the island of Motiel, which is largely depopulated as the inhabitants fled to Tidore, the Dutch maintain a fort. ²⁴

With the Real Cedula of January 8, 1613, the King communicated to Don Juan de Silva his intention to send by the Cape of Good Hope a rescue for the Moluccas made up of 6 caravels with 400 Portuguese soldiers divided into three companies, at the command of the expedition as captain general was Ruy Gonzalez de Sequeyra. The King’s idea was to send them by February of the same year so that they would arrive in Manila between the end of July and the beginning of August 1613.²⁵

On January 1, 1613, a small Spanish expedition, consisting of a galliot and 2 praos, attacked the Dutch fort of Tacome, in the short skirmish 4 enemies died and 5 were taken prisoner.²⁶

On the orders of Geronimo de Silva, Esteban de Alcazar was sent (probably in 1613, because mention is made of 14 Dutch ships and 70 caracoras from Ternate that attacked Tidore, but thanks to his advice the Dutch were unable to do any damage) to Tidore to arrange the island’s defenses against the Dutch and to advise the king and prince.²⁷ In fact Juan de Azevedo, perhaps in 1613, was appointed head of the Spanish fortresses of Tidore and two other fortified garrisons, during this assignment he rescued a Spanish boat, loaded with foodstuffs, which had been attacked by enemies, managing to save it.²⁸

THE DUTCH ATTACK ON MARIECO

At the end of January 1613, a new Dutch fleet arrived in the waters of the Moluccas, it consisted of 5 vessels and was commanded by Adriaan Blocq Martensz. One of the ships of this fleet, on its way, also visited the island of Makian.

Five Dutch ships, carrying more than 800 European and native men, attacked a small fortified post, called Marieco, on the island of Tidore, which was defended by only 12 Spanish soldiers and one insign. According to Gerónimo de Silva, the Dutch attack on Marieco took place on 9 February 1613 “á el cuarto del alba” the Dutch shelled the fort so intensely “de suerte que despues de haberlo disparado mas de 160 balas” that they leveled all the embankments and part of the wall, the Spanish fought to the death and in the battle practically all of the small Spanish garrison of the fort was killed, only the gunner was taken prisoner and taken to the fortress of Malayo.

The Dutch, who according to the testimony of Gerónimo de Silva, had attacked the small fort with over 500 Dutch soldiers and many from Ternate, lost 6 soldiers in the battle, a ship captain and the lieutenant of the Malayo fort as well as 12 wounded. In this episode de Silva’s letters highlight the cowardice of the natives, in fact they all fled and only one of them fought until his death, a letter from de Silva also brings us the name of this brave: Rubaongue.²⁹

Some Dutch sources place this attack on February 8, 1613. On this day Pieter Both’s Dutch armada, reinforced by Blocq’s ships, attacked the small Spanish fort of Marisco (Marieko) on the island of Tidore, located on the arm of the sea in front of the Spanish fortress of Ternate. The fort was bombarded by the Dutch with 5 ships, the village was burned in the attack and 12 Spaniards and 12 Pampamgos were killed, the attack lasted three hours.³⁰ After this victory Both rebuilt the fort of Marieko and then proceeded to the Banda Islands.

Shortly after the Dutch conquest of Marieco, an English ship arrived in the waters of the Moluccas in April 1613. The vessel commanded by John Saris came within sight of Tidore and the Spanish fort, located on the eastern side of the island,³¹ cannon shots were fired at the English ship. Then the Spaniards, by order of the captain of Tidore Don Fernando de Becerra, sent a boat with a flag of truce. In the conversation between the Spanish and the English, the Spanish explained why they had welcomed them with cannon shots, in fact the Dutch had often displayed British banners on their ships to confuse the Spanish. The British in their report also make a description of the Spanish fort, it is on the east side of Tidore where it is a stretch of deep sea close to the shore. For the night the English ship was anchored on the advice of Francisco Gomez, pilot major of the galleys, a league and a half from the fort. But on waking up in the morning the British realize they are under fire from a battery of 8 cannons.³² The British then decided to move a league further south. The Spanish trade a certain amount of cloves with the English. The British also mention the new Dutch fort of Marieco where two newly arrived Dutch boats are anchored.³³

In their report, the British tell of an ambush made by the prince of Tidore on the son of the sultan of Ternate. The Sultan’s son had been sent to Machian by the Dutch to prevent the islanders from trading cloves with the English ship. But on the way back the Ternatese had been surprised by the Prince of Tidore who with his troops had overwhelmed the Ternatese killing a hundred including the sultan’s son, Key Chilly Sadang, who was the brother of the wife of the Prince of Tidore. Together with the prince of Ternate, one of his younger brothers and the king of Gilolo were also killed.³⁴ After a couple of days in Tidore, the British set sail again to continue towards Japan. The English report also mentions the production of cloves in the Moluccas. The British indicate the quantity of cloves produced in Ternate as 1,000 bahar, while the island of Machian produces 1,090, Tidore 900, Bachian 300, Motir 600, Mare 50, Battachina (Halmahera) 35. In total, 3,975 bahar of cloves are produced in the Moluccas every year, equal to 1,175 tons. Furthermore, every three years there is a much more fruitful year than the previous two, this year is called the great one monsoon.³⁵

In their brief stop, however, the British note the destruction that has been caused in these islands by the civil wars between the kings of Ternate and Tidore. The civil wars have so devastated the population of these islands, that large quantities of cloves remain abandoned on the plants without being harvested due to lack of people to collect them.³⁶

The English report also indicates which forts are in Dutch hands in the islands. On the island of Ternate the Dutch have a fort called: Malayou, which has three bulwarks or bastions, another Dutch fort is called Tolouco, and has two bastions and a round tower, another fort in the island of Ternate is that of Tacome, with four bastions. On the island of Tidore the Dutch have a fort called Marieka, with four bastions. On Machian, in Tufasoa, the capital of the island, there is a fort with four large bastions with sixteen cannon pieces. The island is inhabited by about 1,000 natives. At Nofakia, another Machian town, the Dutch have two forts or redoubts and a third fort atop a high hill with five or six guns, commanding the road on the other side. Similarly at Tabalola, another Machian town, they have two forts with eight guns. The natives of all these places are under their command. The inhabitants of Nofakia are not considered good soldiers, and it is said that they usually always side with the strongest. But the inhabitants of Tabalola, who formerly resided at

Cayoa, are considered the best soldiers of the Moluccas. In these fortified Machian stations, the Dutch had 120 European soldiers, of which eighty were at Tafasoa, thirty at Nofakia and ten at Tabalola. Machian Island is the richest in cloves of all the Maluku Islands. This island alone produces 1,800 bahar during the great monsoon. The Dutch have a large fort on Bachian Island and four redoubts on Motir Island.³⁷

A NEW DUTCH ATTACK ON TIDORE

Pieter Both was back in Ternate waters again in July 1613, and with a fleet of 13 ships and in command of 700-800 soldiers, including 50 Japanese mercenaries hired by Hendick Brouwer. In agreement with the inhabitants of Ternate, who contributed a fleet of 40 “caracoas” and about 2,000 men, it was again decided to attack the Spanish at Tidore. Tomás Maldonado, a Spaniard who had fled from the fort of Malayo, had warned de Silva of the imminent attack that the Dutch wanted to carry out on the city of Tidore. On July 7, at 5 pm, 13 Dutch ships sailed from Malayo to Tidore, one vessel guarding the fort of Marieco el Grande. The others brought themselves within sight of the great city of the king. The main objective was now the large city of Tahula, but due to the lack of a suitable place where to anchor the fleet, it was decided to attack first the old Portuguese fort, located about ½ hour from the city and in front of which the anchorage closest to the city was located.

THE ATTACK ON THE PORTUGUESE FORT

On the evening of July 8³⁸ 1613, 12 Dutch ships moored in front of the old Portuguese fort, the Spanish garrison, which on the same day had been reinforced by 40 soldiers, opened fire and bombarded the enemy boats incessantly in order to force them to abandon their anchorage but the Dutch held firm, the next day (July 9, 1613) early in the morning 8 companies of soldiers were landed who immediately assaulted the fort, after 1 hour and a half of continuous assaults, the Dutch troops managed to enter the fort, the Spaniards fought fiercely to the death, despite this fierce resistance of the Spanish the fort was conquered by the Dutch, the losses for the Spanish were very serious, in fact, 63 (50 according to Spanish sources) of their best soldiers were killed in this battle “me mató en el fuerte de los portuguéses la gente … que era de la mejor y mas briosa que abia en estas islas”³⁹ of which 46 are Spaniards and the remaining mestiços and papangers. On the Dutch side the dead were 8 (Coen more precisely speaks of 9 Dutch, 2 Japanese and 1 Indian) as well as 12-14 wounded.

THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST DE SILVA

As we will see later, de Silva was accused by many for his conduct during his government in Ternate. In defense of the accusations against him, de Silva tells us about the behavior of Don Fernando de Becerra, who commanded the Spanish forces on the island of Tidore at the time of the Dutch attack on the old Portuguese fort. He had been instructed to reinforce the defenses of the old fort and to disturb the Dutch if they attempted to land, but he did not respect the orders received, on the contrary he dispersed his troops and at the crucial moment of the Dutch landing he retired to the fortress to change his clothes (“… á mudar una camisa…”), so that the enemy troops did not find obstacles during the landing and were able to attack and occupy the fort, de Silva then increases the dose by saying that it is known that Don Fernando did not know which way the enemy had landed.⁴⁰

In an interesting letter written by the King of Tidore on July 9, 1613,⁴¹ he presents to Gerónimo de Silva all his concern for the desperate situation of the Spanish and Tidorese troops in Tidore also due to the shortage of food and supplies, the king requests the immediate sending of other Spanish reinforcement troops, he comes to envisage also the abandonment of the island and the withdrawal to Ternate “ó send aquí mas españoles, ó que nos vamos todos á Terrenate”. The king was also concerned about the danger that the Dutch would carry out a naval blockade by placing ships in the Socanora area in order to prevent the arrival of relief from Ternate. The king is very harsh towards Gerónimo de Silva who is accused of being partly responsible for the death of the defenders of the fort de los Portuguéses because he had not allowed its dismantling.

Da Silva, on the other hand, defends his orders to maintain and fortify the Portuguese fort. Unfortunately, however, all his efforts were not enough. He also complains about the attitude of the Tidorese who, according to him, have not done everything in their power to help the Spanish.⁴²

According to Captain Gregorio de Vidaña, an important cause that led to the loss of the fort by the Portuguese was the fact that they did not have a captain of proven experience, either in the fort or in the city of Tidore (“lugar grande del Rey di Tidore”), as it had always been the custom in the past. In fact, to better look after his own interests, de Silva had put the ensign Don Fernando de Becerra in charge of the defenses of the city, an inexperienced man who was only useful for taking care of de Silva’s affairs. Three of the most experienced Spanish captains present had even been imprisoned by de Silva, due to disagreements with the governor, the three were Diego de Quiñones, Juan de Acebedo (Azevedo) and Gregorio de Vidaña himself. ⁴³ The king also demands that de Silva order Captain Don Juan (de Zayas, captain of Tomanira) to retreat with his men to the king’s city. Even the Tidorese “de los pueblos chicos” are ordered to retreat to the king’s city..

THE DUTCH ATTACK ON THE TOWN OF TIDORE

On the wave of enthusiasm for this victory, the Dutch therefore decided to also attack the new fort of Tahula, (located on a hill in the southern part of the capital), but here the Dutch had problems and could not land due to the strong currents, which swept the ships further south in front of the fortified village (“fuertecillo”) of Sokanora, located about ½ mile (or half a league) south of the city, in an attempt to break through to the city, the 11 July 1613, Sokanora was attacked twice (three times according to Spanish sources) by Dutch and Ternatese, but the resistance of the Spanish and the inexperience of the Dutch troops and commanders was such that the attackers had to retreat with heavy losses (15-16 Dutch and 25 from Ternate killed as well as many wounded).

On 12 July (Geronimo de Silva in his “Correspondencia” speaks of 13 July 1613) another attack, this time directly against the city was attempted by Dutch troops, 2 companies of soldiers were sent. But the Dutch troops now demoralized by the two defeats suffered at Socanora, fled at the sight of a squad of 36 (or 30) Tidorese leaving 11 (other sources 10-13) Dutch dead on the field, the losses among the Tidorese were only 4 people. Following this new defeat the Dutch decided to desist in their intent and withdrew.⁴⁴ In the following weeks the Dutch dismantled and abandoned the old fort of the Portuguese, a letter from Geronimo de Silva of November 17, 1613 informs us of this.⁴⁵

The miracle of St. Francis Xavier described by Father Colin in his book “Labor Evangelica” is most likely to be located in this period (between 1613 and 1614 and probably concerns the episode of the Dutch assault on Sokanora). Witness of the miraculous event is a Spanish soldier, who was in charge of a small “furtecillo” fort with a garrison of 14 Spanish soldiers, who learned that the Dutch and Ternatese were preparing to attack it and being the small and indefensible fort of faced with so many enemies, he decided together with his soldiers to meet the enemy troops in the open, realizing the desperate situation they were in, the soldier placed himself in the hands of the Lord through St. Francis Xavier. The clash began and in the bloodiest moment of the battle, some Spanish soldiers noticed a Jesuit who was chasing the Dutch from the walls of the small fort, according to the witness it was St. Francis Xavier, thanks to this miraculous intervention, the enemy troops were forced to flee.⁴⁶ A letter from Both, dated 1 January 1614, to the VOC council in Holland reports the sending of 5 paintings of the captured forts with the exception of the Portuguese fort of Tidore.⁴⁷

SPANIARDS ABANDON THEIR FORTIFICATIONS AT HALMAHERA

At this point, in July 1613, the Spanish governor of Ternate, D. Jerónimo de Silva, made the decision to withdraw the Spanish garrisons from the Moro area (the fortresses of Tolo and Sabugo were dismantled), to concentrate all his forces on the defense of Ternate and Tidore.⁴⁸ The effective abandonment of San Juan de Tolo is completed in August 1613.⁴⁹

In one of his letters de Silva indicates the decision to abandon Sabugo as a decision taken in agreement with the captains and the religious. It was decided to dismantle Sabugo because it was the one that cost the most and gave the least fruit and due to the lack of time all the artillery was abandoned.⁵⁰

The abandonment of the two fortresses of Sabugo (“dos fuerças que su magestad tenia en el Rio de Sabugo una en la boca del y otra arriba en el puerto”) and the garrison of San Juan de Tolo caused serious damage to the reputation of the Spaniards in the islands. With Sabugo, an important center for the supply of food for the garrisons was lost, moreover, due to the hasty abandonment of the forts, all the artillery, ammunition and food was abandoned “… que se auian metido para un año”. According to Don Fernando de Becerra, it would have been possible to transfer most of the artillery and supplies to the nearby fortress of Jailolo in a short time. Furthermore, according to the opinion of Captain Gregorio de Vidaña, in order to be able to control Sabugo and its vital trade, it could have been enough to have kept the only fort at the mouth of the river occupied.

As regards the importance of San Juan de Tolo, it must be said that with this garrison the Spaniards controlled the whole province of Moro, which included the north coast of the island of Halmahera and the entire island of Morotai, the area, where missionaries had worked since the time of the Portuguese, was rich in Christians (Vidaña estimates their number at 3,000, while Francisco Ribera y Aragon tells us that there are almost 2,000) and their abandonment was a serious setback for the Spaniards. all the more considering the fact that only 20 Spanish soldiers were enough to garrison it. The abandonment of such a large number of Christians caused little trust in the other natives towards the promises of the Spaniards and certainly did not favor other conversions. ⁵¹ When they left Tolo, the Jesuits transferred 16 boys, sons of the leaders of the area, to Ternate to educate them in the Catholic faith. For this purpose, they lodged them in their house where they opened a small seminary..⁵²

The effective abandonment of San Juan de Tolo was completed in August 1613. The ensign Francisco Ribera y Aragón, who governed the forces of Tolo and Morotay twice and for a total period of over three years, with a letter written by him from San Juan de Tolo on August 1, 1613 proves without a shadow of a doubt that up to that date Tolo was still occupied by the Spaniards.⁵³

THE “SOCORROS” OF 1613 , 1614 AND 1615

On October 7, 1613, a relief expedition left the Philippines for the Moluccas, it was made up of 2 galleys and 5 frigates and was commanded by Don Fernando de Ayala, one of the 2 galleys was headed by Pedro Tellez de Almazan (he had been appointed head of the Ternate galleys).⁵⁴ However, some vessels and a galley were shipwrecked in Calabite, on the coast of the island of Mindoro, the shipwrecked were all killed by the natives. None of the boats sent with this expedition managed to reach Ternate.⁵⁵

Due to the non-arrival of the October “socorro”, a new fleet was sent in late November 1613 from Manila to Ternate, it arrived in January 1614. In command of the fleet was Sergeant Major Zapata. Among the boats that arrived in Ternate were the Santa Margarita galley, a patacco and two small frigates. Friar Pedro de los Cobos must have also arrived with the “socorro” ships.⁵⁶

On January 1, 1614, Pedro de Hermua was ordered to leave the command of the fort of San Pedro y San Pablo, to replace him Geronimo de Silva sent the sergeant major Juan Gutierrez Paramo. Hermua is ordered to report to de Silva for orders, leaving his company in the fort.⁵⁷ The orders to which de Silva refers are revealed in another letter sent to Fernando Centeno Maldonado in which he relieves Maldonado of his post as head of Jilolo and in his place is appointed “cauo superior en la dha fuerza de Xilolo y Cufaza (Bufaza? )” Pedro de Hermua.⁵⁸

In May 1614, a new “socorro” was sent to Ternate, at first Don Fernando Centeno had been designated under his command, but then Captain Don Pedro Tellez was preferred. The boats did not reach Ternate because they met a Dutch fleet thirty leagues from Ternate and were forced to take refuge in the port of the Caldera. From this port one of the galleys was sent to Manila, where it arrived in July 1614, to inform the governor of the failure of the expedition. Pedro Tellez also informed de Silva that the Dutch controlled, with their fleet, every passage to Ternate making it impossible for Spanish boats to pass, however he would have done the impossible to be able to reach Ternate. And it seems that he managed to reach Ternate.⁵⁹ Governor of the Philippines, Juan de Silva, despairs of being able to send new relief before the end of September 1614.⁶⁰

On August 19, 1614, Juan Gutierrez Paramo was sent to Manila by Geronimo de Silva to inform the governor of the state of the “presidios” of the Moluccas.⁶¹ The sergeant major Esteban de Alcazar⁶² after being recalled, in 1614, from Ternate to give an account to the governor of the situation in the Moluccas islands, was commissioned to command the new rescue expedition set up in September 1614, the new fleet was composed of 2 galleys, 3 patacos and 1 frigate (Nuestra Sseñora de los Rremedios)⁶³ two ships took part in the expedition, a “hurca”, a frigate and two galleys⁶⁴ they were “quatro nabios dos galeras” on which three companies of Spanish infantry were embarked.

The expedition set sail in October 1614 (according to the instructions, the day of departure was to be October 4), reached Cebu, where Father Colin tells us of a curious episode: Here lacking a chaplain for the army and having asked the rector of the college that answered negatively, the commander of the expedition Esteban de Alcazar, practically “kidnapped” Father Pedro Martinez, who had boarded a galley to confess the soldiers, suddenly setting sail the boat with the Jesuit on board.⁶⁵

The journey took place without incident, and despite the danger posed by the Dutch ships (there are talks of 10 Dutch galleons chasing the Spanish rescue), all the boats arrived safely in Ternate after only 14 days of navigation. The orders were to leave the two galleys in Ternate and to immediately send the other rescue ships back to the Philippines. Father Martinez arrived in Ternate had the pleasure of confessing many Indians of the Bisayas islands whose language he knew, he returned to Cebu with the same boats in March 1615 after a return journey of 64 days, in all his journey lasted 5 months.⁶⁶ The good success of this expedition was important for the Spaniards also by virtue of the fact that the previous “socorros” had been completely lost or had reached Ternate only minimally.⁶⁷

To indicate the importance that the Spaniards gave to Tidore is also the fact that on the precise order of Juan de Silva also the governor of Ternate, Gerónimo de Silva, in the last months of 1614 moved to Tidore, he will reside on the island, in the new fortress built by the Spanish, for long periods in the years 1615 and 1616.⁶⁸ In the “Correspondencia” of Geronimo de Silva, the letters written from Tidore are dated: 5 May 1612, 12 December 1614, 12 May 1615, 13 July 1615, 19 August 1615, 8 March 1616, 1 April 1616, 17 April 1616, 17 June 1616, 25 June 1616, 8 August 1616, 20 August 1616 and 12 March 1617.

In 1614 the viceroy of Portuguese India responded to Juan de Silva’s urgent requests for a Portuguese army to be sent to the Moluccas to aid the troops the governor of the Philippines was preparing to fight the Dutch. The viceroy points out that the request for help came too late to be able to send the relief army during this year, but promises that with the new year he will certainly do so.⁶⁹

On 15 February 1615, 8 Portuguese “galeotas” arrived in Ternate commanded by Gonçalo Rodrigues de Sousa (Ruy González de Sequeira??). The day these galliots arrived, Ternate was besieged by 11 Dutch ships, despite this the Portuguese managed to arrive safely and safe in the port of Ternate. The arrival of the Portuguese galliots forced the Dutch to abandon the siege.⁷⁰ De Silva gives us different information with respect to this rescue, in fact he tells us that the Portuguese arrived on February 16th and there were not 8 of them but only 4 “galeotas”.⁷¹ In another letter he instead indicates the date of February 17th. The galliots had 150 Portuguese foot soldiers on board.⁷²

In April 1615, on the orders of Geronimo de Silva, Maldonado was in Jilolo, where Pedro de Hermua was chief, who was given orders to surrender his company to Maldonado and the license to go to Manila. Captain Francisco de Bera remained in Jilolo as head of the garrison. Hermua is licensed to go to Manila. When Maldonado returned from Manila as sergeant major and commanding a company of arquebusiers, the company was that of Pedro de Hermua, so Hermua’s rule at Jilolo ended about April/May 1615.⁷³ Confirming this is the letter of Geronimo de Silva dated April 12, 1615 letter in which Fernando Centeno Maldonado goes to Jilolo to replace, as head of Xilolo, Hermua with Captain Francisco de Vera y Aragon. Hermua receives the order to embark with all his company.⁷⁴

The continuous state of war with the Dutch creates immense financial problems for the Spaniards, who spend a large part of their money to maintain the garrisons of the Moluccas, furthermore the war prevents the Spaniards from receiving commercial benefits from their possessions of Ternate and Tidore, in fact the great part of the clove trade is in the hands of the Dutch, who control the seas and have in their possession the islands where the best cloves grow. Another serious problem that Gerónimo de Silva found himself facing was that of the rebellion of the Prince of Tidore, he fell madly in love with the wife of the deceased sultan of Gilolo and daughter of the sultan of Ternate.

THE FORCES IN THE FIELD

To get an idea of the disparity of the forces in the field. In a memorial dated 1640, the forts owned by the Dutch in the year 1616 are listed: Malayo, Toloco, Tacubo, Malaca, Tacome, Marieco, Motir, Nofagia, Tafacen, Tabelole, Bermevelt, Tabori, Gilolo, Amboino, Lagu, Maruco, Mozovia, Belgio, Bantan. In 1616, 3,000 soldiers were present in these 19 garrisons. While the forts were armed with 193 bronze cannons, 310 iron cannons and 300 stone mortars (pedreros) in addition the Dutch had a force of 30 war galleons.⁷⁵

In mid-1616 there were just over 200 Spanish soldiers garrisoning the forts of Tidore, i.e. the forts of Santiago, del Príncipe, Tomanira and Socanora.⁷⁶ “…por las pocas fuerzas que hoy tiene el rey de Tidore, por ser muy solo y no tener en su isla lo que tenia hasta aqui, por lo que me conviene tener siempre en esta isla sobre ducientos hombres en la plaza de Santiago y en el fuerte del Principe, Tomanira y Socanora.⁷⁷ Another 200 soldiers are garrisoning the city of Ternate. The Spanish soldiers present in the Moluccas rarely exceed 600 units. At the naval level, the comparison is unthinkable; the Spaniards often have only one galley, but sometimes not even that. The disparity of forces in the field is evident.

THE EXPEDITION OF DON JUAN DE SILVA

In the intentions of the governor of the Philippines Don Juan de Silva, a large joint expedition between the Spanish and Portuguese was to succeed in routing once and for all the Dutch forces present in the Indonesian islands. Even the Dutch were fearful of such an expedition.⁷⁸

In 1612, in order to reach an agreement with the viceroy of Portuguese India, de Silva had sent the former governor of Ternate Cristobal de Azcueta to India but the entire expedition disappeared in a shipwreck between Manila and Macao. The governor of the Philippines did not lose heart and this time he entrusted the task of reaching Goa to two Jesuits, they were Father Pedro Gomes, rector of the company in Ternate and Father Juan de Ribera, head of the Manila college. The two Jesuits left at the end of 1614 (Ribera left on 21 November 1514 from the port of Cavite) in two different fleets for Goa, where they arrived without problems in 1615. The agreement that the two fathers reached with the viceroy brought the Portuguese to contribute with 4 large galleons which were sent to Malacca. Father Pedro Gomez returned to Manila in July 1615 to warn the governor of the results of the expedition and to point out that the 4 galleons would soon leave for the Philippines.

De Silva was preparing a large fleet. In order to procure artillery for this expedition, he weakened the defenses of the city of Manila with serious risks in the event of an attack on the city by the Dutch. Not seeing the Portuguese galleons, he thought of going to meet them. Despite the negative opinion of many of his subordinates, he decided to leave in February 1616 for Malacca, instead of heading immediately towards the Moluccas where it seems that Jeronimo de Silva had already concluded agreements with the natives of the islands of Maquien and Motiel who, in case of arrival of this great expedition they would have rebelled against the Dutch and would have helped the Spanish.⁷⁹

At the time of departure for Malacca, the governor was in ill health, it seems that the disease had already manifested itself before leaving Manila. There are testimonies of the poor health of the governor since the first expedition to the Moluccas in 1611. He had already several times sent petitions to the King to be replaced in his position and to be able to return to his homeland.

On February 9, 1616, however, the governor of the Philippines left Manila at the head of a large expedition consisting of 10 large galleons, 4 galleys, a patacco and other minor vessels. The galleons were the capitania “Salvadora” of 2000 tonnage, the almiranta “San Marcos” of 1700 tons, the two galleons “San Juan Bautista” and “Espiritu Santo” each of 1300 tons, and then the smaller galleons “San Miguel” (800 tons), “San Felipe” (800 tons), “Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe” (700 tons), “Santiago” (700 tons), “San Andres” (500 tons), “San Lorenço” (400 tons). 5,000 men including soldiers and sailors were embarked on this fleet, of whom just under 2,000 were Spaniards, there was also an infantry unit of Japanese soldiers (commanded by Captain Francisco Moreno Donosso)⁸⁰, finally there were about three hundred pieces of artillery embarked on the ships. Six Jesuits also took part in the expedition.

The fleet was the largest army seen in the islands, Father Colin tells us, who marvels that “en tierra tan recien conquistada, y poblada de Españoles, y la mas remota, y distante de toda su monarchia, pudiesse llegar a quaxarse una tal maquina”. De Silva headed for the Strait of Malacca, where he intended to join forces with a Portuguese army and together attack first the Dutch farm in Java and then the Dutch bases in the Maluku Islands. But the Portuguese fleet sent by the Viceroy from Goa, had already been completely destroyed in the vicinity of Malacca, it was attacked by Dutch ships and the Portuguese to prevent the capture by the Dutch of the large galleons were forced to burn them. The Spanish armada entered the Singapore Strait on February 25, 1616. From the Singapore Strait, de Silva sent Juan Gutierrez Paramo with a “socorro” to Ternate, with the post of sergeant major again.⁸¹ Juan de la Umbria was probably also sent to Ternate together with Paramo.⁸²

De Silva’s health worsened and on April 19, 1616, after eleven days of suffering, he died in the city of Malacca. The whole enterprise ended in a colossal fiasco, nothing was done against the Dutch and the death of de Silva in Malacca, which occurred shortly after his arrival, caused the inglorious end of this expedition. The armada returned to Manila in early June 1616.⁸³ Furthermore, due to fevers and diseases that struck the fleet during its stay in Malacca and in the Singapore Strait, most of the men of the fleet died, the ships returned to Manila “sin jente”.⁸⁴

De Silva’s decision to go first to Malacca instead of going directly to the Moluccas is somewhat strange, also considering that the Portuguese galleons were according to the agreements to reach the Philippines to join the Spanish fleet. At the time of de Silva’s departure from Manila they must have arrived long ago if they had not been intercepted by the Dutch. Oddly enough, de Silva still wanted to try to join his forces with the Portuguese, although this time he had a large and important naval force under his command and the situation of the Dutch in the Moluccas was very precarious as several witnesses inform us, “el enemigo estua flaco en aquella saçon”. According to Vergara he was certain that if the Spanish fleet had gone straight to the Moluccas without delay, most of the islands would have been captured by the Spanish.⁸⁵ This was probably the decisive mistake of the Spanish in this part of the world, if de Silva had acted differently it could have changed the course of the history of the spice islands.

DEFECTIONS AMONG THE DUTCH

In April 1616, a Dutch sergeant, Arnaut de Capeu, fled from the fortress of Malayo and took refuge with the Spaniards, there is an affidavit of this Dutchman issued in Ternate on April 28, 1616. He had arrived in Malayo about a month ago, arriving by the route of the Strait of Magellan, with the fleet of Jorge de Spielberg with which 6 boats with 550 men, including soldiers and sailors, had reached the Moluccas. He informs the Spaniards that the Dutch were feverishly fortifying the walls of Malayo in preparation for the arrival of the army of Don Juan de Silva, an army which, as we have seen, never materialized in the waters of the Moluccas.

In Malayo there was a rumor that as soon as more reinforcements reached the Dutch they would be sent to Tidore to take what the prince had promised to the governor Lorenzo Real, namely the submission of the kingdom of Tidore to the Dutch and the cession of the fortress of Samafo (Gamafo, the fort of the King of Tidore, located above the “Lugar Grande”), all this in exchange for the hand of the queen of Jailolo with whom he was madly in love. The Dutch, according to information gathered at Malayo, appear to have had thirty or forty vessels throughout the Moluccas.⁸⁶ On September 30, 1616, the Dutch were severely defeated at Oton in the Philippines..⁸⁷

The news of Juan de Silva’s death took a long time to arrive in Ternate, the dispatch informing of the death of the governor was sent by the captain general of Manila the “licenziado” Andrés de Alcazar and was dated November 3, 1616, arrived in Ternate on December 26 1616.⁸⁸ The news of Juan de Silva’s death was brought by a fleet of 6 “champanes” (one of which was owned by Francisco Melendez), which had departed in December 1616 from the Philippines. This fleet had already been ready for some months (it must have been the first months of 1616), but due to the presence of 9 Dutch ships in Manila Bay, its departure had been postponed. The ships carrying an infantry company under the command of Captain Juan de la Umbria, who also commanded the entire fleet, were loaded with rice and other foodstuffs at the Villa di Arevalo and then left for Ternate which it was reached without difficulty on 26 December 1616.⁸⁹

Eight champans were sent to Ternate (in 1616?) with supplies, of these only six reached their destination, the supplies sent however were of great help to the Spanish troops. This should be the “socorro” fleet commanded by Juan de Azebedo (Azevedo) which according to what is reported in his “Meritos” was made up of “cinco nauios, dos galeras” and two companies of soldiers.⁹⁰ In 1616, Juan de Azevedo was in charge of the relief that was sent to Ternate consisting of 5 ships, 2 galleys and two companies of soldiers.⁹¹

After the death of the governor of the Philippines, Don Juan de Silva, the governor of Maluku, Don Jeronimo de Silva, was appointed Captain General of the Philippine Islands pending a new governor to be appointed by the king. Geronimo de Silva, when leaving Ternate for Manila to take charge of the government of the Philippines, nominated Juan Gutierrez Paramo, as his successor, but a few days after de Silva’s departure, the successor designated by the Audiencia, Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, arrived.⁹² Probably the departure of de Silva from Ternate is to be dated in the night between 13 and 14 April 1617.⁹³

THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST DE SILVA

During his government, Gerónimo de Silva was accused by several sides of trading and smuggling for his own interests to the detriment of the interests of the King and of promoting only those associated with him to important positions. Gregorio de Vidaña, captain of a company of Spanish infantry arquebusiers, informs us that already three days after de Silva took possession of the government of the Moluccas, a frigate commanded by Antonio Gomez, owned by Gerónimo de Silva himself, it was loaded with provisions (rice, wine, sardines, coconut vinegar, meat, etc.) which were landed in the port of Tidore (“que será cinco leguas de Terrenate”), where a “casa y tienda” was erected for this purpose where the goods described were then sold on behalf of de Silva. The same journey was also repeated in the following years, 1613 and 1614. Antonio Gomez, for his services to the governor, Vidaña says, was promoted to captain of infantry and head of the galleys. The same policy was pursued with another assistant of the governor, San Juan, who was promoted sergeant, ensign, adjutant to sergeant major, and finally captain of infantry.

Another accusation brought against de Silva was that of having abolished the custom which allowed natives who converted to Christianity to sell the slaves (prisoners?) they captured to the enemy and with whose income they enriched themselves. This custom had allowed a notable increase in the number of natives who were baptized and who passed under Spanish protection, settling in the city of Ternate where their neighborhood had rapidly grown, outside the city walls. These natives were called “Merdicas” which means free people. Thanks to this possibility that was offered to them, the Mardicas generally carried out spontaneous raids against the Ternatese two or three times a week, causing great apprehension and damage in the enemies, furthermore these actions allowed the Spaniards to be constantly informed of what was happening in Malayo. ⁹⁴

On the work of Gerónimo de Silva during his government of Ternate (and then of the Philippines) in the year 1618 an “información” was opened at the request of Don Juan Ronquillo (Alguacil mayor of the Audiencia of Manila). The accusations brought against the governor were many and brought by many witnesses, they ranged from the accusation of maladministration of real things, to smuggling goods on their own account, to the subtraction of cloves from the royal warehouses, to the dismantling without a just reason of the fortresses of Sabugo and Tolo on the island of Halmahera, the loss of the fort of Marieco and that of the Portuguese, nepotism, up to the bad relationship with the soldiers (it seems that during his government over one hundred soldiers went over to the enemy), with the local population and with the Jesuits.

Even some witnesses (Pedro de Heredia according to his own testimony and then the Prince of Tidore according to the testimony of D. Antonio de Arceo) went so far as to say that if he had been in the pay of the Dutch he could not have done a better service to their cause. Pedro de Heredia also testifies that de Silva upon his arrival in Ternate clearly said in public that anyone who wanted to be his friend should not speak to him about matters of war because he had not come to the Moluccas to wage war, but to earn money.⁹⁵

In his defense, de Silva wrote a petition to Governor Don Alonso Fajardo de Tenza. With which he accuses many of his accusers of incompetence. For example, Don Fernando de Becerra is accused of having committed acts of piracy against vassals of the king of Macassar (Celebes, Manado), a faithful ally of the Spaniards. Again Becerra, when was head of the fort of San Pedro y San Pablo, was arrested precisely because he had left the fort to come to Ternate without a license. Also according to de Silva at the time when he was captain of the fort of Tidore, Becerra also had major problems with the king and prince of Tidore.

Almost funny is the behavior of Becerra described by de Silva during the Dutch attack on the old Portuguese fort, he withdrew to the fortress at the crucial moment of the Dutch landing to change his clothes (“… á mudar una camisa… ”), so that the enemy troops did not find obstacles during the landing and were able to attack and occupy the fort, de Silva then increases the dose by saying that it is known that Don Fernando did not know which side the enemy had landed on.⁹⁶

Don Jeronimo de Silva will reach the port of Cavite in the Philippines on May 7, 1617. Don Jeronimo’s disposition is judged too harsh and severe and many soldiers had complained of his bad character and his bad treatment of the soldiers both in deeds and in words. He was also accused of placing his relatives and friends in key positions.⁹⁷

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57)

2 (Pérez p. 218 e “Letter of D. Gerónimo de Silva to the king, Ternate” In: Correspondencia p. 109)

3 (Pérez p. 217-218) (Doc. Mal. III p. 214 Doc. n°59)

4 (See his statement in: AGI “Informaciones Fernando Centeno Maldonado, 1615” Filipinas,60,N.18)(AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Filipinas. Juan Gutierrez Paramo. 10-03-1625” Filipinas,48,N.1)

5 (Doc. Mal. III p. 201 Doc. n°56, nota 4) e (Doc. Mal. III p. 214 Doc. n°59) (Correspondencia pp. 15-17) e (Pérez p. 218)

6 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 265-266 nota n°3)

7 This description is interesting because it allows us to know the names of the bastions of the city of Ternate which faced the sea.

8 (Doc. Mal. III p. 216 Doc. n°59) (Pérez p. 218-219) (Correspondencia pp. 18-20 e p. 119) (AGI: “Carta de Jerónimo de Silva a Juan Ruiz de Contreras. Terrenate, 8-04-1612” Patronato,47,R.35) (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57) (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

9 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to Don Juan de Silva, Ternate, 2 May 1612” In: Correspondencia p. 21)

10 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to the king Felipe III, Ternate, 13 April 1612” In: Correspondencia p. 8)

11 (Doc. Mal. III p. 218 Doc. n°59)

12 (AGI: “Carta del rey de Tidore al Rey de España, 20-04-1612” Patronato,47,R.36)

13 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to the king Felipe III, Ternate, 13 April 1612” In: Correspondencia p. 6)

14 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 266 nota n°3)

15 (“Letter from D. Gerónimo de Silva to King Felipe III, Ternate, April 13, 1612” In: Correspondencia p. 13))

16 (“Letter from D. Gerónimo de Silva to King Felipe III, Ternate, April 13, 1612” In: Correspondencia pp. 6-8)

17 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Marinduque, etc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1623” Filipinas,47,N.60) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bondoc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1630” Filipinas,48,N.41) (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

18 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

19 (“Generale Missiven” vol. I pp. 8-15)

20 (AGI: “Meritos, Fernando de Ayala, 27-07-1643 Indiferente,112,N.47) (AGI: “Méritos y servicios Fernando de Ayala Filipinas, 23-07-1622” Patronato 53 R.25)

21 (“Paper by Fernando de Ayala, Terrenate, 1 May 1613” in AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bongol, etc. Juan de Espinosa y Zayas. 10-10-1618” Filipinas,47,N.11)

22 (“Lettera of the ensign Juan Centeno a D. Gerónimo de Silva, Maxico, 20 July 1612” In: Correspondencia p. 34).

23 Moro was not a real island, but with this name the northern area of the island of Halmahera and the entire island of Morotai was indicated.

24 (Appendix B “Early years of the Dutch in the East Indies” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 15 p. 324-326) e anche (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to the King Felipe III, Ternate, 13 aprile 1612” In: Correspondencia pp. 6-7)

25 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” Tomo VI (1608-1618) p. cccxxvii, AGI 105-2-1, lib. 2, f. 151 v.)

26 (Pérez pp. 220-221)

27 (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57) (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

28 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

29 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to the king of Tidore, Ternate, 14 February 1613” e “Lettera di D. Gerónimo de Silva a Don Juan de Silva, Ternate, 1613” In: In: Correspondencia p. 88, 98)

30 (Wessels “De katholieke missie in de Molukken..” pp. 50-51) (Pérez pp. 221-222)

31The fort of the city of Tidore: Santiago de los Caballeros.

32In all probability this battery is the fort of the Portuguese.

33 (A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. VIII” SECTION XV. “Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in_ 1611, _by Captain John Saris” “The Voyage of Captain Saris, in the Clove, towards Japan, with Observations respecting the Dutch and Spaniards at the Molucca Islands”)

34 (A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IX” SECTION XV. “Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in_ 1611, _by Captain John Saris” “Farther Observations respecting the Moluccas, and the Completion of the Voyage to Japan”)

35 (A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IX” SECTION XV. “Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in_ 1611, _by Captain John Saris” “Farther Observations respecting the Moluccas, and the Completion of the Voyage to Japan”)

36 (A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IX” SECTION XV. “Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in_ 1611, _by Captain John Saris” “Farther Observations respecting the Moluccas, and the Completion of the Voyage to Japan”)

37 (A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IX” SECTION XV. “Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in_ 1611, _by Captain John Saris” “Farther Observations respecting the Moluccas, and the Completion of the Voyage to Japan”)

38 According to Pérez, the attack began on July 7, 1613, the fort attacked was the one called “de los portugueses”, which was bombarded for 4 hours by 6 ships, at the end of these bombardments the fort was completely destroyed and 50 Spanish soldiers died in the battle. The next day, 8 July 1613, two Dutch ships and some “caracoas” headed towards Sakanosa (Sakanora), the Dutch immediately conquered a hill overlooking the Spanish fort, the Spanish, however, reacted promptly and headed by the ensign Pedro de la Fuente managed to dislodge the Dutch and to put them to rout with heavy losses. The following day the Dutch again attempted to take the fort, but again they were repulsed. (Pérez p. 222)

39 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to Don Juan de Silva, Ternate, 18 July 1613” In: Correspondencia p. 148)

40 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 318 nota n°1)

41 (“Letter by the king of Tidore to D. Gerónimo de Silva, Tidore, 9 July 1613” In: pubblicata nella “Correspondencia” p. 138)

42 (“Letter from D. Gerónimo de Silva to the governor of the Philippines, Ternate, January 20, 1614” In: Correspondencia pp. 184-191)

43 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 266-267 note n°3 “Declaración jurada del capitan Gregorio de Vidaña, 4-08-1618”)

44 (“De eerste landvoogd Pieter Both, 1568-1615” In: “Verhaal Both” vol. II, pp. 349-352 e “Brief 15” vol. II, pp. 284-286) (Correspondencia pp. 138-179) (Jan Pietersz. Coen pp.16-21) (Wessels “De katholieke missie in de Molukken..” pp. 50-51) (Pérez pp. 221-222)

45 (“Letter from D. Gerónimo de Silva to the King of Tidore, Ternate, November 17, 1613” In: Correspondencia pp. 178-179)

46 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 569)

47 (“Generale Missiven” vol. I p. 26)

48 (Doc.Mal. III p. 16*)(Wessels “De katholieke missie in de Molukken..” p. 51)

49 (Doc.Mal. III p. 255 Doc. n° 66 & p. 297 Doc. n° 78)

50 (“Letter from D. Gerónimo de Silva to the governor of the Philippines, Ternate, January 20, 1614” In: Correspondencia pp. 184-191)

51 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 266-267 nota n°3; p. 315 note n°1; p. 571 nota n°1) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 266 note n°3 “Declaración jurada del capitan Gregorio de Vidaña, 4-08-1618”)

52 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 570 note n°1)

53 (Doc.Mal. III p. 255 Doc. n° 66 & p.297 Doc. n° 78) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 569 nota n°1; pp. 571-572 note n°1)

54 (AGI: “Informaciones, Pedro Téllez de Almazán, 1620” Mexico,235,N.6)

55 (Aduarte, Diego “Historia de la Provincia del Sancto Rosario” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. (“The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 30, pp. 144-145) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 287-289 nota n°1)

56 (“Letter from D. Gerónimo de Silva to the governor of the Philippines, Ternate, January 20, 1614” In: Correspondencia pp. 184-191)

57 (Letter of Geronimo de Silva Ternate, January 1, 1614 in: AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28)

58 (Charter of Geronimo de Silva Ternate, January 5, 1614 in: AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28)

59 Vedi (AGI: “Informaciones, Pedro Téllez de Almazán, 1620” Mexico,235,N.6)

60 (AGI: “Carta de Silva sobre mala situación en Terrenate. Manila, 19-07-1614” Filipinas,7,R.4,N.51) (AGI: “Informaciones, Pedro Téllez de Almazán, 1620” Mexico,235,N.6)

61 (“Letter by D. Gerónimo de Silva to the Archbishop of Manila, Ternate, September 15, 1614” In: Correspondencia p. 251)(AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Filipinas. Juan Gutierrez Paramo. 10-03-1625” Filipinas,48,N.1)

62 Esteban de Alcázar had arrived in Ternate with the expedition of Don Juan de Silva in 1611 and for the following three years he had remained in the Moluccas, so he was a good connoisseur of the situation of the islands.

63 (Secondo: (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57)

64 (Secondo: (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

65 (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

66 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 289-290 nota n°1 e pp. 328-329) (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Esteban de Alcazar, 07-08-1615” Filipinas,20,R.9,N.57) (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

67 (AGI: “Meritos Esteban de Alcázar, 1623-07-19” Indiferente,161,N.81)

68The orders for Geronimo de Silva were clear, he was to move to Tidore with as many soldiers as possible, while still leaving a good garrison in Ternate. “Tanto de carta quel señor don Juan de Silva escribió á el señor don Geronimo de Silva en 20 de setiembre de 1614” In: AA. VV. “Correspondence” 255

69 (Bocarro “Decada 13” vol. I pp. 279-280)

70 (Bocarro “Decada 13” vol. II pp. 401-404)

71 (Correspondencia pp. 289-292)

72 (Correspondencia p. 302)

73 (AGI: “Informaciones Fernando Centeno Maldonado, 1615” Filipinas,60,N.18)

74 (Carta di Geronimo de Silva Ternate, 12 aprile 1615 in: AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Laglag, etc Pedro de Hermua, 13-07-1619” Filipinas,47,N.28)

75 (“Commerce between the Filipinas and Nueva España” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 30 p. 39)

76 (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spagna. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), p. 214 Estratto della lettera di Jeronimo de Silva al governatore D. Juan de Silva, 29 luglio 1616)

77 (“Letter from Gerónimo de Silva to D. Juan de Silva, Tidore, August 8, 1616” In: Correspondencia pp. 387-388)

78 (“Generale Missiven” vol. I pp. 37-38)

79 (Correspondencia pp. 284-285)

80 See: “Confirmación de encomienda de San Salvador de Palo, etc.Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de San Salvador de Palo, Sampoetan y Ormoc en Leyte a Hernando del Castillo. Resuelto, [f] 1623-08-11” FILIPINAS,47,N.58 Blocco 2 fogli 14-15)

81 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Filipinas. Juan Gutierrez Paramo. 10-03-1625” Filipinas,48,N.1)

82 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Marinduque, etc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1623” Filipinas,47,N.60)

83 For more information on this expedition see the extensive report given in: (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 581-646)

84 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 maggio 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37)

85 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 maggio 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37)

86 (AGI 67-6-37) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 628-631 nota n°1 e pp. 328-329) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” Tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. ccclxxix-ccclxxxiv, AGI 67-6-37)

87 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” Tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. ccclxxxiv-cccxci)

88 (Correspondencia p. 406)

89 (Correspondencia p. 417, 419) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Marinduque, etc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1623” Filipinas,47,N.60) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bondoc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1630” Filipinas,48,N.41)

90 (A.G.I. “Meritos: Juan de Azevedo, 1625” Indiferente, 111, N.56)

91 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

92 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Filipinas. Juan Gutierrez Paramo. 10-03-1625” Filipinas,48,N.1)

93 (“Letter from Geronimo de Silva to the Prince of Tidore, Terrenate 13 April 1617” In: Correspondencia p. 439)

94 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 266-267 note n°3 “Declaración jurada del capitan Gregorio de Vidaña, 4-08-1618”)

95 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 312-319 note n°1; p. 315 nota n°1) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 266 nota n°3 “Declaración jurada del capitan Gregorio de Vidaña, 4-08-1618”)

96 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 317-318 nota n°1)

97 (Letter by Licentiate Andres de Alcaraz to the King Felipe III, 10 August 1617; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 42-45)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE GOVERNMENT OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA, April 1617-February 1620

THE ARRIVAL OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA IN TERNATE

In April 1617 a galley was sent from Manila to warn Don Jeronimo of the new events¹ and to inform him of the need for his presence in Manila. The sent galley was loaded with provisions and material for the garrisons, in fact there were 10,000 pesos, 4,500 pieces of cloth, a good quantity of rice and wine as well as a few jars of gunpowder. Perhaps reference is made to this in the document Meritos of Juan de Acevedo when it speaks that in 1617, Juan de Azevedo was in charge of the rescue that was sent to Ternate consisting of a single ship. ²

Twenty days later three “pataches” were also sent, they carried more than 3,000 baskets of rice, with wine and meat, a quantity of clothes, 6,000 pesos, 4 pieces of 18 (pieces of artillery), several jars of gunpowder, cannonballs, and several other things necessary for the forts. This new shipment of material is described in Moluccas documents as the largest shipment of aid and material for several years. The new governor of Ternate Lucas de Vergara Gabiria also embarked with these ships. He was a veteran of the Moluccas, who had already served as governor of the islands for about a year (see chapter 4). ³

Vergara Gabiria arrived in Ternate on 26 April 1617 with three boats that brought reinforcements for the garrisons of the islands. With him came 30 soldiers. The new governor immediately took care of the conditions of the troops, giving them clothes and pay, these attentions of Vergara Gabiria towards the soldiers of the garrisons led the Jesuit Manuel Ribeiro to declare in one of his letters that the new governor “el año pasado con su ida a Terrenate resucitó aquella tierra” ⁴ The new governor of Ternate was considered a good soldier but with a severe disposition. ⁵

SPANISH EXPEDITION TO CELEBES (SULAWESI)

The new governor immediately tried to mitigate the chronic problem of food supplies. In order to secure the influx of provisions from the island of Celebes, the Spaniards decided to build a fortress in Manados, for this purpose an expedition made up of 10 soldiers was probably sent in May 1617 by Vergara Gaviria under the orders of Francisco Melendez and two Jesuits (the two Jesuits were Gianbattista Scalamonti and Cosme Pinto). The Spanish built a small fortified post. ⁶ In 1618 the Spaniards established cordial relations with the king of Macasar (Manado ?). ⁷ Good successes are had in the evangelization of the kingdom of Manados (northern area of the island of Sulawesi-Celebes), the king and almost all the princes are converted, Father Cosme Prieto takes care of this mission.

THE DUTCH IN DIFFICULTY, BUT THE SPANIARDS DOESN’T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT

During 1617 and 1618, the Dutch are faced with various revolts in the Moluccas and other islands of the archipelago. They managed to quell a revolt in the bud on Machian Island, by hanging the rebel leader, but in other islands they failed to anticipate events. On the island of Siao, the local population had revolted killing all the Dutch present with the exception of three men who they handed over to the Spanish governor of the Moluccas for service in the galleys.

There were also revolts in the Banda islands and in Ambon. The Dutch then also had to face the threat posed by the British, who established a fort on the Banda Islands. According to Governor Gaviria, if the Spaniards could have sent a large army to the Moluccas during this period of revolt in the other islands, the Dutch would perhaps have been expelled definitively from Ternate. ⁸

In October 1617, Spanish documents mention a fire that spread rapidly from a bastion of the Dutch fortress of Malayo to the whole city, destroying the houses and warehouses of the settlement. ⁹

THE SITUATION OF THE DUTCH IN THE MOLUCCAS

A Spanish document from 1618, probably drawn up by Pedro de Heredia, informs us of the situation of the Dutch possessions in the Moluccas. Much of the information cited in the Spanish document is the result of information obtained from the Dutch admiral van Caerden who had been a prisoner of the Spaniards in Ternate for some time.¹⁰

The situation of the Dutch possessions in the Moluccas in these years is as follows: In the island of Bachan they have a fortress. While in the most important clove-rich Maquian Island, the Dutch control the entire island with three fortresses. In Mutiel Island they have a fortress. The island of Tidore is largely under Spanish control, but the Dutch have a fortress along the west coast (while the Spanish have a fortress on the east coast). The island of Ternate is divided between the two powers. The Dutch control the east and north of the island and have their main base here at Fort Orange and another fort in the north of the island. The Spanish have their fortified city in the south of the island. But most importantly, the Dutch hold much of the archipelago’s clove and other spice trade.¹¹

The Dutch governor lives on the island of Ternate, he resides in the fort of Malayo, called by the Dutch Granoya (probably a distortion for Fort Oranje). The garrison of the fort is normally composed of 850 soldiers (but in the period described there are only 150). A quarter of a league from Malayo is the fort of Toloco (Tolokko) in which resides a garrison consisting of an ensign and 20 soldiers. Another fort called Tacubo, is located in the vicinity of Malayo. The fort of Tacome located three leagues from Toloco is a large fort and is garrisoned by a company of soldiers, this fort is called by the Dutch Vuillemistat (Willemstadt).

On the island of Tidore the Dutch had never had a fortress since the time of the Acuña expedition. Then in early 1613 they captured a small bastion where the Spanish held a garrison of an ensign and 14 soldiers. Here the Dutch built the fort of Marieco the Great, which was manned by a captain and 60 soldiers.

On the island of Moti, which is located between Tidore and Maquien, the Dutch have a fort (Fort Nassau) located in the northern part with a garrison of 50 soldiers commanded by a captain. The island was depopulated, but was repopulated by inhabitants of the island of Gilolo.

The island of Maquian, the most important from a commercial point of view, located one league from Motir has three Dutch forts: Nofagia (Ngofakiaha), located in the north of the island has a garrison of an ensign and 40 married soldiers. Tafazen (Tafasoho), on the west coast, with a garrison of 100 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant governor. While on the south coast was the third fort called Tabelole (Tabelolo), a small fort of little importance with a sergeant and 20 soldiers.

In Bachian Island the Dutch have a fort called Bernevelt (Barneveld) with a captain and 60 soldiers. In the island of Gilolo, about three leagues from the fort that the Spaniards have on this island, the Dutch have the fort of Tabori with an ensign and 50 soldiers. Three leagues further on is another fort with a lieutenant and 12 soldiers.

On the island of Amboino, also very important for the production of cloves, the Dutch have another large fort with a large moat. Its garrison consists of a commander and 100 soldiers. On the island of Siao in 1614 the Spaniards had a garrison of an ensign with 5 soldiers, they were attacked by the Dutch who, after defeating them, built in the same place, called Sagu Maruco, a small fort in which resides a sergeant and 16 soldiers. In the Banda Islands the Dutch have two forts called Moçovia and Belgium each with a garrison of 120 soldiers.

In the island of Java they have three farms in Bantan, Jacava and Japara. Bantan is the main Dutch settlement in all of the East, the governor of the company resides here, the Dutch have a force here consisting of two galleys, thirty armed “barks” which they use to travel to Jakatra, a place located at one day of travel, where is the Dutch arsenal and shipyard. Other Dutch forts or farms are in the island of Formosa, Cambodia, Sumatra, Japan, Cochinchina etc….

According to a report by Joris Spilberg, in 1616 the Dutch had in their forts in the east about 3,000 regular soldiers, 193 bronze pieces, 310 iron cannons, 300 swivel cannons, 30 war galleons in addition to the galleons that arrive every year from Holland.

The Dutch obtain the following quantities of cloves annually from the Moluccas¹²:

Ternate 600 bares or 384,000 pounds of cloves.

Motir 700 bares or 468,000 pounds.

Maquiem 1,400 bares or 896,000 pounds.

Bachian 400 bares or 256,000 pounds.

Amboyno 1,800 bares or 1,152,000 pounds.

SKIRMISHES BETWEEN SPANISH AND DUTCH

In late 1617 there were some minor skirmishes between the Spanish and the Dutch. The rapprochement of relations between Tidore and the Dutch was cooled, fortunately for the Spanish, due to the behavior of the Dutch, who hanged a Tidorese and drowned 4 of them. This action led the prince, son of the king of Tidore, who until that moment he had been very friendly with the Dutch, completely reviewing his own positions. In another clash 4 Spaniards were killed. The Spaniards in December 1617 led by Captain Salinas attacked Takome in retaliation where they managed to capture two “champanes” loaded with rice. Alonso Martin Quirante, “castellano de la fortaleza de Tamarina”¹³ he killed 21 Dutch in an ambush and captured 4.¹⁴ There were also many deserters who went over to the Spanish, including 25 Dutch and many Indians. ¹⁵

VERGARA IMPROVES SPANISH FORTIFICATIONS

The new Spanish governor immediately devoted himself to the maintenance and improvement of the forts in Spanish hands on the islands of Ternate, Tidore and Halmahera (Gilolo, Tafongo and Payagi), a work which he completed with excellent results. In fact, those fortifications that were still made of wood and earth were rebuilt in solid stone, says the Jesuit Ribeiro: “no ay al presente caballero ninguno en Maluco que no sea de cal y canto”.

The stronghold of Socanora in Tidore was fortified, which was located in a very strategic point, and which had repeatedly been attacked by the Dutch. The two cities of Ternate and Tidore were also surrounded by solid walls. A weak point of the Spanish defenses in the islands was the lack of long-range cannons, which would have allowed, if placed in the forts of Tomanira, Don Gil and Tidore, to control the passage of enemy ships in the three channels used by Dutch vessels to reach the their fortress of Ternate (Malayo).

The Spanish troops then complained of the shortage of food and clothing and had been waiting for the pay to arrive for some years. An annual replacement of a couple of companies of soldiers is also suggested, and the sending of better selected captains is requested as well as the importance of having at least one galley in charge of the islands. ¹⁶ Even the king of Tidore is fortifying his city as best he can. ¹⁷ The governor of the Philippines Fajardo, following the requests that reach him from Ternate, expresses his intention to send a couple of galleys with the next relief supplies destined for Ternate. ¹⁸

In January 1618 several small boats were sent from Ternate to Jilolo with a galliot to supply the Spanish garrison with food, the Dutch and the inhabitants of Sabugo attempted to intercept the convoy, but failed in the enterprise, losing in the skirmish 8 dead and several wounded. ¹⁹

Luckily for the Spaniards, supplies arrived from other routes, in fact towards the middle of 1618, an English boat arrived in Tidore where it exchanged munitions and rice with the Spaniards in exchange for cloves, furthermore the viceroy sent 6 “galeotas” from India laden with provisions. ²⁰

Vergara established a farm in Ternate where to conserve cloves. ²¹ This was done to try to bring some income to the royal coffers, given that the occupation of the Moluccas costs the royal treasury 220,000 pesos annually and does not bring any economic benefit, while on the other hand the Dutch receive immense gains from the spice trade. The king asked the governor of the Philippines Fajardo to also consider reducing the number of soldiers stationed on the islands, which amount to 600 Spanish soldiers and 200 pampangos and finally to abandon all the forts deemed unnecessary. ²²

On March 5, 1618, the Ternate volcano began to erupt, one day it erupted three times, and this lasted for eight/ten days. ²³

THE RESCUE OF 1618

The aid sent from Manila in 1618 all arrived at their destination, they consisted of (5 ?) ships loaded with provisions and money for 15,000 pesos for troop wages. However, there is still a shortage in the number of soldiers, many of them being ill and several having died from illnesses. ²⁴

The “socorro” for the Moluccas that reached Ternate in the middle of March 1618 was made up of 4 boats, the Spanish ships were attacked by two Dutch ships in sight of Ternate, at the first attempt the Spanish boats managed to escape, but after a few days, when the Spanish again tried to reach the port of Ternate, they were again attacked by the Dutch, and this time forced to give battle.

The Spanish managed to break the Dutch naval blockade, but one of the ships, the ship almiranta captained by sergeant major Pedro de Cuenca, ran aground on the coast of the island of Tidore. Most of the crew made it to safety, but some drowned and others were killed by the Dutch. The captain of the fort of Tidore, Alonso Martin Quirante, arrived in a hurry and managed to prevent the Dutch from picking up part of the ship’s cargo, however much of the cargo was lost. The loss of this vessel was attributed to the lack of galleys. The other three ships managed to arrive safely in the port of Ternate. With this relief came two companies totaling 46 soldiers. ²⁵

In a letter dated June 30, 1618, the governor reiterated the shortage of soldiers and supplies, informing us that in 1617 the only soldiers received were the 30 who arrived with him, while in 1618 two companies arrived for a total of 46 soldiers, just as many sick soldiers were sent back to Manila.

THE SPANISH LACKS GALLEYS, CLOTHES AND FOOD, BUT THE DUTCH HAVE PROBLEMS TOO

Vergara succeeds with the few means he has at his disposal to considerably improve the situation of his troops and fortifications, but he complains of the lack of galleys, in fact he only has one galliot in bad condition (“marcia”). Many provisions are received from the island of Celebes, which proves to be an excellent source of supply. The necessity and importance of the galleys is reiterated several times in many letters even in the following years by many captains, they are an excellent tool for maintaining contacts between the various garrisons located on several different islands and are also an excellent means of attacking the enemies, even the king of Tidore insistently asks for them to be sent. Another shortage often denounced by the captains of Ternate is that of clothes for the soldiers.

An interesting reference is made in the same letter to the situation of the Dutch, which is seen in a different way compared to the past, in fact Vergara informs us that they too have a shortage of soldiers and do not expect important arrivals as in the past, furthermore there are also some problems with indigenous people who appear to be in rebellion. Vergara identifies in the English, increasingly strong and present in those seas, a possible excellent support and ally for the Spanish. He also spoke of this with the captain of the English ship present in Tidore. ²⁶

VERGARA ASKS TO WITHDRAW PART OF THE GARRISONS FROM HALMAHERA

The three Spanish presidios located on the island of Halmahera (Batachina), namely Gilolo, Tafongo and Payagi, are of great tribulation, because due to the unhealthiness of the places many soldiers fall ill and die. ²⁷

Vergara requests permission to withdraw the Spanish garrisons from the two forts of Jailolo, which have a total garrison of 80 men including 60 Spaniards. This is required in order to increase the strength of the Ternate and Tidore garrisons. In his letter, he asked for a decision to be made regarding the garrison of Jailolo which in his opinion was useless: “Las dos fortalezas q.e su Mag.d tiene en Jilolo como Vs.A sabe no sieruen sino de tener alli ocupados ochenta soldados los sesenta españoles y cada dia ttraen muertos y enfermos …”. Already in 1618, Gaviria asked the governor of the Philippines, Alonso Fajardo de Tenza, for a decision on this matter. ²⁸

THE SPANISH FORTS IN THE MOLUCCAS IN 1618

An interesting description of the Spanish and Dutch forts of Ternate and Tidore is given to us by an anonymous report written in Malacca at the end of 1619, which describes the Spanish forts and garrisons in the Moluccas around 1618. ²⁹

The Spanish city of Ternate (“do Rossario”) has a Spanish garrison of three hundred casados and soldiers. The city is all walled with six bulwarks that the Spanish call “cavaleiros” which have 20 very good bronze artillery pieces. Outside the walls there are other bulwarks to defend the native quarter where about 150 Pampagos soldiers and more than 100 native Christian men of Ternate live, in total the population of the city between men and women reaches 2,000 units, all Christians. The city has 4 churches, one is the “matrix” church where a “vigairo da vara” resides, the others are the convents of the Franciscans, the Jesuits and the Augustinians. ³⁰ At the end of 1618, the Jesuit Francisco de Otazo estimated the Christians of the Moluccas at 160,000. Certainly an exaggerated figure.³¹

The city also has a hospital. It is always the Franciscans who take care of the care of the sick and wounded, in fact the lay friar Juan de Santa Maria takes care of the hospital. A surgeon sent by the governor of the Philippines to take care of the hospital is returned to the sender by Vergara because he was deemed unsuitable for the need. ³²

To complete the defensive system, the Spanish have another fort called Dom Gil, it is located about half a league from the Dutch fortifications and has a garrison of 60 soldiers with their captain, the fort has three bulwarks with 4 artillery pieces. The fort is located near a lagoon, which is located near the sea and which is deep enough to allow boats to navigate, it seems that the Portuguese in the past had tried to join the lagoon to the sea with a canal so as to be able to use the lagoon as a port for their boats, but they did not complete the enterprise. ³³

The main Dutch fortress is that of Malaio, it is described as so well fortified as to frighten those who see it (“esta em demasia fortificada e fortalezida que mete pavor e espanto a quem a ve”), it has three bulwarks, the first is called “Orange” and has 17 very large bronze artillery pieces, next to this is another bulwark called “Ponta Real”, it has 10 artillery pieces, while the third bulwark has 8 artillery pieces. The garrison consists of 200 Dutch, 150 Japanese and 200 Chinese. Next to Malaio is another Dutch fort, it is called Tonloco, it has a bulwark and its garrison is made up of 20 soldiers with 4 artillery pieces. The Dutch have another fort, called Tacome, closer to the Spanish city of Ternate, the garrison of this fort consists of 30 soldiers with 6 large artillery pieces. It controls the passage of Spanish ships bound for Ternate and is very annoying for the Spaniards also because it is the base of some boats used by the Dutch to hinder the arrival of aid convoys in Ternate. ³⁴

In the island of Tidore the Dutch have a fort in Marisco, which they call “Marisco dos Portuguses”, they conquered it by killing 50 men. ³⁵ The Dutch fort has three bulwarks (“baluartes fechados”) with 17 artillery pieces including a very large one called “o Raymundo”. The fort is normally garrisoned by 60 men, the “roda” of the fort is then a wooden palisade inside which there are the homes of the natives and the “gente de serviço”. The Spanish have near this Dutch fort, another fort. ³⁶

The Spanish have another fort, called Tomarina, it is located on a hill (“por estar situada em hum alto”) and is defended by 3 pieces of artillery and by a garrison made up of 40 Spaniards and more than 300 Tidorese with muskets and swords. In the island of Tidore the Spaniards also possess a small city (“cidade pequena”) where mostly Portuguese casados live, near this city there is the largest fortress in Spanish hands on the island, called Thaula, it is located on a hill (“estar muito alta”) in an impregnable place, it has a garrison of 40 soldiers commanded by a captain and is armed with 10 pieces of artillery. Furthermore, always in the vicinity of this fortress, the Spaniards have a bulwark, called “Principe”, armed with 3 artillery pieces and where 10 soldiers are stationed with their ensign. ³⁷

Opposite the Spanish fortress of Thaula, the king of Tidore, an ally of the Spanish, has his own fortress, also located on a hill (“esta no alto”) and armed with three pieces “de escolher” and 10-12 “falcões”. The troops available to the king of Tidore include 2,000 musketeers and 2,000 “campilão carrasca” fighters. Finally, on the island of Tidore the Spaniards have a church where a “clerigo vigairo” lives and another “casinha” where a religious of the company (Jesuit) says mass. This report also makes a small mention of the fortress that the Dutch have on the island of Moutiel, it has 20 artillery pieces and 70 garrison soldiers. ³⁸

THE DUTCH FORTRESSES IN THE MOLUCCAS

More or less of the same period (around 1620) is a more succinct report on Dutch and English fortresses and farms, in which the number of fortresses present on each island is described with the respective garrisons and armaments, but the names of the fortresses are not mentioned.

On the Moluccas (the part that interests us is that which is currently part of the province of North Maluku) the following data are listed: On the island of Ternate the Dutch have 4 fortresses, one with 32 artillery pieces and 200 Dutch soldiers, another with 8 pieces and 70 Dutch, another with 9 pieces and 20 Dutch, and finally the fourth with 3 artillery pieces and 20 Dutch. On the same island the Spaniards have 4 fortresses, the most important has 24 pieces of artillery and 80 Spanish soldiers, the second has 3 pieces and 30 soldiers, the other two both have 4 pieces and 20 soldiers. A note adds that the Dutch own most of the island and also own the best part.

On the island of Tidore the Dutch have a fortress with 17 artillery pieces and a garrison of 60 men. The Spanish have 3 fortresses and control most of the island. On the island of Motiel the Dutch have a fortress with 12 artillery pieces and 60 soldiers. The whole island is in their possession. In Maquien Island there are three Dutch fortresses, one with 20 pieces and 80 soldiers, another with 12 pieces and 90 soldiers, the third one with 7 pieces and 29 soldiers, this whole island is also completely controlled by the Dutch. On Bachian Island the Dutch have a fort with 16 artillery pieces and 60 Dutch. Finally, the island of Halmahera (Batachina) where the Dutch have two fortresses with 8 pieces and 60 Dutch and 9 pieces and 29 Dutch respectively, and also have garrison soldiers in two places where they get food for their troops. ³⁹

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RUME FORT AT TIDORE

The fort of Rume was built following a letter from the king of Tidore sent to the governor Vergara and delivered to the same governor by the prince of Tidore Cachil Naro, in which the king asked the Spaniards to build a Spanish fortress in a place where the Portuguese had already established themselves, near the Dutch fort of Marisco (Marieko), in order to surround the Dutch and prevent them from harvesting the cloves which were produced in abundance in that area of the island.

Vergara at the head of 150 Spaniards and many Indian soldiers and accompanied by Cachil Naro and two Franciscans, Br. Pedro de los Cobos and Br. Gregorio de S. Esteban, on November 23, 1618, founded the fort of S. Lucas de el Rume, the fort was built on a high place, where Dutch artillery shots could not reach. In fact, during the construction of the fort, the Dutch attempted an attack, which however did not have any practical results. The fort was named S. Lucas in honor of the governor who had founded it: Lucas de Vergara Gabiria. ⁴⁰

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORT OF SANTA LUCIA IN TERNATE

As a countermove to the construction of the Rume fort, the Dutch decided in December 1618 to build a fort in Calomata, it seems also at the request of the Ternatese, the position chosen was close to the Spanish fort of Don Gil (“como medio quarto de legua y mucho menos”) and was of great inconvenience to the Spanish fort especially if the Dutch, in addition to building the fort as they did, also occupied a nearby hill above the Spanish fort. To avoid this, Vergara decided to anticipate the Dutch by building a stone fort with a moat and fence on the hill. The works for the construction of this fort began on December 13, 1618 and since this day is dedicated to Santa Lucia, the new fort was called Santa Lucia. ⁴¹

Further information on this episode is provided to us by another document, it informs us that the captain and sergeant major Antonio Carreño de Valdes together with the captain Juan de la Umbria, while they were building the fort of Santa Lucia, went together with a troop of 50 Spanish troops, “a rreconoscer las fuerzas de Calomata”, which the Dutch were building, having been seen by the Dutch, the Spanish troops had a clash with the enemies, in the clash Captain Juan de la Umbria was wounded by a musket shot in the right arm. ⁴²

THE DESCRIPTION OF FR. GREGORIO DE SAN. ESTEBAN

Fr. Gregorio de S. Esteban leaves us an interesting description of the Spanish and Dutch forts present in recent years in front of the stretch of sea between the islands of Ternate and Tidore: “Es Terrenate un volcan redondo; el pueblo y ciudad de Terrenate está á la banda de el sur, Tacome á la banda del norte, Malayo á la banda del este, y costeando hacia el sur, está el puerto que llaman de Talangamé, y un poco más adelante está el puerto que tratamos de Calomata, y un poco más adelante nuestra fuerza de Dongil.”

“De la otra banda está la isla de Tidore, que tambien es un volcan redondo y alto, pero tiene hacia la parte del norte, que cae hacia Malayo, una grande falda con unos mogotes grandes, y enesta parte está nuestro fuerte de S. Lucas, suerte que están mirando S. Lucas y Calomata, pero está la mar en medio, y es la travesia de una isla á otra, la más corta, un tiro de cañon, aunque las fuerzas están muy desviadas. Junto á la isla de Tidore y cerca de S. Lucas está otra isla pequeña, que se llama Meytara, de suerte que está en medio de Tidore y de Terrenate, pero mas llegada á la isla de Tidore que de Terrenate, y así hace dos brazos de mar, el uno más estrecho que el otro, fondeables; el uno le guarda nuestra fuerza de Dongil y el otro le guarda el fuerte de S. Lucas; pues para estorbar nuestras embarcaciones que no fuesen á S. Lucas, tomaron el puerto de Calomata, que tambien alcanza con su artilleria á la isla de Meytara. El otro brazo de hacia Tidore, tambien lo guarda la fuerza de Marisco que está alli junto” ⁴³

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SPANISH GOVERNORS OF THE MOLUCCAS

The son of the King of Tidore for years in sharp contrast with the Spanish governors who have succeeded, in particular with Gerónimo de Silva, expresses to the King of Spain his opinion regarding the behavior of the Spanish governors of Ternate, informing him that things in the Moluccas they go very differently from what the King orders and that the governors practically do what they want without bothering to respect the orders of the King of Spain.

He also adds a veiled threat, saying that if things continue like this there will be the risk of losing the Moluccas because “Dios concierte, mas no para siempre”. However, the loyalty of his father and of him to the Spanish crown is reaffirmed. The letter, most likely written in secret, is entrusted to a certain Juan de Aillón, who was a soldier in the Moluccas from 1615 to 1618. He will have to report to the King, according to the intentions of the Prince, the misdeeds of the Spanish governors. ⁴⁴

Strong complaints also reach Governor Fajardo from both lawmen and religious about the behavior of Lucas Vergara, he is accused of harshness in government and lack of balance in many situations. The Jesuit Manuel Ribeyro, in his letter dated August 10, 1618, expresses a completely different opinion towards Vergara, judges him a great servant of the King and expresses the opinion that with his coming to Ternate he resurrected those “presidios”.

Even the governor Fajardo does not believe these accusations, to remove the chestnuts from the fire to Fajardo, comes a letter from Vergara in which he resigns from office. In his place D. Jeronimo de Silva was initially appointed, who however refused the assignment, and finally D. Luis de Bracamonte was appointed. ⁴⁵

During his rule Vergara seems to have often resided in Tidore, in fact several of the letters he sent were written in Tidore. The task of governing Ternate in his absence had been entrusted to Captain Juan de la Umbria. ⁴⁶

Fajardo in December 1618, in describing the assignments and expenses that he judges superfluous and to be cut to better rationalize the meager budget he has available, indicates the excessive number of 600 Spanish soldiers and 200 panpangos stationed in the garrisons of the Moluccas, deeming a cut in the number of soldiers stationed there desirable. ⁴⁷

The Dutch continue to send fleets and soldiers to the islands. Then, as we have seen, they built a new fort on the island of Ternate (Calomata). On the other hand, the Spaniards also built another fort on the island of Tidore (Rum) and are building another one (Santa Lucia in Ternate). ⁴⁸ On February 4, 1619, 4 frigates loaded with food and materials for the “presidios” of Ternate left the Philippines, the ships arrived in Ternate without encountering enemy ships.

LETTER FROM VERGARA GAVIRIA ON THE SPANISH “PRESIDIOS”

In May 1619, the governor of Ternate, Lucas de Vergara Gaviria in a letter to the King of Spain ⁴⁹ points out the big problems that the Spanish forces have in the face of the excessive power of means of the Dutch. Vergara once again complains about the scarcity of help that reached him, in fact in the three years of his government the misery of 80 soldiers without any galley had arrived, while in past years generally 150-200 soldiers and one or two galleys arrived every year, this situation is unsustainable and is aggravated by the fact that over 200 soldiers have died of disease or war in the past three years.

With the few soldiers he has at his disposal, he must garrison 10 fortresses (three located on the island of Ternate: Terrenate, San Pedro and Don Jil; three in Tidore: Tohula, Tomanira and Sokanora; three in Halmahera: Jailolo, Tafongo and Payaye; and one in the island of Sulawesi (Celebes): Manado) and was forced in the last year to build two more, one in Ternate (Santa Lucia) and another in Tidore (San Lucas de el Rume), because the Dutch had planned to occupy it, being these two places “puestos de tanta considerazion”. ⁵⁰

The fortresses in Spanish hands, Vergara informs us, have a third of the garrison they normally should have. Governor Fajardo had promised to send reinforcements as soon as possible. If these reinforcements do not arrive as soon as possible, Vergara believes he will be forced to abandon some of the garrisons, furthermore rumors have reached Ternate of the imminent arrival of two large fleets, one Dutch and one English and this would contribute considerably to aggravate the precarious position of the Spaniards.

There are 6 companies of Spanish infantry and 2 of pampanga infantry, all these companies have very few soldiers, there are also Indians who serve as “gastadores” and in other duties. In addition to the small number of soldiers present, most of them are ill (“no ay nenguno en pie”) with a disease that Vergara defines as “un mal pestilençial”. Furthermore, the troops are never regularly paid and this is often a source of discontent among the soldiers and none of them is happy to be serving in Ternate “no ay honbre que no desea salir destas yslas”. In order to solve the problem presented by the Dutch in the Moluccas, according to Vergara, it would be necessary for the King of Spain to send a large expedition which, combined with the forces present in the Philippines, would destroy once and for all the Dutch forces present “limpie esto destos corsarios”. ⁵¹

Vergara, who has been serving the King for 36 years now, informs us that he has asked the governor of the Philippines to resign from his post as governor of the Moluccas, because he feels very tired and infirm and unable to continue serving in this assignment. Vergara also makes an interesting suggestion regarding the power that the governor of the Moluccas should have, in fact he suggests that the governor should have the title of captain general with the faculty of appointing positions and promotions, without it being the governor of the Philippines to do this, says Vergara to encourage soldiers to serve in the best possible way because having someone on the spot who can see and reward heroic deeds stimulates others to do the same. ⁵²

Vergara informs the King of Spain that there are four islands where cloves are produced: Ternate, Tidore, Motiel and Maquien. The total annual production of these four islands is estimated at 15,000 quintals of cloves. Furthermore, in the island of Ambon, Vergara estimates, a similar quantity of cloves is produced. Of all this production, only a small part, 2,500 quintals, is traded by the Spaniards, all the rest of the production is traded by the Dutch, they then control all the nutmeg trade which is produced in the Banda Islands. This trade allows the Dutch to support the war against Spain and to arm and sustain the magnificent fleets that they send every year to the waters of the Moluccas. Vergara estimates that with the revenues of a single year of the production of these islands, the King of Spain could arm a huge fleet with which to drive the Dutch out of these waters once and for all. ⁵³

In the Spanish archives there should exist another report of the Spanish and Dutch forts in the Moluccas written during these years by the captain and sergeant major Alonso Martin Quirante. ⁵⁴

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 In April 1617, the Dutch were soundly defeated by the Spanish in the famous naval battle of Playa Honda. (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” Tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. cccxcii-)

2 (AGI: “Meritos, Juan de Acevedo 1625” Indiferente,111,N.56)

3 (Lettera di Licentiate Andres de Alcaraz al re Felipe III, 10 agosto 1617; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 42-45)

4 (Doc. Mal. III p. 378 Lettera di Manuel Ribeiro a Alonso Fajardo de Tenza, Cavite 10 agosto 1618) (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spain. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), p. 274, Lettera di Lucas Vergara Gaviria a D. Francisco Gomes de Arellano, 5 luglio 1617) (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 143 where the letter from Governor Vergara dated 30 June 1618 is reported) (AGI “Copia de carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, gobernador de Terrenate, al gobernador de Filipinas, sobre las dificultades que encuentra para la compra de clavo; las conversaciones con el rey de Tidore que le comunicó que los naturales de Vanda junto con los ingleses habían dado ponzoña a los holandeses causando muchos muertos; el estado de las fuerzas; la falta de cirujano, y de la presencia de tres naos del enemigo, Tídore 30 de junio 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 428)(Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” pp. 587-588 nota n°1)

5 (Lettera di Fajardo al Re Felipe III, 1620 in Blair vol. 19 pp. 112) (Letter by Fajardo to the King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 pp. 121)

6 (Perez “Malucas Y Celebes” p. 428) (Doc. Mal III p. 412 nota 3) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 572 nota n°1)

7 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 p. 113)

8 (“Events in the Filipinas Islands, June 1617-1618”; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 65-66) (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spagna. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), p. 276, Letter by Lucas Vergara Gaviria to D. Francisco Gomes de Arellano, 5 July 1617)

9 (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 428)

10 (“Dutch factories and posts in Orient”, June 1618; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 107-111)

11 (“Dutch factories and posts in Orient”, June 1618; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 107-111)

12 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 pp. 104-109)

13Tamarina or Tomarina was a place in Tidore Island near Marieko.

14According to Perez, 3 Dutchmen were killed and only one prisoner was taken. The ambush was set up for the Dutch soldiers garrisoned at Marisco (Marieko) who had come out of the fort to hunt wild pigs. See: “Malucas y Celebes” p. 429

15 (“Events in the Filipinas Islands, June 1617-1618; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 89-91) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” pp. 428-429)

16 (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 pp. 137-140 where the letter of the Jesuit Manuel Ribeyra is reported. Also in: Doc. Mal. III Doc. n° 106 pp. 375-378)(AGI “Carta de Manuel Ribeiro a Fajardo de Tenza sobre Terrenate, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.54)

17 (AGI “Traslado de una carta del rey de Tidore, al gobernador de Filipinas, comunicando lo que supone para estas islas la pérdida de la armada y pidiendo le envíen algunas galeras para no interrumpir la comunicación entre las islas del Maluco, Tidore 17 de mayo de 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53)

18 (Letter by Fajardo to the King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 pp. 121)

19 (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 429)

20 (“Events in the Filipinas Islands, June 1617-1618; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 89-91) (Tiele “De Europeërs in den Maleischen archipel” 1887 pp. 223-224)

21 (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 141 where the letter from Governor Vergara dated 30 June 1618 is reported)

22 (Letter from King Felipe III to Governor Fajardo 19 December 1618 in Blair vol. 18 pp. 151-152)

23 (Gregorio de S. Esteban “Memoria y relacion…” Archivo Franciscano Ibero Oriental 21/12) (“Copia de un papel antiguo que està con estos manuscritos” Archivo Franciscano Ibero Oriental)

24 (“Events in the Filipinas Islands, luglio 1618-1619, datato 12 luglio 1619; in Blair vol. 18 p. 222)

25 (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 138 where the letter of the Jesuit Manuel Ribeyra is reported) (AGI “Carta de Manuel Ribeiro a Fajardo de Tenza sobre Terrenate, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.54) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 429) (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 143 where the letter from Governor Vergara dated 30 June 1618 is reported) (AGI “Copia de carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, gobernador de Terrenate, al gobernador de Filipinas, sobre las dificultades que encuentra para la compra de clavo; las conversaciones con el rey de Tidore que le comunicó que los naturales de Vanda junto con los ingleses habían dado ponzoña a los holandeses causando muchos muertos; el estado de las fuerzas; la falta de cirujano, y de la presencia de tres naos del enemigo, Tídore 30 de junio 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53)

26 (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 143 where the letter from Governor Vergara dated 30 June 1618 is reported) (AGI “Copia de carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, gobernador de Terrenate, al gobernador de Filipinas, sobre las dificultades que encuentra para la compra de clavo; las conversaciones con el rey de Tidore que le comunicó que los naturales de Vanda junto con los ingleses habían dado ponzoña a los holandeses causando muchos muertos; el estado de las fuerzas; la falta de cirujano, y de la presencia de tres naos del enemigo, Tídore 30 de junio 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53) (AGI “Traslado de una carta del rey de Tidore, al gobernador de Filipinas, comunicando lo que supone para estas islas la pérdida de la armada y pidiendo le envíen algunas galeras para no interrumpir la comunicación entre las islas del Maluco, Tidore 17 de mayo de 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53)

27 (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spain. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), p. 277, Letter from Lucas Vergara Gaviria to D. Francisco Gomes de Arellano, Tidore 5 July 1617)

28 (AGI; Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53 In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 145 where the letter from Governor Vergara dated 30 June 1618 is reported) (AGI “Copia de carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, gobernador de Terrenate, al gobernador de Filipinas, sobre las dificultades que encuentra para la compra de clavo; las conversaciones con el rey de Tidore que le comunicó que los naturales de Vanda junto con los ingleses habían dado ponzoña a los holandeses causando muchos muertos; el estado de las fuerzas; la falta de cirujano, y de la presencia de tres naos del enemigo, Tídore 30 de junio 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53)

29 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

30 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

31 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” Tomo VI (1608-1618) p. cccxx, AGI 68-1-31)

32 (AGI “Copia de carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria, gobernador de Terrenate, al gobernador de Filipinas, sobre las dificultades que encuentra para la compra de clavo; las conversaciones con el rey de Tidore que le comunicó que los naturales de Vanda junto con los ingleses habían dado ponzoña a los holandeses causando muchos muertos; el estado de las fuerzas; la falta de cirujano, y de la presencia de tres naos del enemigo, Tídore 30 de junio 1618” In: “Carta de Alonso Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-08-1618” Filipinas,7,R.5,N.53)

33 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

34 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

35 Here it seems that the author makes a little confusion between the conquest of Marieco and that of the Portuguese fort where 50 men were actually killed.

36 Perhaps this fort could be the fort called San Lucas del Rume just built (November 1618) by the Spanish as we will see below. Marieco el Chico is only nominated for a few years and seems to correspond with Tomarina. Unless Marieco el Chico was an outpost between Tomarina and Marieco. (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

37 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

38 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. I, “Relação breve da ilha de Ternate, Tidore e mais ilhas Malucas….. Malacca, 28 novembre 1619” pp. 163-170)

39 (Doc. Ultram. Portuguesa vol. II, “Relaicon de las fortaleças y factorias que tienen los olandeses en la India y ingleses” pp. 269-270)

40 (Pérez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 430 citing the manuscript of Fr. Gregorio de S. Esteban, who was present at the foundation of the fort)

41 (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” pp. 430-431) (Tiele “De Europeërs in den Maleischen archipel” 1887 pp. 223-224)

42 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Marinduque, etc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1623” Filipinas,47,N.60) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bondoc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1630” Filipinas,48,N.41)

43 (Pérez pp. 430-431 note 4 where this passage from the manuscript of Br. Gregorio de S. Esteban is transcribed)

44 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” Tomo VII (1618-1635) pp. xxxv-xxxvi dove è riportata la lettera del principe di Tidore: AGI 67-6-4)

45 (Letter from Fajardo to King Philip III, 10 August 1619; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 254-255) (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 10 August 1618 in Blair vol. 18 p. 143 which contains the letter from Governor Vergara dated 30 June 1618) (Perez “Malucas y Celebes” p. 428)(Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” pp. 587-588 nota n°1)

46 (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Bondoc. Juan de la Umbria. 02-10-1630” Filipinas,48,N.41)

47 (AGI: “Capítulo de carta de Tenza sobre plazas superfluas, Manila 19-12-1618” Filipinas,20,R.12,N.81)

48 (“Events in the Filipinas Islands, July 1618-1619, dated July 12, 1619; in Blair vol. 18 p. 223)

49 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 maggio 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37)

50 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 may 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37)

51 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 may 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37)

52 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 may 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37) (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. clxvii-clxviii, here are some excerpts from Vergara’s letter)

53 (AGI: “Carta de Lucas de Vergara Gaviria al Rey defensa Maluco. Terrenate, 31 May 1619” Patronato, 47, R. 37)

54 (Mentioned in Fajardo’s Letter to King Philip III, 10 August 1619; in Blair vol. 18 pp. 256)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE GOVERNMENT OF D. LUIS DE BRACAMONTE, February 1620-1623

THE ARRIVAL OF D. LUIS DE BRACAMONTE IN TERNATE

The new governor D. Luis de Bracamonte arrived in Ternate on February 10, 1620, with a fleet including 2 galleys and three “barcos mayores”, the “patache” S. Buenaventura was also part of the same fleet, which however was captured by the Dutch during the journey to Ternate, right in sight of the Spanish fortress.

In command of the captured Spanish boat was the accountant Don Alonso Fajardo de Villalobos, who most likely lost the boat due to his inexperience and lack of courage, in fact, according to what the chronicler la Llave tells us, he surrendered to the Dutch without attempting to flee and to allow a resistance to his soldiers. In this action the Dutch captured a total of more than 100 people including 60 Spaniards, as well as much food (3,000 fanegas of rice) and ammunition destined for the Spanish garrisons of the Moluccas. As a partial relief for this serious loss, the Spaniards managed to capture a ship loaded with supplies from Ternate.

According to the “Report of events, 1620” Bracamonte’s fleet consisted of 2 galleys and 4 or 5 “pataccos”, with a large quantity of provisions on board and more than 200 soldiers. In the opinion of the governor of the Philippines Alonso Fajardo y Tenza, this army was the most abundant in money and men since the Spaniards had conquered Ternate. ¹

In the same period, not only Dutch ships, but also ships from other European nations arrived in the waters of the Moluccas, attempting to establish bases or to undertake the lucrative spice trade. The French, English² and Danes established trading farms in Macassar on the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). Bloody battles often take place between other European nations, especially between the Dutch and the British.

THE SPICE TRADE

In an attempt to revitalize the revenues of the Spanish possessions in the Moluccas, the development of the spice trade was attempted. This trade was almost completely in Dutch hands. The king orders the construction of a clove storage farm in Ternate and plans to develop a profitable trade for the crown. The costs of the Spanish garrisons in the islands are enormous and attempts are made to reduce the wages of the soldiers and precisely to develop trade in order to make the maintenance of garrisons less burdensome for the royal coffers. However, the Spanish presence in the islands is deemed necessary, because otherwise the Dutch would have had ample freedom to practice their lucrative spice trade.³

According to Rios Coronel, the Moluccas annually produce 4,400 bares of cloves, each bares containing 640 pounds, for a total of 2,816,000 pounds, since in Europe a pound of cloves was sold for a ducat, the total production amounted to 2,816,000 ducats. The cost of the entire annual production of cloves can be purchased in the Moluccas for 100,000 ducats. These large profits were almost entirely the prerogative of the Dutch, who bought the fabric in Coromandel at 10, which they resold in the Moluccas at 50 in exchange for the cloves which were finally resold on the European market.⁴

In order to reduce the expenses of the crown, it was proposed to the king to use the island of Celebes, located two days of navigation from the Moluccas, as a food supply point. The island is rich in food that has a reduced cost compared to that of Manila, and finally the king of those parts is well disposed towards the Spaniards. From a military point of view, the massive use of galleys is recommended, 8 of them are requested to be stationed in Ternate, with them it will be easy to be able to capture or sink the Dutch ships in moments of calm wind, condition that occurs almost every day, and for 6-8 hours, in these islands.⁵

THE SPANISH TROOPS IN THE ISLANDS

Interesting information is given to us in the “Report of wages and expenses that His Majesty has to pay in the Moluccas Islands”. This report describes in detail the troops and expenses that the Spanish crown supports for the occupation of the Moluccas. In addition to the troop commander, there are seven troop captains of foot and seven ensigns, seven sergeants …. 20 artillery men. In total, the Spanish forts are garrisoned by about 600 simple soldiers, of whom 140 are musketeers. Then there are two companies of pampangos made up of a total of 200 soldiers. The personnel assigned to the two galleys stationed on the islands. In the payroll of the King of Spain there are also 10 religious divided between Jesuits, Franciscans and a vicar. The presence of a hospital is also indicated. The total annual expenses for the crown of Spain amount to over 218,000 pesos.⁶ In this period the wages of the garrison soldiers stationed in the Moluccas and Manila were equalized by order of the king by the governor of the Philippines Alonso Fajardo y Tenza.⁷

In 1620-21, the relief fleet for the Moluccas arrived safely despite being awaited by three Dutch boats, this was possible thanks to the skill and courage of Antonio Gomez, captain of one of the ships of the fleet, who engaged the three Dutch ships in a fight that lasted three long hours and which allowed the other ships of the flotilla to take refuge under the artillery of the Spanish fort. With this expedition, more than 120 Spanish soldiers arrived on the islands to reinforce the garrisons, as well as rice, provisions, clothing and ammunition. These supplies were among the most abundant ever received by the Spanish troops at the Moluccas.⁸

In this year, problems are recorded with the traditional ally of the Spanish, the king of Tidore. The Spaniards discover that the Tidorese have poisoned a well where the Spanish troops go to get water, but the immediate discovery allows the Spaniards not to suffer damage, then later the problems with the Tidorese are resolved anyway. Good relations were also continued with the king of Macazar with whom the Spaniards exchanged gifts. Despite the climate of war, D. Luis de Bracamonte agrees with the Dutch on an exchange of prisoners. However, despite the reinforcements sent, the Spanish troops are always few for the needs of the garrisons, in addition there are many dead and sick due to the climate of the places and the continuous skirmishes with the Dutch. On the other hand, the Dutch continue to send ships and troops and enjoy an indisputable naval superiority over the Spanish.⁹

INITIALLY THE DUTCH ARE NOT TOO INTERESTED IN ELIMINATING THE SPANISH PRESENCE FROM THE ISLANDS

However, the great Dutch naval power did not succeed in unhinging the Spanish presence, also because the Dutch did not have much interest in eliminating it completely from the islands, in fact the Spanish helped to curb the ambitions of the inhabitants of Ternate who, being sworn enemies of the Spanish, had of things to rely on the Dutch to be able to support themselves. Furthermore, the control of the clove-rich islands allowed the Dutch to dominate their trade without worrying much about the meager Spanish trade, to finish the agreement between the English and Dutch companies, had made the conquest of the Spanish forts unattractive for the latter because the English could request possession of it by virtue of the treaty, and this from the Dutch point of view was far more serious than the presence of Spanish garrisons on some islands. The Dutch pursued a policy of conservation of the current situation which was more congenial to them, they also tried to hinder the establishment of peace agreements between Ternate and Tidore.

SUBSEQUNTLY, DUE TO THE RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN TERNATE ANS THE SPANISH, THE DUTCH CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDE

A few years later, in 1621, however, the high costs for maintaining the garrisons in the forts that the Dutch are forced to occupy due to the Spanish presence, led to a completely opposite reasoning, in fact the fear of the Dutch, also due to a a certain cooling of relations with their ally Ternate, was now that of a rapprochement between Ternate and the Spaniards. And in fact a certain rapprochement took place for mere commercial interest, through the Tidorese with whom a truce was stipulated, the Ternatese sold cloves to the Spaniards, who generally paid at higher prices than those agreed with the Dutch.¹⁰

The attempt also by the Spanish to get closer to the Ternatese was also continued later by the governor Pedro de Heredia who tried to play again the card of a return of the old sultan of Ternate, Said Berkat, to try to pacify the islands under the Spanish flag, but the death of the sultan in Manila in 1628 thwarted all negotiations. The cause of this rapprochement of the Spaniards towards the people of Ternate is certainly to be found in the cooling of relations with Tidore.¹¹

The hunger and basic necessities for soldiers was a constant throughout the period of Spanish occupation in the islands. Also in this period which is among the best in terms of sending aid from the Philippines. In a letter dated July 21, 1621, D. Fajardo de Tenca declares that, starting from the moment he took charge of the government of the Philippines, he sent almost 400 Spanish soldiers to the Moluccas.¹²

THE FORTS OF JAILOLO AND MANADOS ARE ABANDONED BY THE SPANISH

To try to reduce the expenses for the garrisons, under the government of Brancamonte the evacuation of some Spanish garrisons was proposed “propuso retirar algunas de las fuezas, que se hallaban repartidas por aquel archipelago”. Surely the garrisons stationed in Manados and Jailolo were withdrawn. This decision was made mainly due to the escalation of relations between the Spaniards and the Prince of Tidore. An attempt at rapprochement carried out by Brancamonte who sent an embassy to the King of Tidore, bypassing the Prince, had the opposite effect. The latter offended, approached the Ternatese and the Dutch, making agreements with them and causing the population of Tidore to rebel against the Spanish. The Tidorese also made contact with the British at Makassar.¹³

The abandonment of the two forts of Gilolo took place shortly after the month of March 1620, this was done to reinforce the garrisons of Ternate and Tidore. The control of the two forts was ceded by the Spaniards to the troops of the king of Tidore, their ally, but in August 1620, after repelling an initial attack carried out by 30 Ternatese korakoras against the low fort (which took place on 3 August), the troops of Tidore, surrendered to a Dutch ship coming to the aid of the besiegers, the first fort to surrender was the lower fort and shortly after the higher fort also capitulated. The two forts were taken over by a garrison of troops from Ternate. This occupation of the Jailolo forts by the Ternatese was viewed with an evil eye by Coen, who was concerned with skilfully maintaining the power relations maintained up to now.¹⁴ The Manados garrison was probably evacuated in 1621.¹⁵

THE DUTCH ABANDON THE MARIEKO FORT AT TIDORE

Already in June 1621 Coen gave the order to dismantle the forts of Kalamata, Marieko and Sabua. This order caused the firm opposition of the sultan of Ternate and his council, who judged at least the forts of Kalamata and Sabua to be of fundamental importance, the first for the defense of Malayo from Spanish incursions, the second for the supply of food. To appease the spirits of Ternatese, the order to dismantle the forts of Kalamata and Sabua was not carried out, on condition that at least 100 families of Ternate were left in Kalamata to provide for the maintenance of the fort.

Instead, only the fort of Marieko was dismantled and abandoned, which the Spaniards promptly occupied and rebuilt the fortifications and placed a garrison there. Even, mockingly, the Spanish offered the Dutch governor Frederik Houtman the powder in case he wanted to destroy and abandon other forts. The dates of the abandonment of Marieko by the Dutch and the occupation of the fort by the Spanish are to be placed between the end of 1621 and the beginning of 1622.¹⁶

However, the episodes of skirmishes between the Spanish and the Dutch and their allies continued even in this historical period. Between 1622 and 1621, upon Dutch request, a flotilla of 25 Ternatese Korakoras attacked and captured a Spanish galleon in the waters of Ternate, 130 people were captured, the other 200 of whom 40 Spaniards died in the battle.¹⁷

As far as religious affairs are concerned, from 1620 to 1623 the Augustinian friar Silvestre de Torres was prior of Ternate.¹⁸ There is also an episode of martyrdom to record: On 30 August 1622 the Franciscan friar Blas de Palomino was killed in the kingdom of Tagolanda (he had arrived in Ternate in 1619).¹⁹ At the end of December 1622, Jacques Lefebre became Dutch governor of the Moluccas he will remain in office until 1628.²⁰

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 (La Llave “Trienio” 13, cap. 14, p. 1210) (“Report of events, 1620” Blair vol. 19 pp. 60-61) (Pérez pp. 621-622) (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 1620 in Blair vol. 19 pp. 110-111)

2 (“Report of events, 1620” Blair vol. 19 pp. 59-60)

3 (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 1620 in Blair vol. 19 p. 123, 140)

4 (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spagna. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), p. 290)

5 (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spagna. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), p. 259-264)

6 (Rios Coronel, Hernando de los “Memorial y relacion…” 1621, Madrid, Spain. In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 19 (1620-1621), pp. 292-297)

7 (Letter from Fajardo to King Felipe III, 1620 in Blair vol. 19 p. 110)

8 (“News from the province of Filipinas, 1621” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), p. 31) (“Letter from Fajardo to the King, July 21, 1621” In: Blair, E. H. and Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), pp. 58-59 and p. 73) ( “Letter from Jeronimo de Silva to the King, August 1, 1621” In: Blair, E. H. and Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), p. 107)

9 (“News from the province of Filipinas, 1621” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), p. 31) (“Letter from Fajardo to the King, July 21, 1621” In: Blair, E. H. and Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), pp. 58-59 and p. 73) ( “Letter from Jeronimo de Silva to the King, August 1, 1621” In: Blair, E. H. and Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), p. 107)

10 (Tiele “De Europeërs in den Maleischen archipel” 1887 pp. 271-277) (“Instructie voor F. Houtman, gegeven te Ambon, 11 Juni 1621”)

11 (AGI “Carta de Niño de Távora con noticias de Terrenate de Heredia, 20-07-1626” Filipinas,20,R.20,N.140 ) (AGI “Carta de Niño de Távora sobre liberar a rey de Terrenate, 30-10-1626” Filipinas,20,R.20,N.151)

12 (“Letter from Fajardo to the King, 21 July 1621” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 20 (1621-1624), p. 49)

13 (Pérez pp. 622-623)

14 (Tiele, P.A. “De Europeans in the Malayan Archipelago, 1618-1623” pp. 272-273)

15 (AGI Filipinas,7,R.5,N.65 “Carta de Fajardo de Tenza sobre asuntos de gobierno, 10-12-1621”)

16 (“Instructie voor F. Houtman, gegeven te Ambon, 11 Juni 1621”)(Tiele, P.A. “De Europeans in the Malayan Archipelago, 1618-1623” pp. 272-273) (Pérez p. 622) (Fr. Gregorio de S. Esteban “Historia de las Islas Malucas” p. 133) (“Rapport gedaen by verscheyden persoonen (1622)” In: “Kronijk Hist. Gen. 1871, p. 327)

17 (Tiele, P.A. “De Europeans in the Malayan Archipelago, 1618-1623” p. 276)

18 (Friar Juan de Medina “History of the Augustinians in the Philippine Islands” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, p. 80 nota 34)

19 (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 293 nota 79)

20 (Generale Missiven I p. 177 nota 4)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER NINE: THE GOVERNMENT OF PEDRO DE HEREDIA, February 1623-1636

THE ARRIVAL OF PEDRO DE HEREDIA IN TERNATE

Pedro de Heredia was a veteran of the Moluccas, and as governor he will set a record of tenure as he ruled the Moluccas continuously from 1623 to 1636. A highly experienced soldier, he had served the King of Spain before becoming governor of the Moluccas in military campaigns in Italy, Flanders and Brittany.

In 1605 he arrived in the Philippines with the position of ensign with the troops of Esquivel, which the king had sent to conquer Ternate. He participated, embarked on the captain ship, in the Ternate expedition of 1606, which led to the conquest of the fortress of Ternate. Then in the following years he served the King in Ternate with various positions including those of infantry captain, head of the galleys and sergeant major. He conquered and sacked twice the village of Gran Bocanora, and the fort of Jilolo.

His most important success was the capture in 1609¹ of the Dutch admiral van Caerden. Before Esquivel’s death in March 1609, he was promoted to captain and sergeant major. He later participated in several clashes with the Dutch in the Philippines. He returned to Ternate on the occasion of de Silva’s expedition of 1611 with the position of admiral, he was then appointed by him sergeant major of the “presidios” of the Moluccas.²

In 1620 we find him in Spain where he will be appointed by the King, on December 24, 1620, “alcaide de Terrenate y gobernador de la gente de Guerra de aquel presidio”, but he will only take office in 1623, due to the long return journey from Spain.³

In May 1623, the new governor of the Spanish garrisons of the Moluccas, D. Pedro de Heredia, departed from Manila with a fleet of eight ships (2 galleys, 2 “pataches”, 2 frigates and 2 “champanes”). After a stop in the port of Otong, the expedition headed for the island of Celebes, where the Spaniards maintained relations with the kingdom of Manados, here Heredia promised the king to send again as soon as possible a Spanish garrison, which had been withdrawn by the previous governor D. Luis de Bracamonte.⁴ The governor was accompanied to Ternate by his wife (Francisca de Guzman) and his son.⁵

The promise made to the king of Manado was promptly kept by Heredia, in fact Pedro de Heredia, established a fort in the northern part of the island of Celebes, in Manados, this fortified post was important for the Spanish garrisons because the area in which it was located produced a lot of rice, an essential food for the sustenance of the garrisons of Ternate. Heredia requested a force of 50 soldiers from the governor of the Philippines to garrison the new fort. Furthermore, he declared himself in favor of the return of the old sultan Said Berkat to Ternate.⁶

A LARGE DUTCH FLEET ARRIVES

In 1625 a large Dutch fleet, consisting of 11 boats and with 800 men on board reached Ternate.⁷ The Heredia letter of 4 April 1625, which gives us news of the arrival of this fleet, indicates that “A 5 deste março passado dieron fondo 14 navios delos estatos de Olanda en su fuersas de Malayo que estan dos leguas destas y segun esauido por algunos de ellos que ecoxido en tierra pasaron por el nuevo estrecho de Mayres junto al de Magallanes y corrieron las costas del Piru y Nu.a Spaña”.

The situation is confused by the notes on the left of the map (probably added by some royal official) where the year of the arrival of the boats is clearly indicated, “Que a cinco de março de 624 dieron fondo 14 nauios de los estados de Olanda en sus fuerças de Malayo”. What is reported in the note is certainly wrong, in fact, further on Heredia informs us that the general at the head of this fleet died in the port of Callao (Peru).

The fleet in question is certainly the “Nassausche Vloot” commanded by Admiral Jacques l’Hermite, in fact he will die on June 2, 1624 in front of the port of Callao, after his death the command was taken by Vice Admiral Gheen Huigen Schapenham. This fleet, made up of 12 vessels, had left Holland at the end of April 1623 and sailed through the Strait of Le Maire, then sailed up the coast of South America, where it raided the coasts of New Spain and Peru, from here it then reached Ternate where it arrived, as Heredia informs us, on 5 March 1625.⁸ Another letter, written from Manila to the King, also removes any doubts about the month of arrival of this Dutch fleet, this letter informs us that in March 1625, 14 large Dutch galleons arrived in Ternate, they came from Peru, where the previous year they had plundered its coasts.⁹ In this period, Pedro de Heredia should have, according to the King, 10 boats at his disposal to oppose the Dutch.¹⁰

THE DUTCH ABANDON THE FORT OF CALOMATA

In March 1625 the Dutch dismantled and abandoned the fort of Calomata, which was located within musket range of the Spanish (Don Gil’s) fort. The Spanish shortly afterwards, probably in January 1626, rebuilt and occupied the Calomata fort, which was located half a league from Malayo and had been dismantled by the Dutch shortly before. The occupation of the fort was carried out to prevent a new occupation of Calomata by the Dutch. With the occupation of the fort of Calomata, the Spaniards abandoned the fort of Santa Lucia, which was no longer of any use. In the same month of March 1625, the Dutch also dismantled the fort on the island of Moti, however it seems that in this case the Spaniards did not occupy the place with their own garrison. In April 1625, the Dutch probably also dismantled the fortress of Bachian “Y al presente an ydo a rretirarla del Reyno de Ba(?)jan”. The new relief fleet arrived at Ternate undamaged. In this period both Ternate and Tidore are at peace with the Spanish.¹¹

However, despite the Dutch, in 1625, the Spanish forts of the Moluccas are well supplied with troops and supplies, Fernando de Silva tells us about this. While several grievances have reached Fernando de Silva about the work of Governor Pedro de Heredia, he is accused of trading with the Dutch and of subtracting taxes for the export of cloves. His letter also confirms that the Dutch have dismantled the forts of Calomatas and Motil. The Spanish again consider returning the old sultan, Said Berkat, to Ternate, who is still a prisoner in Manila. It seems at the express request of some Ternatese who in return promise a peace treaty with Spain.¹²

The condition of the Spanish garrisons in 1626 is the best it has ever been, for while supplies from Manila have arrived without loss, the Dutch have been helpless since the year before. It seems that the war in Flanders is hampering the arrival of reinforcements from Holland beyond measure. In 1626 the old king of Tidore died, one of his sons succeeded him to the throne. In the same year, the Ternatese made peace with the Spaniards and asked for the return of their old sultan, still a prisoner in Manila. The Dutch have no fleets in the Moluccas this year, they have 5 or 6 forts on the islands of Ternate, Machien and Motiel and a garrison of just 200 men in total. Spanish reports describe the Dutch position as very precarious, several defections in the Dutch ranks are reported, 6 or 8 Dutch soldiers went over to the Spanish in 1626.¹³ Heredia, requested in Manila the return to Ternate of the old sultan, the governor of the Philippines Niño de Tavora expressed a favorable opinion on the return of the sultan, but before carrying out such an act, he expressly requested the opinion of the King by letter.¹⁴ The sultan will never return to Ternate, because he will die in Manila in 1628.

THE SITUATION OF RELIGIOUS IN TERNATE

It is not clear in which year (in 1626 or in 1628), but both the convent and the adjoining royal hospital that the Franciscans had founded in Ternate caught fire, with them also burning a considerable part of the native village. It seems that the Franciscans after this misfortune wanted to leave Ternate, but the governor of the Philippines Juan Niño de Tavora prevented them from returning to Manila. The governor ordered Pedro de Heredia to rebuild the convent, which he did in a short time and with particular care, this time it was rebuilt entirely in stone.¹⁵ In 1626, Pedro de Heredia, rebuilt the convent of the Franciscan friars of Ternate (convent of San Antonio de Terrenate) at his own cost, with lime and stone.¹⁶ It seems that around these years the Augustinian convent of Ternate was abandoned.¹⁷

THE “SOCORRO” OF 1627

The reinforcements for Ternate in 1627 (late 1627 or early 1628) consisted of three “pataccos” captained by Francisco Hernandez¹⁸, they are attacked in sight of Ternate by a large and well equipped Dutch boat, two of the Spanish ships manage to take refuge under the cannons of the Spanish fortress, but the third, the one where Captain Hernandez was, seeing any escape route precluded, rushed to attack of the Dutch ship, a galley was sent from Ternate to help the Spanish boat, the battle was going well for the Spanish, when a shot fired by the Dutch hit the powder that the Spanish had on the deck of the ship, it caught fire and the Spaniards were forced to throw themselves into the sea whence they swam to nearby land. In the meantime the galley, fearing the fire that was raging on the other Spanish ship, had approached dangerously the Dutch ship, the panicked men of the galley all gathered on one side of the ship, this led to the sudden capsizing of the vessel, which within minutes it sank. The Spanish were badly defeated in this battle.¹⁹

Governor Tavora gives news in his letter to the king that many desertions take place in Ternate due to the non-payment of wages to the soldiers and the great lack of food from which the Spanish garrisons suffer.²⁰

Between the end of 1628 and the beginning of 1629 a galley and various “pataccos” were sent to Ternate. A large and well-armed Dutch ship tried to provoke the Spanish by firing artillery towards the Spanish fort, so Pedro de Heredia, although he had vastly inferior vessels at his disposal, decided to engage her. Heredia armed two “patccos” and a galley and stormed the Dutch ship, the Dutch were defeated and forced into a hasty retreat to Malayo, the Dutch ship’s commander was arrested for his conduct. Some Spanish and Dutch soldiers died in the battle.²¹

The Spaniards tried to develop the cultivation of cloves, the governor Tavora declared that he could collect at least 50 bars of cloves a year (which have a value of 4,000 pesos in the Moluccas), which if sold on the Indian market could yield at least 35,000 pesos.²²

THE “SOCORRO” OF 1629

In mid-November 1629, the governor of the Philippines D. Juan Niño de Tavora sent a fleet consisting of two ships and a “patacco” to Ternate loaded with provisions and other material for the Spanish garrisons of the Maluku Islands. The expedition was hit, two leagues from a port (Mindanao ? Manados?) where they had to load rice and food for the Ternate garrison, by a violent storm that led to the loss of the ship “almiranta”. The cargo of the ship was however brought to safety as well as the artillery. The other two boats reached Ternate without problems.

This happened also thanks to the favorable circumstances, in fact, the governor of Ternate, Pedro de Heredia, helped by troops of the king of Tidore, kept the Dutch and their Ternatese allies under pressure. He attacked the village “de los terrenates” near the fort of Malayo, which forced the Dutch, who were patrolling the sea with a ship awaiting the “socorro”, to relax their guard over the control of ships passing through the Spanish city of Ternate. Thanks to this the two Spanish boats reached Ternate without being harassed by the Dutch ships. Due to the loss of the ship “Almiranta” two more “pataccos” were later sent with provisions, but only the second reached the islands.

During the last two or three years Dutch power in the Moluccan seas appears to have been very feeble, but the Spaniards are much alarmed by reports from Ambon, whence it appears that a large Dutch fleet is in the process of setting sail for Ternate: “Dezia se quedauan 30 naos del olandes en la isla de Ambueno y que de ellas llegariam la mitad a Terrenate para hazer Rey de los naturales (ayn ?) moro que quieren introduçir en el gouierno”.²³

THE SITUATION BETWEEN 1630 AND 1632

From July 1630 until 1632, little or no reinforcements appear to have come to the Dutch in the Moluccas. These years are described as a period of peace in the troubled history of the Spanish outposts in the spice islands.²⁴

Between the end of 1631 and the beginning of 1632, 4 reinforcements were sent to the Moluccas and all successfully arrived in Ternate. Pedro de Heredia would like to be taken over from his post as governor of Ternate. Even during these years the Dutch seem less strong in the seas of the Moluccas. However according to Tavora the troops stationed in the Moluccas are always too few to be able to easily fight against the Dutch. In order to be able to cope with the Dutch power (but also with the emerging English, Danish and French companies), Tavora suggests to the King the union of the Spanish armies with the Portuguese ones, he asks for the union of Macao and Malacca to the government of the Philippines, only in this way it will be possible to have forces sufficient to repel the Dutch.²⁵

In 1632, 6 companies of Spanish soldiers were stationed on the Moluccas. The fleets that are sent to Ternate every year, with food and soldiers for the garrisons, are by far the riskiest and most costly expeditions for the Spanish treasury. They have to move in seas infested by Dutch enemy ships, to try to solve these problems, the “socorro” fleet of 1632, is sent from Manila, at the suggestion of Pedro de Heredia, with a fortified and large vessel and hardly attackable by the Dutch, thanks to this, the fleet reaches Ternate without encountering dangers.

It was also proposed to the king to carry out a rotation of the companies stationed in the Moluccas every three years.²⁶ Juan Cerezo requests the king to appoint a new governor of the Moluccas in place of Pedro de Heredia, now old and wealthy. Several adjustments are proposed to the king to reduce the expenses that the crown has in maintaining the garrisons in the Moluccas, among others the suppression of the galleys with the exception of the only galley of Ternate, which are judged of very little use²⁷ and finally the suppression of various useless positions, such as that of captain general of the artillery. Another proposal is to clearly define the jurisdiction and fields of maneuver of the various officers.²⁸ Most of these proposals will be approved by the King of Spain, as we will see, in 1635.

In the first months of 1633 an important “socorro” was sent to Ternate, it consisted of a large galleon and was led by the captain Don Jeronimo de Somonte, before arriving in Ternate the boat was confronted by two Dutch ships that were waiting for the “socorro” to attack it, there was a fight that ended in favor of the Spaniards. The Audiencia underlines the importance of having sent the rescue in a large ship otherwise it would have easily been prey to the Dutch.²⁹

In 1634 Lope de Colindres moved to Ternate in the galleon ‘capitana San Juan Baptista’, with the fleet of General Don Geronimo de Somonte. During this trip, the Spanish fleet had a hard fight with a Dutch vessel which was waiting to prevent the arrival of relief in Ternate. The battle lasted 5 hours and in the end the Dutch were forced to withdraw under their fortress, according to Spanish sources the Dutch lost 30 men as well as many wounded, and their ship was badly damaged. In the battle Lope de Colindres was in charge of the artillery below deck which turned out to be of great importance in the battle.³⁰

RISK OF MUTINY

In August 1633, the soldiers of the Spanish garrison of Ternate are on the verge of mutiny, mainly, it seems, due to an edict issued by the commissioner of the Holy Office, Father Manuel Rinto (Immanuel Rivero), which concerned the sins against nature and which included many sins. He had given two months to expiate his sins and it was understood by the soldiers that even Governor Heredia would have judged who to acquit and who not.³¹

Two large war galleons were promptly sent from the Philippines with a company of volunteers, troops judged to be of the highest standard. Admiral Don Jeronimo de Tremonte was placed in command of this expedition. In the vicinity of Ternate, the Spanish ships are attacked by a Dutch ship, which was waiting for them in the port of Malayo, the clash between the Spanish and the Dutch lasted eight long hours, but in the end the Dutch were forced to flee with heavy losses. The Spaniards in this engagement lost 7 men including the chief pilot of the ships.³²

This victory will prove to be very important to block the insurrection of the Ternate garrison, which was only waiting for the defeat of the Spanish reinforcements to rebel against the commander and his officers. Meanwhile Heredia, assisted by the sergeant major Juan Gonzalez de Casares Melon, had imprisoned 150 rebel soldiers, many had died in prison and 11 had been executed, when the reinforcements arrived only 40 prisoners were still alive, the survivors were sent to Manila for be judged. The volunteer troops remained in Ternate, and the soldiers of the presidios were supplied with clothing and food, more than 140 soldiers were replaced. In 1634 there were 600 Spanish soldiers garrisoning the Spanish forts in the Moluccas.³³

A bad blow comes to the Spaniards from the non-recognition of the king of Tidore Cachil Varo by the Ternatese, in fact they recognize as king of Tidore the Cachil Borotalo, a faithful ally of the Dutch and who until then had lived in fort Orange and had served the Dutch as commander naval. Cachil Varo, however, seems for the moment to have the support of the majority of the population and of the chiefs of the island of Tidore. He has as his main residence his fort of Tidore, which is by far the most important fort on the island, more important even than the forts held on the island by the Spanish. Heredia tries to remain neutral in the face of this dispute, but the Cachil Varo accuses him of being responsible for the uprising by his conduct. However Cachil Varo himself declares himself a firm friend of the Spaniards. Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca, intends to send aid to Cachil Varo, with the next “rescue” in October 1634.³⁴

Governor Pedro de Heredia, in a letter sent to the king and dated May 13, 1634, complains about the miserable state of the reinforcements sent to the Moluccas from Manila. In the same letter Heredia informs the king of an expedition that the Spaniards had made against the island of Fafares, where Ternitese and Dutch troops were. The command of this expedition had been placed by the sergeant major Juan Gonzalez de Casares Melon who with the galley guard and a good number of infantry soldiers attacked the enemy fort conquering and destroying it. In addition to the destruction of the enemy fort, 400 Muslims were killed and 150 were taken prisoner, 10 pieces of artillery, many muskets and arquebuses were also captured.³⁵

THE ORGANIZATION OF SPANISH TROOPS IN THE MOLUCCAS

With a decree of 1635, addressed to the governor of the Philippines D. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, the king orders not to send any more prisoners to the troops destined for Ternate, furthermore he orders the rotation of the troops in the islands every three years. In fact, the scheme is to send two infantry companies (200 men) to Ternate every year to relieve another two, so that the whole garrison of the Moluccas, which amounts to 600 men, can be completely renewed every three years. In the same decree, the king approves that the change of troops and the transport of goods destined for Ternate be done using large war galleons, so that attacks by the Dutch are difficult.³⁶

Starting from 1635, on the basis of the revision of wages and rations made by the new governor of the Philippines Corcuera, an act made precisely to try to reduce the expenses of the Moluccas. The guardian of the royal warehouses, of provisions, weapons and ammunition for the forts of Ternate, receives a salary of 300 pesos a year without any rations. In the forts of Ternate there must be two infantry helpers, one with a salary of 360 pesos a year and the other with a salary of 96 pesos a year (the salary of a simple soldier). The Pampagos soldiers garrisoned in the Moluccas were to receive an annual salary of 48 pesos of 8 reals each. The Pampagos soldiers will be placed in two companies which will be commanded by the “mestre de campo” and his sergeant major, each of whom will receive a salary of 250 pesos a year. The two ensigns of the Pampagos troops will each receive 150 pesos a year. Each sergeant of the pampagos will receive 120 pesos a year. The role of artillery captain was then abolished.³⁷

The surgeon of the Royal Hospital of Ternate receives a salary of 600 pesos a year, without rations. The camp captain receives an annual salary of 150 pesos. The military notary, who until now has received a salary of 200 pesos a year will no longer be entitled to a salary; even the four substitutes will no longer have the right to pay. The chief gunner of the artillery shall be entitled to a salary of 250 pesos. The galley captains are abolished, their positions will be taken by the master of the galleys, who will collect the real incomes and account for them, he will receive a salary of 250 pesos, he will then be entitled to the daily rations only when he is embarked, otherwise not. The boatswain of the galleys will receive a wage of 200 pesos and rations only when he is embarked. The second-in-command boatswain of the galleys will receive an annual pay of 150 pesos and 30 “gantas” of rice, when ashore, and the usual rations if embarked. The guards and corporals of the galleys are abolished, because they are useless. The galley captain will receive 200 pesos a year plus the usual ration if embarked. Pilots sailing between these islands will receive wages of 500 pesos in addition to rations. Spanish seamen will receive pay of 100 pesos a year on top of the ordinary ration if embarked, while Indian seamen will receive 48 pesos a year on top of the usual ration.³⁸

In the forts of Ternate there are 6 companies of Spanish infantry, with 5 captains, while the commander of the 6th company is the governor of the islands. Then there are 6 ensigns, 6 sergeants, 24 junior posts and 480 soldiers, i.e. 80 soldiers for each company. Finally there are 2 assistants to the sergeant major.³⁹ In 1635, the reinforcements sent to Ternate were made up of 200 Spanish soldiers and 100 pampangos organized in three companies.⁴⁰ Pedro de Heredia will be governor of Ternate until 1636, in fact there is a document signed by Pedro de Heredia, governor of Ternate, dated Ternate, May 11, 1636.⁴¹ A few months after his return to Manila, Pedro de Heredia died, he left all his properties to charity.⁴²

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 “Confirmación de encomienda de Guisan, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Guisan, Lantac, Adpili, Panglao, Masago, Panaon y Ormoc en Cebu en Leyte a Juan de Medina Bermudez. Resuelto, [f] 1633-08-12” FILIPINAS,48,N.67 blocco 1 foglio 31

2 (Pastells “Historia general de Filipinas” tomo VI (1608-1618) pp. clxiv-clxvii “Relacion de los servicios del Almirante Padro de Heredia, 4-10-1634” AGI 67-6-8) (AGI: “Parecer de la Audiencia sobre Pedro de Heredia, 20-07-1612” Filipinas,20,R.6,N.50)

3 (AGI “Nombramiento de Pedro de Heredia, 24-12-1620” Contratacion, 5788, L.2, F.246v-247v AGI “Real Provisión, 24-12-1620” Indiferente, 450, L.A6, F.125-126)

4 (Pérez pp. 622-623)

5 (Pérez p. 623)

6 (“Letter from Felipe IV to Don Juan Niño de Tavora, Madrid September 3, 1627” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22 pp. 146-)

7 (“Letter from Fernando de Silva to King Filipe IV, Manila August 4, 1625” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, pp. 67)

8 Dutch documents indicate the date of arrival as 6 March 1625(Tiele, P. A. & Heeres, J. E. “Bouwstoffen voor de geschiedenis der Nederlanders in den Maleischen Archipel” Vol. II, p. 37, 41)). (AGI: Filipinas,20,R.19,N.122 “Pedro de Heredia sobre situación de Terrenate 4-04-1625”) (Dutch-Asiatic shipping II pp. 50-53)

9 (AGI “Carta de la ciudad de Manila sobre varios asuntos, 03-08-1625” Filipinas,27,N.129)

10 (“Letter from Felipe IV to Don Juan Niño de Tavora, Madrid September 3, 1627” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22 p. 147)

11 (“Letter from Fernando de Silva to Felipe IV, July 30, 1626” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, pp. 93-94) (AGI: Filipinas,20,R.19,N.122 “Pedro de Heredia sobre situación de Terrenate 4-04-1625”) (Generale Missiven I p. 217)

12 (“Letter from Fernando de Silva to Felipe IV, August 4, 1625” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, pp. 69-70)

13 (“Report of 1626” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, pp. 130-132)

14 (AGI: “Carta de Niño de Távora sobre liberar a rey de Terrenate, Manila 30-10-1626” Filipinas,20,R.20,N.151)

15 See: (“Entrada de la seraphica religion de nuestro P. S. Francisco en las Islas Filipinas” pp. 45-46, manoscritto del 1649, pubblicato in: Rentana, W. E. “Archivo del bibliófilo filipino” Tomo 1) (“Lettera del governatore Tavora a Felipe IV, Manila 4 agosto 1628” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, p. 270) (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 306)

16 (Pérez pp. 629-631)

17 (Fr. Juan de Medina “History of the Agustinian order in the Filipinas Islands” 1630 (published: 1893, Manila) In: Blair vol. 24, p. 155 e anche Blair vol. 24, p.15)

18 He was a Ternate veteran, having served (as soldier, sergeant, ensign, adjutant and infantry captain) for twenty years in the garrisons of the Moluccas. In addition to being commander of the “relief” fleet, he was appointed captain of a company of Spanish infantry and commander of the royal galleys, both of which were assumed to replace Pedro Tufiño. All these offices were conferred on him on October 29, 1627 by Governor Tavora. (“Report of promotions made by Governor Tavora” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, p. 232)

19 (“Report of 1627-1628” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, pp. 201-202)

20 (“Letter from Governor Tavora to Felipe IV, Manila August 4, 1628” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, p. 264)

21 (“Report of 1628-1629” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 22, pp. 304-305)

22 (“Letter from Governor Tavora to Felipe IV, Cavite August 1, 1629” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 23, pp. 29-32)

23 (AGI “Carta de Niño de Távora sobre Japón, Terrenate, Mindanao…, 30-07-1630” FILIPINAS,8,R.1,N.9) anche in: Blair vol. 23, pp. 95-96

24 (Blair vol. 23, p. 92)(“Events in Filipinas, 1630-1632” In: Blair vol. 24 p. 229)

25 (“Letter from Don Juan Niño de Tavora to Felipe IV, July 8, 1632” published in: Blair vol. 24, pp. 217-220)

26 For this purpose, each “relief” fleet will embark two new infantry companies in order to replace two companies per year/”relief” which will lead to the complete replacement of the soldiers present in the garrisons every three years.

27 In a subsequent letter, Cerazo declares that he has changed his opinion on the usefulness of the galleys and declares that they are useful for helping the garrisons of Ternate in case of need. (“Letter from Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca to Felipe IV, August 10, 1634” published in: Blair vol. 24, p. 329)

28 (“Letter from Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca to Felipe IV, August 14, 1633″ published in: Blair vol. 24, pp. 279-285)

29 (AGI “Carta de la Audiencia sobre gobierno, 08-08-1633” Filipinas,21,R.7,N.23)

30 (“Confirmación de encomienda de Tulaque. Expediente de confirmación de la encomienda de Tulaque en Cagayan a Lope de Colindres. Resuelto, [f] 24-04-1649” AGI: Filipinas,50,N.2)

31 (“Letter from Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca to Felipe IV, August 10, 1634″ published in: Blair vol. 24, pp. 330-334) (“Real Cedula, 6 novembre 1636” in: Blair vol.27 pp. 50-52)

32 (“Letter from Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca to Felipe IV, August 10, 1634″ published in: Blair vol. 24, pp. 330-334) (“Real Cedula, 6 novembre 1636” in: Blair vol.27 pp. 50-52)

33 (Real Cedula, 10 marzo 1634, in: Blair vol. 25 p. 41)

34 (“Letter from Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca to Felipe IV, August 10, 1634″ published in: Blair vol. 24, pp. 330-334) (“Real Cedula, 6 november 1636” in: Blair vol.27 pp. 50-52)

35 (“Real Cedula, 6 november 1636” in: Blair vol.27 pp. 50-52)

36 (Real Cedula, 5 november 1635, in: Blair vol. 25 pp. 46-47) (Marginal note of the “Letter from Don Juan Cerazo de Salamanca to Felipe IV, August 10, 1634” published in: Blair vol. 24, p. 332) (“Letter from Felipe IV to Courcuera, October 11, 1636” published in: Blair vol. 27, p. 42)

37 (Review of wages and rations made on September 4, 1635, in the Letter of the Governor of the Philippines Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera to King Felipe IV, September 4, 1635, in: Blair vol. 26 p. 201-213)

38 (Review of wages and rations made on September 4, 1635, in the Letter of the Governor of the Philippines Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera to King Felipe IV, September 4, 1635, in: Blair vol. 26 p. 201-213)

39 (Letter from the Governor of the Philippines Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera to King Felipe IV, June 20, 1636, in: Blair vol. 26 p. 310)

40 (Letter from the Governor of the Philippines Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera to King Felipe IV, June 30, 1636, in: Blair vol. 26 p. 197)

41 (“Confirmación de encomienda de Pata, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Pata y Masi en Cagayan a Hernando López del Clavo. Resuelto, [f] 1667-11-10” FILIPINAS,53,N.9 foglio 56)

42 (“Events in Filipinas, 1637-1638” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 29 p. 30)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER TEN: THE GOVERNMENT OF PEDRO MUÑOZ DE CARMONA Y MENDIOLA, March 1636-January 1640

THE ARRIVAL OF PEDRO MUÑOZ DE CARMONA Y MENDIOLA IN TERNATE

The new governor of Ternate D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola, appointed “alcayde”, governor and “castellan” of Ternate, departed from the port of Cavite on January 9, 1636. On board his ship was also a company of Spanish infantry. He arrived in Ternate on March 7, 1636 and ruled Ternate until January 22, 1640.¹

THE COST OF THE GARRISIONS OF THE MOLUCCAS

The cost of fighting the Dutch and maintaining the Spanish garrisons of the Moluccas accounts for more than a third of all Philippine expenditure. Military expenses are the ones that have the greatest impact on the budget of the Moluccas, the castellan and governor of the Moluccas receives 2,750 pesos, the two adjutants of the sergeant major 850 pesos each. Then there are 7 companies of foot soldiers for a total of 570 soldiers. The captains of each company each receive 600 pesos. Each standard bearer 240 pesos, each sergeant 120 pesos, each corporal receives 30 pesos more than the normal soldiers’ pay. In addition, each company receives 30 scudos in addition to their normal pay. The total cost of each of these companies is 9,809 pesos.

In the garrisons of the Moluccas there are also two “Pampangos” infantry companies with 200 soldiers. Each captain receives 288 pesos, each ensign 192, each sergeant 144 and each foot soldier 72 pesos. These two infantry companies cost 13,312 pesos. In the garrison of Ternate on the payroll there is also a surgeon whose salary is 664 pesos, an artillery captain with a salary of 480 pesos, a “constable” with 300 pesos, a field captain 330 pesos, a notary of war 200 pesos, an accountant and factor 1,150 pesos, a chief clerk 400 pesos, another clerk 150 pesos, a notary of the royal treasury 250 pesos, an accountant and paymaster 523 pesos, 20 sailors 150 pesos and a “ganta” of rice for one, a “cura” 50,000 maravedis, a sacristan 25,000 maravedis and seven religious, 4 Franciscans and 3 Jesuits, to whom 1,330 pesos are given. The total amount of expenses of the Moluccas garrisons is 97,128 pesos, 3 reals.

The two captains of the two Ternate galleys each receive 699 and a half pesos. Each galley has a chief who receives 170 pesos, a master of the galleys who receives 300 pesos, a boatswain 250 pesos, a boatswain’s assistant 217 and a half pesos, an “alguaçil” 230 pesos, an oarmaker 230, 3 sailors each 133 pesos, finally there are the approximately 180 prisoners assigned to the galley who each receive 27 pesos and 2 reals as well as 3 pesos in clothes. The upkeep of each Ternate galley costs a total of about 7,500 pesos.² The costs for the Ternate hospital amount to 1,000 pesos.³ The total cost that the crown of Spain has to bear for the maintenance of the Moluccas amounts to about 290,000 pesos.⁴

A NAVAL CLASH WITH THE DUTCH

In January 1637 (or during the year 1636 as it is reported in the Meritos of Pedro Fernandez del Rio) a new fleet of “socorro” was sent to Ternate it was composed of 2 large ships, a “patache” and a galley (in Corcuera’s letter two “pataccos” and no galleys are indicated⁵ and several⁶ large “champanos” in command was General Hieronimo Enriques Sotelo (Geronimo Henriquez) who was embarked on the San Luis galleon, while on the other galleon was Admiral Don Pedro de Altomonte (who had also participated in the previous year’s expedition), while in command of the “patache” was Don Alonso de Alcoçer. Finally, in command of the new galley “San Francisco Xavier” was Rafael Gomes.

Pedro Fernandez del Rio, who we will later find as governor of the Moluccas, will also participate in this “socorro”.. On board the ships were 200 Spanish foot soldiers and 200 sailors. Two Dutch ships which were at Ternate, and which were waiting for the Spanish fleet to attack it, at the sight of the large fleet, took refuge in the shelter of the cannons of their fortress of Malayo. After having landed the supplies, the Spanish ships attempted a sortie, the galleons and galleys attacked the Dutch and bombarded “desde las diez del dia hasta puesto el sol” both the fortress and the two Dutch shipsi⁷, the Spanish attack caused heavy damage to both the fort and the ships, in the clash the Spanish ship Almiranta, where Fernández del Rio was in charge of the artillery, suffered damage and the Spanish had a sailor killed. This action caused a huge impression among the inhabitants of the islands, even the king of Tidore congratulated General Hieronimo Enriques Sotelo (Geronimo Henriquez) and Admiral D. Pedro de Altomonte. Several Dutch soldiers deserted and took refuge in the Spanish fort, they will be sent to Manila with the two galleons. After this clash the two galleons and the patacco returned to Manila without however bringing cloves because there had been no harvest this year. In Ternate, however, the galley remained, which flanked the other galley already present in Ternate.

Shortly after the departure of the Spanish galleons, the two Dutch ships also put to sea, but during a calm wind they were promptly attacked by the two spanish galleys⁸ spagnole, during the engagement one of the ships was nearly overwhelmed, but a sudden increase in the wind allowed the two ships to disengage. News also arrives of an ongoing rebellion against the king of Manados, an ally of the Spaniards, who on this occasion asked the governor Mendiola for help. The sixteen-year-old or seventeen-year-old son of the king also arrived from Manados, sent to Ternate to be educated among the Spaniards, finally the king asked for friars to be sent to baptize his vassals. Promptly Mendiola sent the requested aid to Manados and the Jesuit Father Pantaleon was sent with them.⁹

At the end of October 1638, a champan brought good news from Ternate. In fact, Sergeant Major Francisco Hernandez had raided enemies with good results. He captured in Macasar (Manados), the Spanish soldiers who had deserted the year before together with Captain Ramos (who had later been killed during a quarrel between the deserters), they were arrested and sent to the galleys.

The two galleons of the “soccorro” of Ternate set sail on the night of 21 November 1638, the flag-bearer was the “San Luis”, while the flagship was the “San Juan”, the fleet commander was Don Pedro de Altomonte, while the admiral was Don Alonso de Alçocer, Pedro Fernández del Rio also participated in this expedition as captain and sergeant major, he was in charge of the expedition from Cavite to Zamboanga, where he ceded command to Don Pedro de Altomonte. The flagship ship will return, together with the patacco, from this expedition on April 18, 1639, while the ship Almiranta, which had lost contact with the other boats near the coast of the island of Celebes, returned on May 30.¹⁰ With the ships returning from Ternate also arrived 150 warriors from the island of Siao and 50 Christians from Ternate who took part in the wars on the island of Mindanao in 1639.¹¹ The Franciscan friar Bartolomé de San Diego and his brother Miguel de San Buenaventura, preached (between 1630 and 1640) in the missions of Calonga and Tabuca, islands probably part of the archipelago of the Talud islands, located between Sulawesi and Mindanao.¹²

ALLIANCE BETWEEN TERNATE AND TIDORE

In the Moluccas, the kings of Ternate and Tidore made peace and formed an alliance. Governor Mendiola, worried by these events, sent to Manila to ask for help Father Manuel Carballo, rector of the Jesuit convent of Ternate, he arrived in Manila on August 11, 1639. The cause of this radical change of policy by the king of Tidore seems to be purely formal, in fact the reasons given by the king are linked to the failure to deliver, in the last 4 years, the traditional gift that the king of Spain sent every year through the governor of the Philippines to the king of Tidore. In any case, the rector believes that the king may have, in addition to these motivations, other unknown and therefore more dangerous motives. To resolve the matter, a new governor, Francisco de Figueroa, was sent to Ternate.¹³

In 1639, a boat sent to Ternate with several pieces of artillery on board was attacked by a violent storm, the ship was forced to return to the port of departure, where due to bad weather all the artillery was lost.¹⁴ On October 31, 1639, another boat from Ternate arrived in Manila, it brought bad news for the Spaniards. In fact, the old king of Tidore, the cachil Naro, had been killed by the Ternatese and Tidorese, helped by the Dutch, he had been deposed by Pedro de Heredia, but the king of Spain had ordered to reinstate him to power because he was considered more reliable and faithful of the present king of Tidore. For fear of rebellions, reinforcements were promptly sent to the islands, on November 5, 1639, the “soccorro” fleet left for the Moluccas, commanded by Captain Andres de Urbina the fleet was well stocked with men and provisions, the patacco “San Nicolas” was also sent the chief pilot was Captain Machado, moreover it seems that several galleys were sent.¹⁵

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 (AGI: “Informaciones, Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola, 1649” Filipinas,61,N.26 f. a12, h9)

2 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 pp. 128-130)

3 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 p. 125)

4 (“Memorial Grau y Montfalcon, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 pp. 139)

5 (“Letter by Corcuera to Felipe IV, 20 August 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 p. 348)

6 They are 6 according to (“Letter by Corcuera to Felipe IV, 20 August 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 p. 348)

7 Nei “Meritos: Pedro Fernández del Rio, 05-1647”, si parla di tre navi olandesi.

8 In command of the old galley was Don Agustin de Cepada.

9 (Pimpín, T. “Sucesos felices que por mar y tierra ha dado N.tro Señor a las armas Españolas en las Islas Filipinas contra el Mindanao y en las de Terrenate, contra los Holandeses por fin del año de 1636 y principio del de 1637” Published in: Rentana, W. E. “Archivo del bibliófilo filipino” Tomo IV pp. 134-136) (“Events in Filipinas, 1636-1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 pp. 312-314) (“Letter from Corcuera to Felipe IV, August 20, 1637” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 27 p. 348) (“Events in Filipinas, 1637-1638” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 29 p. 32, 36) (AGI: “Meritos: Pedro Fernández del Rio, 05-1647” Indiferente,113,N.50)

10 (“Events in Filipinas, 1638-1639” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 29 pp. 150-152, 158) (“Meritos: Pedro Fernández del Rio, 05-1647” A.G.I. Indiferente, 113, N.50)

11 (“Events in Filipinas, 1638-1639” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 29 p. 158)

12 (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 309 e nota 90)

13 (“Events in Filipinas, agosto 1639- agosto 1640” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 29 pp. 195-196)

14 (“Letter from Philip IV to Corcuera, August 4, 1643” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 166)

15 (“Events in Filipinas, agosto 1639- agosto 1640” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 29 pp. 198-201)

The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands

Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE LAST SPANISH GOVERNORS OF TERNATE, 1640-1663

D. FRANCISCO SUÁREZ DE FIGUEROA Y ACEVEDO, January 1640-1642

The new governor D. Francisco Suarez de Figueroa had left Spain for the Philippines in 1608 together with D. Juan de Silva, with whom he had family ties and had served the king in Ternate during the rule of D. Gerónimo de Silva.¹ He succeeded Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola on January 23, 1640.²

In 1640 the cost that the crown of Spain bears for the maintenance of the Moluccas is more than 230,000 pesos a year, divided as follows: 97,128 pesos for wages, 30,000 pesos for supplies, 4,000 pesos for religious and real treasury administrators and finally 100,000 pesos for the fleet.³

During the government of D. Francisco Suárez de Figueroa requests for religious arrived from the island of Celebes, according to what the Franciscan friar Juan Iranzo⁴ (Iranço) writes from Manados, many inhabitants of the island (he gives the figure of 100,000 people) would like to become Christians. By friar Iranço, 13 or 14 chiefs of Manados had been sent to Ternate to educate them in the Catholic religion, they were baptized in the convent of San Antonio. The inhabitants of Manados are described as extremely industrious, of robust constitution and fair complexion, while the island is fertile and rice and other cereals grow there in abundance. Following this request, the governor of the Moluccas sent a champan with 12 Spaniards and a religious (friar Lorenzo Garraldo or Garalda⁵) to help friar Iranço, the leaders of Manados previously baptized in Ternate also embarked on this boat.⁶

The relief of 1640 had as captain general of the ships and the galley, the old governor, D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola.⁷ With the same assistance also arrived Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, the newly appointed adjutant of the sergeant major of Ternate.⁸

On January 1, 1641, the “socorro” fleet sent from Manila to Ternate stopped in the garrison of Zamboanga (island of Mindanao), it consisted of a galley, two “pataches” and eight “champanes”.⁹ Relief troops to the Moluccas are usually sent from Manila during November-December, as that is when the northerly winds blow. The reverse journey (Moluccas-Manila) is instead carried out starting from mid-May, when the winds blow from the south.¹⁰

In 1641, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, serving as adjutant to the sergeant major, having captured a Spanish “parao” between the fort of Sancta Lucia and the “Rrio Grande” by the Dutch and Ternatese, was sent, by order of Captain Don Francisco del Castello Caueza de Baca (who was superior head of the galleys), in pursuit of the enemies with 15 Spaniards and as many “merdicas”, an armed confrontation ensued where the Dutch were put to flight and were forced to retreat to their Malayo force.¹¹

In 1642 some villages (called Meados) of the kingdom of Manados rose up against the Spanish, apparently due to the behavior of some Spanish traders who were there to buy supplies. The Franciscans who had a mission there also paid the price for this upheaval. Friar Lorenzo Garraldo (Garalda) was killed after 7 days of punishment, on February 13, 1642, together with some of the Spanish traders, by the islanders at the instigation of the village sorcerers, while the other Spaniards together with friar Juan Yranzo managed to escape.¹²

D. PEDRO FERNÁDEZ DEL RIO (which does the functions), 1642-1643

During 1642 the usual relief fleet was sent from the Philippines to Ternate, it consisted of a galleon (San Juan Bautista) and a patacco, in command of the expedition was Pedro Fernández del Rio, general of the “socorro”. The Dutch who were waiting for Spanish help to attack them were repulsed, thanks to the excellent conduct of the commander of the Spanish ships, Fernández del Rio, and were forced to retreat to their fortress of Malayo. The two Spanish boats with their cargo arrived safely in the port of Ternate. The commander of the expedition, Pedro Fernández del Rio, was shortly after appointed by the governor of the Philippines governor of the Moluccas, the old governor, D. Francisco Suárez de Figueroa, was placed under arrest.

Governor Pedro Fernandez del Rio gave Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta the task of defending the fortifications of Ternate. During a Dutch attack on two “caracoas” of the king of Tidore who were loading goods, Martín Sánchez repulsed the enemies with great promptness and speed, saving the two Tidorese boats.¹³

The brief period of government of del Rio, was punctuated by clashes with the Dutch and was a period of fervent renewal of the Spanish fortifications on the island of Ternate, in fact, under his government the fort of San Pedro was renovated, “retirada dela ciudad del Rossario de Therrenate puesto principal para su defensa”, the fort in question was the one designed at the time of Juan de Esquivel and located on a hill behind the city of Ternate. The “cavallero” of San Juan was finished with his “reuellin”, the powder magazine and the platform, this bulwark was the one that controlled the side of the walls towards the countryside (“que barre todo el lienzo que mira a la campania”). In addition, the wall on the eastern side was reinforced “que mira ala parte del enemigo” whose thickness was increased to 4 feet, on the same side the “cavallero” of Cachil Tule was also reinforced who controlled all this part of the wall and was also in defense of the indigenous settlement which was located outside the walls.

A galley was then built, the present one being old and dilapidated, it was the first built by the Spaniards in the Moluccas and was equipped with 14 “bancos”. Thanks to the presence of this new boat, the Spaniards were able to effectively face the Dutch, who up to that moment had carried out, with their light boat, several raids against the island of Tidore and also kept Ternate at gunpoint. With the new galley instead the Spaniards counterattacked managing to inflict some hard defeats on the Dutch: in a naval battle the Dutch light boat was captured which had previously done so much damage to the Spaniards, this clash took place near the Dutch fortress “a tiro de pieça de las fuerças del olandes” and 6 Dutch and 60 natives were killed or captured as well as all the artillery of the boat. Other boats were captured in other engagements where the Spanish captured 167 men. Following agreements with the Dutch, 57 Christians were released from Dutch prisons, including 18 Spaniards.

In that year, 14 Dutch ships and an important number of soldiers were in Ternate. The Dutch with about 800 soldiers attempted an attack against the Spanish, but thanks to the courage of the governor and some captains, the Spanish troops managed to face the superior Dutch troops forcing them to retreat to their fort. During his two years of government, del Rio maintained cordial relations with the King of Tidore and with his subjects, moreover he administered justice righteously maintaining peace and friendship between Spaniards and allies. After the arrival of his successor, Lorenzo de Olaso, Don Pedro Fernández del Rio remained in Ternate in command of a company of Spanish infantry.¹⁴

D. LORENZO DE OLASO ACHOTEGUI, 1643-1649 (?)

With the “soccorro” of 1643 with which the new “mestre de campo” Lorenzo de Olaso arrived in Ternate, many infantry soldiers also arrived to reinforce the defenses of the Spanish garrisons, constantly threatened by the Dutch. This became even more necessary after the news of the fall of Malacca to Dutch hands. A galleon, two galleys and a patacco were part of the “soccorro” of 1643. One of the galleys was en route to make an embassy to the king of Macazar (perhaps Manados) requesting iron, gunpowder and other war materials, but this vessel was shipwrecked and the occupants, who were all saved, embarked on the others ships. The expedition reached Ternate without problems, despite the presence of 4 Dutch ships, which, however, avoided attacking the Spanish convoy. After arriving in Ternate, the other galley was sent to Macazar (Manados) where the king promised to send the requested goods to Ternate soon. During this year the Dutch received no help from Holland, only two small boats came to the rescue of the Dutch in Ternate.¹⁵

Probably with this “soccorro” the Spanish Jesuit Fernando de Estrada also arrived in Ternate, he had left Manila in January 1643, his sending was the first attempt by the Spaniards to pass the jurisdiction of the Moluccas to the Jesuit province of the Philippines and take it away from that, Portuguese, from Malabar. The reasons are mainly to be found in Portugal’s rebellion against the Spanish crown. The Jesuit remained in Ternate for almost 2 years, he was then recalled in 1644 to Manila by the governor Diego Fajardo who re-established the Portuguese Jesuits in their place.¹⁶

In the same period, the Spaniards replaced the Portuguese vicar, Tomé Alvares, with Don Fabian de Santillana y Gabilanes on the orders of Corcuera, governor of the Philippines. Corcuera informs us that in those years six companies of Spanish soldiers, two companies of pampangos and one company of mardicas were present in the garrisons of the Moluccas.¹⁷

In 1643, Lope de Colindres, being a soldier in the company of the “mestre de campo” Don Lorenço de Olasso, embarked with him for Ternate, where he was in charge of the fort of San Lucas del Rumen. He returned to Manila with the fleet under sergeant major Palomino.¹⁸

In 1644 the composition of the Spanish troops stationed in the presidios of the Moluccas was as follows: one sergeant major, two adjutants, six companies of Spanish infantry with 44 officers and 560 soldiers; an artillery captain with 26 gunners; three “pampaga” infantry companies with 18 officers and 180 soldiers and 20 “mardicas”. While a Spanish infantry company made up of 7 officers, 100 soldiers and 8 artillerymen was embarked that year for Macasar (Manados ?).¹⁹ At the end of October 1644, reinforcements for Ternate were sent from Manila.²⁰

Ternate is also used as a place to exile unwanted people to the Philippines. Captain D. Diego de Inojosa Villavicencio, was exiled to Ternate by the chancellor of Governor Fajardo, D. Manuel Estacio Venegas, he managed to escape from the island in October 1647 by embarking on a Danish ship which was anchored in the Dutch port of Malayo, with this boat he reached Batavia, here on board a Dutch ship he reached Holland and then finally Madrid.²¹

D. PEDRO FERNÁDEZ DEL RIO (second term), 1649 (?)

In 1648, the King issued a “Real Provisión” granting the captain and sergeant major Pedro Fernández del Rio the title of “alcaide de la fortaleza de Terrenate y gobernador de la gente de Guerra de aquel presidio”, a title which had remained vacant due to of the death of the captain, Francisco Suárez de Figueroa y Acevedo.²²

This second government mandate which was entrusted to Pedro Fernández del Rio had a very short duration, according to Colin-Pastells he died twenty days after his arrival in Ternate.²³ However, other documents seem to indicate different things: D. Pedro Fernández del Rio was certainly in Ternate on 1 April 1649 and signed himself as governor.²⁴ On August 3, 1649 Pedro Fernandez del Rio was still governor of Ternate because he appointed Miguel de Guinea as captain of the ‘patron’ galley. He was no longer governor on April 14, 1650.²⁵

Some information on this short period of government is provided in the report on the merits of Captain Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta: Starting from 1649, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta served in Ternate with his company, later he was given the position of sergeant major. He was then sent by order of Governor Pedro Fernandez del Rio to the forts of San Lucas del Rumen and Chobo. Having received a request for help from the king of Tidore, Cachil Sayde, who had a village under Dutch and Ternatese attack, rescued him with Spanish troops, routing the enemies. Having then received news of new Dutch preparations for a more massive attack on Tidore, the governor Pedro Fernandez del Rio, unable (he was engaged in the fortification of Ternate) to intervene directly in aid of the king of Tidore, sent Martin Sanchez de la Cuesta to Tidore as head of the island and in charge of the main fortress of Tidore called Sanctiago de los Caualleros, of the “fuerte Principal” (of the Prince (?)) and that of Puli Cauallo.

In agreement with the king of Tidore it was decided to attack the Dutch in Malayo. The attack took place, with 60 Spanish soldiers, some “pampangos merdicas and siaos” and the king of Tidore with 100 Tidorese, and was directed towards the bastion of the fort of Malayo which the Dutch call “Punta Real” (the bastion on the southwest side of the fort). The Spanish had a small clash here with the defenders of the bastion who were forced to take refuge inside their fort. Then Captain Juan Ruston (?) came out of the fortress of Malayo with 124 Dutch musketeers, the king of Jilolo with 500 Ternatese, the ambassador of the king of Mindanao with 200 “moros” and the “sangaxe”, don Juan, governor of the ” pueblo de los merdicas” with 200 men. The ensuing battle was a great victory for the Spanish, who captured 94 Dutch including the Dutch captain, only 11 of the Dutch soldiers managed to escape (19 evidently died). Given the defeat, the Dutch governor sent other troops under the command of Captain Pablo Andrea, who however did not dare to attack the Spanish troops and remained under the protection of the walls of the fort of Malayo (probably this episode took place in 1650). The Spanish victory and the capture of such a large number of Dutch allowed the exchange of prisoners, both soldiers and sailors were ransomed and also two priests.²⁶

D. FRANCISCO DE ESTEYBAR (doing the functions), 1650 or 1652-1656

D. Francisco de Esteybar appears to have ruled Ternate between March 1650 and May 1656.²⁷ After the death of Fernández del Rio, the governor of the Philippines entrusted the interim government of Ternate to General Francisco de Esteybar.²⁸ Francisco de Esteybar appears to have taken office as governor of Ternate on March 10, 1650.²⁹ On June 4, 1650 Francisco de Esteybar is governor of Ternate.³⁰ Confirming that he governed Ternate in 1650 is also his declaration: ‘el año de seis y cinquenta que tomé posesion de este govierno’³¹

In 1651, having received (through the Dutch fleet arriving from Europe) the news of the peace between Spain and Holland, Martin Sanchez de la Cuesta was sent, by order of the governor of Ternate, to negotiate with the Dutch governor Gaspar Bandes Bogardes (Gaspar van den Bogaerde).

The Jesuit missions of the Moluccas and the college on the island of Ternate finally passed definitively under the jurisdiction of the province of the Philippines (Manila) in 1654, until then the missions had been subject to the Jesuit province of Malabar (Cochin). This step occurred during the government of Manrique de Lara. The cause that led to this decision was mainly the Portuguese rebellion which definitively detached Portugal from the Spanish dominions.³² In 1651 on the island of Sanguil (or Calonga), where the king, Don Juan Buntuan, was a Christian, the Franciscan friar Joseph de Truxillo was sent, here he with the help of another Franciscan Mateo Rodriguez built a church and converted many people.³³

From 1653 to May 1656, Jacob Hustaert was the Dutch governor of the Moluccas.³⁴ In 1654, in Cavite, the works for the construction of a galley were completed, its construction having been begun under the government of Governor Fajardo. This galley was sent to Ternate with the “socorro” of that year and remained there in defense of the garrison.³⁵

The “socorro” of 1654 was abundant, eight “champanes” were sent loaded with soldiers, ammunition, food and money. Six companies of Spanish infantry and three companies of “pampanga” infantry were present in the “presidios” of the Moluccas. The relief came at a crucial moment, in fact hostility had broken out between the Ternatese and the Tidorese, due to the help given by the king of Tidore, Cachil Sayde, to the rebels who had risen against the sultan of Ternate.

The Dutch, always allies of the sultan of Ternate, declared war on the king of Tidore. The Spanish governor Esteybar, on the other hand sided with the king of Tidore, there was a risk of war between the two parties despite the peace treaty of Westphalia. However, orders came from Manila from Governor Manrique de Lara to avoid a direct confrontation with the Dutch. According to orders, the king of Tidore was to immediately cease hostilities against the Ternatese and Dutch and stop helping the rebels. If the king did not comply with the orders, authorization was given to Esteybar to capture Cachil Sayde and detain him until he complied with the orders. The king was captured by the Spanish and agreed to suspend the war. However, the Dutch were not satisfied with the outcome and claimed the head of Cachil Sayde, but Esteybar refused to hand him over, leaving him free to govern Tidore.³⁶ Probably the rebellion of some of Ternatese was due to the succession struggles for the role of sultan of Ternate. The succession then took place with the help of the Dutch in 1655.³⁷

On December 7, 1654, Hernando López del Clavo was appointed captain of one of the two companies of the ‘socorro’ army for Ternate, an army which was led by Captain Hernando Ponze de Viruez (‘regidor’ of the city of Manila). With this assignment he went to Ternate, then on the return journey to Manila, on the order of the governor of Ternate, Francisco de Esteybar, he also stopped in the kingdom of Siao, where he brought two religious. On the next journey to the Philippines, on the shallow waters of an island (Cagayanes Island), he wrecked the ‘captain’ ship. But thanks to the prompt intervention of Hernando López del Clauo, most of the men and material embarked on the ‘captain’ ship were saved and loaded onto his boat.³⁸

In 1654, Manrique de Lara informs us that the Spanish had peace treaties with the kings of Macasar, Camboya, Tidore, Calonga, Manados, Mindanao, Jolo. According to Lara, the king of Macassar was the one who showed himself to be the friendliest to the Spaniards.³⁹

Also in this period the island of Ternate was often used as a place of confinement, for example the captain Onofrio Lombardo was sentenced in 1656 to 10 years of service as a soldier in Ternate.⁴⁰

THE JESUIT MISSIONS

In 1655 there are three Jesuits present in this mission, one is the rector of the mission who lives in the college of Ternate from where he deals with the spiritual care of the Spanish garrisons and the natives of the islands of Ternate and Tidore and the village of Mardicas. The other two missionaries take care of the many stations on the other islands. The main and also the oldest of all these missions is the one in the kingdom of Siao where there are currently about 4,000 Christians. From this mission Christianity spread to several other nearby islands, there are Christian villages on the island of Sanguil Baçar (also called Tabuco)⁴¹, in the islands of Talaos⁴² and in the island of Matheo (Manados or Macasar). In Calonga (or in the nearby village of Taruna), the capital of the island of Sanguil Baçar, a Franciscan friar lived and there was a garrison of Spaniards. In Manados, in the past there were about 4,000 Christians, but now due to the continuous attacks by the Dutch and Ternatese, the Christian religion has almost completely disappeared. All the old missions in the islands of Gilolo and Morotai have long since been abandoned, again due to the wars with the Dutch.⁴³

In a document signed by the Attorney General of the Philippines, Francisco Vello, it is stated that the King of Tidore is a Christian, but this is not true.⁴⁴ In 1655 the Jesuits have three priests in the missions of the Moluccas, they were Father Vicente Choua, Father Francisco Miedes and Father Diego de Esquivel.⁴⁵

DIEGO SARRIA LASCANO, 1656-1658

In the Seville archive there is a report of the merits of this governor, but it refers to the years preceding his government in Ternate. This report informs us that Sarria Lascano, after having served in the armies of Don Fradrique de Toledo and in the galleons of the “plata” was licensed to move to the Philippines and Ternate, where he served for nine years as a soldier, ensign, captain and admiral. He particularly distinguished himself in Mindanao and Jolo. In 1642, he was appointed admiral of the “socorro” who was to be sent to Ternate. Later he was appointed “alcaide y castellano” of Ylo Ylo, governor of Oton and “probeedor general” of the Ternate forces, with this position he rescued the garrisons of the Moluccas twice in two years.⁴⁶ The relief of 1656 was regularly sent, the same had happened in the previous two years.⁴⁷

D. FRANCISCO DE ESTEYBAR (second term), 1658-1659

In the report on merits, a small mention is also made of his second government in Ternate, in which it is noted that thanks to his experience and authority, he is quelling and settling the unrest and doubts that the Ternatese (“los moros de aquella tierra ”), allies of the Dutch, have introduced into the “Moors”, the Tidorese, allies of the King of Spain.⁴⁸

THE LAST SPANISH GOVERNORS

In the last years of the Spanish presence in the Moluccas there were several governors of which there is not much information. The first is D. Francisco de Atienza Ibáñez who will govern for an initial period between 1659 and 1660 (?) and then will also be the last Spanish governor of Ternate.

The others are Francisco Prado de Quiros who governed Ternate between 2 May 1660 and 15 December 1660.⁴⁹ Juan de Chaves, who will rule for a short time between 1660 and 1661, and finally D. Agustín de Cepeda Carnacedo, who will be governor of Ternate between 1661 and 1663.

In 1662, the dismantling of the garrisons of Zamboanga, Ternate, Calamianes and Iligan was decided. The aim was to concentrate the few troops available on the defense of Manila, which was feared to be attacked in a few months by a huge Chinese fleet.⁵⁰

THE ABANDONMENT OF THE MOLUCCAS

In December 1662, Governor of the Philippines Manrique de Lara wrote to General Francisco de Atienza Ibáñez, charged to be the last governor of Ternate, instructions for the dismantling of the Maluku garrisons. This decision was made out of fear of an attack on the Philippines from the island of Formosa by Koxinga’s troops. The feared attack never materialized.

However, the Spanish took care to make the Dutch and their allies understand and accept that the abandonment of the garrisons did not mean the abandonment of the possession rights that the Spanish had over the Moluccas, on the contrary the Spanish practically asked that the Dutch not only not occupy abandoned Spanish forts, but also prevent anyone else from doing so.⁵¹

On 25 March 1663 the new and last Spanish governor arrived in Ternate; he had the task of making the Spanish garrisons withdraw from the islands, dismantling the forts and negotiating with the Dutch the rights which, despite the abandonment and dismantling of the Ternate and Tidore, the Spaniards reserved to keep on the Moluccas islands. The Spanish fleet, this time, consisted of 14 empty junks.⁵²

In accordance with the orders of Manrique de Lara, the dismantling of the Spanish forts had to follow a precise criterion which was to transport all the material (ammunition, artillery, etc.) removed from the dismantled forts “alas fuerzas del Rumen”⁵³ on the island of Tidore, which was to remain the last place to be demolished, because it was here that was the most important and safest port in the hands of the Spaniards. All the Spanish fortifications of Ternate and Tidore were to be, according to Manrique de Lara’s intentions, completely demolished and then set on fire. All the work had to be completed within the monsoon period “que no se pase la monson de la buelta”.⁵⁴

In the “certificación” written by the governor Francisco de Atienza Ibáñez in Manila and dated 10 December 1666, the dismantling works of the Spanish fortifications and the destruction of the buildings in the city of Ternate are described. Were demolished, the bastions San Felipe, San Xpoual (= San Cristoval), Santiago, San Agustin (most likely it is the name of the old bastion of Cachil Tulo), San Juan, San Lorenzo, Sant Pedro “retirada della” (i.e. the fort built on a hill overlooking the city) and the “cube” of Nuestra Señora. Baluarte Don Xil (Gil) and Fort San Francisco Calomata were also demolished. While the houses, churches and convents of the city of Ternate were set on fire.⁵⁵

On May 29, 1663, a last Spanish delegation was sent to the Dutch governor Van Voort. The mission was headed by the Jesuit Diego de Esquivel, with him were the insign Juan Garcia, the captains Francisco Sanchez and Nicolas Rodriguez and the adjutant Francisco de Gayeta. They were received on the Dutch side by the major factor and commissioner Nicolant, the fiscal Croon, the factor Jacobus, the secretary of justice and the preacher Jon Sabellius. The negotiations were conducted in the Latin language.

The Spaniards reaffirmed their rights on the dismantled garrisons, affirmed that the rights of the King of Spain remained unchanged even if he did not garrison his forts with troops, furthermore they affirmed that the Ternatese could not claim rights on the Spanish garrisons because they had been conquered during the war and they were confirmed at the making of the peace by the treaty of Munster. Furthermore, the rights of “dominion” allowed him to do what the King wanted with his own possessions, even destroying them, without however losing the right of ownership.

The Dutch replied asking if in case of occupation by the sultan of Ternate they had to defend the possessions of the King of Spain with their own weapons, the Spaniards said that the King of Spain had his own army and with this he would have asserted his rights on anyone who trampled on them, without thereby being accused of breaking the peace. The Dutch then objected that destroying and completely demolishing their palaces and forts connoted the intention of the Spanish never to return to occupy these places, but the Spanish replied that instead this was the “mayor accion de dominio que podia hacer el Rey nuestro señor”. At the end of the talks, the Dutch decided to defer to the decisions of Batavia, so they did not endorse the Spanish requests.⁵⁶

From the correspondence between Atienza and the Dutch governor of Ternate, Antonio Van Voort, it is clear that the Spaniards abandoned the city of Ternate on May 29, 1663, moving to Rume from where they wrote several letters dated May 30, 1663. Therefore it seems plausible that among the last day of May and the first days of June 1663, the last Spanish troops left the island of Tidore. It was the last episode of a relationship that began 142 years earlier with the arrival in Tidore of Magellan’s expedition on November 8, 1521.⁵⁷

A few days after the Spanish had left Ternate, on June 11, 1663, the Dutch commander of Fort Malayo and the Ternate sultan Mandarsaha (Manlarsaha, Mandar Shah), visited the remains of the Spanish city, they found a ghost town, where the walls had been demolished, houses and monasteries both in the castle and in the Mardijkers quarter had been set on fire. Fort San Pedro had also been partially destroyed although in the opinion of the Dutch it could be repaired.⁵⁸

Soon after the Spanish departure, the king of Tidore occupied the forts on his own island which the Spanish had abandoned and attempted to destroy. A contingent of 40-50 of the king’s soldiers occupied the fort of Rum (Romi) at a time when the Spanish were leaving. The king of Tidore, not content with having occupied the Spanish forts of his island, also had designs on the castle of Gammelamme, by virtue of the fact that his ancestors had collaborated, in 1606, together with the Spanish in the conquest of the fort and for this reason he felt right to occupy the fort.⁵⁹ On 18 June at the invitation of the king of Tidore, the Dutch commander visited the Spanish fort of Rum (Romy) together with the king, finding it in excellent condition, only the staircase and the balconies of the upper fort had been destroyed, some buildings had been filled with wood by the Spaniards with the clear intention of burning everything before leaving, but something or someone (the Tidorese) had prevented them from completing their plans. According to the Dutch report the fort of Rum (Romy) was formed by a fortification at beach level called “the platform” which continued upwards in a triangular shape, completing this structure were three small redoubts. Even the upper fort was in good condition and kept its walls intact, on the side facing the sea there was also an iron cannon.⁶⁰

The fort of Tahoela, was donated by the Dutch, after the Spanish had abandoned it, to the Sultan of Tidore, here he established his residence, in the fort the Dutch maintained a guardhouse of 8-10 soldiers.⁶¹ According to Pastells, Tahula (“la fuerza grande de esta isla”) was occupied by Golofino to whom the Dutch gave 16 soldiers as a guardhouse. The other garrisons were further destroyed by the Dutch who used much of the stone to improve the fortifications of Malayo.⁶²

According to a Dutch report from 1707, after the departure of the Spanish the King of Tidore accepted the Dutch request and the promise of 300 Rs.s to demolish the forts of Tahoele, Romij and Tiobbe. But the forts were not completely dismantled, upon the request of the king, which was approved by the company on January 19, 1666, the Tahoele fort was kept as a royal residence. Furthermore it was ordered by the company not to proceed with the destruction of the forts of Romij and Tjobbe but to leave their walls half the height of a man and to give the king a lower sum (200 rs.s) than the 300 Rs .s promises. Tjobbe Fort was where the King’s European Guard was stationed in 1707, and was not kept as a fortress. While the Tahoele fort was still fairly well preserved having been repaired by the recently deceased king Hamza Faharoedin.⁶³

There is an interesting correspondence on the Moluccas in the General de Indias archive in Seville, born from a request made by an envoy of three sultans of the Moluccas (Ternate, Tidore (Taduri) and Bachian) to return under Spanish protection. The envoy of the sultans arrived in Zamboanga probably in 1778. The envoy of the sultans brought with him a letter from the sultans of Taduri (Tidore) and Bachan (dated August 1778), as well as a bottle of water from the Taroula spring and a sack of earth of the ancient fort of the Spaniards. From the fact that the two sultans of Tidore and Bachan wrote the paper, it seems that in fact only these two sultans were the architects of this initiative.⁶⁴

THE SPANIARDS IN THE ISLAND OF SIAU

In 1671, a small Spanish garrison (a commander with 14 soldiers) was sent to the island of Siau, for the protection of the king of the island, Francisco Xavier Batahi. In 1677 when the Dutch conquered the island, the Spanish garrison was taken prisoner and with them three Jesuits were captured, the friars Cebreros, Español and Turcotti, both the soldiers and the friars were first transported to Ternate and then to Manila.

Shortly before the Dutch conquest of the island, Father Manuel Español wrote (September 1, 1677) an interesting letter to the governor of the Philippines, informing him of the need to improve the defenses of the fort and to increase the number of soldiers in the garrison. In March 1677 Caracoas had arrived in Siau with a letter from the governor in which he expressed his intention to increase Spain’s reputation by improving the defenses of the island’s fort, but his good intentions had been thwarted by a “Real Cedula” in which requested the reduction of the expenses of the garrison.

Father Español advised the governor of a way to increase the number of soldiers in the garrison without increasing the management costs of the garrison, his advice is to place an ensign at the head of the garrison (as was done before in Caurima or Tarruna)⁶⁵ or a sergeant major. In this way, with the money saved for the captain’s pay, 4 Spanish soldiers could be added to the small garrison of 8 Spanish soldiers at the present time, as well as adding 8 Pampangos soldiers to the 4 present, so that the present garrison could reach the number of 25 men including the commander without affecting the total expenditure. Español judged, that with this arrangement and with three artillery pieces the garrison could deal decently with any problems.

Español then expressed his fears for a supposed attack by the inhabitants of Ternate, who apparently wanted to take revenge for an insult received from the kings of Siao and Tabuca. Furthermore, the king of Tabuca, cachil Gadma (King of Tabuca, Tagolanda and Talaos), had asked for protection from the Spaniards, promising to convert to Christianity together with his subjects. Español already anticipated the possibility of converting thousands of people because the kingdom of Tabuca controlled a good part of the northern area of the island of Celebes. He even came to envisage a move of the garrison to Tabuca “por ser mexor tierra y donde los españoles estarian mas contentos”.

The work of the Jesuits, in Siao and in the neighboring islands, had however already borne various fruits, in fact about 700 people had been converted in the village of Caiuhice (Kauhise, Siao), another 500 had been baptized in Cauripa (kingdom located on the island of Celebes) and finally another 200 Christians were in Talaos on the island of Cabisua.

Español’s fears about a Ternatese attack on the small outpost materialized in November of the same year, when a fleet of Dutch and Ternatese boats conquered the small Spanish garrison. This event ended the Spanish presence in the Maluku Islands.⁶⁶

THE MARDICAS

The inhabitants of the Spanish city of Ternate, upon abandoning the Spanish garrisons in the Moluccas, moved to the Philippines. These people were known as Márdicas (Márdikas). The “mardicas” (hombres de mar), who lived in the Spanish city of Ternate, and who had always been very loyal to the Spaniards, moved to Manila, where they also transferred the sacred and venerated image of the “Santo Niño de Ternate”. Initially it seems that they settled near the walls of Manila, in a neighborhood called Bagumbayan (=Pueblo Nuevo, (Ermita) where Luneta park is today). After the British invasion of 1762, to improve the defenses of Manila, it was decided to clear the space around the wall, and this involved the evacuation of the village of Bagumbayan (Ermita). The population was moved to a new village in the province of Cavite in Maragondon bar, where they founded the town of Ternate.⁶⁷

The Mardicas were the inhabitants of the Spanish garrisons of the Moluccas who followed the Spanish at the time of the abandonment of the islands in 1663. They, according to La Concepción⁶⁸ they spoke three languages: Spanish, Tagálog and their own dialect. They were fervent Christians and faithful devotees of St. Francis Xavier. They have kept their customs and their dialect.

INDEX

1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas
2: The conquest of Ternate
3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 1609
4: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 1610
5: The government of Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca (who performs the duties), February 1610-March 1612
6: The government of D. Jerónimo de Silva, March 1612-April 1617
7: The government of Lucas de Vergara (Bergara) Gabiria (second term), April 1617-February 1620
8: The government of D. Luis de Bracamonte (who performs the functions), February 1620-1623
9: The government of Pedro de Heredia, 1623-1636
10: The government of D. Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola (who performs the functions), March (?) 1636-January 1640
11: The last Spanish governors of the Moluccas
12: Bibliography

NOTES:

1 (Pérez, pp. 631-632)

2 (AGI: “Informaciones, Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola, 1649” Filipinas,61,N.26 foglio a12)

3 (“Commerce between the Filipinas and Nueva España” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 30 p. 47)

4 Friar Irazo will stay in the Moluccas and Manados for six years from 1639 to 1645. (“News from Filipinas, 1640-1642” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 122 nota 28)

5 He had arrived in Ternate in 1638 and had lived here for some years in the Franciscan convent. (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 308 nota 88)

6 (“News from Filipinas, 1640-1642” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 122-123) (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 308)

7 (AGI: “Meritos: Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola, 29-12-1655” Indiferente,116,N.48) (AGI: “Informaciones, Pedro Muñoz de Carmona y Mendiola, 1649” Filipinas,61,N.26)

8 (In: “Confirmación de encomienda de Caraga, etc, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, [f] 1659-06-19” AGI FILIPINAS,51,N.1 fogli 49, 56-60, 64-68)

9 (Magisa, Raimundo “Succeso raro de tres volcanes” Imp. de la Compañia de Jesús, 1641, Madrid, Spain. Stampato in Rentana, W. E. “Aparato bibliográfico de la Historia General de Filipinas” vol. I p. 117)

10 (“Reforms needed in Filipinas” in Blair vol. 19 pp. 33-34)

11 (In: “Confirmación de encomienda de Caraga, etc, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, [f] 1659-06-19” AGI FILIPINAS,51,N.1 fogli 49, 56-60, 64-68)

12 (“Early Franciscan Missions” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 308 and note 88)

13 (“Confirmación de encomienda de Caraga, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Caraga, Surigao y Sidarga en Cebu a Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta. Resuelto, [f] 19-06-1659” Filipinas,51,N.1)

14 (“Meritos: Pedro Fernández del Rio, 05-1647” A.G.I. Indiferente, 113, N.50)

15 (“Events in the Filipinas, 1643-1644” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 177 e 182)

16 (Doc. Mal. III p. 38*) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evengelica” vol. III, p. 805 nota n°1)

17 (Doc. Mal. III p. 10*) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evengelica” vol. III, p. 806 nota n°1)

18 (“Confirmación de encomienda de Tulaque. Expediente de confirmación de la encomienda de Tulaque en Cagayan a Lope de Colindres. Resuelto, [f] 24-04-1649” AGI: Filipinas,50,N.2)

19 (Pérez p. 641 nota n°1 che fa riferimento alla relazione di D. Diego Fajardo sullo stato delle isole Filippine nel 1644. A. G. I. 67, 6, 22) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 810 nota n°1)

20 (“Affairs in Filipinas, 1644-1647” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 35 p. 215)

21 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 538 nota n°1)

22 (AGI “Nombramiento de alcaide de Terrenate a Fernández del Río, 20-05-1648” Filipinas,347,L.3,F.195bisr-199v)

23 (“Carta de Diego Fajardo sobre corto socorro, 20-07-1652” AGI: Filipinas,9,R.1,N.16) (“Confirmación de encomienda de Abucay, etc Francisco de Esteybar [c] 24-10-1666” AGI: Filipinas,52,N.4) (“Confirmación de encomienda de Abucay, etc Francisco de Esteybar [c] 1661-12-17” AGI: Filipinas,51,N.14 foglio 104)

24 “Confirmación de encomienda de Binalatonga, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Binalatonga, Bolonguey y Telban en Pangasinan a Miguel de Guinea. Resuelto, [f] 1655-12-09” FILIPINAS,50,N.52 fogli 10-11. Pedro Fernandes del Rio (Terrenate, 1 aprile 1649)

25 “Confirmación de encomienda de Binalatonga, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Binalatonga, Bolonguey y Telban en Pangasinan a Miguel de Guinea. Resuelto, [f] 1655-12-09” FILIPINAS,50,N.52 foglio 13. Service certificate signed by Francisco de Paz (Terrenate, 14 april 1650)

26 (In: “Confirmación de encomienda de Caraga, etc, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, [f] 1659-06-19” AGI Filipinas,51,N.1 fogli 49, 56-60, 64-68)

27 This according: “Confirmación de encomienda de Abucay, etc Francisco de Esteybar [c] 24-10-1666” AGI: Filipinas,52,N.4. Sembra confermare il 1650 anche: “Confirmación de encomienda de Caraga, etc, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, [f] 1659-06-19” AGI FILIPINAS,51,N.1 foglio 11

28 (AGI “Carta de Diego Fajardo sobre corto socorro, 20-07-1652” Filipinas,9,R.1,N.16)

29 Accirding: “Confirmación de encomienda de Abucay, etc Francisco de Esteybar [c] 24-10-1666” AGI: Filipinas,52,N.4 Sembra confermare il 1650 anche: “Confirmación de encomienda de Caraga, etc, Martín Sánchez de la Cuesta, [f] 1659-06-19” AGI FILIPINAS,51,N.1 foglio 11

30 “Confirmación de encomienda de Binalatonga, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Binalatonga, Bolonguey y Telban en Pangasinan a Miguel de Guinea. Resuelto, [f] 1655-12-09” FILIPINAS,50,N.52 foglio 14. Biglietto firmato da Francisco de Estybar (Terrenate, 4 giugno 1650)

31 “Confirmación de encomienda de Siniloan, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Siniloan y Mabitac en La Laguna de Bay a Juan Martínez de Arce. Resuelto. [f] 18-01-1687” FILIPINAS,55,N.14 blocco 2 foglio 39

32 (Doc. Mal. III p. 11*)(Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 805)

33 (“Description of Filipinas” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 36 pp. 196-197)

34 (Generale Missiven II p. 488 nota 2)

35 (Prieto Lucena “Filipinas durante el gobierno de Manrique de Lara, 1653-1663” p. 40)

36 (Prieto Lucena “Filipinas durante el gobierno de Manrique de Lara, 1653-1663” pp. 102-107)

37 Prieto Lucena cita una lettera di “Manrique de Lara al Rey, 19 luglio 1654” AGI, Filipinas, 285)

38 (“Confirmación de encomienda de Pata, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de Pata y Masi en Cagayan a Hernando López del Clavo. Resuelto, [f] 1667-11-10” FILIPINAS,53,N.9 fogli 13-23, 43-45, 52-68, 78-80, 83-89, 95-96, 103-105, 108-109.)

39 (Prieto Lucena “Filipinas durante el gobierno de Manrique de Lara, 1653-1663” pp. 100-101)

40 (Prieto Lucena “Filipinas durante el gobierno de Manrique de Lara, 1653-1663” p. 47)

41 The island of Sanguil Baçar had four main “kingdoms”: Siao, Maganitos, Tabucan and Calonga. The kingdom of Calonga has two Christian villages Calonga and Tarruma, here the Spanish had a garrison with 10 or 12 Spanish soldiers, who were stationed here to defend the two Christian villages against attacks by the Muslim inhabitants of the same island. The Spanish garrison was then withdrawn. One of the villages, that of Calonga, which is governed by the father-in-law of the king of Siao, still remains Catholic (there are about 800 Christians) and faithful to Spain and is regularly visited by the Jesuits who reside in the Siao mission, and a friar also resides there Franciscan. The other village, that of Taruma, however, is under the control of the Dutch. in this village there are now some Dutch people and a Protestant pastor. (“Jesuit missions in 1656” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 28 nota 46 pp. 100-101 nel quale è citata la testimonianza dell’Auditor Francisco de Montemayor y Mansilla)

42These appear to be four islands near Sangil and Siao. The head of the islands is Christian, as are about 800 local families. (“Jesuit missions in 1656” In: Blair, E. H. and Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 28 note 47 p. 101 in which the testimony of Auditor Francisco de Montemayor y Mansilla is quoted)

43 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 803-817) (“Jesuit missions in 1656” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 28 pp. 99-102)

44 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 805)

45 (“Jesuit Missions in 1655” In: Blair, E. H. e Robertson, J. A. “The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898” vol. 36 p. 58)

46 (AGI “Meritos: Diego Sarria y Lazcano. Relación de Méritos y servicios del almirante Diego Sarria y Lazcano, residente en las islas Filipinas. Observaciones: Añadido hasta 1650” 01-1647 Indiferente,113,N.37)

47 (AGI “Carta de la Audiencia sobre pérdidas de naos, Tunquín…” 15-07-1656 Filipinas,22,R.8,N.36)

48 (AGI “Meritos: Francisco Esteybar, 15-07-1659” Indiferente,118,N.24)

49 “Confirmación de encomienda de San Jacinto, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de San Jacinto y Magaldan en Pangasinan a Francisco Prado de Quirós. Resuelto. [f] 1666-12-23” FILIPINAS,52,N.14 blocco 1 foglio 70

50 (Prieto Lucena “Filipinas durante el gobierno de Manrique de Lara, 1653-1663” pp. 133-134)

51 (Doc. 26 890 “Copia de la carta que Don Saluniano Manrique de Lara escribió al gobernador de Terrenate… cuando se resolvió a retirar las fuerzas que guarnecian aquel presidio para resistir al tirano Cogsenga dándole instrucciones sobre las diligencias que habia de hacer con el gobernador holandés del Malayo para garantizar la propriedad y dominio que a la sazón, tenia S. M. en aquelles puertos y plazas. Se acompaña copia de las diligencias hechas a este fin por el general Don Francisco de Atienza Ibañez, a quien se cometió la retirada, y una relación del estado en que quedó el dicho presidio.” 9-12-1662 (Arch. Gen. De Indias, Filipinas, 9, R.2, N.34) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 811 nota n°1)

52 (Dagh-Register 1663 pp. 240-241)

53 This hint, later confirmed by some Dutch reports, indicates the presence of more forts at Rume, it seems in fact that there was a fort up on the hill and another fort down near the beach.

54 (A.G.I. “Manrique de Lara al gobernador de las fuerzas de Terrenate, 9-12-1662” Filipinas,9,R.2,N.34)

55 (AGI “Carta de Manrique de Lara sobre asuntos de guerra” “Traslado de carta de 9 de diciembre de 1662 de Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, al gobernador de las fuerzas de Terrenate, comunicándole la decisión de retirar las fuerzas que guarnecían aquel presidio para resistir a Cogsenia, tirano de las costas del reino de la china y dándole instrucciones sobre las diligencias que había de hacer con el gobernador holandés de Malayo para garantizar la propiedad y dominio español sobre esos puertos y plazas; diligencias hechas por el general Francisco de Atienza Ibañez, a quien se acometió la retirada, y relación del estado en que quedó dicho presidio. 1667, mayo, 6.” (Cat.20890) Filipinas,9,R.2,N.34)

56 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 811-812 nota n°1)

57 According to what Jacobs reports, on June 2, 1663, the Spanish abandoned the forts of the Moluccas, to concentrate all their forces on the defense of Manila. (Doc.Mal. III p. 2*)

58 (Van de Wall p. 259) (Dagh-Register 1663 pp. 531-532)

59 (Dagh-Register 1663 pp. 395-396)

60 (Dagh-Register 1663 pp. 531-532)

61 (Van de Wall p. 259; Doc. Mal. III pp. 660-661 Doc. n°215)

62 (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III p. 812 note n°1)

63 (ARA: VOC 8076 Ternate 1707 p. 429-430)

64 The source of this data is the manuscript: (A.G.I. “Gobernador Filipinas sobre los tres sultanes de Terrenate” Estado, 45, N. 5)

65 Doc.Mal III p. 721 reports Tarruna, while Pastells “Labor..” reports Caurima

66 (Doc.Mal. III p. 2* & 18*-19*) (Colin-Pastells “Labor Evangelica” vol. III pp. 813-814 nota n°1 AGI 67-6-22)

67 (Montero y Vidal p. 327-328-329)

68 (Hist. de Philipinas, vii, p. 102) (“El ternateño de las Molucas” Revista Filipina primavera 2001, n°4)

69 Acted as governor for a few days between the departure of Jeronimo de Silva and the arrival of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria.(“Confirmación de encomienda de Masbate. Expediente de confirmación de la encomienda de la isla de Masbate en Ibalon (Albay) a Fernando [Hernando] Suárez. Resuelto, [f] 1623-11-22” FILIPINAS,47,N.65 blocco 2 foglio 19) (AGI: “Confirmación de encomienda de Filipinas. Juan Gutierrez Paramo. 10-03-1625” Filipinas,48,N.1)

70 According: “Confirmación de encomienda de Abucay, etc Francisco de Esteybar [c] 24-10-1666” AGI: Filipinas,52,N.4

71 “Confirmación de encomienda de San Jacinto, etc. Expediente de confirmación de las encomiendas de San Jacinto y Magaldan en Pangasinan a Francisco Prado de Quirós. Resuelto. [f] 1666-12-23” FILIPINAS,52,N.14 blocco 1 foglio 70