Part 20
Sixth conclusion: In the encomiendas where there are infidels who, through lack of adequate religious instruction, have not received baptism, taxes should not in the past nor shall they at present be collected in full, but according to the manner set down in the second clause.
Seventh conclusion: Although all the inhabitants may be Christians, if their religious instruction has been insufficient the encomenderos are obliged to deduct from the tributes all that should be expended for a sufficient number of ministers to impart the necessary instruction.
Eighth conclusion: In order that an encomienda may be said to possess sufficient and adequate religious instruction, the minister should not be burdened with the care of more souls than he can properly instruct and direct in spiritual matters, so that he can give to all those who are infidels suitable instruction in Christian doctrine--not merely so that they know it by rote, but also so that they may understand (so far as they are capable of this) the signification of the words, and the mysteries contained therein. Thus, too, he will be able to make each and every one of them understand all that is necessary for them to believe, and know, and do, in order to be good Christians. All this should be done before baptism is conferred upon them; and like efforts should be made that no one shall die without the sacrament. When the minister undertakes to baptize them, he must see that they know well what it is, and are prepared for it, and understand what they are receiving--namely, that they are dead to their past life, and are commencing a new one, and from that time forth are new men. As the inhabitants of many of these islands have received baptism without the aforesaid solicitude and preparation, many sacrileges have been committed; and, as a result, many and great misfortunes have ensued, which we can now clearly discern, and yet but poorly remedy.
In order that the Indians, after their conversion, may have adequate religious teaching, and be taught and instructed and guided in the conduct of their souls, a minister should not have the care of more Indians than he can know, visit, and minister to in such wise that all may understand and comprehend the doctrine. Then, if anyone is sick, the minister can know of it, and visit and console him in his sickness; and if the sick man be poor, the minister can give him what he may need, or shall find someone to do so, so that the sick man may not die without confession or extreme unction. To the living who are prepared for it, he can administer the eucharist, and can persuade everyone to prepare himself so that he can receive communion, and can labor with all earnestness in making known the great benefits which are contained in the most blessed sacrament, and how much is lost by those who do not partake thereof, and the obligation of all Christians to receive it. The minister can thus also personally care for the burial of the dead; and, in short, fulfil with solicitude and concern all the demands and obligations of his office as a priest, and in the care of souls. It is because the ministers in the Indias are burdened with so many souls, that we observe so little Christianity there, that so many die without the sacraments, and there are so many infidels to be converted.
Ninth conclusion: As soon as the Indians shall have become Christians the encomendero may with good conscience exact from them the tributes which are imposed and regulated by his Majesty or by persons commissioned by him; and the Indians are bound by conscience and justice to pay them, if they have adequate religious instruction and the encomendero fulfils the obligations imposed upon him by his acceptance of the encomienda.
Tenth conclusion: The encomenderos are under obligation to observe, exactly and faithfully, the instructions given them, that they may not transgress these in regard to the kind of tributes to be paid, or to the age or condition of those who must pay them--under pain of mortal sin, and of making restitution for what they shall have exacted in violation of law or beyond the amount assessed. The damages moreover, which are sustained by the natives in compelling them to pay tributes which they are not bound to pay, and the expenses incurred in making the collections, should be at the cost of the encomenderos and not that of the Indians.
Eleventh conclusion: It is grievous inhumanity and a sort of cruel tyranny to seize the chiefs and keep them prisoners until they pay the tribute of those who fail to do so; and it is a much greater wrong to afflict and torture them while in durance. He who shall make collections in this manner, or permit them to be thus made, is, aside from the mortal sin which he commits, bound to restore to the chiefs the tributes thus exacted from them; and would be most fittingly punished by being deprived of the encomienda of which, through his own wrong-doing, he has made himself unworthy.
Twelfth conclusion: Although the encomiendas are given to the encomenderos in return for their services to the king, our lord, the principal aim and object of his Majesty in giving them has not been, nor can it be, only that the Indians should pay tribute and render service to the encomenderos; but, on the contrary, that in return for the tributes which are paid them, the encomendero shall be obliged to provide the Indians with ministers to instruct and care for them, to defend and protect them, to see that they are not ill-treated, and to answer for them in all necessary matters. It therefore follows that the encomiendas are and should be instituted rather for the good of the Indians than for that of the encomenderos; and that the encomenderos cannot be termed, nor are they, the lords of the Indians, but their attorneys, tutors, and protectors.
Thirteenth conclusion: The tributes which the king, our lord, has imposed upon the Indians are not, nor can, nor should they be, all for his Majesty or for the encomenderos--to whom he allots them in order that from this fund may be taken all that is necessary to support the ministers of religious instruction, and for the embellishment of the churches and divine worship.
Fourteenth conclusion: The encomenderos who, to avoid or lessen expense, neglect to employ in their encomiendas all the ministers needed to accomplish and fulfil what has been set down in the eighth conclusion are in mortal sin, and cannot be absolved. Moreover, it is not enough to say that their encomiendas already have ministers; they must employ as many of these as are necessary to fulfil all the duties there enumerated, according to the number of souls contained in their encomiendas. And the said encomenderos are responsible for all the injuries and evils referred to in the said conclusion, if through their fault there are not ministers to do what should be done. The minister or ministers, moreover, are responsible if, when they have in their care so many Indians that they cannot properly minister to them, they shall be unwilling to receive or to look for other ministers to help them.
Fifteenth conclusion: The number of ministers required for each community cannot be readily determined, since there are not in all the encomiendas the same conditions existing; in some, the people live closer together than in others; and where they are more scattered, or more difficult of access, more ministers will be needed than when they live nearer one another. When they are thus near, and well disposed, five hundred Indians are a sufficient number for one conscientious minister to take in charge; and when we shall have an abundant number of ministers, they should be stationed in each encomienda, in that ratio.
Sixteenth conclusion: If through lack of ministers enough cannot be placed in each encomienda to give adequate instruction, such as can be obtained at the time should be employed, and the encomenderos shall remain under obligation to deduct from the tributes what has been stated in the seventh conclusion.
Seventeenth conclusion: All that the Indians have expended in erecting churches and houses for the ministers, and in their maintenance, through the unwillingness of the encomenderos to pay therefor, the latter are obliged to make good--the entire amount expended, for the maintenance of the ministers; and of that expended for churches and houses, their share.
Eighteenth conclusion: In order that, from this time forth, the encomenderos who do not maintain religious instruction may collect from their encomiendas the portion which is stated in the second conclusion, the following conditions shall be observed: (1) They shall endeavor, most assiduously and earnestly, to establish religious instruction in their encomiendas, that such establishment shall not be delayed; or, if it be not made, so that the lack cannot be imputed to their negligence and indifference. And, inasmuch as we have not here the requisite number of ministers, the encomenderos shall inform his Majesty how great is the lack, and supplicate him promptly to send ministers hither--offering, if it shall be necessary, to pay a part of the expenses to be incurred in sending them hither. (2) The encomenderos shall endeavor, personally or through the medium of persons skilled and competent, in whom may be placed entire confidence that they will deal with the Indians as God requires and the king commands, to defend the Indians and protect them against the injuries inflicted upon them. They shall strive to influence them, by good works and example, to accept the law of God, most carefully preparing them so that, when they have ministers of the Christian doctrine, they can be instructed. They shall not act as do some encomenderos (and most of them are of this sort) who visit their encomiendas not for the good of the Indians, but for their own profit; and who, through their presence, work more injury to the Indians by the many grievances which they occasion, and the bad example that they set, than the latter are advantaged in being thus pacified.
Nineteenth conclusion: It has been a very great error on the part of the encomenderos in these islands who do not maintain religious instruction to think that because they contribute a fourth part of the tributes they may collect and keep for themselves the remainder. This is based upon their misinterpretation of a decree of the king which states the portion which is to be appropriated from the tributes for the erection of churches and the support of the ministers (although this decree has already been annulled by others). This decree did not apply to the encomiendas which we here mention; for if the king himself cannot levy tributes, he could ill permit others to do so, excepting the encomiendas which we discussed in the ninth conclusion.
Twentieth conclusion: What has been already said in the preceding conclusions concerning the encomenderos likewise applies to the encomiendas which belong to the royal crown; for the king is under even greater obligation than are the encomenderos to provide his Indians with religious teaching; and to the same extent as they, he is bound to make restitution of all that has been unjustly collected. It follows from this that the officials of the royal exchequer, who are charged with the collection, of the tributes for the king, are obliged in conscience to observe and fulfil all that is stated in the preceding conclusions, and to make restitution of all the tributes, or such part of them as has been or shall be collected contrary to the tenor of the said conclusions. This obligation is all the greater for the governor than for the officials of the royal exchequer; since he, by reason of his office, is bound to care for all the natives of these islands, and not to permit them to be wronged, and to require satisfaction from anyone who may wrong them.
Twenty-first conclusion: Former governors were under obligation, as are those who rule both now and hereafter, to observe and fulfil, in the repartimientos which they assign or shall assign, the provisions contained in section 144 of the royal ordinances drawn up in Segovia in the year 73, the tenor of which is as follows: "When the country has been pacified, and its rulers and inhabitants have been reduced to obedience to us, the governor shall, with their consent, direct the partition of the lands among the colonists so that each of them shall be responsible for the Indians of his repartimiento, defend and protect them, and provide a minister who shall teach them to live in civilized ways, and shall do for them all else that encomenderos are bound to do for the Indians of their repartimientos." In the following section: "The Indians who shall be reduced to our obedience and allotted to the conquerors shall be persuaded, in recognition of universal seigniory and jurisdiction which we hold over the Indians, to assist us by the payment of a moderate tribute, from the fruits of the soil. It is our will that the tributes thus paid us be collected by the Spaniards to whom encomiendas shall be given, for which reason they fulfil the duties to which they are bound." What his Majesty commands in these two sections of the said ordinances conforms to both natural and divine law, both of which would be violated if even the king should contravene these ordinances. From this the governors will recognize the obligations under which they are to heed the attitude of the Indians whom they must allot in encomiendas, in order not to work against a law as just and necessary as this is.
Twenty-second conclusion: If in any case the governor allot an encomienda whose inhabitants shall not be in the frame of mind which the aforesaid law requires (a condition which must needs be very rare, and the result of causes so forcible that the king, upon consultation, would consider them of sufficient weight), in order that the governor may not be under obligation to make restitution of what shall be collected therefrom, he is bound to order such encomendero not to collect the tributes until he has, by his earnest endeavors and just treatment, brought the Indians to that disposition which, in the aforesaid two sections, his Majesty requires. In case the encomendero shall collect the tributes beforehand, the governor shall command him to make restitution; and if, for lack of such orders, the Indians shall suffer any wrong, the governor shall be responsible.
Twenty-third conclusion: The religious who are in the Indias are not under obligation to go to Spain to obtain other religious; and if they could avoid it they would do wrong in going on account of the great deficiency of ministers caused by such departures. But as the need of ministers is so great, and as they are not sent hither from Spain, those who go thither to procure them should be well rewarded for the great hardships that they undergo in bringing religious. His Majesty, moreover, and the members of his royal Council are under obligation to send back at once, and with suitable provision, those who in their service to God and the king, and for the welfare of these souls, have suffered such hardships.
Twenty-fourth conclusion: The king our lord and his royal Council of the Indias are bound to send to these islands so many ministers that they can give adequate instruction to all the natives therein, even if our religious do not go or send for others.
Twenty-fifth conclusion: His Majesty is bound to give orders and to make all possible efforts for the conversion of the infidels--not only those who recognize him and pay tribute, but those who are not under his sway and do not recognize him as their lord--so that they may all come into the knowledge of God and enter the bosom of the Church. Nor should this be accomplished in the manner hitherto employed employed--namely, by the perversion of all law, divine and human; by murders, robberies, captivities, conflagrations, and the depopulation of villages, estates, and houses. These wrongs are inflicted and perpetrated by those who, under pretext and in the name of preaching the gospel, entered the Indias, and have thus profaned the sacred name of God and made the holy gospel odious; and it is by them that our holy religion has been dishonored. But now that his Majesty knows what excesses have been committed in these islands, he should order that henceforth they shall cease, and that in the promulgation of the holy gospel the instructions and rules be observed which our Lord Jesus Christ ordained, and which His holy evangelical law directs and commands, and which the holy apostles and the apostolic men who came after them practiced and observed until our wretched times. Since the Spaniards entered the Indias, their excessive cupidity has devised new methods of preaching the gospel such as our Lord Jesus Christ never ordained, or His holy apostles knew; they are not permitted by the law of nature, nor do they agree with reason.
I shall send the proofs of these conclusions to your Lordship as soon as my occupations give me opportunity and leisure to prove them. At Manila, on the eighteenth of January, 1591.
_The Bishop of the Filipinas_
Letter from the Bishop of the Philipinas to the Governor
_Jesus_
In the document which I sent to your Lordship the other day was contained the substance of the opinion which I and other theologians of this bishopric hold concerning the collection [of tributes] from the encomiendas in these islands. I then stated that all the matter outlined therein would be sent later to your Lordship, proved in detail by convincing arguments. This, however, I have not been able to do, nor will it be possible as long as I must remain in this city; for day and night I am beset by necessary business. For this reason, I would be glad to be able to leave the city for a few days in order that I might conclude this matter--to which, since it is to be brought before his Majesty and his royal Council, persons who are to consider it with care, it would seem but right that I should also give most careful attention. And yet the truth of all that I say is so manifest that I would be put to little trouble if I were compelled to prove it; but considerable time would be necessary to put it in order. Having sent the aforesaid opinion to your Lordship, I ceased to concern myself about the matter, for it seemed to me that the document contained (although in outline) all that the truth required, and all that I had to say thereon. Accordingly, what remains for me to set down will not be an addition to the aforesaid, but merely an effort to explain it further, and to prove by arguments and authority what has already been stated in brief.
The dean informed me this morning that your Lordship was awaiting my opinion, and had suspended action until I should send it. I told him that, as far as I was concerned, I had already given it--that is to say, I had told your Lordship how I, as well as the other theologians, and right-thinking persons of this bishopric, felt in this matter. It is true, I did not send, as soon as I might, what remained to be said; but that, after all, matters but little for the truth of the affair. As I stated in the opinion which your Lordship has in your possession, all that I might afterward say is contained therein. However, in order that your Lordship may have a clearer statement of what I sent in that document, and of all else that I have to say, it has seemed expedient to send to your Lordship another paper, which accompanies this letter; therein are contained twenty-five conclusions, in which there is a summary of all that may be said in relation to the encomenderos of these islands, concerning both the collection of the tributes, and the obligations of the encomenderos towards the Indians of their encomiendas. Further, I have stated therein the duties of the governors in respect to their treatment of the Indians and the collection of tributes. I thought it best to state those conclusions in the same order as before, since I shall place them in that order in proving them.
I fully realize that for those who are accustomed to collect tributes with no other care for the Indians of their encomiendas than to obtain their money and then leave them to bear their afflictions, those conclusions must of necessity appear very severe; but, although the truth always hurts those whom it chastises, it should not on that account be suppressed--for, as St. Gregory says, one should not be hindered by any obstacle whatever from uttering the truth. The difficulty of this affair, moreover, does not consist in knowing what the truth is (for that is perfectly evident); but in the fact that unrighteous custom favors the powerful, and is hostile to those who, although they can do little, are unwilling to submit to what those who are in power choose to command. But the weak have given thanks to God, who has moved the heart of our most Christian king to order that a remedy be applied to so many and so great disorders and excesses, which up to the present time have been so contrary to natural law, and proved so great an impediment to religion and evangelical preaching, and so harmful and prejudicial to the inhabitants of these islands. Indeed, if we should hear, as God does, the complaints and outcries which continually arise in the hearts of these people, we would clearly see how much more cause there is for comforting them than for favoring those who have inflicted upon them such injury. And yet, if we but consider this carefully, we shall see that the Spaniards have done themselves still greater harm, since they have deprived the Indians merely of their property, but have incurred the condemnation of their own souls.
I, my Lord, do not wish, nor do I pretend, that the encomenderos should die of hunger, or that your Lordship should lack the means to fulfil your obligations; but I do maintain that we should have such care for what is right for the Spaniards as not to sicken more souls, or cause the gospel to be received in this land not gladly, but by force, and in such wise that it will not avail those who receive it.