e of the said city and its
islands, and of their preservation; and the many incomparable wrongs
which would follow if the said city, the capital of the others, were
to become depopulated, ruined, or destroyed. It is very near to that,
because of the great and continual misfortunes and disasters which the
inhabitants of it have suffered and are suffering, caused by fires
that have destroyed almost the entire city and the property of the
said inhabitants, and the shipwreck and loss of many different vessels,
which have been miserably wrecked during the usual voyage from the said
city to Nueva Espana, with the destruction of the goods and wealth of
the said inhabitants which are carried in the ships. The effects from
so many and so large losses last and will last always; for those losses
have ruined and impoverished the inhabitants to a degree very different
from what one can imagine and explain. Consequently, if the generosity,
magnificence, and powerful hand of your Majesty do not protect it,
one can and must fear the very certain ruin and destruction of the
said city and of the other islands, which are under its government
and protection. From that [ruin] will follow great and intolerable
disadvantages and losses to the disservice of the royal crown, the
loss of that land and community, and (what is most reprehensible)
that of religion and the Catholic faith. Although this is so deeply
rooted in the said city and in the other islands, it would be lost,
if the Dutch gained possession of Manila, as they have done of
many neighboring islands and forts: namely, the island of Motiel;
that of Maquien, where the Dutch have two forts, named Talagora and
Mosaquia; the island of Ambueno, where the above-mentioned people
are fortified with considerable artillery and a Dutch population;
that of Xacadra, where the said Dutchmen have their capital and where
a captain-general and an Audiencia composed of four auditors reside,
and a settlement and population of one thousand Dutch inhabitants;
the islands of Xaba Major and Minor, and that of Mindanao. In some
of those islands they have established their factories, where they
collect what they pillage, and [carry on] their trade with the Chinese
and other nations. They gather in the said islands (whose products
consist of cloves, pepper, and nutmeg) an exceedingly great quantity
[of this produce], for which three ships are annually despatched
to Olanda, laden with more than three thousand