Cubu from
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and others. June first, 1565."]

A Letter from the Royal Officials of the Filipinas Accompanied by a
Memorandum of the Necessary Things to Be Sent to the Colony

Most powerful sirs:

As your highness [88] must have already learned through the despatch
carried as from us by the bachelor Mynes [Martinez], we set sail
for these Western Islands on the twentieth of November, MDLXIIII. In
compliance with your highness's command, we shall relate what occurs
in those islands with all faithfulness and diligence.

Since your highness will find an account of the voyage made by us,
in the relation given by the pilots who come with the fleet, we
shall say no more about it, except by way of reference. We shall
only relate the events which concern the service of God, our Lord,
the service of his majesty, and the increase which his royal exchequer
can derive from these regions.

We reached these Felipinas on the thirteenth of February, MD[L]XV. From
the day of our arrival here until now we have found not a friend or a
people who submits to his majesty. The reason for this was disclosed
to us after we had sailed about in this archipelago for two months,
namely, that the Portuguese who are in the Malucos came to an island
called Bohol, where we remained thirty-seven days, and there committed
the following mischief: after they had made peace with the natives and
given them to understand that they came to trade with them, they called
together one day as many natives as they could; and while the latter,
thinking themselves safe, were trading with them, the Portuguese gave a
war-signal and killed five hundred people, capturing six hundred more
whom they took to Maluco as slaves. This has caused us great anxiety,
because the natives, having received such cruel treatment, were so
frightened that whenever they saw a sail they ran to the mountains;
and, if any of them remained, it was to tell us that they desired none
of our friendship. Thus from the day we arrived until now, we have
suffered much hardship. We stopped at an island where Magallanes's
men were killed, and there the people received us somewhat peacefully;
but the following day, after they had placed in safety their wives and
children, they said that they did not wish to give us in exchange for
our goods anything of what we had asked, namely, their provisions. As
we have just said, they declared that not only they would not give us
an