ristianity. The Sultan
finally yielded, and avowed his intention to receive baptism. Among the
friars an animated discussion ensued as to the propriety of this act,
special opposition being raised by the Jesuits; but in the end the
Sultan, with a number of his suite, outwardly embraced the Christian
faith. The Sultan at his baptism received the name of Ferdinand I. of
Sulu; at the same time he was invested with the insignia and grade
of a Spanish Lieut.-General. Great ceremonies and magnificent feasts
followed this unprecedented incident. He was visited and congratulated
by all the _elite_ of the capital. By proclamation, the festivities
included four days' illumination, three days' procession of the
giants, [59] three days of bull-fighting, four nights of fireworks,
and three nights of comedy, to terminate with High Mass, a _Te Deum_,
and special sermon for the occasion.

In the meantime, the Sultan had requested the Governor to have the
Crown Prince, Princesses, and retainers escorted to Manila to learn
Spanish manners and customs, and on their arrival the Sultan and
his male and female suite numbered 60 persons. The Bishop-Governor
defrayed the cost of their maintenance out of his private purse
until after the baptism, and thenceforth the Government supported
them in Manila for two years. At length it was resolved, according to
appearances, to restore the Sultan Ferdinand I. to his throne. With
that idea, he and his retinue quitted Manila in the Spanish frigate
_San Fernando_, which was convoyed by another frigate and a galley,
until the _San Fernando_ fell in with bad weather off Mindoro Island,
and had to make the Port of Calapan. Thence he proceeded to Yloilo,
where he changed vessel and set sail for Zamboanga, but contrary winds
carried him to Dapitan (N.W. coast of Mindanao Is.), where he landed
and put off again in a small Visayan craft for Zamboanga, arriving
there on July 12, 1751. Thirteen days afterwards the _San Fernando_,
which had been repaired, reached Zamboanga also.

Before Ferdinand I. left Manila he had (at the instance of the Spanish
Gov.-General, Jose de Obando, 1750-54) addressed a letter to Sultan
Muhamad Amirubdin, of Mindanao. The original was written by Ferdinand
I. in Arabic; a version in Spanish was dictated by him, and both were
signed by him. These documents reached the Governor of Zamboanga by
the _San Fernando_, but he had the original in Arabic retranslated,
and found that it did not