d and town of Cubu in the Western Felipinas islands,
on the twenty-first of October, one thousand five hundred and
seventy, the very illustrious Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, governor and
captain-general for his Majesty the king, Don Felipe, our lord, and of
his troops and royal fleet for the exploration of the said islands,
in the presence of me, Fernando Riquel, chief government notary,
and of the undersigned witnesses: he declared that, whereas the day
before yesterday, the nineteenth of this present month, while he
was building some gabions on the river of Cubu, for the defense of
certain pieces of artillery, which he ordered to be mounted there,
Gonzalo Pereira, captain-general of the Portuguese fleet which is
anchored in this port, wrote to him that he must stop work on those
gabions which were being made on the said river. To please him, the
said governor, although the gabions were for the defense of the said
artillery, yesterday (the twentieth of the said month) ordered the
men to stop work. In the morning the said captain-general wrote to
him again, ordering him to demolish the said gabions, as it seemed
to him that they were being made as a menace to him and his fleet;
and that he should reply to him what he intended to do in this matter,
for, whether he answered or not, it will be held as if answered. At
the same time when the Portuguese sent the above letter, the said
governor had written to the said captain-general, and had sent to him
the factor Andres de Mirandaola, and myself, the said Fernando Riquel,
with an answer to a requisition which the said captain-general had sent
him the day before. Whereupon the captain-general again sent word that
he must order the said gabions to be destroyed; because, if they were
not destroyed between that time and the evening of that day, he would
take it for granted that war was declared. This said day, after dinner,
the aforesaid persons having returned with this message of reply to
the said governor, they told him how the galleys and small boats of
the Portuguese fleet were coming ashore. The said governor ordered the
master-of-camp, Martin de Goiti, to go to see what was wanted. The said
Portuguese--immediately, and before the expiration of the time-limit
set by the said captain-general, and without waiting for any response
to be given--those of the said galleys and _fustas_, began to batter
down the said gabions with a great number of guns; and they continued
this almost u