went under threat and against their will; and as the relatives of our
citizens died on this occasion, and their death was notoriously due
to the fault and mismanagement of the said Doctor, it could not fail
to arouse resentment against him. In the same way the said Doctor has
been opposed to them, so that all the men who went in the almiranta are
desirous of maintaining that they conquered, and not he; consequently
what with the ill-feeling of the said Doctor against some of them, and
of others against him, there are very few people in these islands who
are not concerned. Accordingly he is odious and suspected in his office
by all men; and no lawsuit is brought up in which he is not accused,
as is now happening in several cases. The general ill-feeling here
is no less owing to the fact that, whereas there are so many soldiers
here who have come to these regions with no declared object except to
serve your Majesty, and have done so since their arrival here, with
good success, the said Doctor Morga should bring this about under
the claim and pretext that there were no persons in these islands
to whom such a matter could be entrusted; and that by this means the
Spaniards had lost a victory so obviously theirs that it would without
doubt have been gained if it had been entrusted to the least famous
soldier here. We humbly beseech your Majesty in consideration of all
these matters pertaining to the said Doctor, that a remedy may be
applied to them, as is usually done by your Majesty, owing to your
holy zeal and righteous justice. May our Lord protect your Majesty
as we, your Majesty's vassals, desire. Manila, July 20, 1601.

_Don Gonzalo Ronquillo de Vallesteros_
_Francisco de las Missas_
_Francisco Mercado Dandrade_
_Hernando da_ [_illegible in MS._]
_Bernardino de Avila_
_Diego Melendez Florez_

By command of the city of Manila:

_Luys de Contreras_, clerk of the cabildo.

Letter from Morga to Felipe III

Sire:

During the month of March of the past year, 1600, there passed
through the Strait of Magallanes into the South Sea a squadron of
armed ships from Holland, belonging to Count Mauricio, having as
commander Oliver de el Nort, and as admiral Lamberto Biezman, with
a patent and instructions in Flemish and Castilian to make war with
fire and sword upon the Castilians and Portuguese whom they might
meet in these parts. After they had made a few captures of little
importance on the coast of Piru, t