[Endorsed: "+ Philipinas; February 8, 1587. To his sacred royal Catholic Majesty, the king, our lord, in his royal Council of the Indias. Let a duplicate be made of what is here related. Duplicated."]
Letter from Santiago de Vera to Felipe II
Last year, 86, I informed your Majesty of the condition of these islands, and the need of certain things for their betterment and conservation. Because of the great distance and remoteness of these islands, and the dangers that the letters must encounter until they reach your Majesty's hands, I enclose a duplicate of the last letter with this. For the same reason, I beseech that your Majesty will please to answer that letter, and order that what is most fitting for your service be provided--since the decision is delayed three years, at the very least, and, if left for other vessels, six; and this delay might cause great harm to this land, and bring about irreparable injuries.
In these Philipinas your Majesty has some Spanish settlements; and in this city of Manila, the capital, and in the others, are usually about seven hundred men, and sometimes as many as eight hundred. Although your Majesty has ordained that reënforcements should be sent annually from Nueva Spaña, that has not been done; and, even when soldiers are sent, there are but few. And as, after their arrival here, they have no pay or any means of gain, they suffer great hunger and privation, and cannot endure more than the dry season. As this country is so unhealthful, and the climate so trying, most of them die, while others desert; and it is not in our power to remedy the evil. I beseech your Majesty to be so good, if this kingdom--as being a gateway, so important for the gospel and the Christian religion, to so great and powerful kingdoms--is to be extended and increased, to order the viceroy of Nueva Spaña to send every year, conformably to his orders, the troops, supplies, and arms requested by the governor of these islands. Will your Majesty also command that food and sustenance be provided for the soldiers, for their sufferings are most pitiful.
In another letter, I have informed your Majesty of the deep affliction and pressing need in which I found this city, because all the houses and property had been destroyed by fire, not even the fortifications escaping. On account of the constant danger from fire, because the buildings were being constructed of wood and bamboo, thatched with straw, and because many quarries and much limestone had been discovered, which is brought down the river, I forbade that any houses should be built of other material than stone, since this could be done at a very slight expense. I ordered roof-tiles and bricks to be made; and now many substantial and handsome houses are being constructed of stone. The natives have assisted no little in this, for most of them have been set to work in the quarries. According to the promptness exercised by the citizens, I trust, God helping, that, in ten years, the city will be built entirely of stone, for from two stone houses here the number has increased to twenty large houses, besides a monastery; and a considerable number of buildings, very substantial and well planned, are at present in course of construction.