“ 't? de di^ T “ ™ lanSuaS®> both as to structure, pronunciation and
7 ° ^ ows' at once, that there is no foundation for this hypothesis. A sample of
the manner m which it is supported may be given as an etymological curiosity The
name for a tribe, barangai, signifies, ¿so, a particular k t a d o fW b o a t a 'a n d is
W i i e theVmt settl10rS of. the hypothesis to have been because the first settlers arrived m a boat of this descriptionb. estBowute idt hoanp pthenes ttrhibaet
the word m question is native, and belongs neither to the Malay nor to any other
o f S « the Malay Archipelago. By arguments equally baseless, some
o ? r s ^ b4 dS d r ts’ some of Ckinese’ some °f ja *
were L 7 f a r rm 7 7 l t a t i ° a S ^ PMiPPmes, when first seen by the Spaniards,
aatt tthhee^ s^aPmAe ttfimmee, Jver y ffa r 7fro“m 7 b®e i•'ncgo tuemttepro rsaavryag Mesa, llaiykse amnadn Jya voafn tehsee ,A bmuetr tichaeny twriebrees
iscovered about the same time. They had cultivated c o r n e d f T t s “ o ^ te x tile
fabrics for clothing, were acquainted with malleable iron and with gold had a few
domestic animals for food and labour, and were in possession of a phonetic written
pebtvo AT l T i l “ ’ J esf P“ f ect. one than any of those of the Malayan Archi-
P® ^=°; civilisation of the Philippine islanders was undoubtedly
imparted to them by the nations of the Malayan Archipelago who
to d e with them, but, most probably, also S S f ^ e m S i ^ S S n S
ers. This is sufficiently attested by the presence, in their most cultivated languages
W w T 1?, 7 0 f Javanese words, amounting to from four to ly e
hundred, or pahaps to a thirtieth part of their vocabularies. Among the words thus
introduced are to be found Sanscrit and Arabic ones, w h i c h™ been 7revLus“v
naturalised m the Malayan tongues. Prom the nature of the adopted words some
I™“ 7 “ I 110 amount of civilisation which the Philippine derived
from the Malayan nations. Thus the names of most of the cultivated plants as rice
tSaon,’ tthheT ™nam*e11s6 ’o Tf all theV domesticP alannimt< aalrse, tahlel Mhoalga ytahne. doSgo abruef fawloT nth-n7ntf a n 7 c„ e n
men fowl, and common duck. Among the metals, w e ^ d l ^ l S ^ M q
m e rc ffim ^w ith I e \am e s o f ^ k t ^ d ^ ’u ^ i d ^ o s ; of°s°3 ’e 7 7 ^
Malayan. Of terms connected with war, a few only are Malayan as foW-r-eoc
- " a “ .-
Phdippme islanders was a very rude and very superficial Hinduism, S i t e d on
many local superstitions, and was evidently derived directlv from +Via Mol
in its Malay and Javafn0ers de esietyn's e of a chiaedfo dreaittiyo,n ,a raen dex paml aplSes7. o r S p , a n d o S S
From the terms m the Philippine languages, which are native and not foreign we
may form some estimate of the amount of the civilisation of the Archipelago which is
7 “ dlgenous' ^hus, among cultivated plants, the only ones bearing native names
^ e the banana, esculent and textile, with their many varieties, the batata the br7 d-
fruit, and the cotton-plant. Among the domesticated animals, not one bears a native
7 7 * 7 m°fng<;he metals, the names for iron and gold a l7 e are native 7 7 s
w T f f i r t t t a el7 ^ m^fhanie arte, such as house, thatch, spin, weave, thread
f . ’ cloth, are all native, while the tools and processes of manipulation in
wood and metal, as hammer, chisel, saw, anvil, are Malayan As to the Pta'lta •
repr^enting one of ^ e i t h e r 7 o ^ 7 7 t 7 o a e 7 7 o f C % w 7 m 7 f Ct S
P h ilip p ^ H S i m th?
pneste, of astrologers, and of all the local deities with the’word for r iS ,7
of language can be trusted, that the Philippine islanders before their intercourse with
the Malayan nations were a very rude people. They cultivated no corn, their vegetable
food consisting of the banana and batata. They had no domesticated animals
whatever They were acquainted with malleable iron and gold, but had no knowledge
of anv other metal They were clothed in domestic woven fabrics of cotton and the
abaca. They had ¿vented a native alphabet, and their religion consisted in a belief
in good and evil spirits, in the practice of circumcision, and a belief in sorcery and
astrolo£V They were superior to the Polynesian people of the South Sea islands in the
possession of gold, malleable iron, and textile fabrics, but inferior to them, by wanting
the tame dog, the hog, and domestic fowl. ... ,, . , ... , ,
With respect to the intercourse of the Chinese and Japanese with the inhabitants of
the Philippines, previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, all that is known respecting
it is, that these nations furnished them with silk tissues and raw silk, with utensils
of porcelane, iron, and copper, and, probably, with the small currency of zinc,
although known by a Malay name. In return, these nations received the esculent
swallows’ nests, the tripang and pearl-oyster shells, which are still staples of the trade
with China Besides, the Chinese and Japanese, other people of the Asiatic continent
appear to have traded with the Philippines. Thus, Magellan and his companions
found at Cebu a Moorish merchant of Siam, who had come from that country in his
ship, and who is stated to have paid for liberty to trade,^and m return for his
merchandise to have received payment in “ gold and slaves. With all foreigners,
the medium of intercourse was the Malay language, which Pigafetta informsus, that
all the native chiefs, that is, all the persons who held intercourse with strangers,
understood, although the native languages were different. .
In 1524, three years after the discovery of the Philippines the Emperor Charles
the Fifth sent an expedition for their conquest under the command of Juan José
Garcia de Loaissa, which ended in total failure. All that it saw of Magellans
Archipelago of San Lazaro was the Ladrone Islands, and a small part of Mmdano, its
two extreme north and south limits, when it proceeded to the Moluccas, after losing
three successive commanders. A second expedition in 1528 was undertaken by the
same Emperor, of which the command was given to Alonzo de Saavedra, but this was
equally unsuccessful. The third expedition was not undertaken until 1542. This
was under the conduct of Ruiz Lopez de Villalobos, the person who gave the Archipelago
thé name which it has ever since borne, but this too was equally unfortunate
with its predecessors. There was not one of these fruitless expeditions that was not
as powerful as to equipment as that with which Columbus discovered America,
was not until 1565, four and forty years after the discovery, that the conquest was
effectually commenced. The great leader in this achievement was Miguel Lopez de
Legaspé, a man equal in enterprise, resource, and courage, to Cortez or Pizarro,
and in humanity, far superior to them. His expedition consisted of no more than five
vessels, his whole force, soldiers and sailors included, amounting only to 400 men.
On the 21st of November, 1564, he sailed from the port of Natividad m New Spain,—
in the beginning of February, 1565, reached the Marians and on the 13th of the
same month entered the proper Philippines, reaching a small island lying at the southeast
end of Samar, which he called Bonsenal or “ good omen, in commémoration of
the event, a name which it still retains. It was not until the 27th of April that
he reached Çebu. Legaspé was accompanied by a corps of Augustine monks, more
effectual in the conquest of the Philippines than his soldiers. Its leader was a
remarkable man, Andrea de Urdaneta, who had commanded a ship m the first
expedition, twenty years before, and who had afterwards entered the order of the
Augustines. Çebu was soon brought under subjection, and Legaspe then discovered
the fertile island of Panay, where, even then, provisions were abundant. The natives
of Çebu and Panay informed him of a still larger island than their own, and m 1569,
four years after his arrival, he discovered Luzon, in two more founding the capital of
Manilla. The subjugation throughout was effected, far more through the timid and
credulous character of the inhabitants, and the skilful and politic character of the
leaders of the conquest, than by the martial prowess of the Spaniards, although this,
too, when an occasion offered for its display, was conspicuous. _ ...
A few examples will show with what facility the conquest was effected, and with
what slender means. In 1569, Legaspé, while himself at Panay, having heard of the
island of Luzon and of Manilla, described as “ a rich Moorish town with a wooden
fort or stockade, defended by twelve cannon and several falconets, sent against it is
two chosen captains with a force of 120 soldiers and some natives of Çebu. e
Spaniards were at first favourably received, but some acts of treachery having been