This volume, the twenty-fifth in a monumental fifty-five-volume collection, compiles primary source documents originally created during the years 1635 and 1636 of the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. The compilation aims to illustrate the political, economic, commercial, and religious conditions of the islands by translating and annotating contemporaneous letters, royal decrees, and manuscripts. The contents of this specific volume primarily focus on two areas of colonial life. Economically, the documents highlight the strenuous attempts by the Spanish Crown to regulate commerce, including numerous laws regarding navigation, trade routes, and the collection of taxes. A major concern addressed is the controversy over Portuguese traders from Macao absorbing the lucrative Chinese-Manila trade, which was seen as ruining the financial prospects of Spanish colonists. Ecclesiastically, the volume captures the height of the struggle for supremacy between the Church and the State, particularly detailing the tense conflict between Governor Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera and Archbishop Hernando de Guerrero, which led to the Archbishop’s exile. These records collectively provide essential insight into the administrative challenges, trade dynamics, and significant power struggles that defined the mid-17th century Philippines under Spanish rule.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (Vol. 25, 1635–1636)