This volume is part of a monumental 55-volume compilation that translated thousands of primary source documents detailing four centuries of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. The compilation itself was published in the early 20th century to provide American and international scholars with access to the archival records of the newly acquired territory. Volume XXVIII centers on the pivotal role of the Catholic Church in the archipelago. It includes contemporary accounts from the 1630s, such as the Governor-General Corcuera's military campaign against the Moros of Jolo and disputes among the Augustinian friars regarding their leadership rotation. More significantly, it contains a substantial appendix of translated laws, chronicles, and official reports spanning the 16th to the late 19th centuries, providing a multi-perspectival examination of the power, influence, and organizational structure of the various religious orders that effectively served as the civil administrators of the provinces outside of the capital, Manila.
The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898 (Vol. 28, 1637-1638)