The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898 (Vol. 36, 1649–1666)

This volume is the thirty-sixth installment of the monumental 55-volume collection, The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898, compiled and edited by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson. It contains a curated selection of translated primary source documents covering the Spanish colonial period from 1649 to 1666. The core focus of this volume is the religious and political state of the archipelago during these years, primarily through official records, reports, and manuscripts, many of which are ecclesiastical in nature. The documents chronicle significant internal affairs of the Spanish colony. Key narratives include the life and missions of various Catholic religious orders, particularly the Recollects and Jesuits, including a Jesuit protest against the Dominican order's effort to elevate its college into a university. The volume details the struggle for power and jurisdiction between the Archbishop of Manila and the regular orders regarding the administration of parishes, foreshadowing later conflicts. Secular events are also covered, notably the diplomatic and military crisis precipitated by the Chinese leader Koxinga’s 1662 demand for tribute, which led to a Chinese revolt in Manila and subsequent tensions, forcing Governor Diego de Salcedo to manage a fragile peace to prevent further bloodshed. This collection remains an essential resource for scholars studying the complex political, economic, commercial, and religious history of the Philippines under Spanish dominion.

The book is considered valuable. It is advised that researchers use digital copy rather than physical books for preservation purposes. APA Citation (7th Edition) Blair, E. H., & Robertson, J. A. (Eds.). (1903–1909). The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century (Vol. 36, 1649–1666). The Arthur H. Clark Company.