Resolving To Go To Mindanao

At Guam, we resolved to go to Mindanao when the friar and others said that it was exceedingly well stored with provisions.

that the natives were Mohammedans, and that they had formerly a commerce with the Spaniards, but that now they were at wars with them.

This island was therefore thought to be a convenient place for us to go; for besides that it was in our way to the East Indies, which we had resolved to visit; and that the westerly monsoon was at hand, which would oblige us to shelter somewhere in a short time, and that we could not expect good harbours in a better place than in so large an island as Mindanao: besides all this, I say, the inhabitants of Mindanao being then, as we were told (though falsely) at wars with the Spaniards, our men, who it should seem were very squeamish of plundering without licence, derived hopes from thence of getting a commission there from the prince of the island to plunder the Spanish ships about Manila, and so to make Mindanao their common rendezvous.

If Captain Swan was minded to go to an English port yet his men, who thought he intended to leave them, hoped to get vessels and pilots at Mindanao fit for their turn, to cruise on the coast of Manila. As for Captain Swan he was willing enough to go thither as best suiting his own design; and therefore this voyage was concluded on by general consent.

DEPARTURE FROM GUAM

On June 2, 1686 we left Guam bound for Mindanao.

We had fair weather and a pretty smart gale of wind at east for 3 or 4 days. Then it shifted to the south-west being rainy.

But it soon came about again to the east and blew a gentle gale. Yet it often shuffled about to the south-east.

In the East Indies, the winds shift in April. Yet we found this to be the shifting season for the winds here. The other shifting season being in October, sooner or later, all over India.

We found our course from Guam to the Philippine Islands agreeable enough with the account of our common charts.

THE PHILIPPINES

On June 21, we arrived at the island St. John, which is one of the Philippine Islands.

The Philippines are a great company of large islands, taking up about 13 degrees of latitude in length, reaching near upon from 3 degrees of north latitude to the 19th degree, and in breadth about 6 degrees of longitude.

They derive this name from Phillip II, King of Spain.

• Even now do they most of them belong to that crown.

Luzon and ITS CHIEF TOWN AND PORT, MANILO, MANILA, OR MANILBO

The chiefest island in this range is Luconia, which lies on the north of them all.

It is now wholly under the Spaniards who have several towns there. The chief is Manila, a large sea-port town near the south-east end, opposite to the island of Mindoro.

It is a place of great strength and trade. The two great Acapulco ships before mentioned fetching from hence all sorts of East India commodities which are brought here by foreigners, especially by the Chinese and the Portuguese.

Sometimes, the English merchants of Fort St. George send their ships here stealthily under the charge of Portuguese pilots and mariners. This is because we still cannot get the Spaniards there to a commerce with us or the Dutch, although they have but few ships of their own.

This seems to arise from a jealousy or fear of discovering the riches of these islands, for most if not all the Philippine Islands are rich in gold. The Spaniards are only strong in Manila itself.

• Yet they have villages and towns on several of the islands, and padres or priests to instruct the native Indians from whom they get their gold.

The Rich Trade We Might Establish With These Islands

The Spanish inhabitants of the smaller islands especially would willingly trade with us if the government was not so severe against it.

They have no goods but what are brought from Manila at a high price.

If any of our nations will seek a trade with them they would not lose their labour; for the Spaniards can and will smuggle (as our seamen call trading by stealth) as well as any nation that I know.

Our Jamaicans are to their profit sensible enough of it. Captain Goodlud of London, in a voyage which he made from Mindanao to China, touched at some of these islands and was civilly treated by the Spaniards who bought some of his commodities, giving him a very good price for the same.

There are about 12 or 14 more large islands lying south of Luconia. Most of which are inhabited by the Spaniards.

Besides these there are an infinite number of small islands of no account, and even the great islands, many of them, are without names or at least so variously set down that I find the same islands named by divers names.

The island St. John and Mindanao are the southermost of all these islands and are the only islands in all this range that are not subject to the Spaniards.

ST. JOHN’S ISLAND

St. John’s Island is on the east side of the Mindanao and distant from it 3 or 4 leagues. It is in latitude about 7 or 8 north.

This island is in length about 38 leagues, stretching north-north-west and south-south-east, and it is in breadth about 24 leagues in the middle of the island.

The northermost end is broader, and the southermost is narrower: this island is of a good height and is full of many small hills. The land at the south-east end (where I was ashore) is of a black fat mould; and the whole island seems to partake of the same fatness by the vast number of large trees that it produces; for it looks all over like one great grove.

As we were passing by the south-east end we saw a canoe of the natives under the shore; therefore one of our canoes went after to have spoken with her; but she ran away from us, seeing themselves chased, put their canoe ashore, leaving her, fled into the woods; nor would be allured to come to us, although we did what we could to entice them; besides these men we saw no more here nor sign of any inhabitants at this end.