With this in view I am sending two reverend Jesuit priests, persons
distinguished in politics and mathematical learning, and the military
engineer of this place, for the purpose of making an inspection of
the capital of Palawan, as well as of the Island of Balabak, and its
adjacent islands, and of examining their bays, ports, inlets, rivers,
anchorages and depths, in order to construct a fort--which will be
named after Our Lady of the Good End--in the most healthful location,
secure by land as well as by sea, for the garrisoning of which an
adequate force of artillery has been despatched. It will be kept
guarded for the present by a small galley, two feluccas, a company of
Spaniards, and another company of Pampanga Indians, besides the galley
slaves [272] and the suite of the governor, and officials--all rationed
for one year--who will number three hundred, the rest being returned to
this capital when possession is once established. And that the taking
of possession may be unopposed, useful, and lasting, I have planned for
the strengthening of the said fort, with the primary object of having
our troops sally from its walls to pacify the Sulu rebels who have
been dwelling in certain districts of Palawan, or to exterminate them
completely by fire and sword, preventing by means of the new fortress
and the little flying squadron, the Kamukons, Tirons, and others, from
laying waste the province of the Kalamians, and the adjacent islands;
for, there being access to the entire chain of places and all the
islands, facilitating attacks, and our vessels being on a constant
cruise through those regions, their expulsion will be secured. But
the greatest gain of all will lie in becoming acquainted with their
lands, rendezvous and places of refuge, in view of the fact that the
greatest defense which they have had up to the present time has been
our own ignorance and negligence in the premises, they scorning our
arms without fear, in the belief that they are unconquerable because
the places of their abode are unexplored; wherefore the King of Sulu,
pretending to serve us as a pilot among the Tiron Islands laughed at
our expedition under the command of your Majesty's Reverend Bishop of
Nueva Segovia, leading the Spaniards about with a halter wherever he
wished, and wherever he thought they would suffer most fatigue. In
view of all this, and of our present experience of the unbridled
audacity with which they ravage almost all the provinces, I felt
compelled to project this campaign of reconnaissance so as to test,
by the favorable results secured, the surest means of benefiting these
Christian communities, for I am in hopes of establishing, through this
new colony, an impregnable bulwark against the whole Moro power and
a source of reciprocal assistance to the fortress at Zamboanga. And
I likewise propose to introduce into those parts, by reason of their
proximity, commerce with Borneo, Siam, Cambodia, and Cochin-China,
so that, through intercourse, the inhabitants of Palawan may become
pacified and tractable and their towns become opulent; so that with
the families which in due time will be drafted from the outskirts
of this capital, a province of substantial usefulness may be formed,
having greater respect for both Majesties; for, by erecting churches
to God, a new gem will be added to the Royal crown, namely the glory
of giving many souls to the Lord, while the savings of the Royal
treasury will in time be appreciable.