KAS 1 THR3 GROUP 5 25 February 2020

Mr. Emmanuel Jayson V. Bolata

Relation of the Philippine Islands

Domingo de Salazar

1. Who is Domingo de Salazar? Aside from the text, you may look into books/web for
other facts.

Many historical sources in print and online tagged him as the “Las Casas of
the Philippines.” Just like Bartolome de Las Casas, Domingo de Salazar was also a
Spanish Dominican friar during the 16th century. Born in 1512 in La Rioja in Spain,
Salazar entered the Dominican monastery of San Esteban to spend his time
studying theology for many years until he was sent to Mexico, finished his master’s
degree there, and appointed to the professor’s chair. During his term in Mexico, he
was condemned by the civil authorities after bravely questioning the maltreatment
of local natives and imprisoned him temporarily. Following King Philip II’s control,
Salazar arrived in Manila in 1581. His intrepidity for defending the rights of the
Indians and their necessities convinced the Majesty to present Salazar as the first
Bishop of Manila. During his term as Bishop, Salazar held a committee of the
clergy, monitored the internal affairs of the Diocese, and built colleges, hospitals,
and cathedrals. He spent his years carrying out his mission to correct various
abuses of local populations by government officials and elevate Manila into a
metropolis until his death in 1594.

As the Bishop of Manila, Domingo de Salazar’s role in transforming the

pacification of Indians is essential. He had ambitions of converting the natives and
making sure that they stay in their faith. He had even gone to such lengths of
going to Spain personally to plead for the cause of the conversion of the natives to
the King. The results of his commitment led to the establishment of three new
dioceses and Salazar was selected to be the first archbishop of Manila. Having
attended the lectures of Francisco de Vitoria and being a student of the “School of
Salamanca” and, a group of university-based theologians known for moral
philosophy and legal thought, Domingo de Salazar had the background for
defending the rights of the natives. In addition to that, de Salazar is also a student
of the writings of Bartolome de las Casas, his contemporary known for defending
the rights of the natives in Central America. Aside from being a bishop and an
activist for natives’ rights, Domingo de Salazar can be considered, through his
texts and letters, as a historian and a situationer during his time. He was able to
record the state of affairs for the seven well-populated provinces of Luzon:
Pampanga, Pangasinan, Ylocos, Camarines, La Laguna, and Bonbon y Balayan.
KAS 1 THR3 GROUP 5 25 February 2020
Mr. Emmanuel Jayson V. Bolata

2. What were the conditions on the islands regarding religious conversion in 1588?
Support your statements/arguments with facts from the passages.

At this time, the islands are in preparation for the conversion of the people.
As implied in the text, the cities and provinces have already built religious
establishments. Salazar travelled to each of these places to observe very keenly the
state of each city or province, taking note the conditions of the lands, the number
of tributarios, the officials, the religious establishments even more keenly assessing
how many more ministers are necessary for each place to be pacified and
instructed. Each island must have an alkalde-mayor, a cathedral and the bishop's
house, and the ecclesiastical dignitaries which consists of an arch-deacon, a
schoolmaster, two canons, thirteen clerics who are priests, and a few candidates
for holy orders.

For ​Manilla, ​he requested five more religious. It was also mentioned that
natives are converted through marriage to Spaniards. For the province of
Panpanga, he requested twenty six more priests. For ​Ylocos​, fifty more priests
were necesssary. ​Cagayan needed sixty more priests. ​La Laguna need only three
more priests. The province of Bonbon y Balayan are in need of ten more ministers.
Camarines needs ten more ministers. In the province of Pampanga, there are
eighteen priests. In order that sufficient instruction be given in this province,
twenty-six more priests are needed. In addition, the province also needs two
corregidores. The province of ​Pangassinan​, it has one alcalde-mayor and ten
religious are necessary. In Ylocos, there are three Augustinian religious in two
houses or districts, and two ecclesiastics in two others. This province has an
alcalde-mayor, and the population of a small town.
KAS 1 THR3 GROUP 5 25 February 2020
Mr. Emmanuel Jayson V. Bolata
References

Finnegan, Phillip. “Catholic Encyclopedia: Domingo de Salazar.”​ New Advent.​ Accessed

February 24, 2020. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13395b.htm.

Malek, Jon. “Fray Domingo De Salazar, the ‘De Las Casas’ of the Philippines.” ​Pilipino
Express News Magazine​. Accessed February 24, 2020. http://www.pilipino-
express.com/history-a-culture/it-s-all-history/2526-fray-domingo-de-salazar-
the-de-las-casas-of-the-philippines.html.