he was left alive.... The Indians of these islands go about naked,
wearing no garments. They are well built men; they wear their hair
long, and their beards full. They possess no iron tools, performing
their work with stones. They have no other weapons than spears--some
with points hardened with fire, and some having heads made from the
shin bones of dead men, and from fish-bones. In these islands we took
eleven Indians to work the pump, because of the great number of sick
men in the ship." The trouble with the Portuguese in the Moluccas
is well narrated. Of the people of Java, Urdaneta says: "The people
of this island are very warlike and gluttonous. They possess much
bronze artillery, which they themselves cast. They have guns too,
as well as lances like ours, and well made." Others of their weapons
are named. Further details of negotiations with the Portuguese are
narrated, as well as various incidents of Urdaneta's homeward trip in
a Portuguese vessel by way of the Cape of Good Hope. He disembarks at
Lisbon on June 6, 1636, where certain papers and other articles are
taken from him. The relation closes with information regarding various
islands, and the advantages of trading in that region. He mentions
among the islands some of the Philippines: "Northwest of Maluco lies
Bendenao [Mindanao]...in this island there is cinnamon, much gold,
and an extensive pearl-fishery. We were informed that two junks come
from China every year to this island for the purpose of trade. North
of Bendenao is Cebú, and according to the natives it also contains
gold, for which the Chinese come to trade each year." (No. xxvi,
pp. 401-439.)



Voyage of Alvaro de Saavedra
1527-28