Antonio de Morga

Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay (29 November 1559 – 21 July 1636) was a Spanish soldier, lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official for 43 years, in the Philippines (1594 to 1604), New Spain and Peru, where he was president of the Real Audiencia for 20 years.

He was also a historian. After being reassigned to Mexico, he published the book Sucesos de las islas Filipinas in 1609, considered one of the most important works on the early history of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. As deputy governor in the Philippines, he restored the audencia. He took over the function of judge or oidor. He also took command of Spanish ships in a 1600 naval battle against Dutch corsairs, but suffered defeat and barely survived.

His history was first published in English in 1868; numerous editions have been published in English, including a 1907 edition. It has also been reprinted in Spanish and other languages.

Education and service in the Philippines Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay was born in Seville. He graduated from the University of Salamanca in 1574 and in 1578 received a doctorate in canon law. He taught briefly in Osuna, and then returned to Salamanca to study civil law. In 1580 he joined the government service as a lawyer. Among other positions in Spain, he held that of auditor general of the galleys. In 1582 he was serving as mayor of Baracaldo in Vizcaya when he first married, to Juana de Briviesca de Munotones.

He first served under Governor-General Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, who was interim after his father's death. Francisco Tello de Guzmán soon succeeded him, and Morga reported to him during most of his time in the colony. In his account of the colonial Philippines published in 1609, Morga noted the miserable condition suffered by many of the Spanish/Mexican soldiers, who were young, ill-paid and suffered in that unfamiliar environment. Few wanted to settle in Manila, and higher-level government officials also sought to leave the colony in a few years. His first two reports to the Crown covered a wide variety of topics, mentioning Japan, Mindanao, and China, in addition to civil, military and ecclesiastical activities within the colony. From his observation of textiles in the Manila inventory, the Spanish were buying: ...raw silk in bundles...fine untwisted silk, white and of all colors...quantities of velvets, some plain and some embroidered in all sorts of figures, colors, and fashions, with body of gold and embroidered with gold; woven stuff and brocades, of gold and silver upon silk of various colors and patterns...damasks, satins, taffetas...

Other goods that de Morga mentioned as being exported in the galleon trade were: ...musk, benzoin and ivory; many bed ornaments, hangings, coverlets and tapestries of embroidered velvet...tablecloths, cushions, and carpets; horse-trappings of the same stuffs, and embroidered with glass beads and seed-pearls; also pearls and rubies, sapphires and crystals; metal basins, copper kettles and other copper and cast-iron pots. . .wheat flour, preserves made of orange, peach, pair, nutmeg and ginger, and other fruits of China; salt pork and other salt meats; live fowl of good breed and many fine capons...chestnuts, walnuts...little boxes and writing cases; beds, tables, chairs, and gilded benches, painted in many figures and patterns. They bring domestic buffaloes; geese that resemble swans; horses, some mules and asses; even caged birds, some of which talk, while others sing, and they make them play innumerable tricks...pepper and other spices.

De Morga closed his inventory list by stating that there were "rarities which, did I refer to them all, I would never finish, nor have sufficient paper for it."

The San Diego sank so quickly that the men for the most part were unable to disarm or abandon ship. Perhaps 350 men were lost. Morga swam for four hours, holding on to the Dutch standard, and made it to a small deserted island, where a few others of the ship's company also arrived.

This is based on the account of Morga, as published in his 1609 Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. He blamed the captain of the San Bartolome for the loss of the San Diego, because he had pursued the other Dutch ship rather than attacking the Mauritius. The Dutch account of these events was very different, accusing Morga of incompetence and cowardice.

In 1992, French explorers led by Franck Goddio excavated the sunken San Diego with its treasure. Because of the large number of artifacts found with it (over 34,000), this was hailed as a great archaeological discovery. The artifacts included Chinese porcelain, celadon ware, Japanese katanas, Spanish morions, Portuguese cannons, and Mexican coins. An MV San Diego warship museum has been constructed on Fortune Island to display and interpret many of the artifacts. This was the island reached by Morga and the other survivors of the San Diego.

In New Spain and Peru On 10 July 1603, Morga was reassigned to Mexico, in command of the ships sailing that year for New Spain. He became alcalde of criminal causes in the Royal Audiencia of Mexico City. He was also advisor to the viceroy on military matters and counsel for the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He served in Mexico until 1615, publishing his history of the Philippines in 1609, which has become noted for its account of the early colonial years and has been translated into numerous languages and published in many editions.

In 1615 he was named president of the Audiencia of Quito, within the Viceroyalty of Peru. He arrived in Guayaquil on 8 September 1615, having narrowly escaped falling into the hands of Dutch corsairs off the island of Santa Clara. He took up his office in Quito on 30 September 1615. During his administration, the textile industry advanced and the University of San Gregorio Magno was founded. It was a time of confrontation between the civil and ecclesiastic powers, as well as disputes between the Creole and Peninsular monks for control of the religious orders. Although Morga was widely known to gamble extensively, have affairs with women, and conduct other questionable activities, he still achieved bureaucratic reforms, as well as of the liturgy, and helped improve treatment of the native peoples.

The first English translation was published in London in 1868. Another English translation by Blair and Robertson was published in Cleveland in 1907, and an edition edited by J.S. Cummins was published by the Hakluyt Society in 1971 .