HOM.10
Exploration of the Carolines, 1696-1709, is the tenth volume of the History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents (HOM), compiled and edited by Rodrique Levesque.
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The History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents was complied, edited and published by Rod Levesque from 1992 to 2002. Copyrights were obtained by the Habele Outer Island Education Fund, a US nonprofit, in 2022, which digitized the content to facilitate noncommercial access to, and use of, the twenty-volume series. The PDF file for HOM.10 is roughly 65MB.
Levesque's Summary
Volume 10 contains 95 chapters totalling 152 documents in 6 languages, and describing some major events, as follows: Phase 1 of the exploration of the Caroline Islands; the final reduction of the Gani Islands; the ultimate native revolt (crushed before it took effect); the diary of Antonio Robles in Mexico; the trade report of the French Captain MonsSgur; a complete record of galleons for the period, including some island discoveries in the Bonin Island area; and more Chamorro news, including the threat of their deportation to the Philippines.
A Chamorro who received high praise from the missionaries when he died in 1701 was Chief Antonio Ayihi. No native was more appreciated than he. He even deserved a full eulogy, similar to a missionary.
—This volume contains 152 documents, in 6 languages, and 29 illustrations.
—For the first time the full history of the exploration of the Caroline Islands has been recreated through the use of Spanish archives. The Carolinians who drifted to Samar Island in the Philippines in 1696 caused the Jesuits to take notice of them. Father Clain wrote a famous report about them in 1697. There followed attempts at exploration. Phase 1 consists of early voyages (made before 1710) that were unknown before; in fact, the first half-hearted attempts took place in 1697 and 1698, but the first properly-organized voyages were in 1708 and 1709. Success was achieved only in 1710. The main promotor of this whole enterprise—until he died in a shipwreck in 1711—was Father Andres Serrano. Other major events of the period are as follows:
—The final reduction of the Gani Islands in 1697 and 1698. The Chamorros living north of Saipan were moved to the latter island, and to Guam. Fr. Bouwens was their parish priest in Saipan, and later at Inarajan in Guam.
—The ultimate native revolt was fomented by Chamorros relocated from Gani to Guam, after a series of epidemics and natural disasters had severely pared down their numbers, between 1700 and 1702. The plot was discovered in time and the rebel leaders severely punished.
—The diary of Antonio Robles.
—A series of rare books on the history of Mexico contains eyewitness reports on various personalities, galleons, convict soldiers, and trade with Acapulco and Manila. This volume contains extracts relevant to Pa¬cific history.
—The trade report of Capitaine Monsegur, found in Paris.
—With the estab-lishment of the French connection at the Spanish court, i.e. the arrival of the first Bourbon king, some Frenchmen became involved for the first time in Spanish af-fairs and businesses. One clear manifestation of this was the involvement of French seamen and ships. An important contribution to history was made by French Navy Captain Monsegur, who was detached to Mexico for one year, and made a study of the Manila
-Acapulco galleon trade, and the mule transport between Acapulco and Mexico City. For instance, we learn that a galleon of 1,000 tons usually car¬ried a cargo worth 4 million pesos, mostly textiles.
—Record of Spanish galleons for the 1699-1741 period, found in London.
—The British Library holds a Spanish study, made in Manila, of the eastward crossings of the Manila galleons and pataches for this period. It is clear that all of the islands between the Marianas and Japan were repeatedly sighted by the Spanish, but never explored nor settled.
—A multilingual record.—The original documents of this volume are in 6 languages: Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German, and English. The Latin was used by Pope Clement XI, when he urged the exploration of the Carolines. Italian was used by Gemelli-Careri, the first true civilian tourist on a leisure trip around the world. Captain Monsegur used French for his trade report, of course, and also some French missionaries—Jesuits and Capuchins who transited through the Pa¬cific, to get to China and India. German was used by Czech and Austrian Jesuit missionaries in the Marianas. Finally, English was the language of pirates such as Dampier, then on his third, and final voyage around the world.
—Chamorro news.
—Previously unrecorded Chamorro names appear in this volume, for instance: Agani, Hafigi, Ima, Inog, Maafiao, Odu, Piritu, Tagdu, and even Ramen [believe it or not!] The Spanish government considered closing the Marianas, and moving all the Chamorros to the Philippines, but the Jesuits effective¬ly blocked this project.
Publication Details
Lévesque Rodrigue. History of Micronesia : A Collection of Source Documents. Vol. 10 Exploration of the Carolines: 1696-1709. Gatineau Québec: Lévesque Publications; 1997.
ISBN-10: 0920201105
ISBN-13: 978-0920201107
LCC: DU500 .H58 2000
