Description

In this richly detailed chronicle, listeners are taken back to the late‑16th and early‑17th centuries, when the Augustinian friars were shaping the spiritual and civic life of the Philippine islands. The narrative opens with the solemn gathering of the provincial chapter in 1596, describing the unanimous election of Fray Lorenzo de León and later the steadfast stewardship of Fray Juan de Montesdoza, whose tireless voyages across storm‑tossed seas reveal the perils and devotion of missionary work.

Beyond the election rolls, the account offers vivid portraits of the friars’ daily concerns—administrative reforms, the tension between discipline and compassion, and the struggle to maintain moral rigor in a remote colony. Listeners hear the earnest praises of contemporaries, the challenges of visiting far‑flung provinces, and the quiet resolve that defined the order’s early leaders. The work paints a nuanced picture of faith, governance, and community life in a formative period of Philippine history.

Details

Full title

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 24 of 55 1630-34 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century 1630-34 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

Language

Duration

~7 hours (453K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/

Release date

2006-04-02

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

Source