2. Domingo de Salazar’s Letter to the King of Spain in Defense of the Indians and the Chinese of the Philippine Islands (1582)

Abstract

Domingo de Salazar (c.1512–1594) was the first bishop of the Philippines, a member of the Dominican order, and a follower of noted critics of the Spanish imperial enterprise like the jurist Francisco de Vitoria and the historian/activist Bartolomé de las Casas. In this letter to King Philip II, Salazar denounces the abuses of the indigenous population and the mistreatment of Chinese migrants by the Spanish colonists, and calls upon the crown to intervene in the colony’s affairs. In so doing, he provides invaluable insight into the work of colonization, and the complex relationship that the Spanish Philippines developed with China and with the burgeoning Chinese population of the islands themselves. Christina Lee provides biographical and historical context.