9. Francisco de Combés’s History of Mindanao and Jolo (1667)

In this excerpt from his history of the southern Philippines and of the efforts of the Jesuits to convert its inhabitants, Francisco de Combés (1620–1665) paints a sensationalist image of the religious life of Mindanao, emphasizing the supposed atheism of the common people and the practice of sorcery by their Muslim rulers. The heroic Jesuits operating out of the Spanish settlement of Zamboanga struggle with the volatile politics of the Islamicate south in their heroic efforts to bring Christianity to people that they misrecognize as “moors.” Ana M. Rodríguez-Rodríguez places the text in the context of Spain’s troubled relationship with Mindanao.