Letter And Documents Concerning The Confiscation Of Anti Jesuit Pamphlets By Domingo Blas De Basaraz
Resumen del Libro
Letter, dated Jan. 18, 1772, from Simón de Anda y Salazar, governor of the Philippines, to King Charles III, summarizing actions taken in the matter of the confiscation of anti-Jesuit pamphlets in Jan. 1770 by Audience Minister Dr. Domingo Blas de Basaraz, accompanied by certified copies of related documents. Andas signed letter to the king briefly outlines the actions taken against Basaraz, who confiscated pamphlets–brought to the Philippines aboard the frigate Venus–which denounced the Jesuits who, at that time, had been ordered expelled from the islands. The archbishop quickly issued an edict, assuring the public that the pamphlets had been printed in Madrid with official approval, and could be read in good conscience. Andas decree of Nov. 27, 1772, issued in response to concerns raised by Andrade, the fiscal, concludes that Basaraz acted without authority and jurisdiction to suppress the pamphlets, whose sole objective was to expose the false doctines of the Jesuits, and to insure domestic peace. Anda also orders his official approval of the pamphlets to be publicized. With the letter are copies, dated July 2, 1772 by clerk Francisco Gómez Henríquez, of Basarazs statement of Jan. 21, 1770, the fiscals request to take steps against Basaraz, dated Aug. 8, 1770, and Andas decree of Nov. 27, 1770.
