A Bull in the Archives

Another treasure has been brought to light from the Archives of the University of Tomas. It is a personal copy of the papal bull given to knights of the Order of Santiago, the foremost Spanish knightly order. It belonged to Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, governor of the Philippines from 1589–1593. The Order spanned both religious and military life, and is an indication of the high respect in which Gómez Pérez was held in Spain. However, it stresses the Spanish hatred of the Muslims (or Moors) and thereby sheds light on the origins of the divisions between Muslims and Christians in the Philippines that have plagued the islands for more than five centuries.