Documentos y apuntes para la vida y obras del doctor Antonio Morga
Letters, research notes, and certified transcripts of documents from the Archivo General de Indias in Seville containing biographical information on Dr. Antonio de Morga, assembled in 1889 at the request of Justo Zaragoza for use in the preface he had planned for a new printing of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. The first item is a list of 16 Archives documents dated March 15, 1614 to April 21, 1638, which contain information on the life and career of Morga. The list was prepared and signed by Archives official Pedro Torres y Lanzas on Sept. 25, 1888. Certified transcriptions of 9 of these documents, signed by archivist Carlos Jiménez-Placer, are also included in the dossier. Most are copies of letters from Morga to the king, dealing with his appointment as president of the Audiencia of Quito; his voyage to Guayaquil during which he narrowly escaped death at the hands of Dutch pirates; his request for a position on the Consejo de Indias and induction into the military order of Santiago; his protests at being jailed in conjunction with a lawsuit brought against him by Manuel Tello de Velasco; his petition to remarry; his request for transfer to the presidency of the Audiencia of La Plata; and his list of merits and services as of April 30, 1634. In addition, there are transcriptions of a letter of April 26, 1637 from Alonso de Castillo de Herreras, oidor in Quito, informing the king of Morga's death on July 21, 1636; and a letter from licenciado Suárez de Prago, relating to the disposition of Morga's estate. Two letters to Zaragoza respond to his requests for additional material on Morga: one, dated Nov. 28, 1889, from Elisa Chaves, widow of Cabezas de Herrera; and one from Retana.