Fetching Human Gall as an Offering For the King: Customs of Champa in late 16th century as depicted in Spanish documents Bilis humano como ofrenda al Rey: Las costumbres de Champa a finales del siglo XVI según los documentos españoles y chinos Fabio Yu-Chung Lee National Tsing Hua University Abstract The ancient Kingdom of Champa, known in ancient Chinese recorded as Linyi, became prosperous due to its pivotal location along the Chinese and Southeast Asian trade routes. Its status waned as the rise of Vietnam. During the 15th century, the people of Champa retreated to the north side of the Mekong River in Middle-south Vietnam, where they resisted the incursions of Cochinchina forces. As a result, when discussing the history of modern Vietnam, few references regarding Champa’s historical development were found in Southeast Asian historical works since the 16th century. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Champa still possessed considerable strength and experienced several revivals. In 1594, Champa even sent troops to Malacca to confront the Portuguese. It was not until the 1830s that Vietnam completely annexed Champa, where little attention was paid afterwards by most historians. By analyzing the contents of several Spanish letters and historical material that were associated with Champa, this article re-examines Spanish expeditions conducted in Southeast Asia since the 1590s, especially those in Indochina, where “private military forces” marched into Cambodia, Siam, and the Kingdom of Champa. In doing so, we have gained a better understanding of the interaction between Spain and Kingdom of Champa. Through cross-referencing Spanish and Chinese materials, we may be able to catch a glimpse of the silhouette of this ancient Southeast Asian kingdom. Keywords: Champa, Cambodia, Philippines, Spanish, Boxer Codex Resumen El reino de Champa, llamado Linyi en lengua china antigua, prosperó por su ubicación dentro de las rutas de comercio de China y el sureste de Asia. Con el crecimiento de Vietnam durante el siglo XV su poder disminuyó y la gente se retiró al norte del Río Mekong para resistir los ataques de las fuerzas de Cochinchina. Como resultado, es poco lo que puede encontrarse sobre la historia de Champa en obras referidas al sureste de Asia a partir del siglo XVI. Sin embargo, el reino de Champa mantuvo una fuerza notable, incluyendo una confrontación con Portugal en Malaca en 1594, hasta la década de 1830 cuando Vietnam anexó Champa completamente. Este artículo explica la interacción entre España y el reino de Champa a través de un análisis de cartas y documentos históricos españoles. Investiga las expediciones españolas en Asia del sureste a partir de los 1590, especialmente aquellas en las cuales “fuerzas militares privadas” marcharon sobre Camboya, Siam y Champa. Desde un estudio comparado de la historia española y china, intentamos profundizar el entendimiento de la historia del reino de Champa. Palabras clave: Champa, Camboya, Filipinos, español, Código Bóxer 279 Recibido: 08/01/2014 Evaluado: 19/02/2014 The ancient Kingdom of Champa, known as Linyi in ancient Chinese records, became prosperous due to its pivotal location along the Chinese and Southeast Asian trade routes. Its status waned as Vietnam became increasingly powerful. During the 15th century, the people of Champa retreated to the north side of the Mekong River in Middle-south Vietnam, where they resisted the incursions of Cochinchina forces. As a result, when discussing the history of modern Vietnam, few references regarding Champa’s historical development was found in Southeast Asian historical works since the 16th century.1 However, the Kingdom of Champa still possessed considerable strength and experienced several revivals from time to time. In 1594, Champa even sent troops to Malacca to confront the Portuguese. It was not until the 1830s that Vietnam completely annexed Champa; after then, references concerning Champa had disappeared from Vietnamese history.2 In recent years, more and more archaeological discoveries and the appearance of new interpretations of documents relevant to the ancient civilization of Champa, studies of its language, literature, and history have once again aroused academic interest in Champa’s history.3 However, existing first-hand records of Champa history and language are few and difficult to decipher, which hinders the research progress. Nevertheless, a number of Chinese sources offer an insight into Champa history before the 15th century, especially about the trade relationship between China and Champa. Studying Champa history after the 16th century, a time when Europeans began to enter Southeast Asia, requires a reliance on Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and * I wish to thank the National Science Council of Taiwan (101-2410-H-007-062-MY2) and most of all, Professors Guo Ping Jin, Wing Sheung Cheng, Peter Kang, Alexei Volkov, and Tsung Jen Chen for their assistance. ** Assistant Professor of Institute of History, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. 1 D. G. E. Hall, A History of Southeast Asia (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1955), pp. 195-202. Nicholas Tarling, The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia vol. 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1999), pp. 252-260. 2 Emmanuel Guillon, Cham Art (London: Thames & Hudson, 2001), pp.14-26. 3 Southeast Asia Community Resource Center. Research on Champa and Its Evolution. (Washington, DC: Southeast Asia Community Resource Center, 1994). 280 Japanese materials. Yet, a majority of the research during this period focuses mostly on Cambodia, which contains only supplemental references to the Kingdom of Champa. As a result, some articles described these research results as merely “a few casual studies and increase the threshold for the study of the topic. The renowned historian C.R. Boxer worked on a 16th century Spanish record of Champan history, which was later named as the “Boxer Codex.”4 Boxer transcribed the record and translated it into English. However, it appears that scholars did not make further use of this Spanish resource. 5Some scholars have made use of these Spanish sources, but unfortunately, they have been unable to make use of Chinese sources from the Ming Dynasty to verify the authenticity of Spanish materials. Therefore, by analyzing the contents of several Spanish letters and other historical material relevant to Champa, this article re-examines Spanish expeditions conducted in Southeast Asia from the 1590s, especially those in Indochina, where “private military forces” marched into Cambodia, Siam, and the Kingdom of Champa. In doing so, we will gain a better understanding of the interaction between Spain and the Kingdom of Champa. Through cross-referencing Spanish and Chinese materials, we may be able to catch a glimpse of the silhouette of this ancient Southeast Asian kingdom. Background: Spanish Expansion into Indochina at the End of 16th Century Supported by the Spanish Crown, Ferdinand Magellan was responsible for 4 ＜Relación de las costumbres del reino de Chanpa＞，《Boxer Codex》，fols. 303-305，and C. R. Boxer, “A Late Sixteenth Century Manila MS”. Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (April, 1950), p. 34-49， and 李毓中、José Luis Caño Ortigosa，〈中西合璧的手稿：「謨區查抄本(Boxer Codex)」初探(The study for “Boxer Codex”: the Manuscript that Combines both Chinese and the West)〉，《西文文獻中的 中國(China in the Western Narratives) 》(上海：復旦大學，2012)，頁 67-82。 5 “Relacion de las Costumbres del Reyno de Champa”, (ed.) C. R. Boxer, in Papers Read at the Inauguration of the Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies, 16-18 Septembre 1968. Lund, Scandianavian Institute of Asian Studies, 1970, pp. 37-44. 281 commanding a Spanish fleet since 1519, which crossed the Pacific through the Magellan Strait into East Asia. In 1565, during King Felipe II’s reign, an expedition force led by López de Legazpi established a stronghold at Cebu after efforts spanning for almost half a century. Subsequently, Andres de Urdaneta, an Augustinian missionary who took part in the expedition, discovered a route to return to the Americas via the Kuroshio Current. By taking advantage of this route, the Spanish were able to maintain a continuous flow of supplies from Mexico to their new outpost in East Asia. The expedition force expanded further north, and made Manila on the Luzon Island the new stronghold, which became the foundation of Spanish colonization of the Philippines for the next three centuries. The Spanish relied on Manila to serve as the expansion base in East Asia. While broadening regional trade by means of American silver, thanks to merchants of various origins that were present in the area, the Spanish designated Manila as a base to gather information from Continental Asia. The Spanish planned to build channels of communication with China and Japan, while expanding southward, hoping to gain control over the spice-producing Maluku Islands. 6 From the 1590s to early 17th century, certain adventurers in Manila wished to follow the examples of conquistadors Hernan Cortes’s (who conquered Azteca in Mexico) and Francisco Pizarro (who plundered Inca). These adventurers dreamed of taking part in a new wave of Spanish expansion into Southeast Asia. Near the end of 16th century, King Felipe II of Spain also assumed the 6 李毓中，＜北向與南進：西班牙東亞殖民拓展政策下的菲律賓和臺灣(1565-1642)(Taiwan and Philippines under The Spanish policy of expansion en East Asian)＞，《曹永和先生八十壽慶論文集 (Essays in Celebration of the 80th Birthday of Prof. Yung-ho Ts´ao》(臺北：樂學書局，2001)，頁 31-48。 282 Portuguese throne, thereby easing Spanish-Portuguese tensions, enabling Spanish-occupied Manila to stay focused on colonial expansion in East Asia. Meanwhile, the newly risen, ambitious Dasmariñas family organized 270 soldiers and sent them to Manila on May 31 1590, led by the family head Gomez Pérez Dasmariñas, the new governor-general of the Philippines. During the rule of Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas as governor-general of the Philippines, an optimistic atmosphere ensued; people awaited further Spanish expansion. Their primary targets were the Maluku Islands, at the south of the Philippines.