Ship Surgeon Agustín Sánchez and his Journey

The Archivo General de Indias (AGI) in Sevilla possesses an interesting manuscript that can provide us with further insight into the life of a doctor on board one of the contemporary Manila galleons. The manuscript is described as the “proceedings on the goods of Agustín Sánchez, ship surgeon, who died without a known will (abintestato) on board the galleon San Martín, that was navigating along the coast of New Spain under the command of Captain Pedro de Ortega” (1592). ^[8]Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla (AGI), Contratación, 487, N. 1, R. 14, Bienes de difuntos: Agustín Sánchez (1592), http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/description/94800?nm: “Autos … Continue reading While such probate proceedings (autos de bienes difuntos) are a staple source of Spanish colonial history, only six such documents have so far been identified for ship surgeons from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, among which Sánchez was the only one employed on a trans-Pacific galleon. ^[9]Rodríguez-Sala, “Los cirujanos del mar en la Nueva España, siglos XVI–XVIII ¿estamento o comunidad?”, Cirugía y Cirujanos 70:2 (2002), 474. And while the names of each year’s galleon surgeon were systematically recorded by the Manila Royal Treasury, ^[10]Along with government officials, all officers on the Manila galleon, including the surgeon, were required to pay a 10% fee (media anata) on their annual salary. This was recorded in the annual … Continue reading without further details on their lives and identity, these individuals remain basically anonymous. This makes this document an especially valuable source.

Probate proceedings of Agustín Sánchez, f. 5r – click here to explore the Interactive Paleography Tool

Though he is designated throughout the document as both a cirujano and barbero, Sanchez’ biography suggests he may have possessed more far-reaching competencies than a low-ranking barber-surgeon. This hypothesis may be supported by the fact that, when he first reached Manila years earlier, he started to work at a local hospital before boarding the return galleon to New Spain. Based on his competencies, we would suggest that he be classified somewhere in the range between the official physicians who received a full medical university education and lower ranking barbers who fulfilled all kinds of practical medical tasks. But due to the lack of information on his education, unfortunately, his exact qualifications remain unclear.

Otherwise not much is known about the person of Agustín Sánchez. But the manuscript in the AGI contains a very long list of the goods which he carried, including books and tools he needed for his profession as ship surgeon. ^[11]Rodríguez-Sala, “Los cirujanos del mar en la Nueva España”, 474. Agustín Sánchez’ death brought about the inspection and inventory of the goods he had left and those carried on board. This inventory list, including a case with medical tools and instruments, as well as medical texts, was eventually presented at the port of Acapulco, where his belongings were auctioned by a probate judge in February of 1587. This list provides fascinating insights into his professional and personal life, as well as the materiality of his social standing.

According to the manuscript, Agustín Sánchez originally came from New Spain and first boarded the galleon in Acapulco in 1585, presumably around February, ^[12]As a rule, the galleons left Acapulco for the Philippines between early November and late March. in order to cure the sick (para curar los enfermados en dicha nao, f. 15r). He eventually passed away on board a galleon departing from Manila in 1586 (f. 1r, 3v, 14r), while it was sailing in the waters of the Philippine archipelago (las Islas del Poniente, f. 14r), under the command of captain Pedro de Ortega, on its return voyage (tornaviaje) back to Acapulco (f. 1r, 15r). ^[13]AGI, Contratación, 487, N. 1, R. 14, 1592. On 24 November 1586, when Sanchez’ death was formally reported according to the document, the galleon was sailing along the coast of New Spain, heading towards Acapulco (f. 1r).

In reconstructing the identity of Captain Pedro de Ortega, it is possible he was the same person as Pedro de Ortega Valencia (n. Guadalcanal, 1520?–1598?), the pilot who accompanied Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira (1542–1595) on the first Spanish expedition to the Salomon Islands in 1568. But taking into consideration his advanced age at the time of Sánchez’ travel (he would have been in his seventies by then), it seems much more likely that he was his identically named son or grandson. Of Ortega’s two children, the eldest, Jerónimo, accompanied him on the Salomon Islands expedition. His second son, Pedro, bore a child with María de Arellano, who he also named Pedro. ^[14]See Carlos Romero Romero, “La gran aventura de un marino tarifeño”, Aljaranda 43 (2001), 5; Javier Ortiz de la Tabla Ducasse, Los encomenderos de Quito, 1534–1660: origen y evolución de una … Continue reading

From another document, described as a “list of commodities carried from the Philippines by the galleon San Martín, which arrived in December 1586, of the persons who loaded them in these islands and those to whom they were consigned”, ^[15]AGI, Patronato, 25, R. 29, Relación de mercaderías de Filipinas: galeón San Martín (1586), http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/description/121861?nm:“Relación de las mercaderías que … Continue reading we know that the San Martín left Manila for Acapulco sometime in the summer of 1586 and reached Acapulco by December of that year. This timeline matches the information provided in our manuscript, which states that in November 1586, the San Martín was sailing along the American coast, close to Acapulco.

However, whether “our” San Martín is in fact the homonymous galleon that left Manila for Acapulco in June 1583 under Captain Francisco de Mercado, returning to Acapulco and then sailing from Acapulco to Macao (instead of Manila) in 1587, is unclear. After a mutiny on board this San Martín, Alonso Sánchez and the royal factor, Juan Bautista Román, were sent to Macao by Diego Ronquillo (in office 10 March 1583 – 16 May 1584). ^[16]The Chinese coast guard had first seized the ship and its cargo, but the crew was able to get away and escape to Portuguese Macao. The crew mutinied and got rid of Mercado whereupon governor Diego … Continue reading Román is said to have overcome the mutineers, then hired a new crew and sailed for Acapulco in May 1584. Theoretically, it is possible that the galleon left Macao in early summer 1584, reached Acapulco some time in fall 1584, then sailed back to the Philippines, perhaps still that same year or in 1585, thus making its way back again to Acapulco in 1586.

Agustín Sánchez is described as a ship surgeon coming from New Spain to cure the sick on the San Martín in 1585, having done his service on this galleon and then in a Manila hospital, from 19 June 1585 until the date when the provision of the galleon was received. From the manuscript we can reconstruct the following chronology of Sanchez’ life and death, the auctioning of his belongings, and the corresponding judicial documents and certifications.

Port of Acapulco by Dutch engineer Adrian Boot, 1628

Timeline

A full description of the events in the manuscript follows the visualized timeline.

• On 8 March 1584 (this is the earliest date mentioned in the manuscript), the local surgeon in Acapulco, Melchor Pérez Morillo, pledged himself ^[17]He is talking in the first person singular (i.e. yo). to pay 41 pesos to Agustín Sánchez, having borrowed from him this amount in a time of need. Pérez Morillo renounced any future exceptions from repayment (excepsion de la pecuania, formally exceptio non numeratae pecuniae in Latin) and promised to pay back the borrowed amount exclusively in silver pesos, either in Acapulco or at any other place in New Spain, a pledge formalized before the notary Amador Pérez and the witnesses Ascención de Méndez, Blas de Santa María, and Cristobal Ramírez (f. 10r).
• On 18 February 1585, Luis Díaz Marento confirms that he owes Agustín Sánchez a sum of 12 pesos, which  he had pledged to return to Sánchez whenever he requested it: “I promise to return this amount, with my assets as collateral (me obligo mi persona e bienes), asking that Manuel Fernández and Alonso Gómez sign this agreement as witnesses” (f. 8v).
• On 14 April 1585, Agustín Sánchez confirmed that he received 6 pesos from Luis Díaz Marento as partial payment, and stated he would only ask for the remaining 6 pesos once they reached the port of Acapulco (i.e. they were traveling together). Witnesses were Miguel Lorca, Don Alonso Lucano, and Francisco Núñez. They obviously concluded this agreement on board the San Martín, that means the galleon had already left the port of Acapulco in the direction of Manila (f. 9v).
• In 1585, probably between February and early April, Agustín Sánchez boarded the galleon San Martín in Acapulco as ship surgeon. The galleon sailed to Manila where it arrived as expected around 19 June 1585.
• Subsequently, Sánchez started working in a local hospital, likely the Royal Hospital (Hospital Real de Españoles, 1577–1898), which treated Spanish men, ^[18]The Royal Hospital in Manila always had a surgeon and an apothecary (both Spaniards). or perhaps in the Hospital of La Misericordia (1578–1656), which treated slaves, Spanish women, as well as natives and foreigners who could not afford other medicinal services. ^[19]In 1656, it was renamed Hospital de San Juan de Dios and still exists today.
• In summer 1586, the San Martín set sail from Manila on its return journey to Acapulco. Sánchez passed away on this journey—no exact date is provided in the manuscript.
• On 24 November 1586, the San Martín navigated close to the coasts of America, approaching Acapulco as expected. Pedro de Ortega, captain of the galleon, reports that Sánchez had passed away on the return voyage. An inventory of his possessions was drawn before the ships’s notary, Diego Zárate, while the ship’s constable (alguacil), Juan García Vázquez, was designated as their custodian (f. 8v).
• Given that Sánchez died without a known will, his belongings were openly sold to the highest bidder in two auctions, on 6 February (ff. 4r–6v) and on 14 February 1587 (f. 7r), for a total of 124.75 pesos. A local probate judge (juez de bienes de difuntos), Diego de Molina y Padilla, was responsible for the administrative organization of these proceedings (almoneda pública).
• On 20 December 1588, the general probate judge (juez general de bienes difuntos) in Mexico City, Doctor Alonso Martínez, ordered that the money from the auctions be sent to Juan de Avendaño, a formal resident (vecino) of Mexico City (f. 11r), who was to settle the balance of the inheritable sum, including any pending salaries.
• On 7 September 1589, Diego de Molina y Padilla, appeared before Gil Verdugo, accountant and judge of accounts (juez de resultas) of the general probate court in Mexico City, to finally present the itemised results of the auction held in Acapulco (f. 11v). This was part of this bureaucratic procedure by which the authorities of New Spain informed the Casa de Contratación and the Consejo de Indias on how much money was earned by auctioning property and possessions of individuals who had passed away overseas, which preceded the identification of successors and potential distribution of the inheritance.
• On 14 September 1589, a petition was read before judge Alonso Martínez, requesting the balance of the estate pending deposit in the probate treasury (caja de bienes de difuntos), in both original and copy, signed before the notary Hernando de Paz (f. 14v). The declared balance of the auction proceedings and other charges was 121.75 pesos.
• In 1591, a partial remittance of 73 pesos with 6 tomines and 6 granos (73.8125 pesos) was sent from Mexico to the Casa de Contratación in Sevilla, aboard of the galleon helmed by general Antonio Navarro del Prado. But the sum never arrived in Spain, as the ship was captured by the English (f. 15v). ^[20]In the context of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), the galleon may have been taken during English raids of Spanish ships in the Caribbean, for example, the blockade of Western Cuba in 1591. But … Continue reading
• On 20 May 1592, Doctor Andrés Saldierna de Mariaca, oidor of the Audiencia of New Spain and general probate judge (oidor de esta Real Audiencia y juez general de los bienes de difuntos), gave orders that the money earned from the auctions of belongings from deceased individuals be resent to Castilla that year in the fleet under the command of General Martín Pérez de Olazabal (f. 15v)

The Personal and Professional Belongings of Agustín Sánchez

Ensemble de gravures de costumes espagnols du XVIe siècle, 1600, Source: BnF Gallica

The goods Agustín Sánchez carried on board included many items, especially garments and loose fabrics, including those made from linen or similar light cottons (lienzo), or other cotton fabrics (algodón), as well as ruff collars (cuellos), shirts (for example, camisas de lienzo de Castilla y de China), handkerchiefs (pañuelos), table napkins, a bedcover, a bed canopy (pabellón), and bed sheets (sabanas de lienzo de sangley). ^[21]As for the demonym “Sangley”, see George B. Souza and Jeffrey Scott Turley (eds.), The Boxer Codex: Transcription and translation of an illustrated late sixteenth-century Spanish manuscript … Continue reading There was also a small chest with lock and key filled with cup-shaped containers used for mixing substances, such as herbs, medicines, etc., and some letters (cajuela chica de sangley llena de salçeretas de barro de china con su llave e unas cartas). Additionally, “Sangley” cases with two inkwells (caxuelas de sangley con dos tinteros de plomo), books, wine (vino de la tierra), furniture, etc. The so-called “Sangley cases” or chests were probably smaller, decorated cases made of wood or other materials, and were either made by the Chinese community in the Philippines, or, alternatively, on the Chinese mainland and then sold in Manila by Chinese merchants. Chinese traders and settlers in Manila were referred to as Sangleyes by the Spaniards. ^[22]“Sangley” was, thus, a Spanish transliteration, possibly even of an already existing term, designating Chinese merchants and the Chinese community in Manila. It has been interpreted as a … Continue reading Interesting is also a ceramic jar (tinaja), filled with “Chinese wine” (vino de China), either a fermented beverage or distilled spirit, which sold for 5.5 pesos (f. 7r), as well as a small box with ointments and an ivory comb (caxoncillo con ungüentos y un peyne de marfil, f. 6r).

Several medical texts, as well as a few other books, were taken on board and placed in a box with lock and key. The list provides us a greater understanding of the kind of medical literature surgeons and physicians considered important on board: ^[23]For a general survey, see also Fernando López-Ríos Fernández, Medicina Naval Española en la Época de los Descubrimientos (Barcelona: Editorial Labor, 1993).

Books

Analysing this list, it is interesting to note that Agustín Sánchez carried books that had just been printed a few years before, such as Juan Fragoso’s Cirugía universal (1580). It is of course also possible that such important medical books had “traversed the Atlantic several times as manuscript copies and published borrowings. Francisco Hernández’ manuscripts ^[24]Francisco Hernández (1515? –1587), a botanist who was famous for his Historia natural de Nueva España (Natural History of New Spain). His works are available through the website of the … Continue reading , for example, circulated in private copies among European botanists and physicians before the text appeared in print.” ^[25]Nancy Marquez, “Shifting the Frontiers of Early Modern Science: Astronomers, Botanists, and Engineers in Viceregal New Spain during the Habsburg Era, 1535–1700”, Ph.D. dissertation, Victoria … Continue reading Fragoso’s work De succedaneis medicamentis (On substitute medicinals, 1575) ^[26]Juan Fragoso, De succedaneis medicamentis liber denuo auctus… Ejusdem animadversiones, in quamplurima medicamenta composita, quorum est usus in hispanicis officinis (Madrid [Mantua Carpetanorum]: … Continue reading obviously belonged to the best represented books circulating in contemporary Mexico. ^[27]Leonard A. Irving, “Best Sellers of the Lima Book Trade, 1583”, The Hispanic American Historical Review 22:1 (1942), 16. Fragoso also wrote a book on aromatic trees, fruits, and other medicinals that were imported from the East Indies (1572), ^[28]Juan Fragoso, Discursos de las cosas aromáticas, arboles y frutales y de otras muchas medicinas simples que se traen de la India Oriental (Madrid: F. Sánchez, 1572), … Continue reading and his works dominated the field of surgery at the time. ^[29]Linda A. Newson, Making Medicines in Early Colonial Lima, Peru. Apothecaries, Science and Society [Atlantic World. Europe, Africa and the Americas, 1500–1830, 34] (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 131. His Cirugia universal, obviously accompanied by the Summa y recopilación de cirugía by Alonso López de Hinojosos, have been found as part of a documented personal library from Spanish Manila, which would “suggest that they were included as practical references for one residing at a remote outpost where professional medical assistance could hardly be expected”. ^[30]Leonard A. Irving, “One Man’s Library, Manila, 1583”, Hispanic Review 15:1, Schevill Memorial Number (1947), 89. Irving refers to a document “Enero 1583. Documentos remitidos por el Comisario … Continue reading The fact that the list of books he carried included titles pertaining to morality and curing the soul, should also not be surprising. After all, this was part of contemporary medicine. ^[31]See Schottenhammer, Torck, and De Winter, “Surgeons and Physicians on the Move in the Asian Waters”, and “The Case of Agustín Sánchez” (Parts 1 and 2), TRANSPACIFIC Podcast.

Books were important for various social strata of Spaniards who lived overseas. ^[32]Carlos Alberto Gonzáles Sánchez, “Los Libros de los Españoles en el Virreinato del Perú. Siglos XVI y XVII”, Revista de Indias LVI:206 (1996), 14: “De los 444 inventarios de Bienes de … Continue reading And medicinal books ranked high. ^[33]Two other scientific titles identified in the lists of bienes de difuntos in the Viceroyalty of Peru are the Aritmética práctica y especulativa, by Pérez de Moya, and a famous nautical manual, the … Continue reading According to María Luisa Rodríguez-Sala, the following books had been part and parcel of the inventory of physicians since 1592: one general book on medicine, two about surgery (cirugía), one about bloodletting (sangrar), and another one by Fray Dr Farfán. Added later was also a voluminous book on surgery by Juan Fragoso, and a book with remedies for all kinds of diseases titled Tesoro de pobres (Treasure of the poor) ^[34]Rodríguez-Sala, “Los cirujanos del mar en la Nueva España”, 468–474. Another surgeon who passed away in the eighteenth century left in total 14 special medicinal works: el Fragoso de Cirugía … Continue reading . It should be clear that, in face of the limited space available on board, surgeons would have certainly not taken more books on board than were considered necessary. Medical books, especially on surgery, and works about religion and morality definitely ranked among the most important. An early eighteenth-century entry in the Contaduría section of AGI, for example, which normally does not include very detailed cargo lists, also mentions three books on surgery and one discussing “morality” (tres libros de sirujia y uno de moral). ^[35]“Resúmenes de cuentas de factoría y Real Hacienda”, 30 April 1725 to 20 March 1726, factor Don Juan de Arrazain, official judge of the Real Hacienda of Acapulco, AGI, Contaduría, 907, f. 40v.

• 2 libros de Práctica de Juan de Vigo (f. 1r), most likely Teorica y pratica en cirurgia (Theory and practice in surgery, 1537), by Juan de Vigo (Giovanni da Vigo, 1460–1520), an Italian doctor and surgeon. ^[36]An extant version at the Biblioteca Nacional de España (BNE) is Giovanni de Vigo, Libro, o pratica en Cirurgia del muy famoso y experto Doctor Juan de Vigo […] traduzido de lengua latina en … Continue reading
• Libro de medicina que se dize modu[s] faciendi, most probably Modus faciendi cum ordine medicandi (Craftsmanship according to medical guidelines; Seville, 1527), by Fray Bernardino de Laredo (1482–1540). It is considered the first Castilian pharmacopoeia. ^[37]Although the author was neither a doctor nor a pharmacist, Laredo’s pharmacopoeia was highly valued because the author had been trained by Luis Lovera de Ávila (1480–1551), Núñez de Sevilla … Continue reading
• Libro de los secretos del reverendo Don Alexo Piamontes (Book of the secrets of the respectable Don Alexo Piamontes; Valladolid, 1595). ^[38]Alejo Piamontes, Libro de los secretos del reverendo Don Alexo Piamontes. (Valladolid: Diego Ferna[n]dez de Cordova y Oviedo impressor del rey nuestro señor, a costa de Pedro Osete mercader de … Continue reading
• Cirugia universal (Universal surgery, 1580), by Juan Fragoso (1530–1597), a physician and botanist from Toledo and surgeon of Philip II (f. 1v). ^[39]See Francisco Sánchez Capelot, La obra quirúrgica de Juan Fragoso (Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca, 1957); José M. López Piñero, “Fragoso, Juan”, in José M. López Piñero, Thomas F. … Continue reading
• Another Cirugia by Fragoso.
• Yntitulado Antonio Pez, that is Summa y examen de chirurgia by Antonio Perez (fl. 16th century), a Portuguese physician and surgeon (medico y chirurjano), published in Madrid in 1568. ^[40]Antonio Perez, Summa y examen de chirurgia y de lo mas necessario que en ella se contiene, con breves expusiciones de algunas sentencias de Hipocrates y Galeno (Madrid: Pierres Cosin, 1568). Images … Continue reading
• El [Sobremesa y] Alivio de caminantes (Table-talk and relief of itinerant people, 1569) by Juan de Timoneda (1518/1520–1583), a collection of 161 anecdotes and jests. ^[41]Full title: El sobremesa y alivio de caminantes de Joan Timoneda; en el qual se contienen affables y graciosos dichos, cuentos heroycos y de mucha sentencia y doctrina. A 19th-century manuscript copy … Continue reading
• Cirugia de mase alo (?), probably refers to Summa y recopilación de cirugía (Comprehensive account and recompilation of surgery, 1578), by master (de maese) Alonso López de Hinojosos. This was perhaps the most popular surgeon in New Spain during the sixteenth century, where he managed the Hospital Real de San José de los Naturales, a hospital established by the Franciscan order in Mexico between 1529 and 1531, in order to provide the indigenous population (i.e. the naturales) with medical services and treatment. López de Hinojosos introduced the use of leeches (sanguijuelas) and, in 1578, wrote the first work on surgery in the New World, including initial observations on odontology in Mexico. ^[42]An early edition is Alonso López de Hinojosos, Summa y recopilación de cirugía, con un arte para sangrar, y examen de barberos (Mexico: Casa de Pedro Belli, 1595), … Continue reading

• Compendio de la salud humana (Compendium of human health [Fasciculus medicinae], 1494), by Johannes de Ketham (1415–1470), a German physician living in Italy. ^[43]An early Spanish print is Johannes de Ketham, Compendio de la salud humana (Zaragoza?: Pablo Hurus, 1492), http://bdh.bne.es/bnesearch/detalle/bdh0000052266.
• De avisos de sanidad (Treatise on health), most likely Regimento y aviso de sanidad que trata de todo genero de Alimentos y del regimiento della… (1569) by Francisco Núñez de Oria (ca. 1535–?). The book provides ample information on the use of food, including bread, meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and beverages (such as wine and water), consequently serving as an important reference on board for dietary questions. ^[44]See Francisco Núñez de Oria, Regimiento y auiso de sanidad:que trata de todos los generos de alimentos y del regimiento della / agora nueuamente añadido y corregido por … Francisco Nuñez de … Continue reading
• Los problemas de Villalobos (Problems; Zaragoza, 1544), ^[45]Book in two parts: the first one covers questions of the human body and the second one questions of morality, including also two dialogues on medicine, the treatise of the three great things (that … Continue reading by Francisco de Villalobos (ca. 1473–ca. 1549), a Jewish converso and court physician. ^[46]Villalobos was one of the first doctors who described syphilis and gained a reputation for his Sumario de la medicina, including a Tratado sobre las pestíferas buvas (Salamanca: Antonio de Barreda, … Continue reading
• Libro de Farfan (f. 1v), that is, the Tratado breve de medicina (Brief treatise of medicine), by Agustín Farfán (ca. 1532–1604), a Spanish physician who in 1592 published a medical treatise in which he introduced the most common diseases. ^[47]López-Ríos Fernández, Medicina Naval Española, 111. Farfán also describes scurvy and the administration of lemons and oranges as a remedy. His book consequently served as a kind of standard reference. ^[48]An early sixteenth-century Mexican print is Agustín Farfán, Tratado breve de medicina y todas las enfermedades, hecho por el Padre Agustin Farfan, Doctor en Medicina, y Religioso indigno de la … Continue reading
• Segunda parte del libro llamado Abecedario spiritual: donde se tratan diversos exercicios en cada letra el suyo (Second part of a book entitled “Spiritual alphabet”: in which various exercises by each single letter are dealt with), by Fray Francisco de Osuna (1492/1497– ca. 1540), a Spanish Franciscan friar. ^[49]Francisco de Osuna, Segunda parte del Abecedario espiritual donde se tratan diversos exercicios en cada letra del suyo (Burgos: Juan de Junta, 1555), https://books.google.com/books?id=qyhoWxc5P3MC.
• 2 cartapacios de mano, or 2 handwritten notebooks.
• 3 libros desquadernados sin principio ni cabo, that is, 3 unbound books “without beginning or end”, likely a loose pile of documents.

Implements

Agustín Sánchez’ book collection consequently provides us with an interesting insight into which literature was considered essential on board a ship. We also learn more about the medical tools that were carried on board. Sánchez’ equipment included 6 forceps for the extraction of back teeth, pincers, barber’s equipment (including mirrors), and a drug case or medicine chest with a small glass vessel filled with balsam (some form of oil). There were also needles, scalpels, and grinding stones to prepare medicines that belonged to the normal equipment of a ship surgeon, as well as:

Preserved buffalo horns, present day (Portugal)

• 3 jars and 2 small jars or bottles filled with water buffalo horn (Bubali Cornu), either as fragments or in powder form (dos frascos grandes con sus frasquillos de bufano). ^[50]We wish to thank Dr Ignacio Chuecas Saldías for the information that, in contemporary Spanish texts, the term bufano occurs referring to the Asian buffalo (búfalo asiático). Like rhinoceros horn (Rhinoceri Asiatici Cornu), it was used for medicinal purposes.
• A box with 3 forceps, 3 pliers, 2 scissors, 2 razor knives, and a fire lighter (un caxon con tres gatillos e un alican y dos alicanes e dos tijeras e dos navajas e otro de fuego, f. 1v), a sharpening stone, a small razor knife ornamented with silver, and one golden beryl (a mineral consisting of a silicate of beryllium and aluminium).
• Torniquets (trençaderas), used by surgeons to amputate human limbs. ^[51]See Alonso Romano, Recopilacion de toda la theorica y practica de cirugia: Aora nueuamente lleua añadido un Tratado del modo de curar carnosidades y callos de la via de la orina de Miguel de Leriza, … Continue reading
• 2 mirrors with ebony frames, 2 combs, small gifts and many papers on medical matters (espejos guarneçidos de ebano e tres peynes e pentenores e muchos papelles con cossas de mediçina).
• A copper case with 4 surgical irons and a tube or cylinder, possibly used for bloodletting ^[52]Barber-surgeons continued to let blood through the seventeenth century. Even the discovery of blood circulation, described by William Harvey (1578–1657) in 1616 (a finding published 1628), did not … Continue reading or enemas ^[53]Tubes of bone, bamboo, wood or metal were attached to animal bladders or bags made of silk or other fabrics. By the sixteenth century, clyster syringes made of silver, ivory, or pewter became more … Continue reading (un estuche de cobre con quatro hierros de cirugia y un canute).

Surgical instrument set, 1650-1700 (Science Museum, London)

• A barber’s seat and a certificate issued by officials in Manila, with other letters and reports (su asiento de barbero e una certificaçion de los oficiales con otros cartas e memorias).
• A sword, a dagger, and an arquebus (una espada e una daga y un arcabuz, f. 1r).
• Listed among these is also a vest or jerkin made of goat leather (cordoban) with tafetta (f. 1v), likely part of his dress.

We read that barber equipment, with 5 lancets with silver ends, 4 irons to extract teeth, needles, razors, and a sharpening stone were bought by a certain Agustín de Madrid for 4.25 pesos (f. 5v). To Sánchez’ equipment also belonged 6 forceps for the extraction of back teeth, and other barber equipment, including mirrors (f. 6r). A total of 19 books on surgery and notebooks were purchased by a certain Diego López (diez e nuebe libros viejos […] de cirugias e cartapacios de mano de diferentes cosas, f. 6r) for a sum of 4 pesos. The small glass with balsam (un basito de balsamo), together with an empty glass and a shoehorn (calçador), were sold to Domingo de de Ugarte for half a peso (f. 6r). Some orange preserve and a small clay bottle with a bit of oil (poco de conserva de naranjada e una botica con un poco de aceite) to Agustín de Madrid for 1.5 pesos (f. 7r).

Treating Symptoms of Scurvy and Other Diseases on Board

Ship surgeons responsible for long and grueling ocean crossings had to be equipped for many casualties and diseases. One would expect a wide range of ointments, syrups, and medical tools to treat external wounds, but also those intended for all kinds of different internal malaise, especially those caused by poor hygiene and malnutrition. Perhaps some of the most frequent and cruel ailments were those resulting from malnutrition, as was scurvy, caused by a deficiency of vitamin C in the daily diet. ^[54]Vitamin C is instrumental in the absorption of iron from vegetable foods, and in the synthesis of collagen. It supports the immune system in the protection from diseases. In order to keep the body in … Continue reading The forceps and irons needed for the extraction of back teeth—mentioned more than once in our text—indirectly attest to the problem of scurvy. In the course of several months on a vitamin-C low diet, a patient’s condition will further worsen with multiple symptoms, like swollen and bleeding gums, loosening or loss of teeth, anemia, rashes and hemorrhages in the lower extremities. It is consequently not surprising that a ship surgeon needed irons and forceps to pull loose teeth, especially the back teeth with longer tooth roots. Another ship surgeon, Alonso Sánchez de Herrera, active around 1600, carried among his belongings a bag with five iron tools to pull back teeth, a cautery, and a small grinding stone. ^[55]María Luisa Rodríguez-Sala, “Los Cirujanos de las Fuerzas Armadas en la Nueva España. ¿Miembros de un Estamento Ocupacional o una Comunidad?”, Ludus Vitalis XI: 19 (2003), 105, with reference … Continue reading

Well into the seventeenth century, scurvy still posed a serious threat to all ocean crossings. A Spanish letter, written by the Flemish-born Diego de Salcedo, Governor-General of the Philippines (1663–1668), reports a horrible eight-month voyage on a Spanish galleon crossing the Pacific from Luzon to Acapulco, with more than 100 deaths due to scurvy, which he referred to as “mal de Loanda” (no se consiguiera su entrada sin mucho riesgo por haber muerto en el viaje mas de ciento personas del mal de Loanda y traer la demás gente que venia en ella muy enferma). ^[56]AGI, Filipinas, 23, R. 2, N. 4, Expediente sobre los socorros y el situado de Filipinas (21 June 1661), image 57, http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/description/421637?nm. Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri (1651–1725), a seventeenth-century Italian adventurer and world traveller, who crossed the Pacific from the Philippines to Mexico in 1697, paints a similar picture. ^[57]He was carrying mercury to be sold in Mexico with a 300% profit. His diary, Giro del Mondo (Journey around the World, 1699), describes the journey as a nightmare, where the pervasiveness of scurvy, the so-called “Dutch Disease”, made “the Mouth sore, putrefies the Gums, and makes the Teeth drop out” (l’altro, ch’è una ſpezie di ſcorbuto, ed è detto mal d’olanda, impiaga la bocca tutta, putrefa le gingive, e fa cader le mole ei denti). ^[58]Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri, Giro del mondo. 5, Contenente le cose piu ragguardevoli vedute nell’isole Filippine (Venezia: Coleti, 1728), 248, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, … Continue reading

Case of scurvy from the journal of Henry Walsh Mahon, 1841

In the late sixteenth century, European seafarers did not yet know about the relieving effects of fruits and vegetables as part of the diet. The crews equipped themselves with incenses to fight against evil miasmas but also against rats, cockroaches, and all kinds of noxious insects. Enemas—injections of fluid into the rectum intended to cleanse or stimulate the emptying of the bowels—complemented bloodletting as standard remedies in the sixteenth century, based on the general idea of expelling the “humours” from the sick patients’ bodies. ^[59]For example, Gerry Greenstone, “The history of bloodletting”, BC Medical Journal 52:1 (2010), 14; Desroches, Jean-Paul, Gabriel Casal, and Franck Goddio (eds.), Treasures of the San Diego (New … Continue reading, 176–178; Bolli, “William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation.”)) Thus, one would expect to find several kinds of small hoses and syringes as well as knifes and scissors in the medical chests of surgeons, tools and instruments that we also find among the implements of Agustín Sánchez. Also highly valued were substances that induced vomiting or that had anti-microbial and antiseptic qualities, like camphor. ^[60]Schottenhammer, Torck, and De Winter, “Surgeons and Physicians on the Move in the Asian Waters”.

Many of the medicinal drugs, herbs, and plants that were used on board, especially when setting sail from Acapulco originated in the Americas. ^[61]Philip II officially sponsored the exploration and investigation of American (and Philippine) native plants and medicine. The royal decree (real cédula) of 11 January 1570 created the Protomedicato … Continue reading  The narcotic plant called picietl in Náhuatl (Nicotiana rustica L.) ^[62]See Gran Diccionario Náhuatl (México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2018), http://www.gdn.unam.mx/diccionario/consultar/palabra/picietl/id/188963. , also called Aztec tobacco, was a case in point. The book of Dr Farfán, which was part of Agustín Sánchez on-board library suggests el piciete to induce vomiting. It was a mixture of fresh or dried powdered tobacco leaves, lime, and, often, garlic, and was believed to protect not only against vipers and other venomous animals, but also evil spirits, enemies, and sorcery, as well as possessing the power to “extract disease.”

Unfortunately, our manuscript does not provide us with further details as to which kinds of medicines and herbs our ship surgeon carried on board, but he was definitely equipped for treating scurvy. The preserved oranges spring to mind in this context, while balsam was highly valued to treat external wounds. ^[63]Note to the online edition: The auction table in the next section includes the image of an Italian balsam jar similar to the one Sánchez may have carried on board, but Qing-dynasty glass bottle for … Continue reading

Buffalo horn was used to “reduce heat” ^[64]Rui Liu, Min Wang, and Jin-ao Duan, “Antipyretic and antioxidant activities of the aqueous extract of Cornu bubali (water buffalo horn)”, American Journal of Chinese Medicine 38:2 (2010), … Continue reading , and modern experiments with rats have proven its antipyretic effects. ^[65]Rui Liu, Qiong Huang, Jinjun Shan, Jin-ao Duan, Zhenhua Zhu Pei Liu, Yong Bian, Er-xin Shang, and Dawei Qian, “Metabolomics of the Antipyretic Effects of Bubali Cornu (Water Buffalo Horn) in … Continue reading A comb may have been used for removing lice, and as such would have been part of the normal equipment of a surgeon ^[66]John Burnett, “The Gustiani Medicine Chest”, Medical History 26 (1982), 329. , as would have been the various ointments he carried in a box, or the bottles with special oils. ^[67]Unfortunately, no details are provided; the text just speaks of aceite.

From the little information we do possess on these types of medicines (ointments, liquids, syrups etc.), we would suggest that Agustín Sánchez carried a more or less typical mid- to late- sixteenth-century maritime medicine chest with typical medical equipment on board.

Reference to picietl in the Codex De la Cruz-Badiano, 1552 (bottom line)

Auctioning off Sánchez’ Property

As Agustín Sánchez had no known heirs, his belongings were sold in an auction after the ship had returned to Acapulco. In this context, his medical books and equipment, including needles, scalpels, grinding stones, etc., were sold perhaps to other physicians or to merchants who intended to resell the equipment, though we only know the buyers by name. ^[68]Over 60% of the auction proceeds came from only five repeat buyers: Domingo de Olarte/Ugarte (13.5 pesos), Pedro Roncesvalles (14.25), Agustín de Madrid (14.125), Pedro González (12.375), Juan de … Continue reading (The itemised auction purchases for each of the 23 buyers is presented as a table in the following section.) The idea was to auction off all of his belongings, so that the probate judge responsible for handling the property of those without a known will could submit his inheritance for distribution as a sum of money, rather than an extensive collection of various material goods. ^[69]Antonio García-Abásolo, “The Private Environment of the Spaniards in the Philippines”, Philippine Studies 44:3 (1996), 349–373: “Even if they had died without leaving their testament, this … Continue reading

The proceedings of probate courts (autos de bienes de difuntos) are an immensely valuable source for Spanish colonial history, and a great variety of probate inventories from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries have survived in Spanish and Latin American archives. ^[70]Research on probate proceedings (autos de bienes de difuntos) has become a field in its own right. Historians have focused on wide ranging issues, such as legal practices, and customs, religiosity … Continue reading Many Spaniards overseas met a sudden death, with no will or document specifying what to do with their belongings after they died, which rendered them as “intestates” (abintestatos). According to the contemporary applicable Spanish law, when someone passed away without a formal will, all their belongings would be transferred into the ownership of the Spanish state, which then decided what to do with them. This particular legal procedure sought to safeguard material possessions of both Spaniards and foreigners who died as intestates in Spanish America. ^[71]Ibid., 32. In many cases, individuals or authorities close to the deceased could otherwise take possession of their property due to the absence of a formal will and the remoteness of their possible heirs in the Iberian Peninsula. Hence, the colonial administration established probate courts to ensure that assets ultimately reached their legitimate successors or were ultimately transferred to the Real Hacienda (Royal Treasury), which became the legitimate heir in the absence of others. ^[72]María Belén García López, “Los Autos de Bienes de Difuntos en Indias: El caso del sevillano Baltasar Tercero”, Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos (2010), … Continue reading

Colonial authorities, after verifying the non-existence of a will, ordered local officials to first draw up an inventory all the possessions of the deceased. The assets were then auctioned by the probate court (juzgado de bienes de difuntos), which later remitted the proceeds to Spain. ^[73]José Luis Soberanes Fernández, “El Juzgado de Bienes de Difuntos”, Revista Chilena de Historia del Derecho I:22 (2010), 637–638.  As we have suggested above, the Casa de la Contratación in Seville preferred bullion over physical objects, which besides representing a bulky cargo to be shipped on board one of the Atlantic fleets, were generally of little benefit or interest to them. That is the reason why the organization of a public auction, as occurred with Agustín Sánchez’ personal belongings, became the rule.

Some aspects of these proceedings, however, were modified when somebody passed away onboard. First, the ship’s notary (Diego de Zárate on the San Martín) had to formally attest the death. Subsequently, the captain nominated a crew member to draw up an inventory of the deceased’s goods, acting as custodian (custodio or depositario de bienes) (f. 1r–3r). In the Sánchez case, this was the ship’s constable (alguacil), Juan García Vázquez. Debts payable and receivable were also formally recorded. Once the ship had reached the closest port of call, the custodian would notify the local judge of the probate court and properly deliver the list of assets, so that the court could proceed with the public auction (f. 4r–7r).

Custodians were relieved of their duties upon submission of the inventory to the judge. Money collected from the auctions, which in the Sánchez case took place in Acapulco, had to then be sent to the general probate court of the viceroyalty—either Mexico City or Lima—where the general judge of the probate court (juez general de bienes de difuntos) was seated. This court served as a final depot before the returns from the auction were shipped to the Casa de Contratación in Sevilla.

Sevilla: seat of the Casa de la Contratación (Sánchez Coello, late 16th c.)

While we possess a great abundance of such proceeding on the assets of deceased individuals, including physicians, very little information is available on ship surgeons serving on galleons of to and from New Spain, especially in Mexican archives, a point emphasised by María Luisa Rodríguez-Sala. ^[74]Rodríguez-Sala, “Los cirujanos del mar en la Nueva España”, 472. We find information on these individuals in the Contratación section of AGI, under the records of the bienes de difuntos. Rodríguez-Sala has identified the records of 63 ship surgeons contracted by the Royal Navy between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries ^[75]Ibid., 474, reference 4., who served at several geographic locations in Spain’s overseas colonies, such as San Blas, Veracruz, Acapulco, or Manila. Yet she has only located the probate records of six ship surgeons employed on galleons during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These included Agustín Sánchez, along with Jerónimo de Silva (1590) ^[76]AGI, Contratación, 923, N. 21, Bienes de difuntos: Jerónimo de Silva (1590): “Autos sobre los bienes de Jerónimo de Silva, barbero y cirujano de nao, natural de Oporto (Portugal), hijo de Juan y … Continue reading , Hernán de Alba (1623) ^[77]AGI, Contratación, 354, N. 10, Autos de bienes de difuntos (1623): “De Hernán de Alba, barbero y cirujano de la nao almiranta, natural al parecer de Sevilla, y difunto en Veracruz.” , Francisco García Matamala (1642) ^[78]AGI, Contratación, 420, N.2, Bienes de difuntos: Francisco García Matamala (1642); “Testamento. inventario y almoneda de los bienes de Francisco García Matamala, cirujano de la almiranta de la … Continue reading , Antonio de Monzonias (1701) ^[79]AGI, Contratación, 466, N. 4, R. 5, Bienes de difuntos: Antonio de Monzonias (1701): “Autos sobre declarar por testamento la memoria de don Antonio de Monzonias, licenciado en cirugía, natural de … Continue reading , and Juan de Castro Infante (1704–1711) ^[80]AGI, Contratación, 983, Autos de bienes de difuntos: Juan de Castro Infante (1704–1711): “Poder y testamento en virtud de él, inventario y otras diligencias de Juan de Castro Infante, cirujano … Continue reading . Among these few, Agustín Sánchez was the only one employed on a trans-Pacific galleon. ^[81]The others served on trans-Atlantic galleons and sailed between Sevilla and New Spain. Jerónimo de Silva served on the Santa María Begoña (1589), under captain Cristobal Sánchez, while Antonio de … Continue reading

Auction Table

If we turn to the first auction of the personal and professional belongings of Agustín Sánchez on 6 February 1587, we see that a Señor Don Diego de Molina y Padilla acted as the presiding judge (juez, f. 3v and 11v) and a certain Alvaro de Castillo as notary (escribano, f. 7v). The following items were sold among 22 bidders during this first auction, for a subtotal of 109 pesos and 5 reales (109.625 pesos). In the second auction, on 14 February, Juan García Vázquez acted as custodian and delivered the remaining goods to 3 returning buyers and a new bidder, for a second subtotal of 15 pesos and 1 real (15.125 pesos).

Conclusion

The ship surgeons who crossed the Pacific aboard the Manila galleons between the mid sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries remain for the most part anonymous. While their names were systematically recorded in the annual accounting reports of the Manila treasury, we lack details on their actual identities, medical practices and equipment, personal effects, and their lives in general. Sources on ship surgeons employed on the trans-Atlantic crossing have been more forthcoming, though they remain elusive for surgeons who did not serve officially in the Spanish Armada. Even then, these documents have only come to light thanks to painstaking research and the combing of volumes of primary sources by committed historians. ^[82]See also Rodríguez-Sala, Los cirujanos del mar en la Nueva España, 11. Such documents are rare outliers in the sea of wills and probate records that can be found in almost every colonial archive.

    The probate proceedings of Agustín Sánchez are thus a rare source that reveal the exhaustive collection of items that a contemporary ship surgeon carried on board, including medical equipment, drugs, and reference texts, thus helping us to reconstruct the professional life of a ship surgeon on board of an early modern galleon crossing the Pacific.
    The studied manuscript ultimately elicits the conclusion that Agustín Sánchez was more than a barber-surgeon. That medical books were found in possession of a deceased surgeon is nothing extraordinary per se, but his professional experience in Manila and the presence of other implements in his possession suggest some more far-reaching competencies as a practical doctor, perhaps also as an apothecary or pharmacist. Additional evidence beyond this manuscript would be necessary to ascertain whether Sánchez actually received some formal medical education, whether inside or outside the university system. Regardless, the details we do gather from the manuscript represent a unique window into the life of the diverse range of unexplored characters who made the trans-Pacific voyages of the Manila galleon possible.

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Article

González Balderas, Carlos and Angela Schottenhammer. “Agustín Sánchez, a Late Sixteenth-Century Spanish Ship Surgeon Crossing the Pacific Ocean” Transpacific Research Notes, no. 1 (May 2022), https://crossroads-research.net/projects/erc-adg-transpacific/transpacific-research-notes/agustin-sanchez/.

Media

Ruiz-Stovel, Guillermo, Carlos González Balderas, and Angela Schottenhammer, “The Case of Agustín Sánchez: an Interactive Online Resource—A Late Sixteenth-Century Spanish Surgeon Crossing the Pacific Ocean”. Designed by Peter Färberböck and Stefan Schwaiger. Crossroads Research Centre, 2022, https://crossroads-research.net/transpacific/agustinsanchez/.

Schottenhammer, Angela, “The Case of Agustín Sánchez, Part 1—Medical Practice on Board the Manila Galleon”, March 2021. In Transpacific Podcasts, Crossroads Research Centre. Podcast, MP3 audio, 11:13, https://crossroads-research.net/podcast-medical-practice-on-board-the-case-of-agustin-sanchez/.

Schottenhammer, Angela, Mathieu Torck, and Wim De Winter, “The Case of Agustín Sánchez, Part 2—A Transpacific Surgeon’s Medical Practice, Inventory, and Books on Board the Manila Galleon”, May 2021. In Transpacific Podcasts, Crossroads Research Centre. Podcast, MP3 audio, 19:07, https://crossroads-research.net/podcast-the-case-of-agustin-sanchez-a-transpacific-surgeons-medical-practice-inventory-and-books-on-board-the-manila-galleon-1580/.