The shape of this island
of Luzon, taken as a whole, is more like a semi-quadrant than anything
else, although there are many irregularities in places. Some parts
are narrow, because of the numerous arms of the sea which bound and
penetrate the island; but in some parts, principally those on the
north side, the island grows broader and more spacious, as I will
show in the proper place. In other parts it is rough, rugged, and
not a little mountainous. When the island is considered as shaped
like a semi-quadrant, the great bay of Manila lies in the angle,
where the sides meet the city--which is in the center of the island,
near the entrance to the same bay; and has as a port Cavite, a little
more than two leguas to the south.
_Camarines_
The first, of the five provinces in the island of Luzon, beginning on
the eastern coast, is Camarines, which includes all the territory near
the mouth of the channel of Capul. The capital of Camarines is the
city of Cazeres, sixty leguas from Manila. It was settled by Doctor
Francisco de Sande, governor of these islands, in fifteen hundred and
seventy-four. He settled on the Vicor, a large and peaceful river,
whose waters are very fresh and healthful, because it runs through many
veins of gold, as do most or all of the rivers of these islands. There
are in Camarines as many as twenty encomiendas, counting the four into
which the island of Catanduanes (which is included in this district)
is divided.
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