风萧萧_Frank
以文会友
中华企业（Empresa de China）
The Empresa de China (China enterprise)
Last edited on 19 August 2025, at 15:43 (UTC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empresa_de_China
西班牙帝国长期以来计划征服中国。
16世纪，这一计划被反复提出，作为征服菲律宾的自然结果。该计划涉及一个联盟入侵并同化明朝，该联盟将包括西班牙人、葡萄牙人、西班牙属菲律宾的西班牙臣民、丰臣摄政时期的日本盟友，以及潜在的大量华裔盟友。[1][2][3]
基督教传教士和大使的报告认为，军事征服中国似乎是可行的。他们称明朝人口被遣散，管理低效，并且很容易被推翻统治者，这与阿兹特克和印加帝国的情况类似，领土控制权可以被夺走。征服中国后，该计划包括大规模的福音传播活动，以及促进伊比利亚人和中国人的混血，希望将中国变成一个力量源泉，从而扩大西班牙的控制力，并将基督教传播到整个亚洲。在最好的情况下，西班牙帝国可以渴望在奥斯曼帝国与哈布斯堡王朝的战争中建立一个东方战场。[4]
这项计划由西班牙王朝的几位重要人物制定，但其主要推动力是耶稣会中由阿隆佐·桑切斯领导的一个分支，他与其他教会人士就维多利亚时代新征服的合法性问题发生了冲突。1588年，菲利普二世国王允许成立一个官方委员会——中国企业委员会（Junta de la Empresa de China），但同年西班牙无敌舰队的失败导致该计划被放弃。后来，入侵中国的计划再次短暂浮现，并提出了一项新的计划：推翻丰臣摄政，借助日本本土起义（可能包括德川家康）的力量征服日本，之后日本军队将被用来对付中国。
历史
将西班牙帝国扩张至中国的想法最早由阿兹特克帝国的征服者埃尔南·科尔特斯于1526年提出。他致信查理五世国王，建议从新西班牙太平洋沿岸的新港口开始征服摩鹿加群岛和中国。[5][3] 然而，由于加西亚·霍弗雷·德·洛阿伊萨和阿尔瓦罗·德·萨维德拉·塞隆的远征失败（后者由科尔特斯亲自派遣，以营救加西亚·霍弗雷·德·洛阿伊萨的幸存者），查理五世放弃了太平洋计划，并根据《萨拉戈萨条约》将摩鹿加群岛的权利转让给了葡萄牙王国。[5]
初步进展
西班牙最终在太平洋上扩张，这归功于米格尔·洛佩斯·德·莱加斯皮的远征。他的航海家安德烈斯·德·乌达内塔发现了“托纳维亚耶”（tornaviaje，从菲律宾返回墨西哥的航线），从而将新征服的菲律宾与新西班牙连接起来。尽管主要目标是进入亚洲香料贸易，但许多探险家刚刚征服美洲，并将该群岛视为征服邻近中国的第一步。[5] 鉴于西班牙人的小股部队在当地土著的帮助下足以摧毁阿兹特克和印加帝国，他们相信同样的策略也可以应用于中国，通过获得当地华人、日本人和南岛语系盟友的帮助。[6] 莱加斯皮本人选择马尼拉而不是宿务作为西班牙的行动基地，因为它靠近中国的贸易路线。[5]
马丁·德·拉达，传教士和宇宙学家。 1569年，首批西方驻中国大陆大使之一马丁·德·拉达向总督马丁·恩里克斯·德·阿尔曼萨呈递了一份早期报告。拉达在访问中国后表示，即使中国人口稠密，但其人民并不好战，其防御主要依靠人口和防御工事，因此无需集结庞大的西班牙军队来征服他们。[5][3] 然而，拉达建议尽可能以和平的方式进行战争，并以劝说和传教为基础。[3]
1575年，在马尼拉战役中击败中国海盗李马洪后，西班牙帝国与明朝建立了外交桥梁。马丁·德·拉达作为代表团成员被派往福建，旨在就西班牙在中国领土上建立类似葡属澳门的定居点进行谈判。[5]该项目无果而终，此后菲律宾总督弗朗西斯科·德·桑德决定致信腓力二世国王，提议攻打中国[7][8]，声称4,000-6,000名士兵就足够了，而且中国所遭受的暴政将有助于这一努力。[5][6]然而，腓力二世在1577年表示，这个计划目前并不方便，并命令桑德与明朝建立友谊。[6]次年，危地马拉总督迭戈·加西亚·德·帕拉西奥也向西班牙提出了类似的建议，他提议开辟一条从西班牙到
经由洪都拉斯前往菲律宾，希望建立一支足够强大的驻军，平定该群岛，并有可能攻占中国。他的计划被忽视了。[5] 桑德的继任者贡萨洛·龙基略·德·佩尼亚洛萨也重访了该地。[9]
耶稣会的影响[编辑]
中华商会受到了马尼拉基督教会的宗教和政治推动，尤其是备受争议的耶稣会士兼外交官阿隆索·桑切斯[10][6]的支持。桑切斯于1582年访问了澳门，以确认西班牙和葡萄牙王朝合并后澳门的忠诚。[10] 桑切斯目睹了中国当局的逮捕，他们因未得到有关合并的适当通知而感到愤怒。次年回国后，他坚信只有通过军事力量，基督教才能在中国蓬勃发展。[5][10]
多明戈·德·萨拉查，传教士和主教。
桑切斯及时返回，参加了1583年的第三次宗教会议。在会上，他与主教多明戈·德·萨拉查和传教士安东尼奥·塞德尼奥讨论了征服的可能性，当地经济状况不佳，足以鼓励扩张的可能性。[5][10]萨拉查提出了弗朗西斯科·德·维多利亚关于正义战争的论点，认为中国对基督徒的虐待已经足够多，足以证明冲突是正当的。他收集了中国当局阻碍传教活动的报告，还带来了八名西班牙和葡萄牙航海家在与中国人接触时受到虐待的证词。[5][11][2]萨拉查还提出了战略建议，提议通过当地的葡萄牙耶稣会士网络争取日本的帮助，并没收马尼拉的中国商船，以资助最初的战争。然而，通过仔细遵循维多利亚的理论，他认为很快就能决定征服是否合法。[12]这些结论包含在一份送交菲利普国王的文件中。[13]
除了这些计划之外，耶稣会日本传教团的负责人弗朗西斯科·卡布拉尔还表示，征服中国将带来难以言喻的物质和精神利益，而现有的中国帝国行政机构一旦被同化，将为此带来无价的回报。[14] 根据自己在澳门的经历，他指出，澳门防御薄弱，民众容易反抗压迫他们的官僚，因此，1万名伊比利亚士兵就足以完成入侵，再加上他通过其传教团的关系招募的2000名日本士兵。他还主动提出担任间谍，为这场战役做准备，其中还包括利玛窦和罗明坚。[15] 卡布拉尔相信，一旦他们在北京俘获万历皇帝，征服就会立即结束。[2]胡安·包蒂斯塔·罗曼也相信他能够召集7000名日本基督教战士。[16]
小西行长，基督教大名兼海军上将。
随着项目的推进，1586年菲律宾将军奏折中收录了一份由桑切斯撰写的文件，题为《特别进入中国》（De la entrada de China en particular），其中收集了关于征服中国以及被征服土地未来治理的极其详细的论述。[5] 该计划包括召集一支由菲律宾总督率领的舰队，其中包括10000-12000名伊比利亚士兵、6000名维萨亚人和5000名在长崎招募的日本士兵，并由熟悉当地情况的耶稣会士协助，并拨款20万比索，用于战略性地贿赂官员和雇佣兵。进攻将双管齐下：卡斯蒂利亚人经由福建入侵中国，葡萄牙人则经由广东入侵。[17][2] 利玛窦和罗明坚此前将被召回，担任中国当局的顾问和谈判代表[18]。中国当局的归顺将受到维多利亚时代防止不必要的暴力和虐待平民政策的审查。[19][2]
一旦中国落入西班牙统治，他们便着手推行基督教化，建立监护制和贵族财产，并建设基督教基础设施，如医院、大学和修道院，同时，他们还通过一项“混血计划”来促进伊比利亚征服者与中国女性之间的跨种族婚姻。[19]成功将意味着西班牙普世君主制的巨大进步，因为西班牙统治下的中国将成为其扩展东南亚和印度洋控制权的宝贵基地，借此可以征服和基督教化交趾支那、暹罗、柬埔寨、印度、婆罗洲、苏门答腊、摩鹿加群岛和其他地区，甚至有可能聚集地区盟友对抗奥斯曼帝国，并开辟一条东部战线。[4]
1587年，马尼拉展开战争准备，在塞德尼奥的监督下修建防御工事，并运送武器和物资。[4][6] 同年，一个日本代表团偶然抵达。
在丰臣秀吉的海军大将小西行长的指挥下，从平户出发，提供6000名藩属，并“请求所有[西班牙]人民和士兵”配合任何针对中国、婆罗洲、暹罗或摩鹿加群岛的入侵。[4][20]
审议与放弃[编辑]
何塞·德·阿科斯塔，神学家和人类学家。
然而，桑切斯和萨拉查的计划遭到了以范礼安和总会长克劳迪奥·阿夸维瓦为首的另一个耶稣会派系的反对。他们认为“中华商会”是对基督教和平传教原则的不公正侵犯。[10] 葡萄牙耶稣会士也认为这对他们王国的经济利益构成了威胁。[2] 1586年6月，桑切斯启程前往西班牙，旨在汇报菲律宾的局势，并秘密商讨“Empresa”的实现。阿夸维瓦指派他接受著名神学家和历史学家何塞·德·阿科斯塔的指导，并命令阿科斯塔驳斥桑切斯的哲学基础。阿科斯塔利用弗朗西斯科·德·维多利亚的论点撰写了整整一整份条约，以批判菲律宾入侵中国。[21][5] 抗议活动，加上桑切斯在新西班牙的行动——他努力阻止一批多明我会传教士前往中国，以免他们阻碍战争——最终导致他与萨拉查之间产生了隔阂。[5][22][23]
桑切斯于1587年12月会见了腓力二世，尽管阿科斯塔在场，他还是抓住机会向国王递交了一份文件副本。他的愿望最终成功了。西班牙无敌舰队的筹备工作一完成，菲利普便于1588年3月授权正式成立“中国企业委员会”（Junta para la Empresa de China）。[24][25] 该委员会由印度议会主席埃尔南多·德·维加·丰塞卡、阿隆索·德·巴尔加斯将军、海军上将胡安·德·卡多纳·伊·雷克森斯、王室秘书胡安·德·伊迪亚克斯·奥拉扎巴尔和克里斯托瓦尔·德·莫拉、宗教裁判官佩德罗·莫亚以及四名卡斯蒂利亚战争委员会成员组成。[2] 然而，该委员会的筹备工作在8月因无敌舰队失败的消息而中断，当时多明我会和方济各会士再次发起抗议，认为该项目危及他们自身的运作。最终，王室对中国企业的兴趣彻底消退。[26][25][3]
菲律宾新任总督戈麦斯·佩雷斯·达斯·马里尼亚斯 (Gómez Pérez das Mariñas) 是桑切斯建议选出的，但他接到明确命令，要避免与中国发生军事冲突。[2] 相反，他卷入了与丰臣秀吉的外交紧张局势，丰臣秀吉似乎要求西班牙属菲律宾成为其入侵朝鲜的附庸，当地间谍则认为丰臣秀吉的想法是，如果得到否定的答复，就入侵菲律宾。[27] 虽然这种转折从未发生，但在胡安·科博出使期间，达斯·马里尼亚斯被建议与中国结盟对抗日本，而不是反之。[28] 当达斯·马里尼亚斯的儿子路易斯继承王位时，对中国的征服以间接的方式短暂地恢复了。神父马丁·德·拉·阿森松（Martín de la Ascensión）提出了一项同样复杂的入侵日本的计划。日本本土盟友也很容易找到，而且这些盟友曾经效忠于西班牙王朝，可以用来对付中国及其他邻近国家。除了常见的日本基督徒之外，一位被考虑的当地盟友是后来被称为德川家康的藩主。[29] 然而，圣费利佩事件及其后果葬送了这项计划。[30]
16th century, The Empresa de China (China enterprise)
AI 概述
“中国企业”（Empresa de China，简称“中国企业”）是西班牙帝国在16世纪提出的一项旨在征服中国的计划，旨在巩固其征服菲律宾的成果，但从未付诸实施。该计划由阿隆索·桑切斯等人领导，设想由西班牙、葡萄牙、日本以及潜在的华裔盟友组成一支多国联军，攻占并同化明朝，最终目标是传播基督教，并扩大西班牙裔在整个亚洲的影响力。由于后勤挑战和政治阻力，尤其是在1588年西班牙无敌舰队失败之后，该计划最终被放弃。
“中国企业”的关键方面
雄心勃勃的目标：
征服并同化明朝，一些人认为这是征服菲律宾的自然延伸。
多国联盟：
该计划涉及丰臣摄政时期由西班牙、葡萄牙和日本军队组成的广泛联盟。
传教目标：
一个重要的动机是传播基督教，促进中国人口的文化和宗教融合。
经济动机：
来自中国的财富前景对西班牙征服者有着强大的吸引力。
后勤准备：
1587年，在马尼拉采取了准备行动，包括建造堡垒和组装武器，表明他们认真地打算实施该计划。
主要支持者：
该项目得到了部分西班牙耶稣会士的大力支持，尤其是阿隆索·桑切斯。
反对与失败：
中华商会面临着来自西班牙内部以及耶稣会会长范礼安和门多萨等人士的强烈反对。
放弃的原因
西班牙无敌舰队灾难（1588年）：
无敌舰队对抗英国的失败大大削弱了西班牙进行像中华商会这样的大规模海外征服的资源和政治意愿。
耶稣会内部的反对：
据《牛津学术》报道，像范礼安这样的耶稣会重要人物担心日本传教团会受到负面影响，因此反对该计划。
先前的军事挫折：
西班牙人知道明朝曾成功击退葡萄牙人的入侵，例如玉尾之战。
AI Overview
The Empresa de China ("China Enterprise") was a proposed but never executed plan by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century to conquer China, building on their conquest of the Philippines. Led by figures like Alonzo Sánchez, it envisioned a multi-national invasion force from Spain, Portugal, Japan, and potentially ethnic Chinese allies to seize and assimilate the Ming Dynasty, with the ultimate goal of spreading Christianity and extending Hispanic influence throughout Asia. The project was ultimately abandoned due to logistical challenges and political opposition, particularly after the failure of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Key Aspects of the Empresa de China
Ambitious Goal:
To conquer and assimilate the Ming Dynasty, a venture considered by some a natural extension of the conquest of the Philippines.
Multi-National Coalition:
The plan involved a broad coalition of Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese forces under the Toyotomi regency.
Missionary Aims:
A significant motivation was to spread Christianity and promote the cultural and religious assimilation of the Chinese population.
Economic Motivation:
The prospect of riches from China was a strong draw for Spanish conquistadors.
Logistical Preparations:
In 1587, preparatory actions were taken in Manila, including building forts and assembling weapons, showing a serious intention to carry out the plan.
Key Proponents:
The project had strong backing from a sector of the Spanish Jesuits, particularly Alonzo Sánchez.
Opposition and Failure:
The Empresa de China faced significant opposition from within Spain and from figures like the Jesuit superiors Alessandro Valignano and Antonio de Mendoza.
Reasons for Abandonment
Spanish Armada Disaster (1588): The failure of the Armada against England significantly weakened Spain's resources and political will for a large-scale overseas conquest like the Empresa de China.
Internal Jesuit Opposition:
Powerful Jesuit figures like Valignano feared the repercussions on the Japanese mission and opposed the plan, according to Oxford Academic.
Prior Military Setbacks:
The Spanish were aware of the Ming's success in repelling Portuguese attempts at invasion, such as the Battles of Tamao.
The Empresa de China (China enterprise)
Last edited on 19 August 2025, at 15:43 (UTC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empresa_de_China
A long-time projected conquest of China by the Spanish Empire. Proposed repeatedly through the 16th century as a natural culmination of the conquest of the Philippines, it involved the invasion and assimilation of the Ming dynasty by a coalition that would include Spaniards, Portuguese, Spanish subjects of Spanish Philippines and Japanese allies from the Toyotomi regency, as well as potential masses of ethnic Chinese allies.[1][2][3]
Military conquest of China appeared viable by the reports of Christian missionaries and ambassadors, who described the Ming population as demobilized, inefficiently administered and easy to sublevate against their own governors, offering a situation similar to those of the Aztec and Inca empires where control of the territory could be wrested away. Once conquered, the plan included mass evangelizing activities and the promotion of mestizaje between Iberians and Chinese, hoping to turn China into a source of strength to extend Hispanic control and Christianity across all of Asia. In a best case scenario, the Spanish Empire could aspire to form an oriental theater in the Ottoman–Habsburg wars.[4]
The enterprise was formulated by several figures of the Hispanic Monarchy, but its main driving force would be a sector of the Society of Jesus led by Alonzo Sánchez, who clashed against other churchmen over the Vitorian legitimacy of a new conquest. King Philip II allowed in 1588 the founding of an official council, the Junta de la Empresa de China, but the failure of the Spanish Armada the same year caused the project to be abandoned. The invasion of China briefly resurfaced later, with a new project to topple the Toyotomi regency and conquer Japan with the help of its own native uprising, potentially including Tokugawa Ieyasu, after which the Japanese armies would be used against China.
History
[edit]The idea of expanding the Spanish Empire to China was first formulated in 1526 by Hernán Cortés, conqueror of the Aztec Empire, who sent a letter to King Charles V suggesting to begin the conquest of the Moluccas and China from their new ports in the Pacific coast of New Spain.[5][3] However, due to the failure of the expeditions of García Jofre de Loaísa and Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón, the latter being sent by Cortés himself to rescue the survivors of the former, Charles abandoned his plans for the Pacific Ocean and forfeited his rights over Moluccas to the kingdom of Portugal in the Treaty of Zaragoza.[5]
First advances
[edit]Spanish expansion across the Pacific came finally with the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi and the discovery of the tornaviaje (return route from the Philippines to Mexico) by his navigator Andrés de Urdaneta, which allowed to link the newly conquered Philippines to New Spain. Although the main goal was gaining access to the Asian spice trade, many of the expeditioners were fresh from the conquest of America and saw the archipelago as the first step to initiate the conquest of the nearby China.[5] As small contingents of Spaniards had been enough to kickstart the fall of the Aztec and Inca empires with native help, they believed the same scheme could be applied to China by securing the help of local ethnic Chinese, Japanese and Austronesian allies.[6] Legazpi himself chose Manila over Cebú as the Spanish base of operations due to its closeness to the Chinese trade routes.[5]
An early report was sent to Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza by Martín de Rada, one of the first western ambassadors to mainland China, in 1569. After his visit to the country, Rada stated that, even if China was densely populated, its population was not warlike and depended heavily on their numbers and fortifications for defense, hence it would not be necessary to gather a large Spanish army to subdue them.[5][3] However, Rada advised for a campaign as peaceful as possible, based on persuasion and evangelization.[3]
In 1575, after the Battle of Manila against the Chinese pirate Limahong, the Spanish Empire and the Ming dynasty built diplomatic bridges. Martín de Rada was sent to Fujian as part of a delegation with the goal of negotiating a Spanish settlement in Chinese soil like the Portuguese Macau.[5] The project was fruitless, after which the governor of the Philippines, Francisco de Sande, opted to send letters to King Philip II proposing to attack China,[7][8] claiming that 4,000-6,000 soldiers would suffice and that the effort would be helped by the tyranny to which the Chinese were subjected.[5][6] However, Philip stated in 1577 that such plan was not convenient at the moment and ordered Sande to cultivate the Ming's friendship.[6] A similar suggestion reached Spain the following year by the hand of Diego García de Palacio, oídor of Guatemala, who proposed to begin a military route from Spain to the Philippines through Honduras, hoping to build a garrison strong enough to pacify the archipelago and make possible to take China as well. His plans were ignored.[5] Sande's successor Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa also revisited the enterprise.[9]
Influence of the Society of Jesus
[edit]The Empresa de China received a religious and political push from the Manila Synode, and in particular of the controversial Jesuit and diplomat Alonzo Sánchez,[10][6] who visited the country in 1582 to confirm the loyalty of Macau after the dynastic union of Spain and Portugal.[10] Sánchez suffered and witnessed arrests by the Chinese authorities, who were angry at not having been properly informed of the union, and after his return the following year, he was of the belief that only through military force Christianity would thrive in China.[5][10]
Sánchez returned in time to participate in the third council of the synod, in 1583, where he shared the possibility of a conquest with Bishop Domingo de Salazar and missionary Antonio Sedeño, helped by a state of the local economy bad enough to encourage the possibility of expansion.[5][10] Salazar brought to the table Francisco de Vitoria's thesis about just war, arguing that China had dealt enough abuse to Christians to justify a conflict. He collected reports that Chinese authorities were obstructing preaching activity, and also brought attestations from eight Spanish and Portuguese navigators mistreated in their contact with Chinese.[5][11][2] Salazar gave also strategic suggestions, proposing to draw the help of Japan through their local network of Portuguese Jesuits, as well as confiscating the Chinese merchant ships in Manila to fund the initial war effort. However, by carefully following Vitoria's theories, he considered it was soon to decide whether the conquest was legitimated or not.[12] The conclusions were contained in a document sent to King Philip.[13]
Adding to those plans, the superior of the Jesuit mission in Japan, Francisco Cabral, informed that the domination of China would bring untold benefit of both material and spiritual nature, for which the existent Chinese imperial administration would be invaluable once assimilated.[14] Based on his own experiences in Macau, he stated that the country was badly defended, and its population was prone to revolt against the mandarins that oppressed them, making it so that 10,000 Iberian soldiers would be enough for the invasion, joined by 2,000 Japanese soldiers he would recruit thanks to his order's contacts. He also offered himself as a spy to prepare the campaign, including also the services of Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri.[15] Cabral believed the conquest would finish itself as soon as they captured the Wanli Emperor in Beijing.[2] Juan Bautista Román also believed to be able to gather 7,000 Japanese Christian warriors.[16]
As the project advanced, the 1586 Memorial General of the Philippines included a document written by Sánchez, titled De la entrada de China en particular, where he collected an immensely detailed treatment of the conquest of China and the future government of the conquered lands.[5] The plan involved to gather an armada led by the governor of the Philippines, containing 10,000-12,000 Iberian soldiers, 6,000 Visayans and 5,000 Japanese recruited in Nagasaki, assisted by Jesuits due to their knowledge of the lands, and endowed with a purse of 200.000 pesos to strategically bribe mandarins and pay mercenaries. The assault would be two-pronged, with the Castilians invading China through Fujian and the Portuguese doing the same through Guangdong.[17][2] Ricci and Ruggieri would be previously recalled to serve as consultants and negotiators with the Chinese authorities,[18] and the submission of the latter would be surveyed under the Vitorian policies of preventing unnecessary violence and abuse of the civilian population.[19][2]
Once the country was subjected to Spanish control, they would proceed to its Christianization, founding encomiendas and nobiliary properties, and building Christian infrastructure like hospitals, universities and monasteries, helped by a plan of mestizaje that would promote interracial marriage between Iberian conquistadors and Chinese women.[19] Success would mean an enormous advance for the Hispanic universal monarchy, as a Spanish China would become an invaluable base to extend their control across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, lending forces to subdue and Christianize Cochinchina, Siam, Kampuchea, India, Borneo, Sumatra, Moluccas and other lands, to the point of making it possible to gather regional allies against the Ottoman Empire and opening an eastern front against it.[4]
1587 saw preparations for war in Manila, building fortifications under Sedeño's supervision and cramming weapons and supplies.[4][6] The same year, fortuitously, a Japanese delegation came from Hirado under the command of Konishi Yukinaga, a Japanese Christian and grand admiral of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to offer 6,000 vassals and "all the people and soldiers [Spain] asked" to collaborate with any invasion against China, Borneo, Siam or Moluccas.[4][20]
Deliberations and abandonment
[edit]
Sánchez' and Salazar's project, however, found opposition in another Jesuitic current headed by Alessandro Valignano and Superior General Claudio Acquaviva, who saw the Empresa de China as an unjustified violation of the Christian rule of evangelizing peacefully.[10] Portuguese Jesuits also saw it as a danger to their kingdom's economic interests.[2] When Sánchez sailed off to Spain in June 1586 in order to inform about the state of the Philippines, and secretly to address the realization of the Empresa, Acquaviva assigned him supervision under renowned theologian and historian José de Acosta, who was ordered to refute his philosophical bases. Acosta wrote an entire treaty utilizing Francisco de Vitoria's thesis to criticize the invasion of China.[21][5] The protests, added to Sánchez's own actions in New Spain, where he worked to stop a cadre of Dominican missionaries from reaching China in order not to have them obstructing the warring effort, ended up driving a wedge between Salazar and him.[5][22][23]
Sánchez could meet Philip II in December 1587 and, despite Acosta's presence, found the chance to send the king a copy of his document. His aspirations were successful and, as soon as the preparations of the Spanish Armada allowed it, Philip authorized the creation of an official Junta para la Empresa de China in March 1588.[24][25] The council was composed by the Consejo de Indias chairman Hernando de Vega y Fonseca, General Alonso de Vargas, Admiral Joan de Cardona i Requesens, royal secretaries Juan de Idiáquez y Olazábal and Cristóbal de Moura, inquisitor Pedro Moya and four members of the Castilian Council of War.[2] Its development, however, was interrupted by the news of the Armada's failure in August, in midst of new protests by Dominicans and Franciscans that believed the project endangered their own workings. Ultimately, royal interest for the Empresa waned for good.[26][25][3]
The new governor of the Philippines, Gómez Pérez das Mariñas, was chosen by Sánchez's suggestion, but he received explicit orders to avoid military conflict with China.[2] On the opposite, he became entangled in diplomatic tension against Toyotomi, who seemed to demand vassalage from the Spanish Philippines for his invasion of Korea, and whom local spies attributed the idea to invade the Philippines in case of a negative answer.[27] Although this twist never happened, during Juan Cobo's embassy Das Mariñas was advised to seek an alliance with China against Japan and not vice versa.[28] When Das Mariñas was succeeded by his son Luis, the conquest of China was briefly revived in an indirect way. The priest Martín de la Ascensión proposed an equally complex plan to invade Japan, where native allies could be easily found too, and whose armies, once pledged to the Hispanic Monarchy, could be used in campaigns against China and other nearby lands. A considered local ally, aside from the usual Japanese Christians, was the lord later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu.[29] The San Felipe incident and its consequences, however, buried the project.[30]
