Among the three royal representatives, the royal steward Gutierrez smiled pleasantly and did not step forward. Meanwhile, the clerk Rodrigo de Escobedo and the auditor Rodrigo Sanchez acted as the two witnesses. They stood on either side of the cross, observing the three captains kneeling on one knee and the flags in the captains' hands.
The simple cross represents the Almighty's majesty, while the three flags represent the authority of the Dual Kings. On this beautiful island coast, beneath the bright Oriental sun, the proclamations in Spanish resounded! Even though this island already had inhabitants, even though everyone believed this place to be the prosperous East Asia… the colonizers from Western Europe, "undaunted," declared their claim to the land and wealth in the name of the Lord's gift!…
