The God Culture: Alleged Quotes Proving The Jesuits Changed Maps

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture is so dead-set on proving the Jesuits altered maps to hide the Philippines that he has restored to citing texts which say nothing of the sort. Thus the proof for his claim lies in misunderstanding and misrepresenting those texts. Let's take a look at all of them one-by-one.

https://thegodculturephilippines.com/the-shipwreck-that-proves-lequios-was-in-the-philippines---not-ryukyu/

Juan Alzina (1668): “It is not enough to describe what one sees; one must interpret it according to the divine plan, so that the world may understand the providence of God in these distant lands.” [✔️ This is a direct translation of a passage from Alzina's Historia de las Islas e Indios de las Islas Filipinas (1668), a Jesuit missionary report admitting the reinterpretation and manipulation of history. You can find this in Spanish editions or modern English translations.]

I really have to thank Tim for alerting me the reader that this book can be found in "Spanish editions or modern English translations" and then not linking to the book. I also thank him for not providing a page number so the quote can be easily found. I thank him again for getting the title of the book wrong. Lastly I thank Tim for getting the author's name wrong. All of that is very helpful for the reader to find the quote and read it in context. 

There is no Juan Alzina who is the author of a book titled "Historia de las Islas e Indios de las Islas Filipinas." Tim's referencing an author and a book that do not exist is enough to dismiss this quote as a fabrication. However, Tim might have confused this non-existent author with a real person who did write a book about the history of the Philippines in 1668. 

That real author is Fransisco Igancio Alcina. His book is titled "History of the Bisayan people in the Philippine Islands." It is a multi-volume work and Tim does not provide the volume in which this quote is to be found. Already we are off to a bad start. The repeated incompetence of Tim and/or his alleged research team is unfathomable and unbelievable yet here it is on full display. 

The three volumes of Alcina's work can be found easily online. None of them contain this quote. Not volume 1, volume 2, or volume 3. Perhaps it is in a volume not found online. In that case posting a picture of the page would very helpful. But seeing as Tim cannot even provide a page number it would not be reasonable to think he would post a picture of the text. As for now this quote remains unverifiable. From all appearances this quote has nothing to do with mapping. Here is Gemini's analysis.

This quote, if accurate (it's always good practice to verify direct quotes from primary sources, especially when used to make strong claims), reflects a common theological and philosophical perspective of the era, particularly among missionaries. Missionaries, by their very nature, sought to understand and present their observations through a religious lens. They believed in a "divine plan" and saw their work as part of it. This quote suggests an interpretive framework rather than an admission of deliberate manipulation of factual geography or history. Interpreting events through a "divine plan" is not the same as falsifying geographical locations on maps. To present this as an "admission of reinterpretation and manipulation of history" in a conspiratorial sense is a significant overreach and misinterpretation of the quote's likely original intent. It's about theological framing, not cartographic fraud.

I could not have said it better. 

Gaspar de San Agustín (1722): “The Jesuits, with their learning and favor at court, have taken it upon themselves to write the history of these islands. But they do not always tell the truth, preferring to glorify their own works above all others.” [✔️ Direct quote from Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1722). Available in Spanish as "…no siempre dicen la verdad…"]

Again, no page number and no link. How are we supposed to verify this? Tim's motto is "Prove all things." Why do we the readers have to do all the leg work to verify Tim's quotes? Providing a page number and a link is not hard, it's standard practice. This is also a multi-volume work and the volume in which this citation is to be found is not given. The quote is not in part 2. The other volumes do not seem to be online. Maybe that's why Tim provided no link or page number. 

Once again, on the surface this quote has nothing to do with altering maps. This quote is an Augustinian monk talking about the faults of his rivals, the Jesuits. Here is Gemini's analysis:

This quote is plausible and highlights a common dynamic among competing religious orders and even secular authorities in colonial settings. Rivalries between religious orders (Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits) were rampant, and each order often sought to emphasize its own contributions and achievements. It is entirely conceivable that Gaspar de San Agustín, an Augustinian, would critique the Jesuits for self-aggrandizement and for presenting history from their own biased perspective. This is a critique of historical bias and self-promotion, which is a recognized aspect of historical writing, especially from that period. However, this does not directly equate to a conspiratorial effort to change maps or systematically falsify geographical locations for a hidden agenda. It speaks to narrative control and emphasis on one's own order's role, not cartographic deception.

Perhaps in the full context Gaspar de San Augustin reveals what the Jesuits were not being truthful about. That also depends on if this is a genuine quote from his book. 

Jerry Brotton (2012): “The Society of Jesus… made use of maps not only as instruments of navigation but also as tools for evangelization and empire-building.” [✔️ Taken directly from A History of the World in Twelve Maps (p. 245), published by Penguin Books.]

Finally a page number. This quote and the context should be easy to verify. 

https://archive.org/details/historyofworldin0000brot/mode/2up?q=%22society+of+Jesus%22

https://archive.org/details/historyofworldin0000brot_t8k7/mode/2up?q=%22society+of+Jesus%22

https://archive.org/details/historyofworldin0000brot_y7r3/mode/2up?q=%22society+of+Jesus%22

Absolutely unbelievable. Astounding. Incredible. No edition of this book has Jerry Brotton's alleged quote. The book doesn't even mention the Jesuits. So, where did Tim get this quote? From a different edition that is not available online? As of this writing this quote remains unverifiable. 

However, on the surface this quote does not say the Jesuits altered maps to hide the location of the Philippines. Here is Gemini's analysis. 

This quote from a modern scholar like Jerry Brotton is accurate and widely accepted within the history of cartography. Maps were indeed powerful tools for European powers and religious orders during the age of exploration and colonization. They were used for navigation, to claim territory, to document resources, and to plan missionary activities. "Evangelization and empire-building" are broad categories that encompass the spread of both religious and political influence. This quote describes the purpose and utility of maps for the Jesuits within their historical context, not a conspiratorial act of falsifying geographical data. It means they used maps to facilitate their missions and imperial expansion, which is entirely consistent with historical understanding. It does not imply that they deliberately drew maps incorrectly to conceal existing geographical facts.

Tim began this section of his article by writing:

These are verbatim citations from original texts or reputable scholarly works defining the Jesuits changed Maps specifically working through all the factions of the Catholic Church:

But as we have seen that is not true. These citations appear to have been fabricated. They also absolutely do not support Tim's claim the Jesuits changed and altered maps.

These are three "direct quotes" which cannot be verified and do not appear in the sources which are available online. Perhaps these quotes are available in texts which are not online. The proper thing for Tim to do is to provide proof the quotes are genuine. That means providing a link to them or a picture of them. Either way none of these quotes supports the thesis that the Jesuits altered maps to hide the Philippines and the Lequios Islands. Tim goes on to provide four paraphrases of academic sources but none of those paraphrases claims the Jesuits altered maps either. As it stands, and as it will ever stand, the idea that Jesuits altered maps to conceal the location of the Lequios Islands is a fabrication invented by Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture.