Murillo Velarde, Pedro (1696 - 1753)

Pedro Murillo Velarde (1696 - 1753) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary, administrator, historian, and cartographer active in the Philippines in the first half of the 18th century. Murillo was born in southern Spain and arrived in the Philippines via Mexico in 1723. He initially taught cannon law and theology at the University of St. Ignatius, Manilla, before becoming the rector of San Pedro. He later served as Qualifier of the Holy Office, Visitor to the missions in Mindanao, and Vice Rector to the Novitiate of San Pedro de Macati, amongst other significant postings. While well respected, he was also staunchly critical of the Spanish colonial administration and their unfair and inhuman treatment of the indigenous population. Murillo produced many significant works, but his most important are his two maps of the Philippines, works of monumental and long-lasting significance: Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Islas Filipinas (1734) and his Mapa de Las Yslas Philipinas (1744).