Note 16 — IV. Trade and Commerce: the Period of Restrictions

As to the effect of these restrictions Azcarraga says: “* * * thus, at the end of that century, there was nothing but poverty and discontent in the city; the white population had hardly increased; commerce, confined within the narrow sphere of periodic voyages to Acapulco, was languishing, without attempting to engage in any other kind of traffic; and poverty was reflected even in the very troops stationed in the city, who did duty unshod and without uniform (camisa), frequently committing robberies at the Chinese stores. * * *” (La Libertad, p. 54.)