Note 7 — Expeditions to the Province of Tuy

Referring to the allotment of space for freight in the regular trading fleet sent yearly to Mexico. As has been shown in preceding documents, this privilege, as the source of much profit, was [315n] restricted by the government to the citizens of the islands, among certain of whom the space was duly allotted by toneladas, each shipping goods to that extent—although many frauds were practiced, often by royal officials themselves. The stipulation in our text secured, to persons having the right to a share in this trade, the exercise of that right while absent on the Tuy expedition, the same as if they were present in Manila when the ships were laden. The pieza mentioned in this paragraph was the bale used as the unit of capacity in lading the vessel (see Bourne’s introduction to this series, Vol. I, p. 63). A letter from Andres de Alcaraz to the king (August 10, 1617), which will be presented in Vol. XVII, gives further information regarding the pieza. From this document it appears that the tonelada was reckoned at eight piezas; the pieza would then be estimated at ten arrobas, or two hundred and fifty libras.