Volume 27 — Grau y Monfalcon’s Informatory Memorial of 1637

Number 1. Intention of this memorial, in which are discussed all the principal matters of the Filipinas Islands.

Sire:

Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the distinguished and ever loyal city of Manila, capital of the Filipinas Islands, makes, by authority of that city, the following declaration. Since the preservation of the islands is the most efficient means for that of all the states which this crown holds and possesses in Eastern India and adjacent parts, and consequently [of all those] in the Western Indias; and as it is positively known that there is no other way of assuring this end except by the commerce conceded to the islands with Nueva España—which is in such a condition that by only reducing it, or by deranging it as regards its amount, or the manner in which it is carried on, it will be necessary that it cease; and that if the inhabitants lose what supports them, all the islands will be lost: some persons, and especially Captain Francisco de Vitoria Baraona, with less attention and knowledge than is requisite in treating a matter so remote, serious, and politic—which demands so much more than ordinary foundation for its proper understanding [on account of not understanding it—MS.]—proposed to your Majesty certain expedients or counsels; but, although these should be directed to the increase of the forces which the arms of España maintain in the seas of the Orient, in order to oppose them to the numerous enemies who are trying to overthrow our power in those seas, and have the desire to end it, one would believe that they were directed with especial purpose to weaken and obscure that power, and thereby to extinguish the best and most creditable [finest—MS.] military post that this great monarchy possesses outside of Europa. And inasmuch as the matter pertains not only to the conservation of those vassals, but also to the general subject of your Majesty’s service, your vassals, attending more to this consideration than to even that result—although the one does not suffer without the other, since some orders originating from the expedients proposed by the said Captain Francisco de Vitoria, have begun to be put in force in Nueva España—and recognizing from their beginnings how much the issues are in danger and how important it is to heed in time the dangers that threaten, and successfully to prevent them, on account of the impossibility that they can be checked later (for it is easy, at the beginning, to overcome what, when it is once introduced, is usually impossible to conquer), are attempting to represent those dangers in this informatory memorial, which they lay at your Majesty’s royal feet. In it, taking occasion from that which is most important and weighty, all the affairs of the Filipinas Islands will be touched upon, and those of their conservation, government, and commerce—and all with the truth, thoroughness, accuracy and knowledge that ought to be used, not only in general, but in each one specifically; so that once explained, in a complete report of the disadvantages and advantages existing in each point, the decision most advantageous to the service of God and of your Majesty, and to the welfare of those islands, may be made in them all. The claims made in behalf of the islands are reduced to the petitions which are presented in a separate memorial, through which the inhabitants hope to receive the favors that their necessities and condition demand.

Number 2. Condition of the commerce of the islands, and dangers from any changes therein

Number 3. Commissions given to Licentiate Quiroga, and their execution

Your Majesty was pleased to order Licentiate Don Pedro de Quiroga y Moya, who went to Nueva España the past year of 635, on this and other affairs, by instructions in regard to the commerce of Filipinas, to establish a new system in the port of Acapulco, which is the point where their ships arrive. And although it is understood that the mandate was general, in order to correct and prevent the illegalities which are committed at that port in the trade of the islands by taking greater quantities of silver away from Nueva España, and bringing in more cloth from China, than is allowed by the [royal] permission; and although he was ordered to attend to this with the greatest care—not only to investigate the past but to provide for the future—and that he should issue ordinances for everything, give instructions, and advise your Majesty in the royal Council of the Indias, with full commission limited to certain times among both the officials and those who are not, with appeals to the tribunal whence it emanated: orders were also given him to go to Acapulco to visit the ships from the islands, and ascertain whether they transgressed the law by carrying either more than was allowed, or without register what they were allowed to carry in the ship, in order to escape the royal duties. This is what is known of his commissions in general terms; and in detail some memorials were given to him and information of the damages, and of the remedies that could be applied; so that from these he could accept what was practicable, and might either execute or give advice of what he deemed most advisable, both in the increase of the duties, and in making the appraisals of the merchandise, in which consists the most serious and the most dangerous aspect of the matter.

Number 4. Uneasiness caused in Nueva España, and what can be feared in the islands

[V. Purpose to which this memorial is directed.—Ex. his.]

In order to avert the dangers that threaten, it is the intention to present some measures and the reasons on which they are based; so that, without departing from what must be considered in the first place (namely, the service of your Majesty), and then the conservation of those islands and of their citizens and residents, the evils may be corrected, the violations of law prevented, and the welfare of that so remote and afflicted community attended to—which, although so far away, attends so conscientiously to its obligations, ever preferring those duties to the possessions and lives of those who form and sustain that colony, risking and even losing them for the defense of that (although remote) very important part of this Catholic monarchy.

[VI. Proposition to abandon the islands, and its foundations.—Ex. his.]

Number 7. More attention should be paid to the conservation of states than to the increase of the royal revenues.

These reasons, and others which were advanced, were originated and accepted by some who paid more heed to the increase of the royal revenues than to the advantage with which those revenues ought to be, and generally are, spent; for, although kings are obliged to regard that increase as the blood of the mystical body of their states, it must be without injury to the reputation of the states. For since, as is a fact, they must try to acquire riches in order to preserve their reputation and to increase their treasure by avoiding superfluous and little-needed expenses, it will not be a well-founded argument that, in order to avoid spending their revenues, they should allow what they already possess and enjoy legitimately to be lost. Such a course would be to prefer the less to the greater, and the means to the ends; since we see not few millions spent on the conservation of a fortified post to which belongs, at times, nothing but the reputation of arms. If its defense is justifiable for that reason, it would be more justifiable if on such a place depends not only the reputation of the crown, but the preservation of many other reputations, which would be risked by losing that post, and which will be assured by maintaining it. Such is the peculiar importance of the Filipinas Islands, as will be proved in this memorial. [In the margin: “In numbers 41, 42, and 43.”]

Number 8. As, and for the reasons that, Flandes is preserved, the islands should be preserved

What state does your Majesty possess that costs as much as Flandes, although it is almost the least one of this monarchy? Because in Flandes all the reasons may be verified that are alleged in regard to the islands—namely, that they are costly, difficult to preserve, a drain of so much money, and separated from the other states—would it be prudent to influence [the crown] by those reasons to abandon that state? There can be no doubt that even the first proposition of such a nature would be condemned as imprudent, and lacking the basis of policy that such measures ought to have; and that from its execution would result, leaving aside other damages, the loss of many states of this crown, and their allies, which are now maintained by only maintaining Flandes, although at the price of so costly a war. Therefore, if the Filipinas possess that same importance, and if the conservation of the two Yndias results from their conservation—or at least from their being less exposed to notorious risks, which, were that Flandes of the new world lacking, would threaten them—what more notable reason of state can there be for not deserting them, and for characterizing as justifiable and necessary all that is spent in them, as is above mentioned?

Number 9. Resolution of preserving the islands well founded

Number 10. The conservation of the islands is more necessary today

If these reasons could so powerfully influence the devout minds of the so Catholic princes in that epoch, much more should they influence that of your Majesty in this, wherein they have not only the same but greater force, because of the many unexpected difficulties that have been encountered through the entrance of the rebels of Olanda into so many parts of the two Indias. Consequently, if the Filipinas be now deserted, not indeed for the sake of authority and reputation, but only for political convenience, the advantage that might result would be very doubtful, and the loss very evident. And although the effort is not at present made directly to have the islands abandoned, expedients are being or have been proposed from which one fears, not indeed the abandonment of them willingly, but what is worse, the loss of them unwillingly. Before proving that the measures which are beginning to be executed may conduce to that end, the reasons on which their conservation, importance, and necessity are today founded will be discussed; so that, what is advisable being understood with all clearness and certainty—since it is not expedient to add to their forces, as that is now impossible, nor to deprive them of what force they possess—the reader may draw as a conclusion that, if the weakening of the islands follow from the orders issued, and their loss be risked, those orders may either be corrected or suspended, or the most prudent decision in all respects may be adopted.

Number 11. First reason of the importance of the islands: their discovery

Number 12. Second reason for the importance of the islands: their size and number

Number 13. Grandeur and characteristics of the distinguished and very loyal city of Manila

Number 14. Third reason of the importance of the islands: their native and acquired character

Number 15. Commerce of the islands, domestic and foreign; and in what the domestic consists

Number 16. Number and diversity of Indians in the islands

What most assures the provinces of the new world is the greater or less number of the natives. In that the Filipinas are eminent, for there are the indigenous Indians, who are tributarios; but these are not many, as not all of them are pacified. Of those who have been pacified some, the larger encomiendas, have been assigned to the royal crown. There are other foreign Indians whose number is great in Manila and its environs, and where there are Spaniards, to whose service the Indians engage themselves for their day’s wages. These include an infinite number of nations: Chinese, Japanese, Champanes, Malucans, Borneans, Joas [i.e., Javanese], Malays, and even Persians and Arabs. But those who are tributary to the royal crown are:

Number 17. Indians tributary to the royal crown in the Indias

In the provinces of Oton and Panay, twelve chief villages, which have 6,035 tributes.

In the island of Zebu, three which have 2,529 tributes.

In that of Camarines, there are 87 tributes of vagrant Indians and Sangleys (who are Chinese Christians).

In Mindoro and Luban, 1,612 tributes.

In the province of Tayavas, in five villages 1,343 tributes.

In that of Bay, in nine villages, 2,232 tributes.

On the coast of Manila, in twenty-eight villages, 4,250 tributes.

The vagrant Indians of Manila and its environs amount to 781 tributes.

The Japanese foreigners, 218 tributes.

The Christian Sangleys of the village of Baybay, outside the walls of Manila, 580 tributes.

In the province of Pampanga, in six villages, 3,650 tributes.

In the province of Pangasinan, in four villages, 899 tributes.

In the province of Ilocos, in five villages, 2,988 tributes.

In the province of Cagayan, in eight villages, 2,192 tributes.

Consequently, the royal crown has 44,763 tributes, as appears from an official statement made in the year 630. At ten reals per tribute, the amount reaches 53,715 pesos.

Among private persons there are distributed and assigned as encomiendas 48,000 other tributes, which for the 230 citizens of Manila—without reckoning those of the cities of [Santísimo] Nombre de Jesus, [Nueva] Caceres, and [Nueva] Segovia, and the town of Arebalo, who number about 300 more—does not amount to 160 tributes per man. They amount to a like number of pesos of eight reals, for the two additional reals are for the royal crown. And even on the eight reals so many charges are made that there is left but six or a trifle more. This is the wealth, and natural and proper commerce of the Filipinas.

Number 19. Importance of the islands because they offer opposition to the Dutch

From this so unusual location results the best proof of the importance of those islands—an importance well understood by the Dutch, who are striving, by means of immense military expenses, fleets, and numerous presidios, which they sustain in their seas and environs, as will be seen [In the margin: “In number 32.”] to blockade, restrict, infest, and attack the islands, with no other end in view than their seizure. For they believe (and not without reason) that if they should attain this end, and remove that obstacle (which is the one that restricts the course of their fortunes in those regions), they would be absolute masters of all that extends on from the straits; and that they would cause from there so great anxiety and danger to India, that they would oblige its citizens to spend on its defense a greater sum than is now spent on the conservation of the Filipinas. And now, when the Dutch have been unable to gain a foothold in any of the islands because the arms of your Majesty sustain that country with the same reputation as in Flandes, the enemy maintain themselves by aggressive measures against the Spaniards—usually keeping for that purpose in the seas of those islands forty or fifty armed vessels, which are used to pillage whatever they can find, and to guard the presidios which they have established, and the commerce which they have introduced of the most precious drugs and commodities valued by Europa, whither they take them. However, that is done at a greater cost than they are willing to pay, because of the opposition made against them by the Filipinas. In order for the Dutch to overcome the Filipinas, it has not been sufficient for them to unite and ally themselves with the Moro and pagan kings of other islands and lands of Asia, persuading them that they should take arms against the vassals of España, whose defense lies in the Filipinas alone. And if the banners of your Majesty were driven from the islands, the power and arrogance of Olanda, which would dominate all the wealth of the kingdoms of the Orient, would greatly increase with the freedom and ease of commerce; while they would gain other and greater riches in Europa, and would so further their own advancement that more would be spent in this part of the world in restraining them than is spent in driving them away in those regions [i.e., the Orient]. Consequently, those islands are the bit that restrains the enemy, the obstacle that embarrasses them, the force that checks them, and the only care that causes them anxiety, so that they cannot attain their desires—an evident proof of the importance of those islands, and a fundamental reason for their conservation.

Number 20. The foreign and general commerce of the islands makes them more valuable

The above is not the sole motive of the Dutch for desiring to gain control of the Filipinas, but they recognize that they are, by their location, the most suitable of all the islands in the Orient for carrying on the general commerce of these kingdoms and nations. Already we have discussed the domestic and private commerce that is now conducted, which is scanty and limited; and we have stated that what most enriches the islands, and makes them most valuable, is the foreign trade. For it is rich and of great volume, and furnishes so great profits to the European merchants that, for the sake of these, in spite of the expenses, risks, and dangers of so long a voyage, the Portuguese go to seek it by way of India, the Castilians by Nueva España; the Turks by way of Persia, the Venetians by way of Egipto; and the Dutch, now by the Eastern route, entering India, or by the Western, crossing the immense open stretch of the South Sea, or even by way of the north and Nueva Zembla.

Number 21. Estimation of the commerce of the Orient, and its condition

Number 22. Oriental commerce; why it is valued

Number 23. Beginnings of the Oriental commerce by way of Persia

The islands of Maluco, to begin with what is most suitable for my purpose, were peopled by Chinese [sic] and Jaos, who, with the practice of navigation, commenced to traffic in cloves, a precious and peculiar drug of the forests there, with India, there meeting the traders in pepper, cinnamon, and other articles; thus going from port to port and from nation to nation, all these spices reached the Persian Gulf. There came together various peoples, with still greater diversity of drugs, perfumes, and precious stones, which were brought into Persia; and, being disseminated throughout Asia, these commodities were imparted, although at a great price, to the eastern lands of Africa, and to the south of Europa. That commerce having become known for the precious and wonderful character of its wares, was at once esteemed so highly that it was one of the causes which induced Alexander the Great to direct his conquests toward India, in order to make himself master of the kingdoms which he imagined (and without error) to be the richest of the world, as from them originated the most precious thing that was known in it.

Number 24. Commerce of the Orient through the Arabian Gulf and other parts

Number 25. Commerce of India confined to Portugal

Number 26. Entrance of the Dutch into India, and their commerce

Number 27. Commerce of the Orient, which the Dutch carry on from Ba[n]tan

Number 28. Commerce in cloves, and how the Dutch entered it, and took possession of Maluco

Number 29. Recovery of Maluco by the governor of Filipinas, and its annexation thereto

That loss was felt keenly in España. The difficulty of relief from India having been recognized—as that country was so distant, and its forces were so broken; while those of the Filipinas, because they were greater and nearer, were more suitable—letters were sent to the governor of those islands, with orders that, aided by the Portuguese, they should endeavor to recover Maluco and restore it to this crown. Don Pedro de Acuña, having determined to make that expedition, and being already in possession of the aid that India could furnish, assembled a fine fleet in Iloylo, consisting of five large ships, six galleys, three Portuguese galliots, another open galliot, four junks, three champans, two English lanchas, and fourteen fragatas; and with them thirty-eight small boats, one thousand four hundred and twenty-three Spaniards, one thousand six hundred natives, seventy-five pieces of artillery, and everything else needed. With that he gained Terrenate, reduced Tidore, and subdued Siao, Sula, and Tacome, Gilolo, Sabugo, Gamocanora; and left those islands obedient. He moved the fortress of Terrenate to a better site, and garrisoned it with six hundred Spaniards, as it was the capital of all the other islands. Thus he placed on the enemy a curb, which some disasters have [since] removed. Inasmuch as the Malucos had been recovered by the Filipinas, and obtain from the latter the most certain succor, it was deemed inexpedient to return them to the crown of Portugal, or to its viceroy of India, which is so far distant from them, by the consent of both crowns; and a royal decree of October 29, 607, ordered that all the Malucas should remain, as at present, in charge of the governor of Filipinas.

Number 30. The clove trade, which is carried on by way of India

In regard to the clove trade, it was proposed that it be introduced by way of Nueva España, carrying to barter for it the products of the island of Panay and the merchandise of China at the account of the royal treasury; and that with the 100,000 ducados that would be invested in that, one might trade for all the cloves that were gathered in those islands. In the five chief islands alone that amounts to 4,400 bares of cloves of prime quality (which is the selected spice). At 640 libras, that amounts to 2,816,000 libras, in which two millions are concerned annually, for the maintenance of those islands, and the gaining of large increases for the royal treasury. In regard to it a decree of instruction had been given February 16, 602; but it was not then considered advisable to disturb that trade of India, either because of the injury that the Portuguese would receive, or in order not to cause a greater withdrawal of silver from Nueva España. However, that argument had little force; for, in exchange for the 100,000 ducados, two millions would be returned. Accordingly, although Maluco remained under the crown of Castilla, it was ordered that the clove trade be carried on by way of India, by a decree of November 17, 607; and the Portuguese go from India to buy the cloves at Manila, and take them to Malaca. Only what is needed there it shipped to Nueva España, and the rest is conveyed to various parts and kingdoms of the Orient which are convenient to Manila and the Malucas. The Dutch have again attempted to usurp that trade, as will be told later.

Number 31. The Dutch return to Maluco; and the deeds of the governor of Filipinas

Number 32. Dutch forts and presidios in the Filipinas district

They had no fort in Tidore formerly, from the time of the expedition of Don Pedro de Acuña until the year 612, when they gained a small rampart where the governor of Maluco, Don Geronimo de Silva, kept an alférez with 14 [15—MS.] soldiers. There the Dutch built the fort called Marieco the great, where there is a captain with sixty soldiers. However, they do not get any profit from that island.

Motri [Morri—MS.], which lies between Tidore and Maquien, became depopulated through the fear of the natives for the men of Tidore. Persuaded by the Terrenatans, the Dutch founded a fort there in its northern part, taking a colony from Gilolo; the natives were thereupon assured of safety, and settled there. It has a captain with fifty soldiers.

In Bachian is the fort of Bernevelt, with one captain and sixty soldiers.

In Siao, thirty leguas from Terrenate, the Dutch own Sagu Maruco [Marico—MS.]. A Spanish alférez was there with five soldiers in the year 614 for a certain purpose. The Dutch came, and after driving out the Spaniards, fortified themselves in that place, as they always crave what España possesses. A sergeant was stationed there with sixteen soldiers, although it is not a post of importance.

They have two forts in Banda: Moçovia and Belgio, each one with one hundred and twenty soldiers. Although the natives are hostile, those presidios are kept up with the hope of reducing them, and because of the nutmeg which is gotten there, which is but little.

In Java Major there are three factories, namely, in Baatan, Jacava, and Japara. Bantan is the chief stronghold that the Dutch have in India. The governor or prefect lives there, in whose charge are all the forts of the Orient. There is kept account of all that is laden and of the ships, so that it is the accountancy and register of their trade. There are two galleys and more than thirty barks, armed and garrisoned, in which they cross to Jacatra, which is the arsenal and dockyard where their ships are repaired, as it is the first and last station that they make on leaving and on entering by the straits of Sincapura and Sonda. It is one day’s journey from Bantan. However, the English, in confederacy with the Jaos, a few years ago seized certain of those ports. In the year 629, the king of Matalan [i.e., Mataram] besieged Jacatra, where he remained for five months. They destroyed the city, and killed three hundred of the Dutch, and the latter only retained their fortress.

In Borneo, which is the most westerly of the Filipinas, and the largest, being five hundred leguas in circumference, the Dutch do not possess fort or factory, but they are allowed to trade there.

In the island of Hermosa, between the Filipinas and China, they have established a presidio and seized a port. España has another fort there, each on its own point, as the island is long. That has caused anxiety, as the island lies on the way to China. Accordingly, the governor [of Filipinas] has been ordered to endeavor to drive the Dutch away.

In the island of Sumatra, at the city of Jambo in the strait of Sincapura, they have a factory for the pepper trade, which is of great importance to them.

In the kingdom of Patan, they have another factory, which ranks with that of Jambo; another in that of Sian; another in Camboxa; and another in Cochinchina. They have no entrance into China; on the contrary, they are the declared and common enemy [of that country] because of the great piracies that they have committed against those natives. They have a factory in Japon, from which they get food and ammunition, which is worth not a little to them.

They have other ports, which they have abandoned as it was convenient for them to do so—as that of Gemalanor, in Gilolo; the forts of Bouson, Solor, and Timor; the factories of Gresco in Java, and that of Asqueo, because of a war which they had with their king. They abandoned another in Macasar, in the island of the Celebes, where they got a quantity of sago [segu], which is the bread of the country, and a quantity of rice. Accordingly, they tried to return there, but were unable.

In all those forts and presidios Jorje Spilberg found, in the year 616, three thousand regular soldiers; one hundred and ninety-three bronze pieces, and three hundred and ten of cast iron, with three hundred swivel-guns; and thirty war galleons, besides those galleons in which they made the journey to and from Olanda.

Number 33. Arguments based on the forts of the Dutch

From this account which has been given of the Dutch forts in the seas of the Filipinas, are deduced certain arguments that belong to the purpose of this memorial and the matters of which it treats.

Number 34. First argument: for the condition and danger of the commerce

The first argument is the quality and importance of the commerce of the Orient, its condition, and the risk to which it is exposed.

Number 35. Second argument: participation in the clove trade of Maluco

The second is the special point of the trade in the cloves which are obtained in Maluco, in which it is to be noted that the Dutch share by means of the forts that they maintain. Accordingly, they obtain 600 bares [misprinted baus] from the cloves of Terrenate annually, or 384,000 libras; from Motir, 700 bares, or 468,000 libras; from Maquien, 1,400 bares, or 896,000 libras; from Bachian, 400 bares, or 256,000 libras; from Amboyno, 1,800 bares, or 1,152,000 libras. The total of the cloves obtained from Maluco, exclusive of Amboyno, is 1,098,000 libras. Since the total yield from all those islands is, as has been stated, 2,816,000 libras, there is left for the Spaniards, Portuguese, Castilians, and other nations who get some of it, 1,718,000 libras. Even that is because of the protection and proximity of the Filipinas; and if that protection were lacking, not only would all the clove trade belong to the Dutch, but, not needing the presidios that they maintain for it, they would enjoy all the trade at a much less cost and with greater gains, as can be understood from what is here stated.

Number 36. Third argument: the profits of that commerce, and the effect [on it] of the Filipinas

The third, the great profits of that commerce; since for its maintenance alone the enemy employ and support so many fleets and presidios. And although the states of Olanda are so poor and of so little importance, when compared with the grandeur of the monarchy of España, they obtain [from that trade] with only good management and the freedom with which they conduct it, so large profits that with that gain they maintain so great a force on the sea; and their profits would be much greater, if the Dutch were not opposed by the force which your Majesty has in the Filipinas Islands. For it is affirmed that when two ships and one patache were coming laden from India to their country, and the ships were wrecked, and the patache saved, from that vessel alone they made up the loss, and had a considerable gain. That shows how advisable it is that the enemy do not increase and that the [colony in the] islands be permanent, and be protected, and its citizens succored.

Number 37. [Fourth argument:] Commerce of China sustains the Filipinas, and how it is carried on.

Returning to the commerce that the islands have and what they can have—namely, all the above and that of Japon and other kingdoms of those regions—the first and chief thing in which consists the preservation of the Filipinas is the Chinese trade. Although the commerce is shared by Portugal, it is with great peril and danger, as the Portuguese have to go through the strait of Sincapura, which is always occupied by the Dutch. It has this difference, that the Portuguese go to China itself to get the goods, where they have a settlement in the city of Macan; while the Castilians enjoy the trade in Manila, to whose port many ships come annually from China, laden with all the products, natural and artificial, that that great kingdom yields. Governor Don Francisco Tello granted permission to Don Juan Zamudio, in the year 1599, to go to China, and to establish the trade as the Portuguese have it. He went with a ship to the city of Canton, and although he experienced not a little opposition from them, he opened a port for the inhabitants of Filipinas. That of El Pinal was assigned them, and a house in Canton, together with chapas and passports, so that they might go to form a settlement there whenever they liked. Don Luis Perez Das Mariñas being wrecked afterward on the coast of China, the Chinese welcomed him, and the Spaniards entered that port. Although, as that was in violation of the royal decree of 593, a censure was sent to the Audiencia, yet the governor was charged by a secret letter of October 15, 603, to call a council to consider the advisability of continuing that enterprise. From that conference it appears that the royal decree of July 25, 609, resulted, by which that trade of China and Japon was permitted to the citizens of Manila. However, it is a fact that they do not avail themselves of it directly, but that they are content to await the Chinese who bring their merchandise to them, as the citizens have not the forces or the capital to go to their country for it. The Chinese are allowed to sell the goods at wholesale, in accordance with the order that was introduced by Governor Gomez Perez Das Mariñas. The goods are appraised in a lump by persons deputed for that purpose; and then the goods are divided and distributed among the inhabitants, so that all may have a share in the commerce. That method was approved by a letter of instructions of January 17, 593, and is the method called “pancada;” to the governor was left only permission to send one ship annually to Macan, in order to buy military supplies and no other thing, by a decree of February 4, 608. For some little time past the Portuguese of that city have begun going to Manila, or sending thither merchandise from China. That is a great damage to the citizens, for the Portuguese sell the goods dearer than do the Chinese. Formerly those Chinese goods were taken freely to Nueva España, Guatimala, and Panamá, and passed on to Perú; but on account of their cheapness and the extent to which they were consumed, and the profit made on their cost, they were a menace to those kingdoms, and the damage caused by them to the commerce of Sevilla was regretted. Accordingly, the exportation of those goods to Guatimala and Panamá was forbidden, and afterward their transportation to Perú; and the permission was left only for Nueva España, as will be related, as that is the principal point under discussion. [In the margin: “From number 62 on.”]

Number 38. Fifth argument for the importance of the islands: their superiority in those seas

Concluding with the arguments that make the Filipinas important, the fifth is the superiority that they have in the Orient over not a few crowned kings. Your Majesty does not provide any post in all the kingdoms of this monarchy, that are equal in that region to that of governor of the islands, unless it be the viceroyalty of India. As such governor, the king of Borneo, confessing himself, although a Mahometan, a vassal of the crown of Castilla, rendered homage to Doctor Francisco de Sande. During the term of Gomez Perez Das Mariñas, the king of another island, Siao, went to Manila and rendered homage. Don Pedro de Acuña took their king prisoner in the expedition to Terrenate, and kept him in that city [i.e., Manila]. When Don Juan Niño de Tavora went [as governor], he bore an order, by a decree of November 10, 626, to give that king his freedom if he considered it advisable; but he was not freed, and died a prisoner in 629, as did also his son shortly before. He was succeeded by a cachil who had been a prisoner with the king, and who remained hostile. The king of Tidore is an ally, and recognizes the governor as his superior; and the arms of España as his protection. A treaty of peace was made in the year 618 with the king of Macasar, as that was important for the maintenance of Terrenate. The watchfulness maintained with the king of Mindanao is constant; and although he has been subdued several times—especially in the year 597, through the valor of Don Juan Ronquillo, who had many encounters in that island with the natives—he has once more revolted. Although he has been severely punished, never is there assurance of him except when he knows that there is a force in the Filipinas. Consequently, such a force is necessary, in order that he may not dare to commit greater depredations, for the Mindanaos who shall be taken in war are declared to be by that very fact slaves, by a royal decree of May 29, 620. By a decree of July 4, 1609, it is ordered that peace be maintained with the emperor of Japon; and harmonious relations were long maintained with him, by sending him a present annually and receiving his, and by admitting ships and commerce between the two countries. [This was done] until the year 634, when the Dutch so angered him against the Catholics that they roused up a new persecution against them in his kingdoms, and put an end to his friendship with Filipinas. That is no small injury, not only on account of the cessation of intercourse with them, but because that barbarian is powerful, and the Japanese are general pirates. Peace with Great China and its king has been better managed, and is maintained by means of commerce and some presents which are sent. Doctor Sande wrote that he would dare to conquer that kingdom, which was a very confident promise; he was answered on April 9, 586, that he was not to consider such a thing, but to preserve friendship with the Chinese. Accordingly, that has been done, and so many Chinese are in Manila that they have two villages: one that of Vindonoc [i.e., Binondo], which is near the city, and composed of married Christians; and the other the Parián—which is, as it were, an enclosed suburb—in which live those who bring merchandise, and all these are called Sangleys. The kingdoms of Champa, Camboxa, and Sian, which occupy the mainland, are frontiers of war. The conquest of Champa is regarded as lawful, by agreement of the theologians, as its natives are notorious pirates on those who pass their coasts, and they have many Christian captives; and because they consent to and defend the law of Mahomet, and are nearly all Moors, as is mentioned in a royal decree of October 13, 600. The king of Camboxa is not so pernicious, and allows woods, which abound in his kingdom, to be taken [thence] for shipbuilding in Filipinas, besides other products and valuable drugs. There is a history of the ambassadors whom the king, Apran Langara, sent to Manila, whence went to him the reënforcement taken to him by Captain Gallinato, and the success that he had; consequently, that kingdom has always been well affected toward the Spaniards. The king of Sian is like him of Champa; he holds more than fourteen thousand Christians captive, from various nations. In the year 629, that king captured two ships from Manila in his ports, and detained them. Therefore the governor, Don Juan Niño, sent two galleons, which inflicted a sufficient punishment along their coast; and then an embassy to demand satisfaction for the two ships, saying that, if it were not given, they would continue to collect it. The king was dead, and his son agreed to do what was demanded from him. Thereby your Majesty’s arms kept the reputation that they have always preserved in those seas among so many Moorish and pagan kings, and in presence of the forces of Olanda and Inglaterra.

Number 39. Sixth argument for the importance of the islands: the effects of their preservation

The sixth and last argument which shows and proves the importance of the islands, and how advisable is their conservation and maintenance, consists in the excellent and considerable effects that result from it, which, although they are numerous, can be reduced to five chief points.

Number 40. First effect of the conservation of the islands: the promulgation of the faith

Number 41. Second effect of the conservation of the islands: the security of India

The second effect will be to assure the safety of those states, of which as they are found today, one may understand that, if one be lost, the other will become endangered. India has declined in its commerce and wealth, and consequently, in its power, because of the relationship that there is between these two things; for when a kingdom loses its wealth, it loses its strength. Both have been usurped by the Dutch, as is proved; for they, commencing with the commerce, have appropriated it to themselves, as well as the strength that is annexed to commerce. Therefore India needs to avail itself of the Filipinas, and that not only for such special aid as was requested by the viceroy, Conde de Linares, in the year 631 (who was governing India with the care, prudence, and success that is known by the excellent results that he obtained, and by the great talent and valor of his person, experienced in that and in other charges), to whom Governor Don Juan Niño sent two galleons; but also so that the enemy, being diverted, may have less power. Thus was he [i.e., the governor of Filipinas] charged to do by decrees of April 4, 1581, and December 5, 1584. The same must also be understood of the islands, which although they do not now have less strength than for the last forty years, have more enemies and more to which to attend. If India should fail them, they would be maintained with greater difficulty. The Portuguese aided in the expedition made by Don Pedro de Acuña, and also in that of Don Juan de Silva, but not with equal success in both; and it is ordered that the two forces unite for the recovery of the island of Hermosa. The city of Macan, in China, is so far from India that it would be in danger should the islands fail it. The governor of the islands had an order to aid that city, by a decree of December twenty, six hundred and twenty-three. He did so by sending it six pieces of artillery, with ammunition and other supplies, which were of so great importance that the Portuguese averted their danger. That action is recommended by the good treatment and welcome that the men of Filipinas receive in India—especially in Cochin, where they go to buy ships and other things—as was written, in acknowledgment therefor, to Don Felipe Mascareñas [Mascarenhas—MS.] in the year 630.

Number 42. Third effect of the conservation of the islands: to deprive Olanda of commerce

The third effect is to deprive the Dutch of a great part of their commerce, not only by España maintaining it in the Filipinas, which otherwise would all belong to the Dutch, as has been said, [In the margin: “In number 36.”] but also by forcing them to keep the presidios and fleets that have been mentioned, [In the margin: “In number 32.”] in order to preserve what they have usurped; and thus, the expenses being heavier, consequently the profits would be less. It was already proposed, with arguments that gained no little approbation (thus they secured its execution), how advisable it was for a royal fleet to cruise among the Windward Islands. Among the effects that were assured was one (and the most important), that of compelling the enemy who should go to infest those islands and commit piracies along their coasts, to erect a fort, and form settlements in some [of the islands], as they have done; and to do it with presidios and garrisons, because of their fear of being attacked and punished—and not as they usually do, when with two little ships carrying each six pieces and twenty men, they pillage what they wish; and with a hundred [common] laborers, and one captain to command them, without arms or defense, they settle on this or that island, confident that there is no one on the sea who can oppose them, or attack them ashore. For if they were in fear, and were obliged to carry an armed force, they would, as that requires cost and preparation, be unable to make so many settlements; nor would their profits be so great that they would not some time or other be ruined and take warning from experience. The Filipinas are doing this in the Orient, and are resisting the enemy in such manner that they not only compel them to maintain forts in their seas, but also to suffer so great losses in them that at times the losses, as is known, exceed the profits. On that account, it is understood that the East [India] Company of Olanda is less rich than formerly; and that, leaving it, they have established the West [India Company]. As the latter does not consume [demand—MS.] so much expense, although the profits are less, it is more appreciated. This is an argument that ought to be heeded in order to establish a fort in the Windward Islands, as there is in the Filipinas, so that the same result might be experienced in the former as in the latter.

Number 43. Fourth effect of the conservation of the islands: the relief of the Indias

The fourth effect is the relief of the Western Indias; for with the diversion and expense that the enemy encounters in the Eastern Indias and the posts of Maluco, he is forced to pay less attention to the Western Indias, and to infest them with weaker forces—which would be greater if he could dispense with employing them in the Orient to counteract the forces of Filipinas; and the profits of commerce there increasing, he would, freed from the expense [of those armaments], be at liberty to occupy himself in the West. If the Dutch should enter there with all their forces, they would cause much more anxiety [than now], and more costly means of defense than those which are made in Filipinas.

Number 44. Fifth effect of the conservation of the islands: the reputation of this crown

The fifth and last effect is that this crown will sustain its reputation and renown, a consideration which so urgently persuades it to preserve a post so honored, avoiding the scandal that would result from losing it, or from abandoning as difficult and costly the most noble exploit that has been offered to any prince. That would [will—MS.] persuade the enemy that it was for lack of forces, or that the gospel ministers whom España sends only go where riches and advantage await them, and not where these are not found. That was one of the motives, if not the greatest, of the kings your Majesty’s father and grandfather; and your greatness has not only to preserve what you inherited by so many legitimate titles, but also to increase it as much as possible.

Number 45. Means existing for the conservation of the islands

Granted, then, and declared by so many and so evident arguments, the importance of the Filipinas, in regard to both its causes and its effects, it is to be noted that there are to be found but two means for the attainment of their conservation. One is for your Majesty to supply from the royal treasury all the expense that should be necessary, without heeding what income they furnish. The other method is to concede to them the commerce with Nueva España, in such quantity and manner that, with what should proceed from it, there should be enough to defend the islands. Each of these means is insufficient by itself, nor is it possible; for your Majesty cannot spend all that is necessary for the maintenance of Filipinas, and it is not advisable to permit their commerce to the extent that the duties derived from it may equal the expenses incurred for the islands. Consequently, the least damaging and the most certain expedient seems to be to combine these measures so that your Majesty may aid in part, and may protect that commerce in such manner that the islands having the means therefor, may attend to their own wants; since the greater the sum derived from the commerce, without increasing it too much, the less the expense from the royal treasury.

Number 46. Points to which the execution of the means proposed can be reduced

In order to adjust these two means, as they are the only ones for this end, it is necessary to make known what the Filipinas are costing today. This will be the first of five points to which this matter is reduced. The second, what they contribute. The third, what commerce they exercise with Nueva España. The fourth, the present condition of this commerce. The fifth and last, what illegal acts are committed in this commerce, and how these can be avoided or corrected without ruining or destroying it. These points having been declared, the decision that can be rendered in regard to the petitions that are made in behalf of the islands will be clear.

Number 47. First point: of the expenses of the islands; and the first division of it, the administration of justice.

Number 48. Second division: the conversion, preaching, divine worship, and the hospitals

Number 49. Third division: the presents sent by the governor

Number 50. Fourth division: the management of the royal treasury

The fourth division is that of the management of the royal treasury. To the three officials—treasurer, accountant, and factor—are paid salaries of 5,625 pesos. To eight greater and lesser officials, 2,300 pesos; to one computer-in-ordinary of accounts, 1,000; to his chief clerk, who is a royal notary, 450; to three other clerks of accounts, 900; to the assayer and weigher, 550; and to its officer of justice, 300. The full total is 11,550 pesos.

Number 51. Fifth division: land warfare

The fifth division is that of land warfare. There is one master-of-camp in the camp of Manila, with 1,654 and one-half pesos pay; one sargento-mayor, with 990; two adjutants, with 360; one chaplain of the regiment, with 360; one field captain, with 180; one chief constable, with 96; one head drummer, with 126; ten substitutes stationed near the person of the governor and appointed by your Majesty at different rates of pay, which amounted in the year 635 (the year when all this report was drawn up) to 6,675 pesos; one military notary, with 200 [20—MS.]; and one procurator for the infantry, with 126. Of the presidios of Manila, the castellan of the fort of Santiago receives 800 pesos, and his one lieutenant, 420; three wardens for the presidios of Zebu, Oton, and Cagayan, each 300; their three lieutenants, each 96; one chaplain for Oton, 180; one lieutenant of the captain-general of Pintados, 800; one lieutenant of the governor and captain-general, for the presidio of the island of Hermosa, 1,200; one sargento-mayor of that presidio, who is also a captain of infantry, has captain’s pay; three adjutants of the sargento-mayor of Oton [Octon—MS.], Cebu, and Cagayan, each 180; another in the island of Hermosa, 250. The infantry of the camp of Manila, which includes that of the island of Hermosa, consists of eighteen companies—sixteen of them with a like number of captains, and the two which are commanded by the master-of-camp of the army and the castellan of Santiago. All amount generally to 1,576 infantrymen, 88 men to each company. As to pay, the captains receive each 600 pesos; the alférezes, each 240; the sergeants, each 120; the corporals (there being four in each company), each 12 pesos over the common soldier’s pay; the 56 infantrymen, including page, fifer, two drummers, and one standard-bearer, each 96 pesos; the [remaining] infantrymen, who are musketeers, each 126 pesos. To each company is given 30 escudos per month over the regular pay. The total expense in pay to each company amounts to 9,555 and one-half pesos. And inasmuch as they are never without crippled soldiers, who receive 72 pesos without serving, there is a fund of 1,000 pesos for them. There are 140 other soldiers of the Pampango tribe, who are stationed in the presidios of Manila, Oton, Zebu, Cagayan, and Caraga, who receive each 86 pesos per year. Their captain receives 288, one alférez, 192, one sergeant, 96. Consequently, this company causes an expense of 7,296 pesos. For the artillery, there is one captain who receives 800; four constables, in Manila, the fort of Santiago, the fort of Cavite, and the island of Hermosa, each 300; one hundred and ten artillerymen in the camp and presidios, each 200; the total amounting to 32,596. The total for this department is 229,696 pesos.

Number 52. Sixth division: of the defense of Maluco

The sixth is for the war and defense of Maluco. The castellan and governor of the forts of Terrenate receives 2,750 pesos; two adjutants of the sargento-mayor, each 825. There are seven companies of infantry with 570 soldiers. The captains receive each 600 pesos; each alférez, 240; each sergeant, 120; each corporal, 30 pesos in addition to the regular soldier’s pay; and the others as in Manila. Each company gets 30 escudos in addition to the regular pay. They were ordered to spend [the money for] four substitutes that they had, each of 440 pesos, and that pay was also given as additional pay. Thus each of these companies causes an expense of 9,809 pesos. In addition there are two Pampango infantry companies, with 200 soldiers. Each captain gets 288 pesos; each alférez, 192; each sergeant, 144; and each infantryman, 72. The two companies cost 13,312 pesos. There is one surgeon who receives 664 pesos; one artillery captain, 480; one constable, 300; one field captain, 330; one war notary, 200; one accountant and factor, 1,150; one chief clerk, 400; another minor clerk, 150; one notary of the royal treasury, 250; one [book]keeper and paymaster, 523; twenty sailors, 150 [pesos] and one ganta of rice apiece; one cura, 50,000 maravedis; one sacristan, 25,000 maravedis; and seven religious, four of St. Francis and three of the Society, to whom are given 1,330 pesos. Consequently, [the expense of] this department amounts to a total of 97,128 pesos, three reals.

Number 53. Seventh division: the navy and marine works

The ships that sail annually to Nueva España carry one commander-in-chief, or head, who, in addition to four rations that are given him, receives a salary of 4,325 pesos; one admiral, 2,900. Although it is ordered in the royal decree for the grant of the last of December, 604, that these ships have an overseer and accountant, with pay of 2,000 ducados apiece, in order that they may keep account in their books of what is carried and taken, as in the last reports of expenses and salaries, those offices are not found. It is doubtful whether they are provided, and accordingly they are omitted. There are two masters, each of whom receives 400 pesos; four pilots, each 700; two boatswains, each 325; two boatswain’s mates, each 225; two notaries, each 225; two keepers of the arms and stores, each 225; two calkers, each 325; two water guards, each 225; two surgeons, each 225; two constables, each 325; twenty artillerymen, each 225 (who ought to serve a like number of pieces, according to the seventh section of the royal decree of 604); six Cahayanes [i.e., Cagayans (Indians)?], each 60; two coopers, each 325. These wages amount to 20,535 pesos, for sailors and common seamen belong to those whose posts are continuous. On the return trip [to Filipinas], when the usual reënforcements are carried, there is a sargento-mayor, who gets 600 pesos; one adjutant, 412; one royal alférez, 865. It is ordered by a royal decree of December 14, 630, that the latter officers be aided with only four months’ pay at Acapulco, and that they be paid for the time of their service. Furthermore, there is a shoremaster at the port of Cavite, who receives 600 [650—MS.] pesos; and although it was ordered by a royal decree of April 22, 608, that he should not receive this salary, that office must have appeared indispensable. There is one builder for ships and another for galleys, each of whom receives 690 pesos; one gunner to sight the guns, and an overseer of the royal works of Cavite, 800; one manager for the artillery foundry, 500; one founder, 450; one powder manager, 500; another of the rigging, 272. One galley is built every year, on an average, which costs 20,000 pesos finished and ready for sailing, exclusive of the men who work at it. The purchase and equipment of 18 champans cost 2,300 pesos. Therefore, according to the items above mentioned, the expense of this department amounts to 283,184 pesos.

Number 55. Summary of the expenses of the islands, and the persons employed

The above is what is spent annually on the average, more or less according to the times, for all purposes in the Filipinas Islands, a summary of which (both of persons and money) is as follows.

The first department, that of justice, supports 32 Spaniards, and costs 37,077 pesos

The second—the conversion [of heathen], worship, and hospitality in most of the convents, and the hospitals and churches—supports 73 Spaniards, and costs 37,297 pesos.

The third, the maintenance of friendly relations with the kings, costs 1,500 pesos.

The fourth, the management of the royal treasury, in which 19 Spaniards are employed, costs 11,550 pesos.

[21,550—MS.]

The fifth, the land warfare of Manila and its islands, in which 1,762 [1,702—MS.] Spaniards and 140 Indians are employed, costs 229,696 pesos.

The sixth, the war in Maluco and its islands, in which there are 612 Spaniards and 200 Indians employed, costs 97,128 pesos.

The seventh, the navy and marine works, in which 832 Spaniards and 2,200 Indians are employed, costs 283,184 pesos.

The eighth, the commissariat, in which 8 Spaniards are employed, costs 153,302 pesos.

[53,302—MS.]

850,734

Consequently, exclusive of the four convents and fourteen hospitals which are cared for, and the alms which are given for wine and oil to certain churches, your Majesty pays in the Filipinas Islands and Maluco, and in their navigations and trade-line, salary, pay, and special wages to 5,878 persons, 3,338 of whom are Spaniards, and 2,540 are Indians or men of various nations. The cost of all included in the eight departments here presented, as it appears, is 850,734 pesos of eight reals.

Number 56. Second point: of that which the Filipinas produce

Having seen what it costs to maintain the Filipinas Islands, the second point is to ascertain how far they aid in this cost, and with what they supply your Majesty’s royal treasury, in which notice is to be taken that there are eleven departments of revenue.

Number 57. The excess of expenditures for the islands over the receipts

It is ordered by a royal decree that the amount reported from the islands to be lacking for the total amount of situado be sent annually from Nueva España; and as the situado, according to the calculation set forth, is 850,734 pesos, there is an annual deficit of 276,512 pesos or thereabouts; [In the margin of Extracto-historial reprint: “The deficit should be 306,812 pesos.”] for this account is made for only one year, and is not fixed, although it it usual every year. In this matter it is to be noted that this [itemized statement] answers the current report that every year six hundred thousand pesos and more are taken from Nueva España for their expense. That report gives rise to the belief and understanding that they spend that amount in addition to their receipts. That is an error; for if from the tenth division the sum of 330,000 pesos is made good, which is collected in Acapulco and Mexico, and other parts of Nueva España (and this is recognized to belong to the islands by the above-cited royal decree of 606 and is therefore ordered to be returned to them), when 600,000 or more pesos are sent, not one-half that amount is supply of deficiency, and expense, since more than one-half is returns. And even this is counterbalanced somewhat by what is derived from the bulls of the crusade, the proceeds of which are ordered by a royal decree of December 21, 634, not to be taken to Mexico, but to be kept at Manila, and that to the treasurers in Mexico a like amount be furnished. Although this order is opposed by the crusade, as it is advisable it ought to be executed, and a second decree issued ordering its observance; thus two dangers might be avoided to this sum, one in going and the other in being returned—as is done with the possessions of deceased persons, by a royal decree of December 13, [of the year] 16, which are kept in the Manila treasury, and paid into that of Mexico.

Number 58. The islands contribute more than they spend

From the expenses and contributions of the islands, and the excess of the debits over the credits, some, through lack of acquaintance with the matter, are wont to derive the main argument against them, imagining that the islands are of little use but of great expense. Although the first of these propositions is quite confuted and answered by what is thus far alleged, the second also lacks foundation in the meaning in which it is put forward, which attributes to the islands more expense than profit; for the Filipinas alone contribute more than what they cost. Until the year 607, the islands of Maluco belonged to the crown of Portugal, which spent a great sum of money on them—as was necessary on account of the great distance from Goa, upon which their government was dependent. Although, nevertheless, those islands were maintained, that appeared impossible after the Dutch entered the Orient; for with their advent the expenses of Maluco were so increased that the islands were lost, inasmuch as there was no money with which to maintain them. It was ordered that the Filipinas recover them, and they did so. In order to assure the safety of the Malucos and to economize expenses for the convenience of both crowns, they were joined and united to them [i.e., Filipinas], imposing on the crown of Castilla, and in its name on the Filipinas, the obligation to attend to their wants, thus adding to Filipinas at least 290,000 pesos of expense—the amount of what pertains to Maluco from the second, third, and fourth departments, all the sixth, half the seventh, and a third of the eighth. If your Majesty is petitioned for 276,000 pesos annually for both groups of islands, as is attested, and those of Maluco alone cost 290,000, the deduction is evident that the Filipinas per se cost less than what they contribute—and more, if it is considered that the crown of Portugal saves 400,000 pesos which the Malucas must have cost it when they were under its charge. Since the Filipinas did not ask for that union, and were not a party in causing it to be made, they ought not to be charged with increase in expenses which those islands cause them.

Number 59. How and in what the inhabitants aid in the support of the islands

But it is proper to remark at this point, what is the kernel of the matter under discussion, that the Filipinas and Malucas are not supported with the 850,000 [890,000—MS.] pesos, which are the amount of their expenses. Neither that sum nor a much greater one would be sufficient, if the inhabitants of Manila did not serve, aid, and help with their possessions and lives on the occasions that arise, both extraordinary and ordinary. Now [they serve] as soldiers in the wars when the enlisted and paid troops are outside, or are not sufficient to resist the enemy, standing guard and assisting in military duties with the [same] punctuality and discipline as if they drew pay; and although they are few, as has been said, they count for many in the valor, willingness, and generosity with which they serve. Again, they give their slaves to labor on the public works and shipbuilding, and ordinarily for the levies for the galleys, as happens daily; and in the term of Don Alonso Faxardo, had not the inhabitants furnished the crews, the galleys could not have sallied out, as they did, against the enemy. Then they lend, when the aid from Nueva España is delayed or insufficient, very great quantities [of money] for any sudden expense—as was that above mentioned in the case of Don Alonso Faxardo, to whom they lent at that time two hundred and fifty thousand pesos. So they do every year, and always without interest, the payments sometimes being delayed two or three years. In regard to that, there is a royal decree of February 29, six hundred and thirty-six, in which it is ordered that those who make such loans shall be promptly repaid, in order that the royal treasury may be accredited when it needs help. They help, too, with very large and continuous gifts of money, and food and products (which are generally more important than money), which the governor assigns for the aid of Terrenate, the island of Hermosa, and other posts. They also accept expeditions and embassies, by which they go at their own expense to the kings of those archipelagos. So have gone General Juan Xuarez Gallinato, to the king of Camboxa; Gregorio de Vargas, to him of Tunquin [Tumquin—MS.]; Juan Tello de Aguirre and Juan Ruiz de Ycoaga, to him of Siam; to whom also went Admiral Andres Lopez de Asaldegui; Don Luis Navarrete Faxardo; and afterward Don Antonio de Arco, to the emperor of Japon, at the cost of life; Don Juan Zamudio to China; and others to other kings—each one spending ten or twelve thousand pesos to serve your Majesty. In short, the occasions that the inhabitants of Manila have for helping, and to which they respond as loyal vassals, are as many as will be seen in the future, and as one can imagine would be found in a post and frontier so infested by so many and so strong enemies—Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Mindanaos, Terrenates, Zambales, and those of other nations, which keeps the inhabitants in arms continually. Scarcely is there a year when the inhabitants do not engage in hostilities, and it necessarily costs them heavily. If it were all at the expense of the royal treasury, the cost of the islands would increase so that it would almost exceed their possessions.

Number 60. To what degree the inhabitants of the islands ought to be favored

By all this is represented to your Majesty what those vassals merit who are always and continually serving, not in posts and duties that increase their wealth and advance their households, but in land and naval warfare, in which they lose their lives and possessions—fighting now with the Dutch, who harass them more sharply than in Flandes, and make daily attacks; now with the numerous nations who surround them. Consequently, they deserve that their services be considered, not only in consulting as to rewards, but in giving them; and that they be gratified with honors and rewards—if not equal to their services, as those are so great, at least equivalent to what good government permits, and to what the same land which they defend can support. That is in accordance with the royal decree of February 29, 636, in which the governor is ordered to observe the rules ordering that military offices and encomiendas be given only to those who shall have served under your Majesty’s banners, and always preferring those who shall have rendered most service. It will be proper and very consoling for the deserving citizens and residents of those islands, that the royal Council of the Indias—which, as it were a crucible for the new world, estimates services, approves merits, and deliberates as to rewards, with so much acumen, equality, and justice—allow the claims of Filipinas before those of others who, by serving in Flandes, Italia, and Alemania, try to get hold of the best posts, not alone of the Indias, but even of the islands themselves which they never entered. For, if the latter do not exceed the former in the hardships, perils, and services that the citizens of the islands suffer and perform, for your Majesty and for that colony, and those citizens should be preferred justly in the rewards of their own land, then they have sufficient ground for asking that they be not despoiled of this favor and privilege, which they try to merit by so many and so repeated acts of valor and loyalty; but that in the dispensing of that favor they may recognize that they may expect sure rewards for their children, by leaving them as an inheritance the blood shed and the property spent in defense of their king and the preservation of their fatherland. And since their services differ so widely in quality from those of others, who have no services, it will be just that their papers and claims be examined with a different kind of attention.

Number 61. It is not advisable that the magistracies of the islands be sold

In this matter also it is to be noted that the magistracies of the city were formerly conferred by the governor on the most deserving and venerable persons who were to be found. They, because of their experience and zeal, accepted those offices, and attended to the duties of those charges as was demanded. In order that those offices might be held by them for life, it was sufficient for them to come to ask for confirmation of them from your Majesty, in accordance with the royal decree of March 17, 1608, and February 8, 1610. And although, since they were ordered to be sold, persons of equal ability and position have bought them, and fill them and attend as they ought to the government of the community (which in this, above all else, has always been fortunate); and although the governor is ordered by a decree of June [July—MS.] 12, 636, to employ the regidors of Manila in charges and posts according to their rank and the competency with which they can serve your Majesty, and that he honor, favor, and aid them in whatever else arises: the deserving men of that city cannot be prevented from expressing their resentment that, while there are so few rewards to which they can aspire, so many the occasions in which to serve, and so remote the qualification of their merits, that small part should be taken away from them, and that, in order to enjoy those offices, they should have to be bought. Moreover, the command, by decree of June 3, 620, that the magistracies of the Filipinas be sold only to conquistadors and settlers, or to their descendants (which was only recognizing that it was fitting to do so, but not assuring the reward), is no favor; for those to whom it is ordered to sell them, since it is so just that those who conquered and seeded should govern, are generally the poorest of all. And although they desire to enjoy the offices which belong to them, some of them do not possess the money with which to buy these; while others do not care to spend the little wealth that they have acquired for what is not of any use or profit to them, but rather a burden and inconvenience—since, by defending that community, they have had many contentions with the former governors. Consequently, it is very advisable that the magistracies be given to men of years, and old residents in the colony, who have held military posts, and who can oppose the governors when the latter try to exceed the provisions of your Majesty’s decrees. For this and other reasons, it has been experienced that eight vacancies have existed in the magistracy of Manila for many years, because there were no buyers for them, as appears from the royal decree of February 29, 636, in which it is mentioned. And since the greatest value of those offices is one thousand one hundred pesos, and, if one consider the twelve magistracies, they do not produce an income of five hundred pesos per year, that is so small a sum, and there are so many damages and disadvantages that may result from it, that it would be a gain for the royal treasury and a great service to your Majesty to have the sale of the said offices stopped, and to have them given as formerly by the governors to the oldest residents, and to men of greatest experience and worth and as favors to individuals—that, while they do not give any profit, they may give honor to the citizens of Manila. Since there is not a city in all the Indias of its rank, nor one in which the inhabitants render so much service and with less advantage, this measure will not be a conclusion of which others may avail themselves to demand the same.

Number 62. Third point: of the commerce of the islands with Nueva España

Number 63. Why the islands need the commerce of Nueva España

This matter being thus explained, it is also supposed that the Filipinas retain the trade above described with various kingdoms of the Orient; and that all that trade is free and open without any restriction, except that of China, and that of the Western Indias, which they maintain and observe in a certain manner. For since all those different traffics require the return of suitable kinds of merchandise in order to sustain the exchange in which they consist, and the islands need them—for the rice, cotton, wines, blankets, textiles, and other products, are not desired by China, Japon, Sian, or any other pagan nation, because they abound in the same products, or have better ones—those different branches of commerce must necessarily cease, if there were not another foreign and different commerce, which, desiring the products of those regions, can extend and carry on another trade, which their nations desire and crave. This is that of the Indias, from which is conveyed and bartered silver (a most noble commodity), in return for which are carried the drugs and merchandise that are produced in China and other Oriental kingdoms and provinces, and traded in Filipinas, by which all come to be sustained, united, and joined.

Number 64. Commerce of the islands: why it is injurious to España

This commerce of the Indias with the Filipinas is to the prejudice of España for two causes or reasons, from which result great disadvantages. The first, because the silver is withdrawn and conveyed to the islands, whence it passes into the possession of the enemies of religion and of this crown, Moors and pagans; and finally remains in China—which, according to what we understand, is the general center for the silver of Europe and Asia. For as it always is current, gaining and increasing in value until it reaches that great kingdom, whence it must issue with a loss, it does not issue, and remains perpetually among those inhabitants. From that cause result many damaging effects: such as enriching our enemies, giving them the most noble product of all the commerce of the globe; making easy for them the possession of that which private persons among them maintain, and increasing their number; preventing that silver from going to España so that the royal duties might increase thereby, the avería and the commerce be sustained; and, in short, making this crown lose and its enemies gain. The second cause is that, in addition to the aforesaid losses (which are obvious) from the withdrawal of silver, no less are the damages that are experienced on what is sent in return for it to Nueva España, and passes to Perú—namely, a great quantity of the merchandise of China in textiles of gold, silk, and cotton, and other articles. [These are sold] at so low prices that, when the merchandise of these kingdoms arrives (which is worth more, as it is of better quality), it is not sold and has no outlet, as the country is full of the others [from China]; so that those who ship it lose. Consequently, losses are multiplied; and from all results so extreme weakening of the commerce of España with the Indias, that it is almost extinct and will be diminished just as that of Filipinas increases.

Number 65. Reply to the damages of the commerce of Filipinas; and to the first, regarding the withdrawal of the silver.

These two reasons are [alleged as] those which hinder the advancement of the islands, and restrict its commerce. However, a reply is not lacking, which, if it does not destroy, weakens them. For to the first, regarding the withdrawal of the silver and its retention in China, answer is made, that on the silver which goes [from Nueva España] nine per cent [duties] are paid at Manila, and at Acapulco fourteen per cent, a total of twenty-three per cent. Consequently, the duties on its transportation to España are not lost, for they are paid there in larger measure. The effects are not those which are represented; for, although it is true that the silver goes from Manila, it is for China, and for the very reason that it does not issue from that country, it does no harm. But the retention of what comes to these kingdoms is a greater injury, as it all goes to Olanda, Genova, and Venecia [Venencia—MS.], and thence to Turquia, while some portion goes to India by way of Portugal, and those same Dutch, and the Persians, Arabs, and Mogores share the silver; and, although at last it goes to remain in China, it is after it has enriched the greatest enemies of this crown. That is not the case with what goes by way of Manila; for, if it goes thence, it is through the hands of your Majesty’s vassals, and it does not reach the hands of the enemies. But even this reply is superfluous, for it is not necessary to the islands nor to their inhabitants that more silver be sent to Manila than is permitted; rather is it important to them that the [amount for which] permission be observed and executed with rigor, as will be said. [In the margin: “In numbers 98 and 99.”] Therefore, of the damages caused to the commerce of España by that of Filipinas, only that to the merchandise should be made good; for the silver either is within the limits of the permission, and does not conflict [with this statement] (for neither does it cause any loss, nor can it be dispensed with), or it is in the illegal amount that is stated, and the citizens request that this be corrected and prevented. For if there is any damage to España, it is not any advantage to them; but, on the contrary, destroys and ruins them, as will be seen.

Number 66. Reply to the statement touching the merchandise exported from the islands

As for the second reason—that of the merchandise, and the trade of the islands therein—it is not denied that it would have the effects that have been stated, if it were free, open, and without restriction; but these cease, because experience and good government have chosen a method such that neither the commerce of España should be destroyed, nor that of the islands be annihilated, by permitting the commerce to one in such quantity that it should not prove damaging to the other. And although España petitioned that the commerce from Filipinas be totally suppressed, by which they thought that they would assure their own increase, it was also considered that the islands would surely be lost in that case; and that they would be settled by the Dutch, who would make themselves masters of all the Orient. Consequently, that would not only expose India to evident danger, as has been proved, but would also, by increasing the forces of the Dutch, render them more powerful in the trade of the Indias, and in all the regions where they navigate and traffic. Therefore, if the trade of [the merchants in] España should increase for the one reason, their risks and expenses would be greater for another; and nearly all the trade of Portugal would be ruined. Thus from an imagined benefit would result damages so certain and considerable that, were they weighed as they ought to be, the present losses would be considered as more tolerable. Such is the mutual relationship of states which are many and extended that, if attention to all of them be difficult, it is advisable that decisions be adjusted to the least harmful course. Accordingly, it is proper that the islands should not continue to increase, but that they be allowed the commerce that is sufficient to maintain them; and that that of España should not be increased in that region, but that the trade of the islands be restricted in such manner that it shall be as little obstructed as possible. For, by each kingdom losing a part of its right, all will be maintained and conserved.

Number 67. Commerce of España with the Indias: why it is decreasing

This will be more apparent with the conditions and the changes which the commerce of Filipinas and that of España in the Indias have sustained and suffered. That of España has decreased so much from its usual status that it appears to be less than the half of its former amount. Although the fault is attributed to the Filipinas, that is because the matter is not probed below the surface, and causes are not sought at their sources. The physician who understands only the effect of a dangerous illness, namely, the death of the patient, generally attributes the sickness to uncertain causes and sometimes so remote that they have no connection with the case in question; and, since he prescribes his remedies for such causes, the true, proximate, and essential causes which are working out of sight without any check, end, if not by killing the patient, by placing him in evident risk. All see and recognize that the commerce of the Indias is in a feeble condition, that the merchants are losing, that the exporters do not obtain their capital [from what they ship], and that the ships which go are smaller, and return with poorer cargoes. Although this loss is so well known, there are some who ascribe the cause of so great an effect to the Filipinas, and not to the misapprehension of España—which is persuaded that the wealth of the Indias must be inexhaustible, and that the merchants can still gain on their investments the same amounts as fifty years ago, while the causal means of it all have been lacking, which have been noticed by few, and ignored by many.

Number 68. First reason for the decline of the commerce of the Indias

First, the abundance of gold and silver. So great was the abundance of these metals in the Indias, that one could say the same as of Jerusalem in the time of Solomon, that they were regarded as the stones of the street. Accordingly, articles were paid for at so exorbitant prices, as is apparent from the histories of their conquests. That region has failed, for the ores that yielded three hundred pesos per quintal by smelting, now yield eight or six by quicksilver, which costs more than smelting; and [such ores] are worked as good ones. Potosi, which is the heart of the Indias, is threatening to give out; for it alone yielded for forty years an amount that it cannot now yield, although aided by the opening of many mines which sustain its reputation. The mines of Nueva Reino [i.e., New Granada] and of Nueva España have lost a part of what they had. The cost of mining is greater, the mines are poorer, and, consequently, the gains less, and less the amount obtained. Therefore, since this was the first cause of the greatness of the Indias, it is not remarkable that with its deficiency their commerce has declined.

Number 69. Second cause for the decline of the commerce of the Indias

The second cause is the decrease of the Indians and the increase of the Spaniards. The latter number thirty times more than formerly; where there were five hundred, there are now three or four thousand. Without exaggeration, there has been a decrease of the Indians of more than six millions. Although not all of them used Spanish commodities, they consumed many, and to so great an excess that it became advisable to prohibit this to them and order them to dress as did their ancestors. What is most to be regretted is the cessation of the service for the mines, the cultivation of the fields, the gross sum of the tributes, and the local commerce of many provinces. With fewer people and less wealth, there must be less consumption and smaller profits; and, if everything diminish, it is impossible that trade should not do the same.

Number 70. Third cause for the decline of the commerce of the Indias

The third cause has proceeded from the above two; for with the increase of the Spaniards, not only has the consumption not increased, but it has been and is much less. For, besides the fact that so many stuffs and figured goods are no longer worn out in the Indias as formerly, and he who clad himself in silk now contents himself with cloth, all bulky goods that are exported from Sevilla are manufactured there [in the Indias]—where with the number of people their necessity has increased, and with their necessity their skill. The consumers are fewer, and the officials more; there is little money, and those who seek it are many; and they seek it more eagerly as their courage is small, since their funds are already scant. The springs are drained dry, for there is less water, so that scarcely can they dampen what they formerly soaked. What few formerly shipped and many bought is now quite the contrary, and many send it and there are few who use it—as is evident by the wine which was and now is consumed by Nueva España. On that account it has been necessary that the former profits cease, and that the exportation and consumption of merchandise be restricted—not only on account of the goods which are manufactured there, but because of lack of consumers and lack of wealth, all of which are causal circumstances of the decline of the commerce.

Number 71. Fourth cause for the decline of the commerce of the Indias

Number 72. The Filipinas do not damage the commerce of España

The above and many other causes which might be mentioned are those which have weakened and are ruining the commerce of the Indias; and although it would be more advisable to counteract some of them, or to seek reparation for those which are most hurtful, the Filipinas Islands come to be the ones that suffer the penalty, without being implicated in the guilt. And although their commerce is in the lowest condition that it has ever experienced or suffered, yet even in this condition they are not allowed or permitted [to improve] it, and there are some who propose its destruction as a remedy, so that it may share in the universal destruction of all trade; and this is in so far as it touches the commerce of España.

Number 73. Beginning of the commerce of the islands

Number 74. Permission for the commerce of the Indias, and its final form

The commerce of Sevilla was not satisfied with even these orders and restrictions. That commerce continued to decrease, although the cause was unknown. They regretted the damage, and tried to apply the remedy, but in vain. As the trade of Filipinas was already the stone of offense, they immediately descended on that. Not only was the prohibition of commodities from the islands strengthened, but their quantity was limited, reducing it to a fixed amount that was permitted, and a certain form. It was ordered that only four ships should ply in that trade-route—two which should sail to Nueva España, and two to the islands, and all at the account of the royal treasury. In these could be carried two hundred and fifty thousand pesos’ worth of such merchandise as they should have in Manila; and in return they could take five hundred thousand in silver, including in this sum the principal and the profits. And inasmuch as this permission, from its beginning, was never in favor of Nueva España, but of the islands, it was declared that only the citizens of the islands could navigate and trade, as was already ruled by a royal decree of January 11, 593. In accordance with this, the commander [of the fleet] was despatched on the last of December, 604, with various instructions and declarations, which gave form to this commerce. And since his permission was for only the citizens of the islands, and those who were not residents of the islands but of Nueva España had begun to take part in it, it was ordered that the toneladas of the two ships which sailed should be distributed in Manila by the governor, the archbishop (or the senior auditor), the fiscal, and two regidors. That order was confirmed by decrees of May 4, 619, and May 29, 620, and by others, which regulate this matter, and declare that the respective shares of the silver which must be sent back as returns for the merchandise must be allotted in Nueva España.

Number 75. Administration of the permission for the islands for its citizens alone

Notwithstanding this last order, the citizens of Mexico, who had before taken possession of part of this commerce, continued in it, availing themselves of certain underhand work and management—by which the citizens of Manila perceived the damage that they were receiving, in that others were enjoying what had been conceded to them. Accordingly, as soon as they received the decree of 593, which was the first decree that granted to them exclusively the permission and trade, they decided, in order that they might manage their cargoes, to appoint four or six men to go to Nueva España in the name of all, and there attend to the sale of the merchandise in the ships, and to the returns for it. That determination had no effect then, nor in the year 597, when Governor Don Francisco Tello ordered it executed by an act of January 24. It was again proposed in the year 623, when open cabildo-sessions were held in Manila for that purpose, and persons appointed for it; but neither were they sent, because of certain obstacles in the way. But since the necessity became more urgent, because of the injuries experienced, the matter was undertaken more effectively in the year 629, and six commissaries, citizens of Manila, were actually appointed and went to Nueva España, where they are today administering the commerce permitted to the islands. That has been examined in the royal Council of the Indias, together with all the acts which have been made upon it; and it was approved by a decree of March 25, 635, and extended for four years more than the six (for the one of 593 was for six years), by another decree of February 16, 635. The chief motives that induced the inhabitants of Manila to carry out this resolution, were three. The first was, to prevent the consignments of silver which the merchants of Perú and Nueva España made through their agents and correspondents, the result of which—to say nothing of the violations of the royal orders in sending silver in excess of the amount allowed—was so prejudicial to the citizens of the islands that it deprived them of the benefit of the permission, while those who were expressly excluded from it enjoyed it. The second was, that with the great amount of silver that entered Manila the price of the Chinese merchandise advanced so greatly that the inhabitants could not buy it. The third was, that prices fell in Nueva España for the same reason, so that the principal could scarcely be realized, as will be told. [In the margin: “In number 98.”] [Those were] damages that were repaired by the decisive action above mentioned. And lest that should not be sufficient, it will be advisable that, in the distribution of the licensed toneladas that is made in Manila, measures be taken that no one have a share except the citizens [of the islands] in accordance with the third petition. [In the margin: “In number 103.”]

Number 76. Declaration of what is or is not included in the five hundred thousand pesos allowed.

Inasmuch as there were certain doubts in regard to the sum of the five hundred thousand pesos of the returns, it was declared by royal decree of August 19, 606, that it should include the legacies, bequests, moneys for charities, payments for service, wrought silver, and whatever else might be shipped, except by those who bound themselves to reside for eight years in the Filipinas. Such might carry their possessions in money, in addition to the general permission, as was declared by a decree of November 20, 608; and the seamen of that trade-route might take their wages in silver, registered, also in addition to the amount permitted.

Number 77. Smuggled Chinese goods shall not be sold in Perú

Peru was excluded from the above-mentioned concession, and the former prohibitions forbidding the importation of Chinese stuffs into Perú remained in force, while the penalties were rendered more severe. Inasmuch as from their enforcement it resulted that merchandise of this character, which was seized as forfeited and confiscated, was sold as smuggled goods, and thus the goods remained in the country, they were (although remaining with that warrant and reason) the cause of as much loss and damage as if they had been brought in either secretly or by permission; for the country was filled with these wares, at more moderate prices than those of España. Accordingly, it was ordered by decrees of April 18, 617, and July 30, 627, that Chinese cloth which should be smuggled, and as such condemned as forfeited in Perú, should not be sold in the provinces; but that, in the same form in which it had been seized, it should be carried to these kingdoms and sold here.

Number 78. Permission to trade between Perú and Nueva España, and its condition

Perú and Nueva España appealed from the mode imposed on the commerce of the islands, and from the above-mentioned prohibitions, representing certain disadvantages that resulted from barring them from the commerce that those two most opulent states had maintained between themselves, almost by nature, the chief one being that they were deprived, in this manner, of all the mutual relationship and dependence that they ought to enjoy. Therefore another permission was conceded, for two ships: one to leave annually the port of Callao de Lima, and to carry silver to the amount of two hundred thousand ducados to the port of Acapulco, in order to invest it in the products peculiar to Nueva España—of agriculture, stock, and manufactures—and in no others, even though they be products of these kingdoms; and the other, to sail from Acapulco to Callao with these returns. The prohibition of Chinese cloth was left in force, and it was declared that no Chinese cloth could be sent in the returns for the two hundred thousand ducados, nor beyond that sum. Severe penalties were imposed for its enforcement, by decrees of the last of December, 604, June 20, 609, and March 28, 620, which gave final form to this permission. This last is now suspended and ordered to cease by a decree of November 23, 1634, without the reason that has inspired it being known, other than the expedients that have been proposed for the destruction of the islands. And this order, forbidding ships to go to Acapulco from Perú, is so menacing to the Filipinas, that it alone may prove sufficient to ruin them. For if no ships go from Perú to Acapulco the islands are exposed to the failure of their succor, in any year when their ships should not arrive—whether because of having been wrecked, or having put back in distress, or having arrived late—since, in such cases, it is usual to supply their lack with the ships of Perú, sending in them the ordinary aid of men and money. If the latter do not go and the former do not arrive, there will be no vessels for the above-mentioned purpose; and the islands might remain for several years without the succor that sustains them, and with evident danger of being lost.