Note 13 — COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA

70. [This decree is addressed to Marqués de Valero, viceroy of Nueva España. After rehearsing the arguments brought forward in previous letters received from Valero, the decree ordains the following rules for the commerce of Philipinas: Two ships shall go annually from the islands to Nueva España, each of 500 toneladas. “The value of the lading which the said ships are to carry from Philipinas to the port of Acapulco may be up to the amount of 300,000 pesos, which must come invested strictly and solely in the following kinds of merchandise: gold, cinnamon, elephants, wax, porcelain, cloves, pepper, cambayas and linens woven with colors [lienzos pintados],13 chitas, chintzes, gauzes, lampotes, Hilocos14 blankets, silk floss and raw silk spun, cordage, and other commodities which are not silks.” These ships are prohibited from carrying silken fabrics, “satins, pitiflores, velvets, damasks, Pekin silks [Pequines], sayasayas, brocades, plain satins, grograms, taffetas; silver and gold brocades; embroidered pieces of silk stuff for [covers of] beds, the [hangings for] drawing-rooms [estrados], and women’s petticoats; silken gauzes flowered with gold and silver; pattern pieces for petticoats, figured or embroidered; dressing-gowns, chimones, or made-up garments; hose, ribbons, or handkerchiefs; or any fabric which contains silk.” The penalties for transgression of this order are confiscation of such goods, payment of three times their value (this amount to be shared between the royal fiscal, the judge, and the informer), and perpetual exile from the Indias; and the confiscated goods are to be burned. Declarations of goods shipped are absolutely prohibited; those who are permitted to trade must be chosen by the city of Manila, without the aid of any official; the duties to be paid are fixed at 100,000 pesos for each voyage, with the express stipulation that this payment is to be called adjustment [regulation] of duties, and not indult; no religious person and no stranger may be allowed to ship goods; every shipper must present an itemized invoice of the goods sent; the ships must not be overloaded; no right to lading space may be transferred to another person. Provision is made for inspection, valuation, and landing of goods, and for the disposition to be made of such as shall be confiscated; and the limit of six months is fixed for the disposal of all Chinese silk goods that may be on hand in Nueva España when the decree is published, after which time all that are found must be burned.]