Note 25 — COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA

93–94. [These replies by the merchants of Andalusia call forth another memorial from the Manila deputies, which occupies fourteen printed sheets. They repeat their former arguments, enforcing them by reference to the despatches from the Audiencia of Manila, the archbishop, and the various religious bodies there, and still more to the letters previously addressed to the king by the viceroys of Nueva España; and they adduce various instances from the history of the Manila-Acapulco trade to the same effect. They also undertake to refute the charges made by the merchants of Sevilla and Cadiz, and claim that the latter have misrepresented certain facts. We note here some points made by the Manila envoys, as giving new information on the matter at issue. They say that the maintenance of Filipinas, including the missions and military posts, costs the Spanish crown annually 515,568 pesos, for which sum the royal treasury of Mexico should be responsible, according to the laws of the Indias; but it sends thither only 40,000 pesos in money and some 60,000 in goods, and even this remittance comes from the duties which the Manila galleon pays at Acapulco. But in 1637 and for some years later, the situado sent to the islands amounted to more than 325,000 pesos in money, and enough goods to make up the 500,000 pesos. This, however, was largely the result of the failure of the Manila merchants to ship goods to Mexico, a proceeding caused by the undue harshness and severity of the royal visitor Pedro de Quiroga;25 but it led to the abolition (by royal decree of September 3, 1639) of the restriction on the kinds of goods permitted to Manila, only limiting the amount of their investments. It is strange that Manila has pursued this commerce for one hundred and forty years without any protest from Andalusia until now; the decadence of the latter is due rather to lack of economy in the use of their wealth than to the competition of Filipinas; and Andalusia has always encountered trouble, since the persons interested in the greater part of the lading of the galleons and fleets have been and are foreigners—French, English, and Dutch. Andalusia claims that the galleon unlades at Acapulco more than 12,000 piezas, half of them containing silk goods; but the certificates of the royal officials show that in the ten years from 1710 to 1720 the total number of piezas (in ten galleons) was 36,895, including therein the 4,299 half-chests in which the silk goods were shipped—making the average lading of each galleon only 3,660 piezas. The detention of Velasco’s fleet was not due to the arrival of the Manila galleon, but to other causes. The fleet of 1698, in charge of General Mascarùa, was sent lightly laden, and in 1699 Velasco’s fleet followed it, but encountered the other at Vera Cruz; the presence of the two large fleets at one time, and the ravages of yellow fever [bomito negro, i.e., “black vomit”] at that port, rendered it impossible to sell the goods to advantage, to transport them to Mexico, or to equip the vessels for the return voyage. When Velasco could set out for Spain, he received news of the death of Carlos II, and the danger of war between Spain and other powers, which made the merchants unwilling to risk their property on the seas at that time. Finally the Spanish fleet was escorted to Spain by a French squadron of warships, but on reaching Vigo was attacked by an English and Dutch fleet, which inflicted considerable loss on the Spaniards. Moreover, the trading-fleets sent from Spain to Nueva España are nearly twice as large in the last few years as they used to be, which overstocks the colonial markets with goods. Manila claims that the decadence of the silk industry in Andalusia is due to the pest which ravaged that province (with especial mortality in Sevilla) in the middle of the past century; and that part of the remaining population had emigrated to Murcia and Valencia, where they had cultivated mulberry-trees and built up the manufacture of silk goods. Another reason assigned by some writers for the decrease of prosperity in Andalusia was the imposition, at that time, of heavy war-taxes. As early as 1666, the city and the merchants of Sevilla had represented to the crown “their lamentable condition, and the ruin of their looms, caused by the imposition of the millones26 and the concourse of foreigners to Cadiz to introduce their own merchandise.” This led to a resolution by the royal Council that the decree of January 25, 1661, should be enforced, which provided that the custom-house and collection of duties for the Indias should be withdrawn from Cadiz, and that the galleons and fleets should take on their lading in the river of Sevilla and the port of San Lucar. As for the stuffs from foreign countries which, it is alleged, are brought to España and crowd out the manufactures of that country, these are only the fabrics which the more industrious French, English, and Dutch make with the raw material, both wool and silk, which España exports. In 1696 Sevilla complained to the king of the injury which it was experiencing from the importation of foreign goods, but did not mention the Chinese stuffs among these. “In Madrid and Valencia the manufacturers are at present complaining that the price of silk has risen very high, not because the crop [that is raised in España] is not an abundant one, so much as on account of the so great export, not only from that kingdom but from other regions, to foreign countries, that which the French alone have bought this year amounting to more than 300,000 doubloons; and if asked about this, any dealer in these goods or any official will answer with entire candor, without blaming the commerce of Manila.” The foreigners bring back these silk goods to España, in order to supply with them not only that country but the Indias, through the fleets and galleons; “and this is what the consulate [of Cadiz] is defending, in order that these goods may, by not introducing into Mexico those from China, be sold [there] with a higher reputation.” The highest authorities all concur in the statement that the Spanish silks sent to Nueva España do not amount to one hundred and twenty-five toneladas. The statement that the Manila galleon carries from that country 4,000,000 pesos is unwarranted; the only possible ground for it is that in 1717 the viceroy allowed the galleon to carry to Manila 2,000,000 pesos, because for three years past no money had been sent to the islands—on account of poor sales at Acapulco, a galleon forced back to the islands by storms, etc.—on condition that the king’s ten per cent be paid on that amount. In other years the amount of money illegally shipped has been very small. Cadiz has alleged that money has been scarce there for some years; but Manila declares that from December, 1720 to July, 1723 over 40,000,000 pesos worth of gold and silver, in coin and bullion, has been landed at Cadiz, without including the value of the other products of the Indias. Cadiz asserts that the money obtained from Nueva España goes to the Turks, the enemies of the Catholic faith; but the Spanish merchants are continually furnishing money to other enemies of the faith, the English and Dutch. Moreover, the commodities which the Manila galleon carries are not obtained from the Turks, but (through the European factories) from Indostan, Tunquin, Lao, China, Japon, and the Philippine Islands; while Manila is not even permitted to trade with Arabia and Persia, whose products are carried to the ports of the Levant, and at those fairs the traders from all the European nations buy those goods, with money which has come from the Indias. Manila declares that the trading-fleets carry to Vera Cruz no Spanish products save wines, brandies, oil, raisins, and almonds, and the previously-mentioned small amount of silk goods; all else in their cargoes is of foreign make. The spices which the decree of 1720 allows to the islands will not suffice to pay the expenses of the voyage, especially when Manila must compete with the trading-fleets from Spain in the shipment of these products. The collection of royal duties on goods is regulated by “cubic palmos in accordance with the measurement of the bales [frangotes] and piezas which are shipped.” As for the memorial by Calderòn, Manila asserts that it does not bear on the present question; that auditor, in the time of Governor Curuzalaegui (in which occurred an uprising of the Sangleys), sent a letter to the king remonstrating against the liberty given to the Chinese, and advising that they be not allowed to have intercourse with the Indian natives, or even to live in the Parián. This tolerance had been extended to them for the sake of attracting them to the Christian faith, but Calderòn regarded it as no longer necessary, since they had, even then, a number of Christian missionaries in their own country. In his letter, he cited Father Ricci in support of some of his statements. While the Spanish silks sent to Nueva España amount to only one hundred and twenty-five toneladas, those of foreign make sent thither from Spanish ports are more than a thousand toneladas. The French, English, and Dutch trade at Canton, where the main part of their commerce is in raw silk.]