Note 14 — COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA

One of the tables at the end of Raynal’s atlas volume gives an itemized list of the cargoes carried by the “last eight Spanish trading-fleets to Vera Cruz”—that is, the last eight preceding Raynal’s work. Their cargoes were of the following amounts: in 1733 (under command of Torrez), 618,595 cubic palmos; 1735 (Pintado’s), 620,000; 1757 (Villena’s), 618,557; 1760 (Reggio’s), 841,717; 1765 (Idiaques’s), 486,943; 1768 (Tilly’s), 452,282; 1772 (Cordova’s), 914,807; 1776 (Ulloa’s), 934,366. But one of these fleets carried cinnamon, that of 1735; and cloves appear only in the trifling amount of 50 quintals, in 1768. The chief articles enumerated—which appear in every year’s list—are paper, wax, iron, steel; brandy, wine, and oil; and unbleached stuffs [linens?] from Brabant. Quicksilver was carried in only 1765 and 1768, 7,506 and 8,000 quintals respectively. Wrought iron was sent in five of these shipments, but in no considerable quantity except in 1765, when also was sent 2,724 barrels of tin-plate (in other cargoes, in but trifling amounts). Silk ribbons made a solitary appearance in 1757, to the extent of 1,000 pieces—as did 1,000 “swords to be mounted with hilts,” in 1765. The last two fleets carried consignments of gun-flints, respectively 650 and 386 thousand-weight.

It is evident, however, from another table (which follows the above), that Spanish commerce had much activity outside the trading-fleets; this shows the amounts of “merchandise which left the ports of Spain each year from 1748 to 1753 for its colonies on the continent of America; duties which they have paid; their current value in the New World; expenses which they have borne; their net product for the metropolis [i.e., Cadiz].” Of these goods, the only one monopolized by the crown was quicksilver, to the amount of 3,600,000 livres’ worth. The greater part of this merchandise consisted of cloth and stuffs, of silk, linen, and wool; there was a considerable amount of iron, paper, wax, brandy, wine, and oil; and to Nueva España was sent 1,000,000 livres’ worth of cinnamon, and to Caracas 10,000 barrels of flour. Of the goods sent to Nueva España (not counting the quicksilver), 6,367,297 livres’ worth were of Spanish production, and 14,401,815 of foreign. The import duties levied on the latter at Cadiz amounted to 1,185,343 livres, and the export duties on both Spanish and foreign to 1,245,059; and admiralty and avería duties besides came to 419,623. The goods on board, then, cost 23,619,137 livres, to which must be added the following charges: transportation to America, 3,617,623; import duties and alcavala in America, 4,327,473; commissions on sales and return freight, 3,231,296—a total of 34,795,529 livres. The value of this merchandise in America was arbitrated at 43,274,787 livres; deducting the above costs, a profit of 8,479,258 livres remains from the merchandise sent from Spain to Nueva España. On the return voyage, the main part of the cargoes was in gold and silver—6,480,000 livres’ worth for the king, and 37,716,047 for the merchants; the crown monopolized copper and cacao, 259,200 and 12,960 respectively; the cochineal was worth 6,426,000 livres, and the indigo 4,160,160; and various drugs, dyes, etc. made with these a total of 56,216,533 livres (all these values being those estimated in America). To this cost must be added freight charges, 1,491,543 livres; and various duties to the crown (including customs, admiralty, church, etc., the largest being for “indult and coast-guards”), amounting to 6,428,987. Consequently, when the ships arrived at Cadiz the value of the gold and silver had been reduced to 5,625,607 livres for the king, and 32,775,345 for the merchants; while the cost of the other commodities had increased from 12,020,486 livres to 14,145,922. The current value in Europe of these goods (not including the gold and silver) was 18,465,419 livres, a gain over the entire cost of 4,319,497 livres (30½ per cent)—of which 124,527 belonged to the king, and the remainder to the merchants, as the net proceeds on the commerce between Spain and Nueva España, outside of the precious metals, in both the outward and return voyages each year. ↑