Note 4 — COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA

“Although the silks which Spain furnishes are in general very choice, those of Valencia are far superior [to the rest]; and both are suitable for all uses. Their only defect is that they are a little too oily, which causes much difficulty in dyeing them.” “The diversity of silks which Europe produces has not enabled us to dispense with that from China. Although in general it may be of heavy quality and uneven staple, it will always be in demand for its whiteness.” “The whiteness of the Chinese silk, to which nothing else can be compared, renders it the only suitable kind for the manufacture of blondes and gauzes. The efforts that have been made to substitute our silks for it in the manufacture of blondes have always been fruitless, although not only dressed but undressed silks have been tried for this purpose; but the results have been somewhat less unsatisfactory in regard to gauzes.”

“In the last century, the Europeans brought from China very little [raw] silk; ours was sufficiently good for the black or colored gauzes, and for the catgut gauzes [marlis] which then were worn. The taste which has prevailed during the last forty years (and more generally during the last twenty-five) for white gauzes and for blondes has gradually increased the consumption of this Oriental product; the amount of this rose in modern times to eighty thousand pounds a year, of which France always used nearly three-fourths; and this importation has so greatly increased that in 1766 the English alone took a hundred and four thousand-weight of it. As the gauzes and blondes could not consume that amount, the manufacturers used part of it in making watered silks [moires] and hose.... Besides this silk of unique whiteness—which is chiefly produced in the province of Tche-Kiang, and which we know in Europe under the name of Nankin silk, from the place, where it is especially made—China produces ordinary silks, which we call Canton silks. As these are suitable for only the wefts of some silk fabrics, and are as expensive as those of Europe which serve for the same uses, very little of them is imported; and what the English and Dutch carry away of this Canton silk does not exceed five or six thousand-weight.” (Raynal, Établissemens et commerce des Européens, i, pp. 660–662.)

“The Chinese are no less skilful in working up their silks than in producing them; but this praise ought not to extend to those of their stuffs in which gold and silver are woven. Their manufacturers have never known how to draw these metals into thread, and their ingenuity is always confined to rolling their silks in gilded papers, or in pasting [appliquer] the stuffs to those same papers; both methods are equally faulty.” (Raynal, Étab. et com. des Européens, i, p. 662.) ↑