Disasters to Spanish Commerce.
Now and then, however, a change came over the spirit of their dreams. The seas are notoriously uncertain, and ship-captains appointed by favor are not overmuch to be trusted. Disasters came. Galleons went to sea and never came to port; shattered bones lay on some inhospitable coast or found a grave on the bottom of the ocean. And as time went on, hostile ships visited the Pacific and made prizes of the rich galleons of Spain. Now the remittance from the Philippines failed to reach Mexico. Now the scores of broad dollars sent back, vanished on the seas.
Water-carriers and Fruit-vender.
The loss of the invincible Armada in 1588 put an end to Spain’s naval supremacy, and the richly-freighted American galleons often became the prey of British buccaneers. The colony of the Philippines had then just been formed, and was not disturbed until the series of Anglo-Spanish wars before 1760, when its treasure-laden galleons were frequently swept away. This was notably the case after 1743, when Admiral Anson’s fleet infested the coast and became the terror of the Spanish islanders. His exploits filled Manila with consternation, and councils were held to devise some method of getting rid of him; but he set all their efforts at naught. The captured galleon Pinar put a million and a half of dollars into his treasure-chest: the Covadouga yielded him immense wealth. Spies upon high promontories watched the seas for the dreaded British ships; the people of Manila were held ready to defend the city from assault; every one was on the alert.
For each lost galleon another was sent, and in some instances several galleons had to be despatched in a single year. Yet there were three or four occasions in which no galleon reached the Philippines for two or three years; while, after the capture of the Covadouga six years passed without a ship reaching the islands. The effect was disastrous: coin grew scarce, misery prevailed, the Chinese traders broke into open rebellion. There were other sources of revenue besides the Mexican subsidy, but the officials felt their incomes seriously straitened in these periods of want.