Discussion Regarding Portuguese Trade at Manila
Copy of seventeen articles which Joseph de Navada Alvarado, regidor of the distinguished and loyal city of Manila, proposed to the municipal council [ayuntamiento] of that city, in which he represents the injuries and troubles which follow and have been experienced from the Portuguese of Macan continuing the trade which they have begun to introduce in that city [of Manila]. These articles were presented to Don Juan Niño de Tavora, and afterward to Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, governor of those islands—who, having examined them, wrote his opinion to his Majesty, and how advisable it was to suppress the trade of Macan with the said city of Manila, as is apparent by the said letter.
Captain Joseph de Navada Alvarado, regidor of this city of Manila, represented in this city council that, as was public and well known, from the year six hundred and nineteen until the present of thirty-two, the Portuguese inhabitants of Macan have come to this city in various vessels, without fail in all the years above mentioned, laden with Chinese merchandise, in order to sell it here; and that, with their said coming, it seems that they have obtained possession of this trade, which is so strictly prohibited by various royal decrees. On account of that trade they have waxed rich, while the inhabitants of this community now find themselves in their so wretched present condition, by the great sales which have been generally made to them; and because with the said trade that which the Sangleys had by coming yearly to this said city, with the greatest abundance of goods, has ceased. It appears that necessity has always obliged them to have to buy from the said Portuguese. Notwithstanding that the prices have usually been very high, the profit which the inhabitants of this said city have made in Nueva España has been very slight; and at times it has been little more than the prime cost of the goods here, besides the heavy expenses and duties which they carry, both in these islands and in the said Nueva España. For that reason, he feels that it is very advisable for the preservation of the said inhabitants and of this community that the said trade of the Portuguese cease, and that they be ordered not to come to this city; for this is permitted by the royal will, under the penalties expressed in the said decrees in which he orders it, to which we refer, since there are so many and so fundamental reasons as the following.
The first, that the said Portuguese of Macan having tried in years past to open this trade, and having come to this city with merchandise to sell it there, this city council, seeing the damage that might grow from it (which is the damage bewailed today), opposed the said coming, and made various decisions in regard to demanding that the royal will be observed, and that the Portuguese be ordered not to return to this city. And in fact they did not come for the time being, or for many years after, until the said year of six hundred and nineteen—[since] when, not encountering the resistance which had been formerly made, they have continued the said trade, as aforesaid.
The second, for proof of the aforesaid, is that, as is notorious, the amounts of capital [invested by] the inhabitants of these islands were very great in the first years of the coming of the said ships from Macan; but with the high prices which the Portuguese have always set upon their merchandise, and (as aforesaid) because the citizens have bought from them more by force than willingly, by reason of the lack of the goods which the Chinese brought formerly, for that reason the said investments of capital have stopped, and are so greatly diminished as has been, and is seen in general; because the gains have been very slight compared with the profits that have been made in Nueva España, considering the high prices that they demand here, as has been previously stated.
The third point which ought to be considered is, that the customs duties on the merchandise brought by the Chinese to this city were worth to his Majesty from eighty to one hundred thousand pesos annually; while those on the merchandise of the ships which have come from Macan have not been worth more than twenty thousand pesos in any one year, and it is considered as certain that some years the duties have not exceeded twelve thousand. In regard to this truth, as a point so worthy of consideration—and of which this city council ought to take so much notice, as it is the body whom the increase of the royal revenues to their possible extent concerns so fully—we refer to what shall appear from the amounts of the said duties which the Sangleys now for twenty years have put into the royal treasury, and to those which the Portuguese have put in from the year six hundred and nineteen, the goods which they have generally brought being valued at about one million and a half, defrauding to a greater sum the said import and export duties so rightfully due his Majesty.
The fourth matter that must be considered for the greater proof of the aforesaid statement is, the quickness of the voyage from the said city of Macan to this of Manila, since it can be made in twelve days or a fortnight (or in one week, as has already happened), and the short time that they spend in this city selling their goods. Those were causes which could ensure the success of the contract which the citizens of this city have offered to make with them, several years—namely, to give them forty per cent clear profit upon the first cost which they [i.e., the Portuguese] had invested. But as the Portuguese have always beheld themselves powerful and masters of the said trade, they have always refused to accept it—from which one can infer the great gains which they have made and are making in the trade, since, in short, more than sixty per cent [profit] has now to be given for everything. That is a hardship which sufficiently accounts for the present condition of the inhabitants of this city who are afflicted with the many troubles which attend them by reason of the said diminution of their wealth; and for the total ruin of others, who see themselves dispossessed of what they had. For that reason they make no further investments, because they have not the wherewithal.
Fifth, it ought to be considered how long and dangerous is the voyage from these islands to the said Nueva España, and the heavy costs and expenses caused by the investments; while the returns for what is sent from here are not received even if good fortune attend them, except at the end of two years, and sometimes more.
Sixth, that with the coming of the said Portuguese and ships from the city of Macan to this of Manila, the commerce and trade which the Sangley merchants of China usually carried on every year with this city has ceased, because of the keen intelligence which the Portuguese have employed in preventing it. That they have succeeded in doing, entirely by means of a very astute plan which they have followed, by taking to the annual fairs which are usually held at Canton so many thousands of pesos to invest and to bring to this city, as, in short, has already been said. In that way the Chinese sell them all that they want, at a profit of twenty-five or thirty per cent. That arrangement is so agreeable to the Sangleys, with the said profit in their own land and without trouble, that they have ceased to come to this city as they did formerly, risking the capital which they brought hither. This has been aided greatly by the Portuguese persuading the said Sangleys that the wealth of the inhabitants of this city is very nigh gone, and to so great an extent that they cannot find an outlet even for all the goods which they bring; and that, for that reason, they give trust for the greater part of it—a thing that has never happened, nor been done, for they have always received money, and the value for everything that they have sold. To that is added also that the said Portuguese have been wont to frighten the said Sangley traders by telling them of the danger that they will experience in their coming because of the Dutch pirates and the fleets of bancons[1] with which some of the Chinese nation themselves go about committing depredations along those coasts. At the same time they have represented to the Chinese the heavy dues that they pay here, and the injuries that are inflicted upon them in this city, notwithstanding that they have [not] known that the Chinese have any complaint of this. All is with the purpose of turning them from any design that they have had of coming to this city with merchandise; for they fear that if the Chinese did so it would result in impairing their trade[2] and discrediting that which the said Portuguese hold so firmly.
The seventh is in regard to the Chinese merchants who refuse to sell their goods in Canton to the said Portuguese of Macan, saying that they prefer to bring them at their own cost and risk to this city in their champans to sell them to the inhabitants of this city, and to enjoy in their entirety the profits and gain which they can thereby get. In order to dissuade these men from that purpose and resolve which they have had, the said Portuguese have offered (as many Chinese merchants who have come to this city this present year have said) for the sake of peace to bring the goods of the said Sangleys to this city at their own account and risk in order to sell them here—as they could do, if they should carry them—making a contract, by which for their administration [of this business] they were to get five per cent. That has been seen now for two years, during which they brought in this way more than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos on account of Sangley merchants of Canton. They also take the funds of the Chinese to make a return at so much per cent, and bring it to this city, so that the Sangleys may not come here with the said goods. That is a well known fact, and has been learned from some of the Portuguese of Macan themselves. The said Portuguese make those efforts in order to have the monopoly for themselves of the merchandise brought to this city from the kingdom of China, and so that all might pass through their hands; since, in whatever form the aforesaid goods are brought, the Portuguese prove to be so interested, and, for the same reason, as has already been stated, the inhabitants of this city come to be so despoiled of their wealth. No less [injury] is possible, except that, if the said trade is not suppressed, they will finish by losing the little that they have within very few years.
The eighth. In regard to the aforesaid, we must consider that the said Portuguese of Macan have always refused to agree by way of pancada on a general price, although the said pancada is so usual among them in all parts where they buy and sell. During one of the last few years, having agreed to the said pancada, and in order to begin it having appointed a person both on their part and on that of this city, when the prices were set those of Macan refused to accept them, as they were not so high as they wished. For always with the consideration of having a port to leeward (which is that some of the said Portuguese remain in this city to sell their goods which they have left over, in which no opposition has been shown them, either, although it is so much to the prejudice of the common welfare of this city), they become obstinate in whatever they desire—those who spend the winter making a monopoly of their merchandise that is left over, selling it at very high prices to the inhabitants who need it, and selling some to the Sangleys of the Parián. The latter afterward retail such merchandise to all manner of persons, doing that in the course of the year with some gain.
The ninth point, and one which ought to be carefully considered, is, that besides some of the Portuguese remaining in this city who come from the city of Macan with the said merchandise, with the intent and for the causes stated in the above article, they accomplish their ends in another way, no less injurious to this community—namely, that some of them have sent a very heavy export of their merchandise in the ships despatched to Nueva España, although that is so stringently prohibited by decrees and orders of his Majesty. Taking advantage of the said opportunity, they sent it by the hands and under the names of persons of this city, who have protected and are protecting them. Although this city, on account of the notice given to it of this conduct, has made all possible efforts to prevent so harmful a proceeding—having even requested and received letters of excommunication, which have been read and published in the churches—yet it has not been learned that these have been sufficient to prevent it. This is verified by the unlading of the flagship “Santa Maria Magdalena,” which was despatched from the port of Cavite in these islands in the first part of August of the past year, six hundred and thirty-one, for Nueva España, but whose voyage did not take place, because of the disaster that happened. Through that mishap it became known what the Portuguese of Macan had embarked in it, as can be related by Captain Andres Lopez de Azaldiqui, depositary-general of this court, who was present at the discharge of cargo with a commission from this city council.
The tenth is, that what the ships bring from Macan is only silks, in bundles and in fabrics. If they have brought any cotton cloth needed by the poor, each piece of cloth has been sold at three or three and one-half pesos. The same price is received for one cate of sewing thread, and a dish of average quality sells for one real; and notwithstanding that they bring but little of this for the supply of this community, they have always sold the said articles at the prices quoted, because of reducing the cargo of the said ships to the said silks and stuffs, on account of the profits arising from such freights. The ships give little or no place for the lading of cotton cloth and other wares needed so badly by the poor, because of their volume and of the little profit made from such cargoes. Such things are also needed by those who are not poor; and even a single ship of those usually brought by the Sangleys from China to this city fills the land with the said common goods, which are so necessary, as can be understood; and the poor are supplied with these by the convenience of their prices, which are very low. They are still lower when a number of ships come, as was formerly the case. That is verified by the few which have come with the said goods for some years past, so that these articles have been valued at prices so low as the fourth part, and less, of the prices at which they have been sold by the said Portuguese, as has been stated.
The eleventh is, that it would not have been any trouble for the Chinese to come to engage in this trade with a quantity of goods—as they did before the Portuguese represented to them the dangers of enemies or the other things aforesaid—if the trade of Macan had been suppressed. For the greed of gain, which they are so well known to possess, would have conquered everything, and they would come here; since an outlet for the merchandise in which they trade in China must be sought beneath the water. If the Chinese can know for only one year that no ships have come from Macan to this city, it is certain that they will come, and that beyond all doubt. Also the reëstablishment of the trade of the said Chinese will be effected; and, since there will be great abundance in the goods which they trade, the customs duties will amount to the sums which I have already stated. Consequently, there will be a stop put to the loans, so numerous and usual, that we are wont to require every year from the inhabitants in order to supply the needs of the royal treasury; or at least the loans will not be so large, since the said duties will be able to supply much.
The twelfth is that, as is well known, in the merchandise brought by the Portuguese from the city of Macan to this of Manila, there are no articles that can, with known reason, have an outlet with profits or even without profits, in any other part, because of this—namely, that what they take to Japon is only raw silk, which they call of the first value, and the cream of that of China, whose products they bring here. No other thing is used in Japon; and the skins which they also carry, besides being in small quantity, are but little used by the Japanese, according to their customs; so that all the rest which the inhabitants of Macan buy is for conveyance to this city. If they do not come here with it, then, it is certain that they will not buy it. Consequently, the Chinese will come with it, for it is their trade, and they have to procure an outlet and profit for their merchandise.
The thirteenth is that the efforts exerted by the said Portuguese of Macan in preventing the commerce of the Chinese have been by as many roads of state as they have been able to attempt. This came to such a pass that a ship returning from this city to that of Macan, whence it had come with merchandise, with some Portuguese aboard it, while coasting along the Ilocan shore some two years ago, sighted two ships of the Sangleys, which were coming from China laden with merchandise to this city. The said ship from Macan attacked them while passing, and chased them, the while discharging its artillery, with the intention of pillaging and sinking them, and preventing their coming here. By the strenuous efforts that they made, the Chinese escaped from their hands, although they received great damage from the artillery. Through the delay that they suffered in these perils, their arrival here was postponed, and having entered the bay during a terrible storm, one ship was wrecked in the neighborhood of Parañaque, and the other in sight of the walls [of Manila]. Consequently, the Sangleys lost their goods, and were in danger of losing their lives. As soon as they entered this city they gave notice of that injury, and this city council having seen the reason of it, voted that an investigation should be made of the aforesaid affair, and that it be done by Licentiate Nicolas Antonio de Omaña, as he was alcalde-in-ordinary of the city. He began to make an investigation, but ceased because the governor said that it belonged to the jurisdiction of the war department. Thereupon the Sangleys—seeing that they would not obtain the justice which they desired in respect to the said investigation; and that the said Portuguese returned to this city, because they did not continue their voyage, on account of the wreck of the said ship in which they were going along the said coast of Ilocos—had recourse to the royal Audiencia of these islands, where they filed a complaint against the Portuguese who was leader of the said ship, and the others. From the papers which were drawn up, it resulted that the said Audiencia ordered the said Portuguese who was commander of the said ship to be arrested. That was done, and the latter was a prisoner for many days in the houses of the city council, until at the end of some time he was freed, without any one knowing in what condition the said case remained.
The fourteenth is, the long experience that we have of the injuries that have been committed on the Castilians who have gone from this city to the said city of Macan in the Portuguese ships, with some money which they have taken to invest and with which to pay their passage and the freight on their investments. Having reached the said city of Macan they are arrested, and the said money is sequestered. Some who have escaped this harsh treatment have taken refuge in churches, and have at last embarked, fortunate to be at liberty with their money, in order to return to this city. Having gone through those kingdoms and experienced the delay of the long time during which they have been suffering this molestation, and the others who, as aforesaid, have escaped it by availing themselves of the said churches, these have employed their capital in buying the merchandise of the Portuguese of that city—and always at so high prices that, from one hand to another, the Portuguese gain twenty-five or thirty per cent with our people. For no lesser rate was open to the latter, in order to redeem themselves from the injury inflicted on them, of little or no liberty; while the Portuguese have so much freedom in this said city, as has been and is seen, as I have already stated. Consequently, what our people have brought from that city has always been too dear, by reason of the aforesaid profit which the said Portuguese have made of it. They, not content with this, have (as is well known also), whenever opportunity has arisen to send any ship of his Majesty from this city to bring back at his royal account military supplies for the provision of the royal magazines, refused to let these be bought by the hands of those who have the matter in charge, but [insist that it be] by those of inhabitants of Macan. Thus they make use of what goods they have, and sell them at the prices which they choose. That has always resulted in great loss to the royal treasury, which is sufficiently notorious, because it has been said openly by all who have gone from here for that purpose. Such comment has not been less, even though many citizens of this city are so patiently enduring such injustice; for, these having delivered their goods to the said Portuguese that they might take them hence to the said city of Macan and invest them, and bring them back or send them the proceeds, the Portuguese have kept the goods, and have not thus far made any return to our people. For that reason those who sent the goods have been completely ruined by such great losses, which in their total amount to a very large sum. With that, and with all the profits and gains aforesaid, those of Macan are today known to be very powerful, and to have great wealth—although they had no considerable wealth in the said year of six hundred and nineteen, when they began to come here to avail themselves of the said trade.
The fifteenth is, that if the trade of the said Portuguese ceases, there can be no doubt that the Sangleys will come in their ships from China, laden with merchandise, in order to sell it in this city. And even should this not be to the number of those who formerly came, nor with so great an amount of goods during these first years, yet with the few that do come with valuable goods, and with those which can come from the island of Hermosa, and the wax which is obtained in these islands, there will be enough goods to complete the two hundred and fifty thousand pesos which his Majesty allows the inhabitants of this archipelago to trade with the said Nueva España—and even to exceed that amount, in general, according to the scarcity of wealth that they have today. The great investments which are made today through the hands of agents who are here—who have the money of certain citizens of Mexico in large quantities, many thousands of pesos, with which they disturb the trade and commerce of our citizens—will be prevented. For, as these men who have the agencies enjoy an interest of ten per cent of what they thus invest by their own authority (even though it be bought very dear), they will not consider the removal of obstacles in the prices of the merchandise—making them exceptions to the general loss of all this community; for the Portuguese have continued their sales at the same prices, without its having been possible to apply the corrective which so great an injury demands. If that loss cease, our citizens alone will enjoy the said investments, complying therein with his Majesty’s will, and will make them at favorable prices, whereby considerable profit will accrue to them. For this they will share the merchandise which will come, both from China and from the island of Hermosa and other places, in accordance with their means. From it will also result another advantage with the coming of the said vessels from China, to the citizens who have possessions in the Parián, who will thus have someone to occupy those possessions. The limited time during which the said Sangleys are wont to remain here will be worth more to those citizens than the rent and payment for their property which they now usually obtain for all the year. With that income the tax which they ought to pay for the arable land in the said possessions, at the [current] values of this city, will not be so long delayed, and will be paid with greater ease, promptness, and willingness than is done now; for, as is well known to this city council, about eight thousand pesos are owing to the said public property for the said reason, according to the accounts that have been rendered by Juan de Arguelles and Juan Lopez de Andoin.
The sixteenth is for an argument that, if the trade of the Portuguese of Macan cease, the said [Chinese] will have to conduct the trade as they did before in the said merchandise, because they will have no other outlet for it, except in this city. This is proved because in the revolts of the Sangleys here, in the first part of October of the former year six hundred and two [sic], more than twenty thousand Sangleys having been killed and their possessions ruined—of which advices were taken to China by more than ten of their ships which escaped and carried the news—nevertheless, by May of the year following the same ships came to this city, in the number and with the amounts of goods with which they had come in the years preceding. They continued that in the following years, as if the aforesaid punishment had been a benefit to them. They did that for the reason above mentioned, of not having any other outlet for the said merchandise in which they traded.
The seventeenth is that, as is well known, as soon as the Portuguese of Macan knew of the post which we took in the island of Hermosa, they tried to obstruct that trade, by sending a religious of their nation to one of the commercial ports of China, in order that he might direct those Chinese not to take any merchandise to the said island. They have persisted and are still persisting in those efforts.
In regard to all the above, as a matter so important, and on which depends the conservation of this community, and so that the citizens of it may retrieve their losses, he petitions that discussion be held, and that this proposition be set down in the record-book; that a decision be reached, and a vote taken in regard to all that ought to be petitioned; and that the royal decrees which treat of all the said matter be observed. Having read and understood it de verbo ad verbum, it was voted that the said proposition be enrolled in the record-book of this cabildo, and that it should be discussed and voted upon. That having been done, in consideration of the fact that the arguments which it contains are so notorious and so well known in this city and by its inhabitants, Manila unanimously and as one man has resolved to inform his Lordship, the governor, of the said proposition; that for its accomplishment all the steps that shall seem to be advisable shall be taken, by writing, until the said effect is obtained—with the consent and advice of the counselor of this city; that the procurator-general of the city attend to all the above, and that they appoint as commissaries those deputed to inform the governor. Thereupon, Captain Diego Diaz, regidor of this city, voted, and said that his opinion is that this affair is one of great importance; and that it seems right to discuss and treat of it with the inhabitants of the community, who are the ones interested. This is his vote and opinion. The governor is requested to be pleased to give permission for the holding of an open cabildo, so that those interested, as they are the ones whom it concerns so greatly, may declare therein the resolution that ought to be taken in this matter. For if the suspension of the coming of the goods from Macan were to happen in any other way, and at the same time those of China should not come, the people would generally complain; and in order that they may not do that, let them be participants in the resolution that shall be taken. In such condition was this vote, and all signed it.
Copy of a section of a letter written to his Majesty, August 14, 1633, by the governor of Filipinas
The trade of Great China also has declined, inasmuch as the Portuguese of Macan have become masters of it, as they are so near; and as they are admitted here, contrary to all good government, they retail the products which the said Chinese formerly brought direct. That causes a great scarcity in these provinces, all of which results in our loss, and in the gain of China, because of the great advance in price over the [former] cheapness—[an excess], moreover, which they carry to their own land. The relief that I believe can be had, although some privation may be felt in the beginning, is that your Majesty prohibit the trade of Macan with Manila, and decree that Portuguese be not admitted into this government. Besides having the above result, your Majesty’s duties will increase; and the commerce of China with the island of Hermosa can be established by this route, and become of importance to your Majesty, although up to the present it has been only an expense. [Decree of the Council: “Collect the papers treating of this matter and the chart of the island of Hermosa; and together with this section take it all to the fiscal, and bring it to the Council with what he shall say. November 25, 1634.”]
[Note: “The fiscal declares that he regards it as very unadvisable to make any innovation for the present, and that the trade now possessed by the Portuguese should be not prohibited; for, since the said trade is permitted to the Sangleys and other foreign nations, who are not vassals of his Majesty, it is not right to prohibit it to the Portuguese; and because if the said trade is prohibited to the Portuguese, the Dutch and other rebels to this crown might seize that site and the trade. Moreover, the advantages which the governor represents as the consequence are not sure but contingent; and the increase which he mentions might not happen, and could not afterward be made up if the Portuguese abandoned that site and that trade ceased. Madrid, December 6, 1635.”]
[Endorsed: “In regard to the affairs of the island of Hermosa and the Portuguese. Refer it to the fiscal. April 15, 636.” “Let account be given so that those decrees may be carried out which were given in order that foreigners might not trade or traffic in the Filipinas Islands—taking note that the Portuguese are included among foreigners, and that the Chinese and Sangleys can trade and traffic as hitherto. In regard to the expulsion thence of the Portuguese who are not living there by the express license of his Majesty, he shall expel them, unless the governor and Audiencia consider that it is not advisable; of which it may be necessary to present information to the Council.”]
Copies of the decrees which were despatched to the governor and Audiencia of Filipinas, and the fiscal and royal officials of them, in regard to the trade which the Portuguese of Macan have introduced into Manila.
The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the Philipinas Islands: Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of that city, has informed me that the Portuguese people who live in Eastern India have attempted to trade and traffic with those islands, thus hindering the Sangleys from going to sell their merchandise in that city; and that this intercourse was already established, in violation of the orders and decrees issued, to the very great damage and prejudice of my royal revenues and the good government of the islands. He petitioned me to be pleased to have a speedy and effective remedy applied in a matter of so great importance and weight. My royal Council of the Indias having examined all the papers which were presented in this matter, together with what my fiscal said and alleged regarding it, I have considered it fitting to send you a copy of them, so that you may see them. If the report that has been made of this seems to you correct, you shall immediately attend to the remedy for this damage; and I order my fiscal of that my royal Audiencia, by another decree, to prosecute that case and to plead whatever he judges suitable for the advantage and increase of my royal treasury, and the observance of the orders and decrees issued, since that pertains to him by reason of his office. Of all that you shall enact and that you shall continue to do in this matter, you shall advise me. Given in Madrid, November ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign:
Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon
[A decree of the same date and of like tenor, addressed to the fiscal of the Manila Audiencia, Juan de Quesada Vitado y Mendoça, follows, in which he is ordered to prosecute the case. A decree of the same date is also addressed to the royal officials; which, after the same general statement at the beginning, continues: “And although I order that Audiencia by another of my decrees of equal date with this to attend to the remedy of this damage, and the fiscal to plead in prosecution what he sees to be necessary, I have thought it best to advise you of it, so that after you have understood it, if you are sure that there is fraud in the collection and administration of my royal duties, you also shall plead what you consider to be advisable, since you see what is your obligation by virtue of your office. And of what you shall hear, and what shall be done, you shall keep me advised.”]
Sire:
Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the noble and loyal city of Manila, metropolis and capital of the Philipinas Islands, declares that the past year he represented to your Majesty the great damages and injuries which the inhabitants of that city are experiencing from the Portuguese of Macan having introduced the custom of going to buy their merchandise at the fair of Canton in China, and bringing the same to the city of Manila to retail it—where they make a monopoly of it, without the inhabitants [of Manila] being able to make any profit, such as they had before when the Chinese came to the said city to sell their merchandise. The latter, besides selling the merchandise for very suitable prices, gave credit for them until they came back again. Without spending money, the inhabitants then were benefited, and sent the said merchandise to Nueva España, and made very great profits on it. All this has ceased with the coming of the Portuguese, who not only give no credit, but sell the merchandise for excessive prices. If they do not receive the pay that they wish for the goods, they send them to Mexico at their own account. As they are settled in Manila, they keep the merchandise from one year to another. The Sangleys did not do that; for, in order to be able to return, they sold the goods at very suitable prices, or gave credit for them, by which the inhabitants made considerable profits. As that profit has ceased, they are becoming very poor, and have no capital, and there is no help for it. What they gained the Portuguese now gain; and the latter withdraw thrice as much money from Manila as the Sangleys did. The latter exchanged a great part of their merchandise for products of the country, which the Portuguese do not do, but take away the money in bars and reals. And although they allege in their favor, in order to continue the trade, that they are vassals of his Majesty, and that it is right for them to trade and traffic in Manila as in Castilla and in other parts of España, the fact is excluded that the inhabitants of that city have conquered those islands and shed their blood in that conquest, and always have arms in their hands for their defense. It is right that they alone should have this advantage (as your Majesty orders by the many decrees which have been despatched in regard to this), and not the Portuguese, who have and have always had places to trade and traffic in Portuguese India, Japon, China, and many other parts. It is not right to snatch the bread from the hands of the inhabitants of Manila, who have no other trade or means of gain save that in the merchandise of China. If relief is not given in this very quickly, all the commerce of that city will be destroyed, and it is now so fallen for this reason. Besides, it is prohibited to the inhabitants of those islands by decrees, and in particular by one of the year 593, to go to the Canton fair or to China, as the Portuguese go to buy. It is also prohibited by many decrees for any Portuguese, notwithstanding that they are vassals of your Majesty, to trade or traffic in the provinces of the Indias without special permission. This same thing must be observed in Manila, just as it is observed in Nueva España and Piru.
Certain reasons that were presented having been examined in the royal Council of the Indias, it was ordered by a decree despatched November ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four, to send all the papers which were presented in behalf of that city to the governor and Audiencia of Manila; and commission was given to them so that, after examination of the documents by the fiscal and the royal officials (to whom a decree of like tenor was sent), they might apply in this matter such remedy as they deemed most advisable, and as a matter so important for the preservation of those islands demands.
King Don Felipe Second, having considered and foreseen the many difficulties [involved in decreeing] that no one of his vassals go to China to buy merchandise from the Chinese, ordered the said decree to be despatched January eleven, of the said year, one thousand five hundred and ninety-three (a copy of which is here presented), by which he ordered Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, governor of Manila, not to allow any inhabitants of those islands to go to China to buy merchandise from the Chinese; but to have the latter come to that city to sell them, at their own risk. That decree was enforced until the year one thousand six hundred and six; but it is now violated because the Portuguese have crossed over, contrary to the order of the said decree. They go to China, which is the act prohibited in the decree; and not only do they cause that damage, but they also deprive the inhabitants [of Manila] of the benefit which they had of receiving on credit the merchandise from the Chinese who go to that city. Further, they bought the goods at very low prices, since, in accordance with the terms of the said decree, the governor and the city set the prices for the merchandise, which was a thing of great importance. And in order that the Chinese might return to Manila, and the inhabitants enjoy the profits and accommodations of former times, and the terms of the said decree of 593 might be obeyed, in which all the trouble that happens now was anticipated; and for confirmation of the above statement, and so that your Majesty may see that not only do the inhabitants of that city suffer damage because the Portuguese go to it with Chinese merchandise, but that your Majesty also loses vast sums of which the royal duties are defrauded: will you be pleased to order the certification which the writer presents, from the accountant of the official visit to be examined. From this, it is apparent that during the last thirteen years while the Sangleys had the trade in that city—from the year one thousand six hundred and six until that of one thousand six hundred and eighteen—they paid in duties to your Majesty, 574,627 pesos and six tomins; and that in another thirteen years while the said Portuguese of Macan have had the said trade, they have paid only 90,041 pesos. Figuring one period against the other, the royal treasury has had a shortage of 483,986 pesos and four tomins, a considerable quantity in only thirteen years. And, in order that this truth may be apparent to your Majesty, the writer presents the said certification of the annual amounts of the said duties, for both the thirteen years of the Portuguese and the thirteen of the Chinese.
[He also invites] consideration of the fact that the purpose of the said royal decree of 593 is subverted and violated by the commerce which the Portuguese of Macan carry on in China in order to take the merchandise by way of retail to the said city of Manila; for the said purpose declared in the said royal decree is that the said merchandise of China shall enter into the said Manila through the hands of the said Chinese, and at their own account and risk, as the said decree says, without any other persons being authorized to meddle in it at all, or any merchants save the said Chinese. Thus the said violation is manifest, since the said Portuguese are the ones who carry and deliver the merchandise in the said city, by means of the said commerce which they have in China. Without that it would be impossible to take them to Manila, or to violate the said royal decree. Since they are not deserving of greater favor or benefit than the inhabitants of the said city—in whom concur so many merits and services, as is well known, and to whom the said commerce is denied by the said decree of 593—nor is there any cause or reason why the said Portuguese, who can not urge the said services, and who only think of the said retailing of goods and of their own interest and greed, should be permitted to trade; he petitions and beseeches your Majesty to be pleased to have a second decree of like tenor to that of the year 593 issued, so that it may be observed and obeyed exactly, as is stated therein. In it also should be included the case above mentioned, or it should be ordered anew that the said Portuguese shall not conduct or continue the said commerce in the said city—at least making it an offense to carry to Manila the said merchandise for which they trade in China, imposing therefor heavy penalties of confiscation, and others more severe in case of violation. By this the royal treasury will receive great benefit and increase, and avoid the so considerable injury and loss that has been set forth; and the said city and its inhabitants will receive an especial favor and grace, as is hoped from the greatness and the royal authority of your Majesty.
Further, he besought your Majesty to have filed with this memorial the letters which were in the secretary’s office, written by the governor and Audiencia in regard to what is represented in the memorial; so that after the whole has been examined, the decision most fitting to the service of your Majesty and the preservation of those islands may be made. And that the great troubles that follow from the aforesaid may be seen, he petitions that an examination he ordered to be made of the memorial of seventeen articles which was presented by Jusepe de Naveda, regidor of that city.
Decree of our sovereign King Don Felipe Second, by which it is prohibited that any one go to China to buy merchandise from the Chinese; but the latter must go to the city of Manila to carry them, and sell them at their own cost and risk—in which decree are to be included the Portuguese of Macan.
The King. To Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and any other person who shall hereafter serve in the said office: know that I have been informed that many persons of those islands are going to Macan and other ports of China to trade and traffic with the Chinese for the profit that results from it. From that result higher prices for the merchandise, and other notable inconveniences. And as it is fitting that a remedy be applied in this matter, I have determined to prohibit and to order—as I do by this present prohibit, forbid, and order—that no person, now and henceforth, shall trade or traffic in any part of China; nor shall any merchandise, on account of the merchants of the said islands, be carried or permitted to be carried from that kingdom to the islands, unless the Chinese themselves, at their own account and risk, shall carry it to the said islands, and sell it therein by wholesale. For this, you, together with the city council of the city of Manila, shall appoint each two or three persons whom you shall consider most suitable to value and appraise the said merchandise. They shall take it at wholesale from the Chinese, paying them the amount for the goods; and afterward it shall be divided among all the citizens and natives of the islands at that price, in accordance with their wealth, so that all may share the profit which results from this trade. You shall order that the said persons thus appointed keep a book, in which shall be entered the amount of money which is invested each time, and the price at which each kind of merchandise is appraised; among what persons it is divided; and the quantity that falls to each one’s share. And I charge you straitly to have especial care to ascertain in what manner the persons deputed for that purpose exercise that commission. You shall not permit those who have held it one year to be chosen for it the following year. You shall send me a relation of all the aforesaid, signed by them, and another to the viceroy of Nueva España. And I order you, and also all other justices and judges, to observe and obey, and cause to be observed and obeyed, and executed to the letter, the contents of this our decree; for thus it is fitting for my service. Given in Madrid, January eleven, one thousand five hundred and ninety-three.
I the King
By order of the king our sovereign.
Juan de Ybarra
[Endorsed: “December 19, 635. Have these papers collected; bring what is provided.” “Have all these papers taken to the fiscal. In the Council, January 16, 636.” “The fiscal asks that this decree be brought authorized by the secretary, so that he may answer and petition what he shall believe to be expedient. Madrid, January 19, 1636.” “The fiscal says that the decree of which a reissue is requested does not touch upon the case for which it is now requested; and that he considers as a rigorous measure that what is therein permitted to the Chinese should not be permitted to the Portuguese, who are his Majesty’s vassals—they having occupied that port of Macan, as he understands, after the said decree was issued. Madrid, January 22, 1636.”]
Customs duties collected at Manila on Chinese merchandise
In thirteen years while the Sangleys had control of the trade of Chinese merchandise—namely, from that of 1606 to that of 1618—they paid in duties to his Majesty, according to the certification of the accountant for the official visit, 574,627 pesos, 6 tomins. In another thirteen years while the Portuguese of Macan have controlled the said trade, they have paid only 90,641 pesos, 2 tomins. Consequently, comparing the one time with the other, there is, as he has informed his Majesty, a shortage of 483,986 pesos, 4 tomins, in his royal treasury.
This account is presented in detail in the following manner:
| Year of 1606 | 32,113 pesos, | 3 tomins, | 3 granos. |
| Year of 1607 and 1608 | 75,462 pesos, | 0 tomins, | 4 granos. |
| Year of 1609 and 1610 | 131,341 pesos, | 4 tomins, | 0 granos. |
| Year of 1611 | 26,053 pesos, | 0 tomins, | 7 granos. |
| Year of 1612 | 95,639 pesos, | 2 tomins, | 8 granos. |
| Year of 1613 | 69,427 pesos, | 7 tomins, | 0 granos. |
| Year of 1614 | 36,105 pesos, | 2 tomins, | 6 granos. |
| Year of 1615 | 41,558 pesos, | 1 tomin, | 1 grano. |
| Year of 1616 | 23,377 pesos, | 0 tomins, | 0 granos. |
| Year of 1617 | 37,179 pesos, | 5 tomins, | 5 granos. |
| Year of 1618 | 5,770 pesos, | 0 tomins, | 0 granos. |
| 574,627 pesos, | 6 tomins, | 10 granos. |
Duties which the Portuguese of Macan have paid on the merchandise of China in the thirteen years from that of 1619 to that of 1631, according to the same certification; and also those which the Chinese ships that have come in those same years have paid.
| Macan | Years | China | ||||
| pesos | tomins | granos | pesos | tomins | granos | |
| 1,172 | 6 | 3 | 1619 | 11,148 | 0 | 0 |
| 8,903 | 0 | 0 | 1620 | 27,797 | 0 | 0 |
| 9,653 | 5 | 0 | 1621 | 6,692 | 6 | 11 |
| 7,370 | 0 | 0 | 1622 | 8,040 | 0 | 0 |
| 4,238 | 3 | 5 | 1623 | 1,759 | 3 | 9 |
| 5,444 | 0 | 0 | 1624 | 2,998 | 6 | 0 |
| 6,917 | 0 | 0 | 1625 | 10,894 | 0 | 0 |
| 10,248 | 0 | 0 | 1626 | 22,580 | 0 | 0 |
| 9,092 | 3 | 8 | 1627 | 20,385 | 0 | 0 |
| 3,036 | 0 | 0 | 1628 | 2,943 | 0 | 0 |
| 641 | 0 | 0 | 1629 | 3,957 | 0 | 0 |
| 11,645 | 0 | 0 | 1630 | 6,287 | 0 | 0 |
| 7,480 | 0 | 0 | 1631 | 18,344 | 0 | 0 |
| 90,641 | 2 | 4 | 143,826 | 6 | 8 | |
[1] Bancon: “A boat with three oars to the side, which is used in China.”—Dic. Nacional ... de la lengua Española (Madrid, 1878).
[2] The language of this sentence is somewhat obscure and elliptical, but would seem to indicate that the Portuguese fear the diminution of their trade in China with its natives, and the loss of their prestige in the carrying trade outside that country.