“The capital of our colony was, therefore, a few years after the conquest, an emporium of wealth which, by its commercial activity, gained in those seas the title of Pearl of the Orient.” (La Libertad de Comercio, Azcarraga, p. 41.)
“The commerce of these islands began with their second discovery and the first settlement, which was in the year 1565. However, it was at the first scanty and of little weight, until during the government of Guido de Labazarris, in the year 1576, the trade of China was introduced, and with it considerable profits, which extended it freely to Nueva España, Guatimala, Tierrafirme, and Perú, by a royal decree of April 14, 1579.” (Informatory Memorial addressed to the king, Juan Grau y Monfalcon; Madrid, 1637.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 27, pp. 157–158.)
[20] “For thirty years after the conquest the commerce of the islands was unrestricted and their prosperity advanced with great rapidity.” (Historical Introduction, E. G. Bourne.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 1, p. 61.)
“As for the second point, the amount of the commerce, this was formerly without any limitation; and during the time (which was short) while that condition lasted the islands acquired what strength and wealth and grandeur they now possess.” (Juan Grau y Monfalcón in Extracto Historial by Antonio Alvarez de Abreu; Madrid, 1736.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 30, p. 50.)
This is the point of view taken by Azcarraga in his La Libertad de Comercio en Filipinas.
[21] “In 1603, that is, when our colony had only thirty-two years of existence, there were already in the capital 25,000 Chinese, and the number of Japanese must have been also quite considerable, since they formed a colony which occupied the barrios of San Anton and San Miguel, at present inhabited by natives and a great portion of the white population.” (Azcarraga, La Libertad de Comercio, p. 44.)
[22] “37. Accordingly the commerce of this city is extensive, rich, and unusually profitable; for it is carried on by all these Chinese and their ships, with those of all the islands above mentioned and of Tonquin, Cochinchina, Camboja, and Siam—four separate kingdoms, which lie opposite these islands on the continent of Great China—and of the gulfs and the numberless kingdoms of Eastern India, Persia, Bengala, and Ceilan, when there are no wars; and of the empire and kingdom of Xapon. The diversity of the peoples, therefore, who are seen in Manila and its environs is the greatest in the world; for these include men from all kingdoms and nations—España, Francia, Inglaterra, Italia, Flandes, Alemania, Dinamarca, Suecia, Polonia, Moscobia; people from all the Indias, both eastern and western; and Turks, Greeks, Moros, Persians, Tartars, Chinese, Japanese, Africans, and Asiatics. And hardly is there in the four quarters of the world a kingdom, province, or nation which has not representatives here, on account of the voyages that are made hither from all directions—east, west, north, and south.” Description of Filipinas Islands, Bartholomé de Letona, O. S. F.; La Puebla, Mexico, 1662.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 36, p. 205.)
IV. Trade and Commerce: the Period of Restrictions
Hardly had wealth been created by the commerce of the first years after the conquest, when the policy of restriction found its strong supporters in the merchants of Cadiz and Seville, who, accustomed to monopolize the trade with America, looked with jealous eyes upon the rapidly growing prosperity of Manila, the new center of trade. The cotton and silk cloths from China were underselling in Mexico those coming from Spain and Peru, and a good deal of the silver was going, not to Spain, but to the East; hence, the long drawn-out rivalry between Manila, on the one hand, and Cadiz, and Seville, on the other, with America as a third party, also working for her own interest. This commercial activity was the phenomenon which dominated the Philippines for over two centuries, and had such marked influence upon its whole economic development.