[13] Recopilación, Lib IX, Tit. XXXV, Leyes LXXIV, LXXV, and LXXVI.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17, pp. 42–44.
[14] Pedro Quiroga.
[15] Recopilación, ibid., Ley LXXVIII.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 17, pp. 44–45.
[16] As to the effect of these restrictions Azcarraga says: “* * * thus, at the end of that century, there was nothing but poverty and discontent in the city; the white population had hardly increased; commerce, confined within the narrow sphere of periodic voyages to Acapulco, was languishing, without attempting to engage in any other kind of traffic; and poverty was reflected even in the very troops stationed in the city, who did duty unshod and without uniform (camisa), frequently committing robberies at the Chinese stores. * * *” (La Libertad, p. 54.)
[17] Extracto Historial, Antonio Alvarez de Abreu.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 44, p. 231.
[18] Ibid., p. 236.
[19] Ibid., p. 232.
[20] Ibid., pp. 256–258.
Also Azcarraga, La Libertad, pp. 58–59.
[21] Royal decree of October 27, 1720, enforcing that of 1718, provides further that: “The values of the lading which the said ships are to carry from the Philippines to the port of Acapulco may be up to the amount of 300,000 pesos, which must come invested strictly and solely in the following kinds of merchandise: gold, cinnamon, elephants, wax, porcelain, cloves, pepper, cambayas, and linens woven with colors (lienzos pintados), chitas, chintzes, gauzes, lampotes, Hilocos blankets, silk floss and raw silk spun, cordage, and other commodities which are not silks.” These ships are prohibited from carrying silken fabrics, “satins, pitiflores, velvets, damasks, Pekin silks (Pequines), sayasayas, brocades, plain satins, grograms, taffetas; silver and gold brocades; embroidered pieces of silk stuff for (covers of) beds, the (hangings for) drawing-rooms (estrados), and women’s petticoats; silken gauzes flowered with gold and silver; pattern pieces for petticoats, figured or embroidered; dressing-gowns, chimones, or made-up garments; hose, ribbons, or handkerchiefs; or any fabric which contains silk.” (Commerce in the Philippines with Nueva España, 1640–1736, by Antonio Alvarez de Abreu; Madrid, 1736. (From Extracto Historial.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 44, pp. 266–268.)