Again they often sail poorly repaired, because of the fault of the shore-master [patron de ribera] who has charge of them. It is necessary to remove him from that post; but, although the city has tried to do so, it has been unable to secure redress. Thus, it is said, the ship “San Antonio,” which was wrecked in the year six hundred and four, carried rotten timbers throughout; and in it were drowned over three hundred persons. That said year of six hundred and four, General Don Diego de Mendoça made port in distress, and gave the information of which I present a copy here; he said that he was carrying rotten masts. Inasmuch as this matter is very long, it will not be discussed here; for, as I am a priest, it is not advisable for me to do so. In order that the neglect that there has been in this matter may be seen, never have the governors or royal officials investigated who has been the cause, or why the ships have put back in distress or have been wrecked; for that would mean to make a report against themselves. More than four of them would have been punished rigorously had they made reports, and had your Highness known the culprits.
Item: Inasmuch as the said ships sail so unevenly laden, the seamen do not have protection from water and cold. Consequently, they fall sick, and it has even occurred that they die and are frozen, which is great inhumanity. It is very pitiful to see what occurs in that navigation.
Item: The fireplaces in which the food is cooked are left above deck, open to water and air, where the first storm carries them off. It becomes necessary after that to make a fire in earthen jars in various parts of the ship, at a very great risk of all perishing and the ship burning—besides the fact that if it rains they cannot cook their food. For all this it is necessary for your Highness to order that the ships of the said line that shall be built shall carry the fireplaces under the forecastle, and as is the custom in this line of the Yndias; and that the storerooms of the officers of the ship do not occupy that space. The officers sell the storerooms to the passengers for considerable money, and stow goods in them, which is not among the least of all the troubles.
Item: That the freight and cargo that the said ships must contain be stowed in the first hold, and that between decks shall be only the ship’s stores, the chests of the sailors, the messrooms, rigging, sails, and all necessary supplies. They should carry even rigging for the port of Acapulco, since there is rigging at Manila which is very cheap; and then your Highness will not have to spend vast sums in taking it from San Juan de Lua to Acapulco overland, which is one hundred and fifty leguas.
Item: That all the passengers who shall come from Filipinas to Nueva España in the said ships should pay a fare of two hundred pesos if they have a berth or messroom under deck, and those who do not so have berth or messroom, one hundred pesos, as an aid in the expenses of the ships. This should be understood not on the outward trip [to the islands] but on the return trip.[9]
Item: That the sailors be not allowed to take aboard more than one chest of goods, of the size assigned by the governor; for there is the utmost confusion in this regard, and the sailors are allowed to carry two or three very large chests, larger than common. They overload and embarrass the ship; and, under pretext that they are carrying their clothes, they take those chests full of merchandise.
Item: That all the passengers shall carry swords and bucklers and arquebuses; and that the royal officials shall place on ship arquebuses, muskets, and lances for the sailors. Those weapons are cheap in Manila; and with them, and the artillery carried by the ships, the latter will be well defended. They need no soldiers for the return trip [to Nueva España], for rather the ships then carry too many people.
Item: No passengers or sailors shall carry with them slave women, a practice which gives rise to very great offenses against God. Such shall be regarded as confiscated in the port of Acapulco. This is very advisable, for many persons carry these women as concubines—not only the owners of them, but others in the ships. It is not right that there be any occasion for angering God when there is so great risk in the voyage, as I dare to affirm; and it is certain that, in the last ten years, while this has been so prevalent, many disasters have happened.
Item: That there has been great disorder in regard to lading the ships because it has been entrusted at times to very greedy persons, who, having but slight fear of God, sell the toneladas to, and lade for, whomsoever they wish. Thence it generally results that the goods of the poorest and most needy are left ashore, after the poor have invested their capital; and, after they have paid the duties to your Highness, they are left ruined. Consequently, the ships sail laden more with the curses of the poor than with merchandise. That is the greatest pity, and this evil is worthy of reform. Never has that been punished. The reform that can be established is, that the overseers who shall be appointed to assist in the said lading, be appointed by open cabildo; and should such persons refuse the post, they shall be compelled to accept it. If they are chosen in this manner, a mistake cannot be made in the election, since all are known. The governor shall confirm the choice, and he will thus be exempted from trouble and will be freed by this from the complaints that he generally incurs, because the blame is always laid on him. Certainly it belongs to him, since, he does not appoint those that he should, but whomever he wishes to advantage, who are at times his own servants.
Item: That the said ships are very ill provided with the ship-stores necessary for the sailors; and on that account the poor sailors spend their wages in buying provisions for the voyage. That is a great abuse, and for that reason the ships are also overladen. Likewise they should carry some fowls for those who fall sick, especially the Indian common seamen, who are treated like dogs. The Spanish sailors are more accustomed to provide such things for themselves. Inasmuch as that voyage is so long, and no fresh provisions can be obtained on the way, very many fall sick. For a remedy to that, God has placed, midway in the sea and on the voyage, an island that serves as an inn in the middle of their way, just as the Portuguese in their voyage have one at the island of Santa Elena, where they get fresh food. That island, which I call Rica de Plata, is large, and over one hundred leguas in circumference. Although some ships sight it in passing, inasmuch as its ports are unknown, no one dares to get fresh food there. It is thought to be inhabited, for some signs of habitation have been seen. It is very necessary that a small vessel sail from Manila to explore it, and that it look there for a good port, so that the ships can get water and wood, and reprovision. The exploration of it may be of the highest importance. It is necessary also because near that region the ships generally lose their rigging in storms, and they can be refitted and repaired there, and can continue their voyage without having to put back to Manila. I advised your Highness of that some years ago, as it is so important for that voyage I believe that a decree was sent to the governor in a former year[10] to explore it; but that must be ordered again. A man of experience should be sent, so that he may display the prudence and make the exploration requisite, in accordance with the art and science of hydrography; and likewise so that he may live in Manila and examine the pilots of that line, and make faithful and accurate sea-charts. For that purpose I shall give him considerable enlightenment by giving him the documents on the demarcations, and the information that I possess, on which I have labored much in order to serve your Highness. Nowhere does your Highness need a cosmographer so much as in that land, for many things that arise and may arise.