81. The archbishop of Manila, the dean and cabildo of that church, and the provincial of the Society [of Jesus], in their letters of November 6, 7, and 8 of the same year, support the entreaty of the city; they deprecate the ruin (both spiritual and temporal) of the islands, and express the same opinion as that of the Audiencia and the fiscal, as will be seen by their letters, which follow below.
82. The provincials of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine (both calced and discalced), in their memorials of the same year expatiate on the necessity and advantage of changing the aforesaid decree of 1720, and granting likewise to the islands the increase of the permitted trade which they solicit; and they reproduce in detail what the other prelates and ministers say.
83. [The letter of the archbishop (Fray Francisco de la Cuesta) states that he has been urged to write it by the city and merchants of Manila, and the bureau of the Misericordia; and he begins, very naturally, by arguing that the religious interests of the Philippines and of China depend upon the maintenance of the commerce of the islands. He refers to the opposition made to it by the merchants of Andalusia, which he thinks has no good foundation, since their trade with the other European nations drains from España more money than does that of Filipinas from Nueva España—this last being their ground of complaint against the Manila trade; but even if the Sangleys and other heathen carry away silver from Manila, “they have not harmed the [Spanish] crown, and are friendly to the [Christian] religion; while it is certain that the European nations, even if they are not all opposed to religion, at least have been at various times hostile to the crown, and that the amount annually transported by the said nations to Great China and other heathen kingdoms exceeds four millions [of pesos].... And although the argument [of the Andalusians]—that the fabrics from China cause injury, at the expense of those which are transported from Cadiz—would have some weight if all the fabrics in which the Andalusians trade were manufactured in España, since they are not made there the above argument has very little value.” The Spaniards in Filipinas regret that so grievous burdens and restrictions are laid upon them through the influence of the Andalusians, and especially that the result of these must be very detrimental to the charitable funds which so greatly depend upon the Acapulco trade. Two-thirds of these, or 100,000 pesos, belong to the Misericordia alone, whose educational, religious, and charitable labors are so important to the public welfare and the maintenance of the Spanish colony in Filipinas; the remaining 50,000 pesos belong to other institutions. The archbishop therefore urges the king to accede to the requests of the Manila merchants.]
84. [The dean and cabildo of the Manila cathedral also support the merchants; they fear lest the income of the church will suffer from the impaired condition to which the decree of 1720 threatens to bring the Filipinas colony. They adduce similar arguments to those contained in the preceding letters, all taking for granted that the prohibition of Chinese silks means the ruin of the Acapulco trade. Incidentally this letter states the following facts of interest: “The poverty of the soldiers is such that they always go about as mendicants and in need; for as they receive no more pay than that of two pesos and a fanega of rice—which is given every month to the soldiers, but to the convicts who serve [forzados] in the troops only the rations—if they could not find refuge in the aid given by the citizens, the alms from the charitable funds, and the broken food at the convent doors, and in what the more industrious can earn by doing errands, they would certainly perish.” The prebends of the cathedral find their salaries—which range from 500 to 200 pesos yearly, besides the dean’s 600—pitiably small and inadequate, and they must even resort to the charitable funds and to the gifts of friends to eke out their incomes. The same difficulties beset the parish ministers; but worst of all is the condition of the poor clerics who receive no pay, who have no income save occasional offerings for masses and the alms of benevolent persons.]
85. [The provincial of the Jesuits, Father Joseph Fernandez, seconds the appeal of the merchants.[20] He states that since 1709 the fortunes of the wealthy citizens are nearly all ruined—by calamities, unsuccessful sales at Acapulco, the failure of the galleons to make the voyage, poor crops in Filipinas, or the quarrels of the governors and auditors—and those who formerly made contributions to the religious orders now need and ask for help from them. “This city of Manila (and in it all the islands) is reduced to eight or ten private persons who are able with their own wealth alone to make up the 300,000 pesos which your Majesty allows for their commerce; and the number of its citizens who, as Spaniards, can call themselves such is very nearly 882—although it is true that there are millions of converted natives, and those who are not converted are innumerable. All these citizens depend for their preservation on the three or four piezas which are yearly allotted to [each of] them, according to their merits, in your Majesty’s galleon; and as most of them have not the means of their own to fill this space they have to give it up, or sell it to those who are richer; or they must ask for money from the charitable funds of the Misericordia, the tertiary Order [of St. Francis], or the religious, in order to fill their space on the ship. As they cannot ship therein anything except the coarse cloths and other goods which your Majesty names in your new regulations, the product of which is hardly enough to pay the expenses on them—duties, freight-charges, and carriers’ fees—the poorer citizens will see themselves forced to seek some other way [to make a living]. That means the desertion of these islands for India, and consequently a great diminution in the number of your Majesty’s vassals; and the islands will be exposed to the invasions of the Dutch and other enemies of your royal crown and of the natives. No few of these invasions have been experienced in recent years, and at this time we are being raided by the Mindanaos, the Joloans, and the Burneyans. And I can assure your Majesty that in the space of less than twelve years I have seen this stage[21] of the citizens of Manila changed five times. For, as it is composed of some who come from Europe (and they count for many), and of others who come from Nueva España, on account of the difference of the climate from that in which they were born they do not remain long; both classes, seeing the little comfort that they can find here, and how small incentive there is from riches (which is that which most influences those who do not possess enormous estates), either die in a short time, worn out with the misery of this country; or they leave the islands, to look for a more comfortable residence. Thus it comes to pass that only we religious and other ecclesiastics remain, with some persons who belong to the richer class (who are few), and these are Europeans, whom affection for their native land is always drawing away. If this [which I have mentioned above] happens (which may God not permit), all these millions of Christian natives will be left abandoned, and exposed to [the danger of] returning to their heathen condition; and of being possessed by the Dutch, or the Chinese, or any other nation that may find a profit in them.” The argument that the prohibition of the trade in Chinese silks will check the drain of silver from Nueva España is refuted by the provincial; he says, “For we who are near China, Batabia, the Coromandel Coast, and other ports of India, know with certainty that the ships and pataches that come to them from Europa to trade in them carry hardly any money for their traffic except the silver, with the stamp and seal of your Majesty, from Perù or from Mexico; and as those vessels have directed their route from Europa by way of Cape Verde, Buena Esperanza [i.e., Good Hope], Cape Comorin, and Sincapura, it must be supposed that they do not obtain the said silver anywhere else than from the commerce in Europa. Your Majesty could, in the course of several years, prevent the silver that comes from Mexico to these islands from passing over to China, to the Coast, or to Batabia, by commanding your governors and other officials at Manila to make strenuous efforts that in the islands the natives, mestizos, creoles, and various other castes who live in them and are naturalized as subjects, be compelled to weave the cloth goods which are manufactured in other regions; and these people are no less skilful for the mechanical and even the liberal arts than are those of other nations. As for the fabrics of cotton, these people are able to weave them, for their own consumption, more durable and of better quality than the cloths which come from China and the Coast; and as for the silk goods, the hose which these natives weave are those which bring the highest price at Acapulco. The colors for dyeing the goods are furnished by the country itself; for there will be shipped from here to the empire of China during this year more than thirty champan-loads of sibucao, or campeche, a wood from which the Chinese obtain carmine for their dyes; and the other colors they obtain from trees and roots which also are found in these mountains in abundance. As for the cinnamon, it grows very abundantly in the island of Mindanao, where your Majesty has the fort and garrison of Samboangan, with some missions that are administered by priests of my order, and by other religious from the discalced of St. Augustine. It would be of no little advantage to be able to cultivate the cinnamon, as the Dutch do; for the silver which that nation would be obliged to carry for that product would remain among the vassals of your Majesty, and thus there would be an end to that difficulty (which the merchants of Sevilla certainly exaggerate) of your Majesty forbidding the shipment of the goods which your royal decree specifies, which are those that have some value, in order to be able to pay the cost on the more bulky goods. Who will have courage to weave them, or hunt for them, when he knows that he must lose on them? In these islands abundance of gold is collected in various placers, in which work the slow and patient disposition of the natives is occupied; but as their minds are so careless and ignorant they content themselves with washing out only the exact amount of their tribute, which is five reals for each person. But if your Majesty would give your royal directions to your governors and ministers, in the course of time it would be possible to secure the production of this gold in abundance; and if it were sent to Nueva España, and exchanged for the silver necessary for the maintenance of these your wretched vassals, the result would be that the latter product would always remain in the dominions of your Majesty. In these islands, also, some pearls are secured by diving, and in these seas some amber is gathered. In the mountains there is no lack of numerous civet-cats; and the civet, if measures were taken for its production, might be no small source of wealth to your vassals, and consequently furnish huge amounts to your loyal treasury.” Father Fernandez mentions that Felipe IV “spent in twenty years 170,000 ducados solely in sending religious to preach the gospel in Philipinas;” and that the monopoly on the buyo industry had produced in one year 11,000 pesos to the royal treasury, and that on wine 18,000 pesos; (but these amounts apparently refer to the price paid for a three years’ contract, rather than to the annual income of the crown from these sources).[22]]
86. All the papers and reports which have been mentioned in this “Period vii” having been received in the Council, and the deputies from Philipinas, Don Francisco Diaz Romero and Don Antonio de Echandía—who deposited their credentials and letters in the office of the secretary—having presented themselves in it, they set forth their claims and stated, in a printed memorial (which they handed in on June 14, 1723) the injuries which the islands were receiving from the practice of the decree of October 27, 1720. They entreated that its execution be suspended, and orders given that the commerce be continued with the yearly galleon in the same manner, so far as the lading was concerned, as was in use at the time when the aforesaid despatch was received there [at Manila]. The memorial, in eight leaves, is as follows:
87. [This memorial by the city and merchants of Manila presents in detail the amount of their annual commerce in the various kinds of merchandise that are permitted in the decree. The gold exported from Filipinas to Nueva España amounts to less than 12,000 pesos, and is sent not as bullion or coin, but in the form of the slender chains [bejuquillos] wrought by the Malay natives for personal adornment; for in no other form could it compete with the abundance of gold mined in Mexico. The Chinese porcelain is shipped in small quantity, being mainly an article of luxury, like the gold ornaments; moreover, it is bulky and fragile. As for spices, Manila complains that the market for these in Nueva España is already appropriated by the merchants of España who send spices in the trading-fleets to Vera Cruz; in the fleet (of seventeen vessels) commanded by Don Fernando Chacón was carried the enormous amount of 170,737 libras of cinnamon, and more than 70,986 of pepper and cloves, besides various bags and chests of all these kinds of spice the weight of which was not noted. The only products of the islands which have commercial value in Nueva España are wax, lampotes, Ilocos blankets, and cordage; and the value of all that is exported of these, even counting with them the previously mentioned gold chains, does not go beyond 30,000 pesos. The linen goods have hitherto been shipped from Manila to Acapulco only to fill in empty spaces in the allotments of lading, and have amounted to hardly 60,000 pesos, on which very little profit was obtained. If the main part of the galleon’s cargo has to be composed of these linens, the Acapulco market will be overstocked with them, and the prices there will be so low that Manila cannot afford to send another cargo of this sort. Moreover, as these goods are procured from the foreign factories at Batavia, Madrasta, Patàn, Punticheri, and Vengala, as soon as the traders at those posts understand that the Manila galleons must carry most of their lading in goods to be procured at those factories they will advance their prices enormously, and the galleon will be compelled to sail in ballast, and then only to procure the situado. The floss and raw silk which is the only form of that product permitted to Manila is so bulky a commodity, and the consumption of it in Nueva España is so small, that it too has been shipped only to fill up space; moreover, “for several years it has been increasing in cost, on account of the great amount of it which the Dutch, English, and French obtain from China for the fabrics which are manufactured in Europe.” The deputies, to substantiate their statements, refer to the official reports of the viceroys of Nueva España, and offer to bring forward evidence in their favor from various persons at Madrid who have resided in Filipinas. They claim that the Manila trade in silken fabrics has not harmed the merchants of España, since the silk which is produced in that country is hardly sufficient to supply the home demand, and it is necessary to bring to it foreign silks—exporting to Nueva España some goods which have little demand in España; but even these do not occupy one hundred and twenty-five toneladas of space. The greater part of the silk goods woven in España are silks and velvets, and if the value of these has fallen, it is not the importation of Chinese goods which has caused this, but the change in the style of magistrates’ robes,[23] in which those goods are used, and the small amount of them that is used in the military service. “Just as in these kingdoms [of España] most of the persons of rank are clothed in no other fabrics than those which come from foreign countries on account of either their better quality or their luster—so the same thing occurs in Nueva España, where they follow in everything the customs of Europa; and for this reason most of the silken fabrics which are carried thither in the trading-fleets are from the kingdoms of Inglaterra and Francia, and the provinces of Holanda—as silver and gold tissues, brocades and laces of the same sort; hose, and other stuffs, the sale of which does not injure that of the Chinese silks, on account of the greater value placed upon the former. Therefore, as the silken fabrics which the aforesaid shippers carry [to Nueva España] are not all from the mills of España, but these Spanish silks are in very small quantity and of the sort which are rejected here, it is evident that the injury is not to the commerce of Andalucia, but to the foreign nations. For, since all the gold and silver which comes [to España] is carried in trading-fleets and galleons—except what is obtained for wines, brandies, oil, and other products—the slender profits which the traders of Philipinas gain from the sale of the Chinese fabrics will also be given up for their benefit by the foreigners on account of the abundance of the products from their own mills which they will ship to Cadiz, in order that these may be carried to the Indias.” The argument is repeated, that most of the profits in the Acapulco trade must go to European foreigners, if it is restricted to the few and unimportant products of the islands, and thus the enemies of España are strengthened; while if the Chinese trade is allowed those profits fall into the hands of people who cannot and will not injure the Spanish power. The enforcement of the decree will injure not only the citizens of Manila, but the revenues of the crown, which amount annually to an average of 228,557 pesos, besides the duties produced by the Acapulco trade, which amount to 250,000 pesos more. The treasury will have no means to buy the rice of the Indians, their only valuable product; the Sangleys will have no occasion to trade at Manila, which will lose the amount of their licenses (more than 23,000 pesos), besides the import duties and alcabalas which they pay there, which amount to more than 37,000 pesos; and the situado sent to both the Philippines and Marianas must be taken from the Mexican treasury directly, which will be too heavy a burden for it. The king is reminded of the poverty of the Philippines in all natural resources save rice, and their dependence on the Acapulco traffic for money, clothing, and all other needs save that of food. The recent building of two small galleons has caused the treasury a great amount of expense, quite disproportionate to that of the one large vessel which hitherto had been used for the Acapulco trade—to say nothing of the extra expense caused by the duplication of crews, officers, and soldiers which is thus rendered necessary. The smaller ships are less able to resist either storms or pirates, and the few experienced seamen in the islands must be divided between them, when they should be massed in one vessel. Again is mentioned the dependence of the missions, and the conversion of the heathen, upon the Acapulco trade; the Indian villages that are more or less christianized now number 457, with 111,683 families, who are in danger of relapsing into heathenism, or being converted to Mahometanism, if the missions cannot be kept up.]
88. The Council, on June 14, 1723, agreed that this memorial should go to the fiscal with all those that came before, with the letters of the Audiencia, officials, and prelates which had been laid before the Council on the twelfth of the same month.
89. The consulate of Cadiz, by a memorial presented in the Council on the twenty-first of the same month and year-being informed of the petition from Manila requesting that changes be made in the decree issued on October 27, 1720—asked the Council to order that the argument recently brought forward by Manila in regard to this be communicated to them; this having been referred to the fiscal, he was of opinion that the aforesaid document should be communicated to the consulate, as had been done in the year 1720 by order of his Majesty; and the Council agreed to this by a decree of July 12, 1723.
90–92. [On September 4 following, a conference was held by the representatives of the commerce of Sevilla, to consider the question of the Philippine commerce in Chinese silks and the royal decree forbidding that trade; a copy of the memorial sent from Manila, and other documents bearing thereon, were submitted to that body by the consulate of Cadiz, who had already taken action thereon, and now asked for the support and coöperation of the Sevilla merchants. In a formal resolution by the latter, they express their entire concurrence with the views of Cadiz, and request the king to enforce the decree of 1720. They make light of the statement regarding the great amount of spices carried to Nueva España by Chacón’s fleet, and intimate the probability that the remonstrance by Manila is really instigated by the traders of Nueva España, who, on account of the enormous profits which they make by sending money to the Philippines for investment, must be most affected by the proposed restrictions on the Manila commerce. Sevilla answers the argument of Manila that only one hundred and twenty-live toneladas of Spanish silks are sent to Nueva España, by declaring that even that small amount will soon be reduced to nothing unless the king strictly prohibit the introduction by the Filipinas ships into Nueva España of fabrics woven of silk and gold or silver; also that the silk-mills of España will be ruined and abandoned, and consequently the cities of that country will be inundated with poor people and criminals. On the day before this conference, a similar one was held by the consulate of Cadiz and representatives from the merchants of that city, who made a vigorous remonstrance against the injuries caused to Spanish commerce and industry by the Manila-Acapulco trade, and especially by the frauds and the infractions of law therein, on which they expatiated in the above conference. In the report drawn up by them they mention several of these. For instance, the merchants of the City of Mexico sent large sums of money to Acapulco for preparing the Manila galleon for its voyage; “and in the three months during which the ship was detained at that port it unloaded an enormous cargo, held its fair, and returned laden with silver, without wintering in that kingdom, on account of the easy and prompt disposal of all that it carried. This cargo was usually 10,000 or 12,000 bales, half of silken fabrics and half of linen goods, [lencería], the proceeds from which reached four millions of pesos; and all this in pesos, eight-real and four-real pieces, since in exchange for the said goods they did not desire or carry any produce, nor even doubloons, nor bars of silver, for all must be new pesos and of Mexican coinage, these being the coins which are current in Turquìa, to which country they were going, since the greater part of the said goods come thence.” Reliable witnesses have told of mule-trains entering Mexico laden with Chinese stuffs, which must amount to almost the value of the goods carried by the eighteen vessels in the trading-fleet which that year came from Spain under Don Manuel de Velasco; and the market of the latter was ruined by the former. “Although the silk fabrics which the ships bring from Philipinas have not the quality or durability of those from España, and the linen goods are all of cotton, and do not last half as long as do those from France, yet as the former are sold cheap, and have a good surface, and are showy, while they last the commerce of España is checked and suspended.” The merchants of Mexico send so much money to Acapulco that not enough is left to send the trading-fleets back to Spain, which are compelled to winter at Vera Cruz in order to obtain the proceeds of their cargoes and equip the vessels for the return voyage. “So sweeping and irreparable is the great injury which these goods from China, or from the Turks (which is the more certain), cause to the most important cities of España that when the said ship was not allowed to carry those goods Sevilla had more than 12,000 looms for the manufacture of silks of every kind; and with these, even without other stuffs, so great a number of people were employed on them, and so great was the opulence of that city and of all its domain, as is made evident by the great services which on all occasions Sevilla rendered to his Majesty, with sumptuous buildings—churches, hospitals, government buildings, and private houses. But without greater casualty than that of the importations in the ships from China, that city found itself in a straitened and miserable condition, not two hundred looms being left in it, on account of there being no consumption for its fabrics; and the great mass of poor people, who then supported themselves by their labor, are now miserably perishing. No less proof is afforded by what is occurring in Granada; for there more than 12,000 looms were employed only on taffetas (both double and plain), satins, plushes, and all kinds of silk-weaving; and more than 50,000 persons, men and women, were engaged in the industry and labor of making silk goods. For this reason, the amount of silk worked up each year was more than 180,000 libras, from which proceeded considerable profits to the royal exchequer, for the duty on each libra amounted to thirteen reals and three cuartillos; but, with the one but sufficient reason of the importations of Chinese goods, [that industry] has so fallen away that the amount of silk sold in that city at each gathering of silk does not reach 40,000 libras, and the number of looms operated, on coarse stuffs, is less than 2,000—a similar condition to those of Sevilla.... The same troubles are suffered by Cordova, Jaen, Ezija, Priego, and Alcalà la Real, with many other places which in both the Andalucias were growing and being maintained by the said manufactures. It is not less worthy of attention that the silk-growers of the aforesaid kingdoms of Sevilla, Granada, Cordova, and Murcia are, for lack of sale for the silk that they produce, giving up the cultivation of the mulberry-trees, and abandoning their farms and the places where they dwell.” Cadiz cites the action of Conde de Monclova, viceroy of Peru, who prohibited the shipment of Chinese goods from Acapulco to South America, making them contraband and confiscable, recognizing “their poor quality and lack of durability, and the great detriment which this trade caused to the merchants [of Peru], who go down to Portovelo to hold the fair [at the arrival] of the galleons, which has been the greatest in the world;” and urges the king to enforce strictly the decree of 1720. Such action would greatly benefit the realms of Spain, and would not cause injury to the Philippines, because none of the said Chinese stuffs are made in the islands; “and the only ones who could grieve over it are the Turk, and other princes of Assia, Mahometans, and enemies of our holy Catholic faith.” As for the complaint of Manila that the propagation of that faith depends on the silk trade, Cadiz refuses to believe this, and refers the king to a document in Manila which refutes that notion. This is “a memorial or report made by a minister of that Audiencia, N. Calderòn, in which is inserted another, written by Father Fray Victorio Ricci,[24] of the Order of Preachers, who was for many years a missionary in the empire of China, and afterward in the Philipinas Islands; it was sent by the Supreme Inquisition to its commissary in the islands, in order that he might send to his Majesty information on the points therein.... In these papers it will be clearly evident that the progress and propagation of the faith is not diminished by depriving the islands or the kingdoms adjacent to them of the commerce prohibited to them, or by the restriction which his Majesty has laid on it;” the above prohibition, therefore, is not the cause of the ruin of the citizens of Filipinas.]