Relation is made of what occurred in regard to this commerce from November in 1734 until the present month of May in 1736, with occasion of the petition made by the consulate and commerce of Andalucia, proposing to surrender to that of Manila the traffic and transportation of all the cinnamon, pepper, and cloves which the kingdom of Nueva España can consume; and that Manila may ship the chintzes (of fine, middling, and ordinary qualities), and the silk, raw and spun [beneficiada], if these are separated from the commerce in the silken fabrics and ribbons of China.
215–221. [It was supposed that the foregoing decree had settled the question of the Manila-Acapulco trade “for many years;” but on November 27, 1735, the king sent to his Council a memorial by Don Joseph Lopez Pintado, consul and deputy of the commerce of Cadiz, and an informatory report which had been made on that subject by the lieutenant-general of marine, Don Manuel Lopez Pintado; on these papers the king asked for the advice and opinions of the Council. The memorial of Cadiz states the two main points of the controversy: the first is, whether or not the commerce of España is injured by the inclusion of the Chinese silks and ribbons in the cargo of the Manila galleon. Cadiz has long claimed that this was so, while Manila answered that that trade was necessary for the maintenance of the islands, “and for the propagation of the holy gospel in them”—which argument, Cadiz says, “has always been the Achilles to oppose the just representations of the commerce of España.” The second point is whether, if the silks are prohibited to Manila traders, any goods of equal value remain to them by which they can secure the returns which they claim to need. The first point is stated as in previous remonstrances, that the Manila trade in Chinese silks has ruined both the sale and the manufacture of Spanish silks, especially since the execution of the decree of 1724; the latter goods can now find no market in America, for the Chinese silks have made their way not only into Nueva España but into Peru, the colonies on the northern coast of South America, and all the Windward Islands, “nor can their importation be checked by all the efforts and vigilance of the officials.” Manila has probably abused the royal liberality and has transgressed the limits of its permission; for the deputies and appraisers there have valued the goods so low at Manila that at Acapulco they obtain for them three or four times the amount permitted to them by royal decree—for confirmation of which statement is cited the report made by order of the viceroy of Mexico, on August 23, 1731, by Don Francisco de Fagoaga, one of the leading merchants of Mexico, who was a witness of this infraction of law. It is these abuses of the Manila permission which aroused the viceroy to issue the orders of 1732, hoping to check the illegal excess therein. Cadiz now offers to surrender to Manila “forever the traffic and transportation of all the cinnamon, pepper, and cloves which the kingdom of Nueva España can consume,” as also all the trade in chintzes of various qualities, and in silk raw and spun; in these Manila ought to find sufficient compensation for giving up the silks, but, even if it does not, its losses cannot compare with those of España from the permission given to Manila to trade in those goods, and the interests of the former ought to be preferred. General Pintado’s informatory report makes a bitter complaint of the frauds and infringements in the Manila permission to trade.[12] He states that in the first galleon sent to Acapulco under the regulation of 1726 (which entered Acapulco in the year 1729)[13] goods were confiscated by order of the viceroy to the following amount: 285 bales, 49 bags of cinnamon containing 7,105 libras, more than a thousand arrobas of wax, nineteen chests of silk fabrics, and many other goods. In the second galleon (that of 1730) were confiscated 319 bales, and 694 piezas of various bulky goods—cinnamon, wax, pepper, storax, and porcelain. Cadiz claims that at first (about 1690) the Chinese goods carried to Nueva España were in so small quantity and so inferior quality “that no one valued such goods; nor did these injure the commerce of España or its manufactures, until, two ships of Philipinas having been wrecked, that same viceroy [Conde de Galvez], as a measure of precaution, despatched General Don Andrés de Arriola with a patache to ascertain the cause for the delay in the arrival of those ships; and, that commander having returned to Acapulco in the following year, 1692, with this occasion the citizens of Mexico promoted the plan of furnishing capital for another new ship. Various citizens of Mexico, and others from Perù, went thither, and, carrying specimens of our [Spanish] fabrics, started the establishment [of factories] in Pequin, Cantòn, and China; [they also set the Chinese to work] to make these goods of finer quality, and to manufacture fabrics like those specimens, and of the same quality. Both qualities were introduced [into Nueva España] by that ship and by those which regularly followed it, in proportion to the amount that they found to be consumed in Nueva España; and this was considerable, on account of the fact that four years intervened between the trading-fleet of Conde de Sanrrami and that of Don Ignacio de Barrios, and seven years from that of the latter to the fleet of Don Manuel de Velasco and its return to España. That was the time when the traders of Philipinas reached the height of their traffic in the silk fabrics; and, finding in those years that there was no trading-fleet in Nueva España, they gathered in the rich treasures against which the consulate and commerce of Andalucia have with reason remonstrated.” Pintado declares that he has been an eyewitness of these things ever since 1692, and that only during that time has Manila enjoyed this silk trade which it now claims as belonging to it by free possession and long usage. Cadiz has frequently protested against the injury thus caused to the silk industry of España, but has not before exposed the real condition of affairs; but, “even if the 300,000 pesos of the permission which was granted and enjoyed up to the year 1728 inclusive had all been spent for goods of the silk made in China, without [the galleon] carrying anything else, at the prices which they were fairly worth in Manila, and even if twice as much were furnished at these prices, how was that trade [of Manila] capable of supplying [with those goods] Nueva España, the Windward Islands [Islas de Barlobento], the new kingdom of Granada, Tierra-Firme, and Perù, as we have seen for the last forty years, when, as those who are intelligent [in these matters] understand, it is not possible to do so even with two millions’ worth of goods of the said class?” Manila is accused of fraud, bad faith, and deceit in the conduct of that trade and in misrepresenting it to the government; and the royal officials, of collusion in the illegal trade, and disobedience to the royal decrees which commanded that the original invoices and sworn statements of goods should be sent to the Council of the Indias. The only way to check this procedure is to prohibit entirely to Manila the trade in Chinese silks; and Cadiz offers to make up this lack by ceding to Manila the entire spice trade in Nueva España. The following estimate, based on the amount of spices carried thither by the trading-fleet, is made of the value of this trade: Of cinnamon, that country needs 250,000 libras annually, which, estimated at eight silver reals a libra (although it has been worth at Manila nine reals), would amount to 250,000 pesos; 100,000 libras of pepper, at one silver real in Manila, 12,500 pesos; 10,000 libras of cloves, at twelve reals, 15,000 pesos; in all, 277,500 pesos, which is somewhat more than half of the amount of investment now allowed to Manila. “It is certain that if only the merchants of Philipinas trade in these commodities, they will advance the price more than 150 per cent, obtaining their money in Acapulco.” Besides the spices, they have permission to trade in many other commodities which are generally desirable for the trade with Nueva España, where the consumption of these is great; and there is more than enough of these to fill out the 500,000 pesos’ worth of goods allowed them. The result of this arrangement would be to revive the ruined silk industry of España (and “experience makes it plain to us that there is no other fabric than silk, of our own weaving, which can produce any profits”), besides retaining within the domains of España the money which now goes to heathens and infidels. “While the commerce of Philipinas shall last, as it is now carried on, neither the conquests, nor the reduction of the Indians, will proceed with the increase that people confidently believe; but rather these will be diminished,” because the Spaniards who have money care only for commerce and not for the propagation of the faith. This is proved by their neglect of the interests of the natives in Luzón; for “we do not see that the Spaniards apply themselves to what is so much their obligation, since they so loudly profess it; and consequently they will not reëstablish the manufactures of cotton fabrics, which can very well be done in those same islands—by which industry the natives furnish this product, and others which are yielded there can be more easily obtained; and in this case it would be money for those citizens if they would apply themselves to this enterprise, instead of the commerce which they have with the Chinese and other infidels.” These papers were, as usual, sent to the fiscal, whose reply came before the Council on January 8, 1735. He disapproves the proposals of Cadiz, since the prices of cinnamon and other commodities are liable to fluctuation, and the amount of profit for Manila would be uncertain and variable; cinnamon is a bulky product, and the necessary amount could not be carried in the galleon now assigned to the Manila trade; the merchants could not be sure of a favorable sale at Acapulco, “which at the fairs is secured by the diversity and abundance of commodities;” moreover, the Dutch, from whom the cinnamon was bought, would raise its price as soon as they should learn that the Spaniards of Filipinas were the only ones to whom was permitted the shipment of spices to America. If the Manila shippers failed to secure the full amount for returns, the royal treasury would not receive as much from customs duties as usual, and must therefore make up the resulting deficiency in the situado sent to the islands. “It would also follow that even if the merchants of España should religiously observe the agreement which they propose, of not trading in that merchandise, the illicit importations into that kingdom [of Nueva España] would be attempted with even greater activity; and as in that country there is so general a use of chocolate, in the manufacture of which would be consumed the greater part of the cinnamon, all that extensive kingdom would find itself compelled to buy [cinnamon] at one port only, and through one agency—being always exposed [to the danger] that in a year when the Philipinas ship could not make the voyage (as has happened), or encountered mishaps through accidents which might occur, that country would experience the deprivation of this article of sustenance, or at least a great scarcity in a commodity so generally used, as is well known.” The fiscal also reminds the Council that the trade in spices may be shared with the Royal Company of England, which is “authorized to trade, in its annual ship, in the goods which it shall choose, in which it could include the cinnamon, and through this agency introduce it into Mexico; in this it would seriously injure the commerce of Manila during all the time which remains for the fulfilment of this agreement, and would be opposed to the freedom of his Majesty in proroguing it, or making it anew with some other power. Such action could not be hindered by the commerce of España, and as little by the Royal Company of Cadiz, founded by his Majesty on March 29, 1733, which could introduce this commodity into Mexico.” The fiscal recommends that a junta be convened in Mexico to discuss this subject, and give their opinions and advice thereon to the Council; and that Manila and Cadiz be invited to send representatives to this conference. On February 9 the Council agreed to send to the deputies of Filipinas a copy of the Cadiz memorial, with a statement of the arguments advanced by General Pintado (but suppressing the name of the author), in order that they might answer it.]
223–224. [The Filipinas deputies made answer to this attack by Cadiz, in a long memorial dated March 30, 1735. Manila claims to have enjoyed the possession of the silk trade with China from the discovery of the islands, and that these goods were never excluded from its trade with Nueva España—to which country that trade was not confined until the decrees of 1587–93—until 1720, when, at the instance of Andalusia, a prohibition of the Chinese silks was made, although it lasted only four years. The charges by Cadiz of frauds in the lading of the Manila galleon have no foundation in fact; the cited statement by Don Francisco Fagoaga does not appear among the documents on the subject, and is “a fanciful supposition;” and the valuations are made by appraisers appointed by the governor of Filipinas, under their solemn oath to fulfil their duties faithfully and well, while the royal fiscal acts as superintendent of both the valuations and the lading. Manila’s former assertions refuting in detail, and with citations from the official records of Manila and Acapulco, the accusations of infractions and excess of the permission, are repeated here, as also the statements regarding the Mexican junta of 1732 and the concessions made to the Company of Philipinas, formed among the Cadiz shippers. The overstocking of the markets in Nueva España is caused, not by the silk goods shipped from Manila, but by the enormous quantities of cloth and stuffs (largely manufactured outside of España) sent to that country by the Cadiz merchants; they have sent eighteen or twenty ships[14] in each fleet, although formerly there were but ten or twelve—“on account of which excess his Majesty has finally resolved that only eight shall go in the next armada, without doubt because of the great outcry regarding this by the commerce of Mexico.” Moreover, those same traders of Cadiz have secured the concession of fifty toneladas of Chinese silks for each ship that they may send out, to be sold in America; the little that is shipped from Manila ought not to be considered in comparison with that traffic, and is intended, besides, for the poorer classes, who cannot afford to buy the more expensive fabrics. If the Western Indias have been inundated with Chinese silks, it is caused not by the shipments from Manila, but by the great trade in these goods which is carried on by the English and Dutch, who have factories and warehouses in Jamayca and Curazau [i.e., Curaçao], which they supply from China and other Oriental countries with fleets of more than forty ships, and trade those goods in the American islands (as Cadiz is well aware). As for the offer of Cadiz to yield to Manila all the trade in spices to Nueva España, that trade has never been prohibited to Manila nor has it been the exclusive privilege of Cadiz, so the offer amounts to nothing. Nor has Cadiz any right to dictate to Nueva España its source of supply for spices, since both the English and the Cadiz companies have the privilege of trading there in these goods; moreover, large quantities of pepper are produced in the Mexican districts of Chiapa and Tabasco; both these causes tend to injure the sale of spices carried from Manila thither. As these spices (except pepper, which has but little value in any case) are monopolized by the Dutch, they are likely to refuse to sell them to the Filipinas merchants (as has occurred frequently before), because the Dutch need them for lading their own fleets; or they will raise the prices, supposing that Filipinas must buy from them. The cinnamon is so bulky (as it cannot be pressed) that much space on the galleon is thus lost, as well as by the necessity of carrying two-thirds more ballast than usual, because of the light weight of the cinnamon; and the voyage of the Manila galleon is incomparably longer, more difficult, and more perilous than that of the Spanish ships to America. The amount of spices allotted to the galleon by Pintado would fill all its available capacity, leaving no room for any other goods; and it would be impossible for the shippers to secure any profit from such a cargo—for which they could not find a market in Nueva España, for lack of the other goods. Nor would it be possible to dispose of more than half the amount of pepper and cloves which Cadiz proposes for them, since that is enough to supply the needs of that country. In any case, the profit on the spices will be insufficient, if Manila is restricted to these goods, without the silks, to produce the amount which those islands need for their support. This is proved by tabulated statements of the prices, costs, and returns on each one of the three kinds of spices concerned; these we present here in somewhat condensed form. A churlo[15] of cinnamon, of the measure which the commerce of Manila orders to be observed, weighs 150 libras gross, but the net weight is twelve libras less, after deducting the weight of the coverings and wrappings. The cost in Manila is nine silver reals a libra; for the space which the churlo occupies is usually paid forty pesos; for porterage, royal duties, notary’s fees, etc., 8 pesos. On the voyage it loses two per cent in weight, so that but 135 libras remain for sale; it brings at Acapulco eighteen reals a libra, amounting to 303 pesos, 6 reals. From this must be deducted the following payments: royal duties, 32 pesos; unlading at Acapulco, notary’s fees, etc., 7 pesos, 2 reals; commission to the agent for its sale, at five per cent, 15 pesos, 1½ reals; five per cent royal duties on shipment of the returns to Manila, 12 pesos, 3 reals; two and ½ per cent on the net returns, paid to the keeper of the silver, 5 pesos, 6½ reals. From these figures it appears that it costs 203 pesos, 2 reals to place the churlo of cinnamon on shipboard at Manila, and 72 pesos, 5 reals to sell it and return the money to the shipper there; deducting these expenses from the amount received for its sale, the profit of the shipper is but 27 pesos, 7 reals, or about 13½ per cent. Pepper: 100,000 libras of this product make 4,000 arrobas; this quantity (since each pieza is estimated at six arrobas or 150 libras, without the wrappers) makes 666 piezas. Pepper is sold at Manila at one real a libra, so that the pieza costs for purchase 18 pesos, 6 reals; it costs 43 pesos more to place it on the ship, and 18 pesos, 7 reals besides for expenses of sale and shipment of returns—in all, 80 pesos, 5 reals. At Acapulco it would sell at four reals a libra, the pieza, therefore, bringing 75 pesos; the shipper, then, instead of gaining any profit has lost 5 pesos 5 reals by the transaction. Cloves: These are packed in chests containing 150 libras each; the purchase at Manila costs twelve reals a libra, so the chest costs 225 pesos. Add to this the cost of placing it aboard, duties, cost of unlading and sale at Acapulco, and for the shipment of returns, 146 pesos, 7 reals, and the total cost is 371 pesos, 7 reals. The cloves shrink on the voyage, involving a wastage of three per cent; at Acapulco they sell at three pesos a libra, and the 145½ libras thus bring 436 pesos, 4 reals—the net profit to the shipper being 64 pesos, 5 reals, or about 24 per cent. The prices quoted above are based on those which have been current in Manila and Acapulco for the past five years. It is evident, therefore, that the spice trade could not compensate in any way for the loss of that in silks; nor has Cadiz made allowance for the possible failure of a galleon to reach Acapulco, which would ruin the market for the one which should arrive in the following year, since the spices thus lacking would be supplied through the Atlantic ports of Nueva España. The customs duties would be much less on a cargo of spices, and thus impair the royal revenues; for each chest of silk pays 55 pesos for duties, and each bag of cinnamon only 35. The incomes of the Spaniards in Filipinas would be so reduced that they could no longer defend the islands from the Moro pirates, or from the Dutch, who would thus become masters of them; and the Spanish colony and the Christian churches formed among the natives would alike be ruined.]
225–233. [This memorial from the Philipinas deputies was communicated to the deputy from the commercial interests of España, Joseph Lopez Pintado, on March 31, 1735; and on the first of June following he presented another in reply, accompanied by various illustrative documents. The former arguments are repeated, but various interesting data are adduced in their support. Pintado states that the looms for making silk fabrics in España numbered more than 70,000 in the days when that industry flourished there. Nueva España was forbidden to cultivate the vine and the olive, in order to protect those industries in España. The commerce of Manila in Chinese silks has ruined the silk manufacture not only in España but in Mexico, where formerly was worked up the raw silk carried by the Manila galleon. Cadiz claims that the decree of April 8, 1734, was obtained on the strength of the representations made by the Manila deputies, without giving Cadiz any opportunity for remonstrance; Abreu furnishes at this point a marginal note to explain this, saying that the king asked the Council of the Indias to report on the matter as quickly as possible, and that the action which he wished to take brought the question back to the status which it had on previous occasions of this sort, when the commerce of Andalusia had had a full hearing; they had therefore considered it unnecessary to hear its arguments again. The enactments of 1593 are cited to show that not until then was the commerce of Manila restricted, and that because it was injuring that of España; but this and succeeding laws show that it was the royal intention to allow Manila sufficient trade to provide for its needs and support. Moreover, after the islands were conquered a large territory was allotted to Manila (as to other Spanish colonies) for its support; and in its early history these lands produced abundantly for the maintenance of the inhabitants. Besides these, the cotton fabrics made by the natives were more than enough to supply the islands, and became the basis of the exchange and barter trade with China. Manila ought to return to these industries for its support, and has no right to expect that it be supported without them. All the realms of España are under obligation to support the crown; but Manila asks the crown to support it, at the expense of great injury to the interests of España itself. The citizens of Manila have yielded to idleness and sloth, and have allowed the idolatrous Sangleys to monopolize and manage the industries and even the commerce of the islands. Some of the mestizos had erected looms for the manufacture of the finer kinds of cotton fabrics, but the Sangleys succeeded in breaking up this enterprise. A section of the memorial is devoted to proving that the permission to Manila to trade in Chinese silks has not been and is not of use for the increase and propagation of the Catholic faith in those regions, which has flourished without Manila and its commerce; on the other hand, the success and profits of that commerce have been caused largely by the work of the missionaries, especially in China. As for the Chinese who are converted at Manila (drawn thither by the opportunity for trade), they usually become Christians for selfish and worldly ends, and soon relapse into their former heathenism. They even have a proverb: “In Manila, [do] as in Manila; in China, [do] as in China.” Their infidelity and atheism have a bad influence on the Indian converts, who learn many evil things from the Chinese, as also do the converts in China itself; and the citizens of Manila are reproached for their familiar relations with those infidels. They have also allowed the Chinese to get control of affairs and commerce in Manila, and the latter are living on their blood. In España, both canon and civil law prohibit intercourse with Mahometans and idolaters, and it is not long since the Moriscos were expelled from that country—notwithstanding “the great products of their industry, the tributes which they paid into the royal treasury, the commerce of the province [of Andalusia] which through them was greater than that of the other realms, and even (which is more important) their being the sheep [of the Church], which Manila says ought to be sought out and preserved; for, as it had been found impossible to secure the purity of religion by the means which the law set forth, it was necessary, in view of the duty of preserving and maintaining the holy Catholic faith in the kingdom in quiet, peace, and security, to expel and cast out those people. Accordingly, in order to preserve the faith in Philipinas, which is a matter that should receive careful attention, the prohibition of their commerce [with the Chinese] is necessary, which is of even less estimation than that of those expelled Moriscoes.” In another section, Cadiz reminds the king that in the compilation of the statutes of the realm provision is made that no decree or ordinance which is contrary to law and right, or which is injurious to certain regions, shall have force; and this should apply to the decree of 1734 permitting to Manila the commerce in silks, since that has deprived the Spanish traders of their rights and privileges in the results of their commerce, and has ruined the silk industry in that country. Thus is greatly injured the prosperity of the provinces in which it was exercised; and this reacts on the entire kingdom of España, reducing so many artisans to poverty, causing them to abandon their families or their native places, and bringing many to idleness and crime. Cadiz again alleges the frauds in the Manila commerce, declaring that the goods sent to Acapulco are appraised at less than the fourth of their current value in Manila, and are sold at 100 per cent advance on that actual value; and that these illegal acts are promoted by the merchants of Mexico, in collusion with those of Manila—all of which may be proved by the documents in the archives of the Council of the Indias. This trade of Manila in silks from China enriches a small class of wealthy merchants (in both Manila and Mexico), the only ones who have the wealth to engage in and profit by it—and this at the expense of the poor and those who have but moderate funds, by absorbing the opportunities and profits in which the latter ought by right to have a share. The Chinese goods, moreover, are of poor and flimsy quality, and last only one-fourth to one-half the time that the Spanish fabrics do. Cadiz supports its arguments by many citations from the laws of the realm; among these are prohibitions against exporting the products or commodities of one province or city to another—as, no salt, wine, must, or vinegar might enter Castilla from Aragón or Navarra; and the silk of Calabria and Napoles must not be imported into the cities of Segovia, Zamora, Salamanca, Cordova, and Cuenca—although all these were parts of the Spanish empire. In line with these is the desired prohibition of the silk trade to Manila, especially since that trade is so injurious to the commerce and industry of the mother-country. In that case Manila should have (by another law cited) an equivalent benefit; and Cadiz has already proposed this, in the spice trade—to which it has a right, but is willing to cede it to Manila. The arguments brought forward by Manila as to the consumption of spice in Nueva España, the bulky character of that merchandise, the costs of transportation and sale, duties, etc., are met by Cadiz with others to refute or weaken the former. The Manila galleon brought to Acapulco in 1729 cinnamon to the amount of 99,233 libras, and in the following year 167,100 libras. The fleets from España carried thither the following cargoes of that spice: In 1723, 105,201 libras; in 1725, 143,629 libras; in 1729, 225,012 libras; in 1732, 182,163 libras. Add to this the amounts which the Manila galleons transport; those which are carried in pack-cloth bales [arpillería] (subject to palméo[16]), in order to gain the benefit of the [reduced?] freight charges; and, besides, those which the licensed ship from Inglaterra conveys (of which no definite calculation can be made): it is morally certain that the annual consumption of Nueva España will amount to and even exceed the 250,000 libras. Even if it should fall below that, there are other facts to be considered. It is true that “when the traders from España, England, and Filipinas all come at the same time—that is, in the month of March, when the fairs are held (for the first two nations, at Xalapa; and for the last, at Acapulco)—the price is usually broken to 18 reals of silver a libra, as the deputies state; but they omit what is more worthy of consideration. This is, that in the intermediate years between the trading-fleets, and according to the circumstances of the times, the price of this commodity rises to so excessive a degree that, from the year 1706 to that of 1709, on account of the wars in Europa and the failure of fleets to go to Nueva España, a libra of cinnamon was maintained at twelve to thirteen pesos, this great profit being secured by the ships from Philipinas, which came in those years to Acapulco. And from the year 1725 to that of 1730 (at which time the petitioner [i.e., Pintado] was in Mexico) I knew from experience that in the ship which came in the year 1728 the Philipinos sold the cinnamon at five pesos a libra; and those who did not return in the galleon, and conveyed to Mexico some quantities of the cinnamon, succeeded in selling it at eight to nine pesos. In the year 1729, it was disposed of in Acapulco at thirty silver reals [or 3¾ pesos]. This is what occurs, and always will occur, on the aforesaid occasions of interval [between fleets], and, too, [it occurred] when the trade was carried on by both parties (which is what deprives commodities of value, through being handled by many persons); the exclusive control [of this spice], then, remaining in the [hands of the] Philipinos, from their being the only ones who transport it, the reputation and value which they can give it, and the lucrative profits which (without contest) they will obtain, are not doubtful.” The objections raised by Manila in regard to expected competition are not well founded: the Company of Philipinas is in an inactive condition, and its directors have apparently abandoned their scheme, but in any case Cadiz would feel responsible for not allowing that company to injure Manila’s spice trade; and, as for the English ship, the king can persuade or prevent its owners from including spices in their cargoes. The prices of spice charged to Manila by the Dutch are much more likely to fall than to rise, when Manila has the exclusive control of that trade. Cadiz asserts that the costs of trade enumerated by Manila are too large, and modifies them thus: Cinnamon (of which, as in all other commodities, there are three grades—poor, medium, and excellent) ought to cost but 8 reals at Manila. The duties paid there, on the basis of 44 ducados (of 11 reals each) a tonelada, should be only 13 pesos a churlo, according to its measurement in palmos; and the other expenses of placing it on board amount to 3 pesos—so that it costs only 154 pesos a sack to convey the cinnamon to Acapulco, instead of 203, as Manila claims. The profit, therefore, amounts to 77 pesos, 1 real, which is equal to 50 per cent, instead of 13. In the same way Cadiz reckons the gain on pepper at 96 per cent, and on cloves at 43 per cent, against Manila’s estimate of a loss on pepper and a gain of 24 per cent on cloves. It must be noted, too, that Manila is not satisfied with less than 100 per cent gain, while the Spanish traders are hardly able to make good the principal cost of their wares. The amount of ballast required for a light cargo is also overstated; this matter has been duly investigated by the officials of the India House at Cadiz, and it appears that the maximum amount of ballast for a ship of 1,000 toneladas, of the usual construction and of American timbers, is 333 toneladas for a cargo of light goods (such as cinnamon and bales of cloth). The Philipinas ship carries stone for ballast; the 333 toneladas of this, each weighing twenty quintals, are equivalent (by cubic measure) to 117 toneladas of the vessel’s lading-space or capacity, which leaves 883 toneladas of space in the hold for the cargo. To augment the above amount of ballast would too greatly reduce the cargo, and even the necessary supplies for the voyage. Cadiz criticises the construction of the Manila galleons, especially as they are evidently built so as to carry a larger cargo than that which is allowed by the permission—as is confirmed by the large amounts of property that have been confiscated at Acapulco. The “elephant” lienzos may be estimated to fill 800 bales, each containing 20 piezas, and each pieza being valued at 3 pesos; and the cotton stuffs and raw silk, etc., 1,512 bales, each worth at least 125 pesos. These cotton stuffs, when fine, are handsome, and find a large demand and sale in Nueva España; moreover, the raw silk imported into that country is worked up in Mexico, and is an important article of commerce. When the importation of Chinese silks is prohibited there, “the manufactories which had begun to be established in Mexico will be protected; in these many persons were occupied, and were supported by working floss and twisted silk into fringes [galon], and into the fabrics which were used in Mexico, produced by those factories.” The “elephant” stuffs, “being equivalent to Rouen linen, and conveniently supplied, are purchased in Nueva España not only to be used as white goods, but they are dyed for linings and other purposes.” The extent of their consumption is shown by the quantities of them that the Manila galleon brings to Nueva España: 3,117 bales in 1729, and 2,432 in 1730; but even these large importations did not overstock the market there. The customs duties are not diminished, as Manila claims, by the prohibition of Chinese silks; the cargo proposed by Cadiz would yield the regular amount of these duties, amounting to 17 per cent of the returns, as follows: on 168 sacks of cinnamon, at 32 pesos, they amount to 54,016 pesos; on 2,312 bales of cotton stuffs, etc., at 30 pesos each, 69,360 pesos; the five per cent exacted on the shipment of the silver for returns, figured only on a return of 900,000 pesos, 45,000 pesos. This leaves a balance of only 1,624 pesos to be levied on the wax, pepper, and other miscellaneous wares of the cargo, to fill out the 17 per cent demanded by the crown. Manila has omitted to include any estimate of the import duties which would be collected in that city on the cinnamon which Cadiz desires it to handle; these would certainly indemnify Manila for the losses incurred by the lack of the Chinese silks. Among the papers accompanying this memorial are official certificates of the amounts of spice carried to Nueva España by the trading-fleets from Cadiz during 1723–32; the quantity of cinnamon in each has been already mentioned, cloves were not included in any of their cargoes, and pepper diminished from 54,804 libras in 1723 to none in 1732. Another document is the report of an investigation made at Cadiz as to the measures of bales and chests and of the churlo in which the cinnamon is transported; this last was found to measure 30 cubic palmos outside the vessel’s hold, but 38 palmos when within it. Arquéo is defined as “the computation or estimate which is made of the bulk of the lading which the ship contains in its hold; this burden was measured by toneladas, each one of which contained 8 cubic codos, and each codo consisted of 33 dedos of the 48 into which the Castilian vara (which is commonly called ‘the vara of measure’) was divided. The tonelada, having as its [cubic] root two codos, or 66 dedos, contains 287,496 cubic dedos; dividing this number by 1,728, the number of cubic dedos in a cubic palmo, or quarter of a vara, each tonelada of arquéo is equivalent to 166⅜ cubic palmos; from this it is deduced that if the ship is one of 1,000 toneladas, it will contain 166,375 cubic palmos, and in the same ratio for any other tonnage. As for the regulation of the spaces between decks [entrepuentes] by the capacity of their storerooms, no general rule could be given, on account of the great irregularity which was observed in them; for this matter was at the discretion of the shipbuilders, and according to the object for which the vessel was built.”]
237–241. [This memorial having been sent to the fiscal, he replied (November 10, 1735) that the proposal of Cadiz was not a fair one; for the purchase of 250,000 libras of cinnamon, and the costs of placing that amount in the Acapulco market, would amount, even at Cadiz’s own figures, to an investment of 277,008 pesos, and at Manila’s to 331,024 pesos, while Cadiz had assumed but 250,000 as the amount to be put into cinnamon by Manila. The result would be that Manila either would not transport all that quantity to Nueva España, or would lose part of the profit on its shipment. The profits at Acapulco are not sufficient, on either class of commodities proposed by Cadiz, to yield the amount which is permitted to Manila as returns on its shipments. The spices can never be an equivalent (as Cadiz would claim) for the Chinese silks; for a tonelada of cinnamon, which space is occupied with only 600 libras, is worth at Manila 600 pesos, and a tonelada of silk goods is worth 4,000 pesos, if not more. The amount of cinnamon proposed by Cadiz would occupy 416⅔ toneladas, and the ballast (on a galleon of 900 toneladas) 300 more; this would leave for the cotton stuffs, etc. (all of which are bulky goods) only 183⅓ toneladas, with which it would be impossible to complete the 250,000 pesos of investment allowed to Manila. But when they are allowed to carry Chinese silks, these are contained in 500 piezas, which occupy but 62½ toneladas, each tonelada worth 4,000 pesos; and there remain to the shippers 3,500 piezas for the cheaper and bulky goods. The fiscal declares that even if the spices were an equivalent in value for the silk trade, the proposed commerce in them would be injurious to all parties concerned. “The losses to the royal exchequer would consist in the less value of the duties which the 250,000 libras of cinnamon would contribute [to it] in España than in Acapulco. For in that port they would amount, as the fiscal has been informed, to 21,944 pesos; and in Cadiz the import duties alone for the millon and alcavala pay 34 pesos a quintal of 100 libras, and, with those of export for the Indias (which, according to plan, are 20 pesos a quintal), would amount to 160,000 pesos. To this sum ought to be added at least 50 per cent for the greater value of money in Cadiz, where his Majesty will receive it [for the duties] immediately, than in the Indias; and with all these the royal exchequer will be defrauded to the extent of 218,056 pesos.” The price of cinnamon will rise, when only the amount actually needed is sold; and this will be a burden on the general public. If the spice trade be limited to the Philippine merchants, there is nothing to hinder those of Mexico from “cornering” the market, and selling such quantities only as they please, at enormous prices; moreover, the failure of the annual shipment from Manila (which is possible in any year) would cause great scarcity of this product throughout the great kingdom of Nueva España, and this would be a serious injury to its citizens—“especially in an article [like this], for the lack of which there is no equivalent which can make it good; nor is its expenditure limited by the variety of uses [to which it can be put], or by the frequent inconstancy of fashions, like other merchandise, but depends on a certain and assured consumption.” This compulsory spice trade would injure Manila itself not only for the reasons already cited, but because it is possible that the Dutch would refuse to sell the cinnamon to the Philippine shippers; and then, with the Chinese silks cut off from them, they would find it impossible to continue their commerce with Nueva España. In any case, the Dutch would have it in their power to demand whatever price they might choose to place on their commodities; and the interruption of that traffic for two or three years would not hurt the Dutch, for they could sell it to European traders and be sure of their profits; but the injurious effects of such proceeding would react on the Manila merchants, the people of Nueva España, and the income of the Spanish treasury. If at any time cinnamon should bring in Nueva España the enormous prices which Cadiz has previously quoted, that would not help Manila, since its returns are limited to 1,000,000 pesos; the unusual profits would only benefit the Mexican traders who had bought the spice by wholesale at Acapulco. The assertion of Cadiz that the Manila merchants gain on the cinnamon 150 per cent at Acapulco does not count, for it entirely ignores the costs and expenses which, as has been demonstrated, reduce their net gain to 50 per cent. For all these reasons, the fiscal declines to approve the proposals of Cadiz. In view of this reply, the Council agreed (November 16) to call for a summary view of the whole question, with all the documents concerned. At this point, information was received from Cadiz that the fleet which had just arrived had brought a sack of cinnamon as a specimen of that which was produced in the Philippine Islands, and that the quality of this surpassed that of the cinnamon brought from the Dutch colonies. On January 21, 1736, the deputies from Filipinas presented a new but brief memorial, refuting some arguments by Cadiz in regard to the proposed substitution of the spice trade for that in silks, and for this purpose citing a royal decree of 1638 in their favor, which Cadiz had declared not to be in the Recopilación of the laws, and proving, by duly attested declarations, that the said decree existed in the Manila archives. At the end of these appears a final paragraph by Abreu, the compiler of the Extracto: “All that is thus far set forth is what up to the present time has been done and appears in the Expediente of the important and long-standing negotiation in regard to the commerce of Philipinas with Nueva España, according to the acts, royal decrees, memorials, and other documents furnished to us by the office of the secretary for Nueva España, in order that this Summary [Extracto] might be drawn up and arranged, in obedience to the order of the Council. The series of the proceedings in regard to the ‘Equivalent’[17] (which this ‘Period x’ comprises) remains, however, imperfect until they shall be concluded and ended by the advisory report of the Council and the decision of the king; but it seemed best not to wait for that, for the sake of facilitating, by this Summary, the more exact understanding of the gentlemen who are to express their opinions in regard to the ‘Equivalent.’ At Madrid, May 11, 1736.”]
[1] “All the New World was subjected to the alcavala. This is a tax levied only upon whatever is sold at wholesale, and does not extend to the articles for daily consumption; it is derived originally from the Moors. The Spaniards adopted it in 1341, and established it at the rate of five per cent. It was finally placed at ten, and forced up even to fourteen per cent; but in 1750 arrangements were made which brought the rate back to what it was at first. Philip II, after the disastrous end of that fleet so well known under the pompous title of ‘invincible,’ in 1591 resolved, on account of his needs, to exact this aid from all his possessions in America. At the outset, it was only two per cent; in 1627, it rose to four.” (Raynal, Histoire ... des établissemens et du commerce des Européens, ii, p. 310.) [↑]
[2] The italics in this and a few other sentences are the same as in the printed text of the Extracto. [↑]
[3] “This new despatch threw into consternation the commercial interests here.” The governor asked advice from the fiscal, who, as the order came not as a formal royal decree, thought that it might be regarded as only the viceroy’s expression of opinion, and the governor might take such measures as he deemed best. The citizens were informed of the viceroy’s requirement, and asked the governor to investigate the foreign trade then carried on at Canton—saying that they were informed that “toward the end of the preceding year, 1731, various large vessels—French, English, and those belonging to the companies of Olanda and Ostende—entered the port of Canton in China with more than three millions in wealth, in silver and other commodities; and the presumption was that those goods [which they bought] could have no other destination than the Americas, to be introduced there by way of the Northern Sea [i.e., Atlantic Ocean].” Such investigation was accordingly made by official authority, and thirteen witnesses were examined—Armenians, French, and Portuguese. These agreed in their testimony, as eyewitnesses, that “in the city of Canton, in the kingdom of China, the French had maintained a factory for the space of seven years, as also had the English during two years; but these had been suppressed in the preceding year of 31 by the governor of Canton, on account of a controversy which the French and English had with the Chinese traders. Nevertheless, many of their ships, and [others] from Europa, remained there; and accordingly the witnesses had seen in the preceding year two French ships, four English, three Dutch, and one from Denmark, all of great burden and capacity, which carried thither a great amount of wealth in silver of Mexican and Peruvian coinage, and some small quantity in bullion. With this the foreigners bought silks—raw, in bundles, quiña, and others in colors, and woven fabrics—gold bullion, porcelain, and tea; and the witnesses were certain that they bought these commodities for the commerce with Perù and other parts of the Indias, as was evident from the money [that they used], and as the witnesses knew by having heard it from the foreigners themselves.” The citizens also represented to the governor their objections to the proposed restriction on their commerce; they declared that it was not the Acapulco trade which was injuring that of Spain in America, as Cadiz had claimed, but the importation of Chinese goods by the European countries—fifteen or more ships at a time, with more than four millions of pesos, buying these at Canton, “with no other object than to introduce these into the Americas by the agency of the Spaniards themselves.” “The truth was, that this complaint did not begin until the foreign ships found their way to Canton.” The Spanish merchants ought not to complain of the small quantity of Chinese silk traded by Manila, when they themselves formed the channel for the far greater commerce therein of the other European nations, “in which the Chinese goods, made in imitation of the European goods, and folded double like them, occupy the same place.” Moreover, the money returned to the Filipinas Islands did not all go, as Cadiz claimed, to foreign countries; but the greater part of it was invested in the obras pias, and in the fortunes of the citizens. It must also be noted that the Chinese champans carried home considerable cargoes of sibucao, sugar, and other products of the islands, in exchange for their stuffs. The royal officials at Manila, consulted by the governor, declared that the customs and other duties on the commerce would be greatly diminished by the prohibition of Chinese silks to the Acapulco trade—to the extent of more than 31,000 pesos a year, as was the case in the years 1719 and 1720, when the champans failed to arrive at Manila; besides which, the treasury lost 12,000 pesos, in the license-fees paid by the Chinese merchants who came to reside in the islands and sell their wares, and 6,000 more from other incomes dependent on the Chinese. The governor called together a conference of the religious superiors and the leading citizens; at which the matter was discussed pro and con; the sense of the meeting was expressed by the Dominican Fray Juan de Arrechedera, commissary of the Inquisition, who was asked to place his opinion in writing, and this was signed by those present, and attested by the governor, as president of the assembly. Arrechedera took the ground that the viceroy’s notification was not a formal royal decree; that if carried out it would mean the ruin of the islands, which surely the king could not intend or mean; that the matter should properly be decided by the king himself, after Manila had opportunity to be heard before him; and the viceroy could only regulate the commerce according to the royal orders, and had no authority to change the present conditions without those orders. The Jesuit provincial did not sign this opinion, but rendered his own separately, warning the Manila merchants that the viceroy might be offended at their attitude, and confiscate their goods if they did not obey him. The royal officials advised the governor to allow the silks to be sent to Acapulco, and meanwhile to secure the good-will of the viceroy for intercession with the king in Manila’s behalf. The matter was finally settled, however, by the royal decree of 1734, obtained through the efforts of the Manila agents at the court, which revoked the viceroy’s orders and permitted the silk trade to continue. (Concepción. Hist. de Philipinas, x, pp. 254–303.) Cf. the sketch of the Manila-Acapulco trade by Manuel Azcarraga y Palmero in his Libertad de comercio en las islas Filipinas (Madrid, 1872), pp. 39–96. Malo de Luque outlines the subject briefly in his Establecimientos ultramarinos, v, pp. 217–234. [↑]
[4] “Although the silks which Spain furnishes are in general very choice, those of Valencia are far superior [to the rest]; and both are suitable for all uses. Their only defect is that they are a little too oily, which causes much difficulty in dyeing them.” “The diversity of silks which Europe produces has not enabled us to dispense with that from China. Although in general it may be of heavy quality and uneven staple, it will always be in demand for its whiteness.” “The whiteness of the Chinese silk, to which nothing else can be compared, renders it the only suitable kind for the manufacture of blondes and gauzes. The efforts that have been made to substitute our silks for it in the manufacture of blondes have always been fruitless, although not only dressed but undressed silks have been tried for this purpose; but the results have been somewhat less unsatisfactory in regard to gauzes.”