10. I am not ignorant of these hindrances; but I believe that, however strong they may be, they will not prevail over the welfare of the monarchy, and that the elevated and magnanimous royal soul of our beloved king and sovereign Don Carlos Third (whom may God preserve) and his zealous ministers will overcome the difficulties which have been hitherto considered insurmountable, and will hasten with suitable remedies to check the ruin of our dominions, which had its origin in the great amount of illicit commerce of the foreign nations. Perhaps they will form an entirely opposite idea from that of other times, regarding the conduct of our commerce by way of Panama, in order to provide from these islands the commodities which are needed for España and the Americas, to assure the royal duties, and to overthrow the foreigners—who, as I have said, will not be able to sell their merchandise at so moderate prices as the Spanish company can; and it will be the only effectual means of preventing the aforesaid illicit commerce.
11. I have set forth, sincerely and candidly, what my limited ability comprehends, and the knowledge that I have acquired of these islands; I have touched on these subjects as concisely as possible, in order not to render this document diffuse and too wearisome. I doubt not that in it will be found many defects, since the practical knowledge of commerce is remote from my profession; on these points, others who are more intelligent will be able to bring forward their arguments. I will be content if all will be convinced of my love for the nation, of my desire for its greater prosperity, of my ardent zeal, and of my loyalty to my king and sovereign; these are the only motives which have constrained me to offer the reflections which I have here stated—availing myself, for this little work, of the small amount of leisure which the arduous occupations of my office leave free for me.
May God grant that the effects and results correspond to my good intentions; and for the sake of their best success, the preservation of these islands, the extension of Spanish commerce, and the happy advancement of the monarchy, may He render prosperous for many years the life of our beloved king and sovereign Don Carlos Third (whom may God preserve) Manila, February 10, 1765.
[1] The title-page of this valuable MS. reads as follows: “Demonstration of the deplorably wretched state of the Philipinas Islands; the necessity of [either] abandoning them or maintaining them with respectable forces, with the disadvantages of the first and the advantages of the second; what the islands can produce for the royal exchequer; the navigation practiced in their commerce, and the extension and profits of the latter. With reflections, which demonstrate the benefit of forming a company, under the royal protection, in order to render the Spanish monarchy prosperous and glorious, and to deprive its enemies of the gains by which they are ruining it in both peace and war. By Don Francisco Leandro de Viana, a student in the old college of San Bartholome el Maior of the university of Salamanca; former rector of the same college; graduated by the chapter of Santa Barbara in the aforesaid university; a member of the Council of his Majesty; and his fiscal in this royal Audiencia of Manila.” It is followed by a letter addressed to the governor of the islands, Francisco de la Torre, with the date of March 20, 1765; this occupies eleven closely-written pages, and serves the double purpose of an introduction to Viana’s memorial and of the official delivery of the document to the governor-general, as the representative of his Majesty. This preface rehearses the needy condition of the islands since the English invasion, entreats the royal aid for these unfortunate vassals of Spain, and briefly outlines the matter and arguments of the memorial. Vindel states (Catálogo of 1896, p. 94) that the printing of this memorial was forbidden by the Council of the Indias. It is of much importance, not only as showing the condition and needs of the islands after the English invasion, but for the light it throws on the condition of Spain, her relations with the rest of Europe, and with her colonies, and the national characteristics of her people. The memorial is here presented in full, except a few passages which are briefly synopsized, as they have but minor and indirect importance. Viana writes with authority, as being royal fiscal of the islands, a man equipped with the best learning of his day, and an ardent patriot.
The university of Salamanca originated in the cathedral school, before the twelfth century; and in 1243 it was made a university under the royal protection of Ferdinand the Saint, his son Alfonso X continuing this aid, enlarging its scope, and granting it many privileges. Later kings and several popes did much to aid and strengthen Salamanca, and it became the greatest educational institution in Spain, and one of the four greatest in the world; in 1584, it had 6,778 students. In 1401 Bishop Diego de Anaya Maldonado founded the first college for poor students, which was called the college of San Bartolomé, and later “the Old College.” In 1845 Salamanca and all other like institutions were secularized, and placed under the control of the government. (Ramon Ruiz Amado, in the new and monumental Catholic Encyclopedia, now in process of preparation.) [↑]
[2] “Since our entrance into this land, the Moorish [i.e., Mahometan] following has been greatly increased—not only through the ordinary traffic which the people of Macazar carry on in it; but because the santons of Meca, proceeding by way of the strait of Moca, come to Sumatra, and from there pass, by the strait of that island, to our islanders, with a diabolical inclination; they bring Alcorans in Arabic, and by means of these instruct our natives. A great number of these books were seized in La Sabanilla, and I saw them in the hands of Sargento-mayor Ponce, in the year 1724.” (Torrubia, Dissertacion, pp. 2, 3.) [↑]
[3] Probably referring to the Hudson’s Bay Company, although that was actually organized in 1670; and the explorations of 1746–47 here mentioned evidently allude to the expedition of William Moor and Henry Ellis in those years, “for discovering a Northwest Passage”—a discovery for which the English parliament had offered a reward of 20,000 pounds. This expedition, however, was not under the auspices of the company, whose officials, on the contrary, treated Moor and Ellis with much harshness and even inhumanity. [↑]
[4] On maps of North America made in the first half of the eighteenth century may be seen the great Mer d’Ouest, or “Western Sea,” evidently an exaggeration of Puget Sound, to which only the entrance had then been discovered. The explorations of Martin Aguilar were made in January, 1603, in partial conjunction with Sebastian Vizcaino, who went along the California coast with two Spanish vessels, Aguilar being in command of one of the ships. Bancroft (Northeast Coast, i, p. 140–148) thinks that Aguilar went no farther than latitude 42°. The Russians (under the lead of Vitus Bering) made various discoveries on the Alaskan coasts before 1741, and afterward regularly hunted for furs in Alaska, sending this commodity directly, and by a shorter route, to China, where they carried on a highly profitable trade, although they undersold the English merchants there (Bancroft, ut supra, pp. 345, 346). [↑]