The King: The king my lord and father (may he rest in peace!) by
various decrees prohibited trade and commerce of the Western Indias
with the Philipinas Islands and China generally, to obviate the
loss that resulted therefrom to these kingdoms and to their trade
and commerce; and he ordered and commanded that no vessel whatsoever
should go from the provinces of Peru, Tierra Firme, Guatimala, or any
other part of the Western Indias, to the said kingdoms of China and
the Philipinas Islands, under the penalties which were for that purpose
imposed. But further, considering the importance of the preservation of
the parts of those lands that are reduced to our obedience and to the
Christian faith (which had been established there), and likewise for
the greater extension of the gospel and of our holy Catholic faith,
he allowed and gave permission for two ships to go each year from
Nueva España to the said Philipinas Islands, each of three hundred
toneladas, in which were to be conveyed reënforcements of troops and
other things necessary, and the goods for trade which were to come
thence to Nueva España, and which were shipped on account of the royal
exchequer; the cost of sending these ships was to be taken from the
freight-moneys for the goods, and the quantity and value of the goods
freighted each year was not to exceed two hundred and fifty thousand
pesos of eight reals, nor the return in money five hundred thousand
for principal and profit, this trade being restricted to the citizens
of the said Philipinas Islands. All the said goods must be consumed
in the said Nueva España, or brought to these kingdoms; and in no
case might they be taken to Peru nor to any other part of the Indias,
[35] under the penalties imposed for such violation, as more fully
explained in the decrees cited, to which we refer. Although it has
been ordered by other decrees at various times that these should
be observed and complied with, I have been informed that this has
nut been done, and that the quantity allowed has been and is being
greatly exceeded in the amount taken each year, with the knowledge
and permission of my viceroys, audiencias, and governors--goods to
the extent of more than two millions of ducats being registered and
openly sent, besides what is secretly shipped. All this money finally
makes it way into infidel kingdoms, whereby their power is increased;
and from this have resulted great losses to our exchequer and to the
commerce of these kingdoms with the Western Indias. Those chiefly
interested in this trade are the citizens of Nueva España, Peru,
and other provinces; they have taken the said merchandise there
against the provisions and commands of the said decrees, and the
warnings sent to the said viceroys, audiencias, and governors, and
the measures that have been and are now being taken are not sufficient
to prevent these violations. As the correction of these lawless acts
and a remedy for the greater injuries that may be expected, are of
so great importance and moment (all these difficulties having been
represented to me), and as I have been petitioned by the prior and
consuls of the mercantile corporation of Sevilla, and other persons
who are zealous in behalf of my service that, in order to stop this,
I should command the entire prohibition also of the trade of the said
Nueva España with the said Philipinas Islands: Having discussed and
considered this in my royal Council of the Indias, and consultations
being held on all that should be considered in this matter, as it
appears that they desire to prevent and avert future losses, and
likewise aim to secure the preservation and growth of the Christian
religion in the said islands, and the neighboring kingdoms, wherein
the service of our Lord is so greatly concerned, I have decided that
for the present the trade and commerce of the said Philipinas Islands
with Nueva España should be maintained according to the ordinances;
that the quantity of merchandise which may be carried each year from
the Philipinas Islands to Nueva España is by no means to exceed two
hundred and fifty thousand pesos of eight reals, as is provided;
and the return of principal and profit in money is not to exceed
five hundred thousand pesos, which I have permitted. For no pretext,
cause, or reason to be alleged therefore is this to be exceeded, and
the traders in every case must be citizens of the said Philipinas
Islands, and none others whatsoever, as is likewise ordered by the
royal decrees of the king my lord, and under the penalties therein
provided. These I command to be executed without fail against the
trangressors, without there being any exemption or excuse.
Further, in order that this may be better accomplished, and to
remove the opportunities for shipping a great deal of merchandise,
and likewise that the crews may go and come in safety, it is my will
and I permit that there be four ships in this trade, each of two
hundred toneladas burden, and no more; and they shall be my vessels,
and shall sail on my account, two each year; and the others shall
remain in port making ready for the voyage of the succeeding year,
as is ordered--for in this way they will sail at the proper time,
without waiting for one another; nor shall they exceed this number
and capacity. These ships shall be built expressly for that route,
of the said size and of the required strength, on account of the
inconveniences that have heretofore resulted from the ships being
large and having been navigated on the account of private persons,
in whose charge they were placed--which last must without fail cease.
Furthermore, in order to avoid such large expenses as have hitherto
been incurred on that route, owing to the large number of agents and
officials who have gone in the ships thereon, it is my will and command
that from now on there shall be only one commander of the two ships,
and one lieutenant, who shall be admiral. Each vessel shall take not
more than one captain of war, besides the ship-master, and there may
be as many as fifty effective soldiers in each ship, drawing pay; and
the sailors who shall be necessary to go and return. These shall be
kept under discipline, that they may be effective and practiced. There
shall be two examined pilots and one assistant pilot for each vessel,
of the necessary qualifications. For the present, and until further
orders, I desire, and it is my will, that since the property to be
traded will be that of the citizens of those Philipinas Islands,
all these officials--commander, lieutenant, captains, masters, and
pilots--shall be appointed by my governor and captain-general of the
said Philipinas Islands and the archbishop of Manila, the present
or the future incumbents of those offices, notwithstanding that
they have heretofore been appointed and furnished by my viceroy of
Nueva España; and him I command to cease doing this from now on. If
the said governor and archbishop do not agree in this selection,
I command that they shall join with them the senior auditor of the
Audiencia, and the decision of the majority of these shall be carried
into effect. The persons appointed for these offices shall be chosen
among the principal and honored citizens of the said islands, and
the fittest to be found for the duties that they must perform. They
shall give securities in the form and amount that may seem best to
the said governor and archbishop, for the greater security of what may
be in their charge. Their residencias shall be taken for each voyage
by the auditors of my said Audiencia of Manila; and I command that
they shall not be allowed to make a second voyage until they shall
have given the said residencia, and account satisfactorily for what
was in their charge.
As I have been informed that there have been many infractions and
irregularities during past years on the part of the commanders,
admirals, and officers of the said ships, in the matter of carrying
money and bringing back great quantities of merchandise on their own
behalf; and that they have caused serious grievances to the traders,
especially to the citizens of the said islands: for the present
I forbid and prohibit them in any case to trade or traffic, or to
occupy or lade the said ships during the voyage made in their charge,
in small or great quantity, under their own or any other name, in any
article whatsoever; nor shall a single tonelada be assigned to them,
as to the other citizens; nor can they buy or take from others any
space for freight--under penalty of a perpetual deprivation of the
said offices on the trade-route, and confiscation of the goods which
they may have laded, carried, or taken, which on investigation may
be found to be theirs.
I consider it well, and so decree, that, in order that the said
officials may be maintained according to their station and the
obligations of their offices, there shall be give to the said
commander a salary of four thousand ducats, and to the admiral three
thousand, for each voyage out and back. And I permit and allow the
said governor and archbishop to give to the captains, soldiers,
sailors, and artillerymen who shall go in the said ships for each
voyage, the wages that they may assign as their earnings, and as just,
for the said voyage; for to these no more [than to their superiors]
shall permission be given to lade, or cause to be laded, merchandise
in quantities small or great, under the said penalties.
And as it has been understood that in the past more commanders than
necessary have been appointed for the ships on the said route, and
they have carried in the posts of artillerymen and sailors many who
were not such, it is my will that this should cease and be corrected
henceforth; and that for each piece of artillery that the ships carry,
there shall go one artilleryman, and no more, nor shall wages be paid
to superfluous men.
And in order that there may be the fitting account and regularity
in all things, all proceedings shall be conducted equitably and with
great precision in the matters ordered. It is my will and command that
there shall be in the said vessels, and sail with them, an inspector
and an accountant, to keep account and system in everything. And they
shall inspect the articles laded as merchandise, and carried back on
return in the said ships, and account for them in their books. The
said inspector and accountant shall be appointed by the governor and
archbishop in the same maner as they select the commander, admiral and
other officers, and with the same intervention of the senior auditor
of the Audiencia in case they do not agree. They shall take care
that these be persons of approved qualifications, satisfactory, and
worthy of confidence; and shall assign them such salary as may appear
sufficient and just, provided that it does not exceed two thousand
ducats a year to each man for each voyage, for they must not ship goods
[for themselves] either little or much, under the penalties provided
for the commander and admiral. And the said inspector and accountant
must sail, one in the commander's ship and the other in the admiral's
ship, alternating each voyage. The said governor and archbishop
shall give them the instructions and plan which they must follow on
the voyage, and they must give residencia like the other officers of
the said fleet, before they embark again for another voyage; and the
consciences of the said governor and archbishop are charged with the
selection and appointment of all the said ministers and officials.
And since, on account of the overloading of the vessels which thus
far have plied on the said Philipinas route, we have seen that many
have been wrecked, with the men and goods which they contained, and as
it is fitting that this be remedied and prevented, we command that in
future care be taken that the tonnage to be carried in the said ships
shall be conformable to their capacity, leaving the space necessary for
the men who sail in them, and the supplies they take--which must be
sufficient so that in case of the lengthening of the voyage, for any
cause which may arise, the men may not perish for lack of them. Great
care should be taken that they be not overloaded or encumbered, so as
to put them in danger of wreck or some misfortune; on the contrary,
they should be lightly laden, and in such manner as will secure their
safety against storms or enemies that may be encountered. The tonnage
which, as aforesaid, is to be laden in them shall be allotted by my
governor, the archbishop of Manila, the senior auditor and the fiscal
of my said Audiencia, and two regidora of the cabildo of the said city
of Manila, among the citizens of the said islands who may have property
to invest. This allotment shall be made in the most equitable manner,
and without aggrieving anyone (as we are confident they will do), for
it is just that all should enjoy this benefit and convenience for their
maintenance and benefit; and their object should likewise be that the
country be peopled with useful colonists, such as will remain there.
I also command that my viceroy of Nueva España and the governor
of the said Philipinas Islands, each so far as this concerns him,
shall moderate and regulate the freight charges to be paid on what
is laded in the said ships on their voyages to and fro, according
to the expenses thereof--conformably to the reduction that is made
in the tonnage of the said ships and the number of men who are to
sail in them, and the other expenses incurred--in such manner that
no superfluous or unnecessary expenses shall be incurred (but not
so that necessaries or conveniences shall be lacking), and that
it shall not be necessary to supply anything from my exchequer for
the expenditures for the said fleet. For this reason the duties now
levied and collected on the merchandise shall be raised two per cent,
and that on silver another two per cent, by way of avería [36] as
is done on that carried from the Indias via the Northern Sea in the
fleets and armed vessels; for this is conformable to the profits of
those that trade in the said Philipinas route. The proceeds of this
shall be a special fund, with a separate account carefully kept, in
the said city of Manila, to be used for the expenses contracted for
the said ships and their crews; with this shall be placed the freight
charges which may be collected conformably to the order which will be
given, as has hitherto been done; and in all things the necessary order
and system must be maintained by the said accountant and inspector,
and by my royal officials of the said Philipinas Islands.
I charge and command my viceroys of Nueva España, both present and
future, to take especial care in the accomplishment and execution of
all the foregoing; and to station in the port of Acapulco, besides
the royal officials who are now there, a person of great integrity,
trustworthiness, and competence, with a commission as alcalde-mayor,
so that this decree may be suitably enforced in all respects; and no
more money may be carried [in the ships] than the amount permitted,
whether with or without license. In the said port the registers of
all that is brought from the said Philipinas Islands shall be opened
by the person to whom that duty is entrusted by my viceroy and by the
officials of my royal exchequer at the said port of Acapulco. They
shall also together inspect and check off the bales and chests, with
the scrutiny and care necessary to ascertain what has come without
registry and contrary to permission. The said registers are to be
sent to Mexico, as usual, with the results of the investigations made
in the said port of Acapulco, by a person of integrity or by one of
my said officials. In Mexico everything shall be again checked off,
and appraised; and the duties that belong to me shall be collected
and proper measures shall be taken to ascertain and learn what has
come registered, and whatever shall be found to have come without
registry, and whatever is carried contrary to the said prohibition,
shall be confiscated: but no permission or opportunity shall be given
for committing, in this procedure, or under pretext or occasion thus
afforded, any injury or act of injustice against the owners of the
said property.
And I command that the same care be taken at the port of Acapulco in
examining the royal silver and other articles which may be embarked
and carried to the said Philipinas Islands. The royal officials of
the said port shall take account of them, and shall inform my governor
thereof and the royal officials of the said islands, sending them the
registers, and giving them all necessary information. As the majority
of the persons who go every year from Nueva España to the said islands
do not remain there, but return immediately, investing what money
they possess, I command my viceroy of Nueva España to give permission
to no one to go to the Philipinas Islands, unless such person shall
give securities that he will become a citizen and resident there for
more than eight years, or unless he shall go as a soldier, sent to
the governor; and against those who violate this decree, and their
bondsmen, he shall execute the necessary penalties without fail.
And as it is my will that all the aforesaid should be complied with,
observed and executed inviolably, as also the decrees which were
ordered to be despatched by the king my lord, which are hereinbefore
mentioned, concerning the said trade, in so far as they are not
contrary to what is decreed and ordered, I command my viceroy of
the said Nueva Spaña and my governor and captain-general of the said
Philipinas Islands, and my audiencias there, and my other judges and
magistrates, and all private persons whomsoever--each in so far as
concerns him--to observe and comply with, and cause to be observed
and complied with this decree, with exactness, and to execute the
said penalties without any exemption or remission. And in all cases
of remissness or carelessness which these my ministers shall display
in the fulfilment and execution of the said orders, I command that
the penalties be executed against them, and the example which the
affair demands shall be made; for this reason I command that, when
the residencias of their offices shall be taken, they shall be made
responsible for such matters. And that these commands may come to
the notice of all, and none may pretend ignorance of them, I command
that this my decree be publicly proclaimed. Issued at Valladolid,
on the last of December of the year one thousand six hundred and four.
_I The King_
Countersigned by _Pedro de Ledesma_; signed by the Council.
[_Note at beginning of MS._: "Your Majesty's decision and
mandates concerning the trade of the Philipinas Islands with Nueva
España. Corrected."]