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, 1 1/2 reals;
five per cent royal duties on shipment of the returns to Manila,
12 pesos, 3 reals; two and 1/2 per cent on the net returns, paid to
the keeper of the silver, 5 pesos, 6 1/2 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 13 1/2 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 145 1/2 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 3 3/4 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 166 3/8 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 416 2/3 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 183 1/3 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 62
1/2 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."]