Sire:
1. I am at this port of Cavite, lading the two galleons belonging to
your Majesty that carry the merchandise which you have been pleased
to grant and permit to the citizens for their navigation and trade
to Nueva Espana. These two ships will carry this year a greater
registered cargo than formerly the ten galleons for five years
carried. The usual amount registered was from three hundred or four
hundred to five hundred chests of silks, stuffs, and cloths [_bienzos_]
(which here they call _mantheria_); but now I have laden the capitana,
and the registration exceeds a thousand chests, while the almiranta,
which has a larger hold, will probably carry one thousand two hundred
chests. The royal duties which belong to your Majesty will amount to
three per cent; the freight charges and further duties at the port of
Acapulco will come to six hundred thousand or seven hundred thousand
pesos. Accordingly, if your Majesty's viceroy will send me even the
proceeds of the said royal dues alone, I shall be able, in the four
years' [service] that I have offered your Majesty, to relieve this
your royal treasury of more than three hundred thousand pesos of
debts, and to maintain these islands with what can be obtained from
them--a thing which your Majesty has so desired, and which you have
so often charged so many governors to do. If God grants me life,
that I may employ it wholly in the service of your Majesty, and in
efforts to increase your royal estate, I will not content myself
with that, but more and more will send you all the cloves from the
Malucas Islands which can be procured in trade at your forts in
Therrenatte. Thence I will send the spice to the port of Acapulco,
to be sent to Espana to your Majesty--or to be sold there, and the
proceeds sent to Espana. I have also decided to purchase all the wax
that comes from the encomiendas of your Majesty's vassals, and place
it with [the products of] your royal encomiendas, to be sent on your
Majesty's account to Nueva Espana, so that the proceeds of the wax may
be sent to your Majesty with that from the cloves. [_Marginal note_:
"Inform him of the receipt of his letter, and say that we hope that
he will always do what he can to increase the royal estate; and that
he shall endeavor to secure, by all proper and convenient methods,
the relief of the royal treasury."]
2. I was occupied in this service on the morning of St. Peter's day,
being engaged in celebrating a fiesta to the blessed sacrament,
and giving thanks to God for the favor that He has shown to your
Majesty in bringing to this port, at the same time and hour, your
two galleons which I sent with the relief to Therrenatte--of which
affair I will give account to your Majesty in another letter. There
were two other ships, small ones, which the viceroy, the Marques de
Cadereyta, sent to these islands with the usual succor, because last
year he had not sent galleons which could carry it. In other letters
I have told your Majesty of his reasons of convenience. By these
ships I received the decrees which your Majesty has been pleased
to command me to issue. In the first, you command me to charge the
archbishop, the bishops, the provincials of the religious orders,
and all classes of ecclesiastics and virtuous people to commend to God
your Majesty's monarchy, and that they should banish the vices which
among your vassals are so displeasing to our Lord; and the same order
is laid upon the governors, alcaldes, and higher magistrates of these
provinces. This mandate of your Majesty shall be obeyed, Sire, with
all promptness, and with the carefulness which so important a matter
demands--that not only for the time, but continually, this care may be
maintained. And as the beginning has been made by the benefit received
on St. Peter's day from the fiesta of the blessed sacrament, I shall
endeavor to secure the regular observance of this fiesta every year,
forever, so that what your Majesty desires may on that occasion be
implored from God. This decree is dated at Madrid, June 28, in the
year 1635. [_Marginal note_: "Write that this is approved."]
3. With this decree comes another, in which your Majesty commands
that I make secret inquiries, and carry out the directions in the
said decree regarding the Frenchmen who have come to these islands
and are living in them, and regarding their property. This I shall
promptly execute, according to the tenor of the decree, and with such
discretion and proper measures as shall be possible. [_Marginal note_:
"Seen; tell him to carry out the commands of the decree."]
[4.] In another decree, dated at Madrid, March 4 of the same year,
your Majesty is pleased to command that when I send the galleons
to Nueva Espana, they shall be in command of a trustworthy person,
and that other persons of similar ability shall go with the ships,
so that in case of [the commander's] death these persons shall bring
them back [to these islands]. This very arrangement I had made before
I saw your Majesty's decree, for which honor and favor I kiss your
Majesty's feet a thousand times. In another letter I have entreated
your Majesty that you will be pleased to command your viceroy of Nueva
Espana to allow the commander and admiral who conduct thither the
galleons from these islands to exercise authority and jurisdiction
in the port of Acapulco (so long as they are not on the land) to
punish their seamen and soldiers, and that the warden of the port
shall not interfere with them by endeavoring to have such delinquents
punished on shore; for they have always had some men under them who
have ability, and have served well, and are very competent--who yet,
from the time when the said galleons cast anchor, neither respect nor
obey as they should, during the entire time while they remain in port,
the said commander and admiral, since they think that those officers
cannot punish them until they set sail for the return voyage. This
is a great hindrance to the service of your Majesty; and since you
have been generously pleased to grant to your governors authority
to send future successors for the said offices, may your Majesty be
also pleased to grant me this favor which I now entreat, in behalf
of their authority and due respect and proper government. [_Marginal
notes_: "Bring hither the orders already given on this subject, and a
statement of what is customary in other ports, especially in that of
Bera Cruz." "They are here." "Let the governor's request be granted,
with the conditions that he mentions; and write to the viceroy that
this seems to be the general practice, to judge from precedents found
here, and that he is to issue the necessary orders for the execution
of the above--unless he finds difficulties in the way which oblige him
to do otherwise. Then, when the men on the ships commit any excesses
on shore, let a case be made against them, and then referred to the
commander and admiral."]
5. In another decree from Madrid, dated May 4 of the same year,
your Majesty commands, that in order to prevent the frauds which
hitherto have been committed on the ships which sail with merchandise
to Nueva Espana, I shall, since this port is so near, sometimes
go to examine and direct the lading, or entrust this duty to some
careful person. Before the said decree arrived, I came (as I have
informed your Majesty in another letter) to the said port to serve
as a royal official; and I have already laden the capitana--which
is an undertaking of so much importance that the governor who does
not attend to it in person, but entrusts it to some one else whom he
supposes to be trustworthy, does not comply with the dictates of his
conscience or with the obligations of his office. Notwithstanding
that your Majesty has royal officials to whom this task pertains,
I have thanked God that I had begun to render this service to your
Majesty before I could know your wishes, and whether you had commanded
such action. Now that I know what you desire, I will carry it out
more expeditiously; for here in the Yndias I need only to show the
orders of your Majesty, in order to defend myself from the jealousy
and complaints of your vassals, and with these they respect and obey
me better. I follow my natural inclination in obeying, as a Christian
and a loyal vassal, the orders and commands which your Majesty shall
be pleased to give me. [_Marginal note_: "Seen."]
6. In another decree, dated May 4 of the same year, your Majesty
commands that, on account of the losses which have resulted therefrom,
I shall not allow the trade and commerce of the Portuguese with
these islands, so that the Chinese trade may not be broken off. I
shall obey this very punctually, according to its tenor. Judging
that this very thing which your Majesty commands was best, I had,
before receiving the decree, sent advices to the city of Macan that
they must not send any merchandise to these islands; and that only one
ship could come from Macan, which should bring some anchors, muskets,
and arquebuses, of which these islands are in great need. Although
when I came here I found three of their ships in the port, this year
only one has come; and hereafter this commerce will be dispensed with,
inasmuch as it will not be expedient to send [to Macan] for anything
save what the Chinese cannot bring--such as anchors and firearms,
which often get broken. But in everything which shall not be expedient
for your Majesty's service I shall prevent the Portuguese from coming
to this port, or to any other, to trade with the Castilians. With the
welcome and kind treatment which has been shown to the said Chinese
thirty-three of their little ships have come this year, and have
brought so great a quantity of merchandise that your Majesty's vassals
have not for many years past seen stuffs so cheap. This has been caused
by receiving them hospitably, treating them well, and despatching their
affairs graciously and promptly; and by not allowing the officers of
justice or those of the treasury to molest them, or to take from them
a thread of silk. With this shipment of goods; these your vassals have
no need whatever of the trade with the Portuguese; and the customs
duties of six per cent which the Chinese pay have amounted this year
to more than fifty thousand pesos. [_Marginal note_: "Seen. Tell him
to execute the decree, since he knows how expedient it is."]
7. In another decree, dated Madrid, December 4, 1634, your Majesty
commands your viceroys and governors that, on account of the
inconveniences resulting from the vacant see, and as the ecclesiastical
cabildos manage some affairs contrary to law and to the service of
God and your Majesty, in order to check them such measures shall
be taken as shall be most expedient for your royal service in these
islands. Thus far, Sire, the vacant [archiepiscopal] see has not been
governed by the ecclesiastical cabildo, but by the bishop of Cibu,
or by the bishop who has been longest in office; accordingly such
irregular proceedings have not occurred here. Moreover, the religious
orders and their members avoid these evils, obeying your Majesty and
your governors, as also do the ecclesiastics of the cabildo of this
holy church who are your very obedient chaplains. They cannot fail to
be such, for they live on what your Majesty furnishes them from your
royal treasury; and they perform what has thus far been required from
them which pertains to your royal service--especially in commending
your Majesty to God in their prayers at the beginning and the end
of mass, as well as our lady the queen, and our prince and the royal
children. They have done this very willingly, although it is something
which had not been done before, even among the religious orders--which
surprises me, and seems a very unusual thing. In all respects and in
every way, I will observe and follow what your Majesty is pleased to
command. [_Marginal note_: "This is well."]
8. In another decree, dated at San Martin, December 21, 1634, your
Majesty commands that I shall not go beyond the decrees in regard to
the resignations of saleable offices, in which it is commanded that
the third part of the price of such office be placed in the royal
treasury. What your Majesty commands shall be fulfilled and carried
out. [_Marginal note_: "Let this decree be brought. Tell him that
his course is approved, and he shall act accordingly."]
9. In another decree, dated Madrid, January 30, 635, your Majesty
commands that I continue in the efforts made by my predecessor, Don
Juan Nino de Tabora, and the plans that he had formed to expel the
Dutch enemy from the island of Hermosa, and to unite the forces of
Yndia with those of these islands. This latter undertaking, Sire,
is very difficult; and the former is no slight thing. For if the
enemy were at that time commencing their fortifications, these are by
this time completed and very well defended; and unless your Majesty
send here a thousand Spanish soldiers, I have not the force in these
islands to drive out the Dutch from Hermosa. The Portuguese of Macan
desire that this be done, because the enemy inflicts damage on them
in the voyage to Xapon. But the fact that the enemy maintain a post
there does not at all embarrass or hinder the crown of Castilla; for
the Chinese do not fail to come in twenty-four hours to the forts of
your Majesty that are on this side the sea, bringing the necessary
merchandise and supplies. That island, Sire, is of very little use
to your Majesty, and it serves only to consume a large part of the
revenues; for the Indians of the said island are [too] ferocious to be
reduced to our holy Catholic faith, and it only serves to keep occupied
there two hundred and twenty Spaniards, and a company of Indians from
Nueva Segovia, and several vessels. But as it is so injurious to the
reputation of honorable soldiers to abandon the posts which others will
seize, I am--notwithstanding that, as a soldier, I have considered
the little or no importance of that post--maintaining and aiding it
with thirty thousand pesos a year, until your Majesty shall command
what may please you. As for joining our forces with those of Yndia,
Don Juan de Silva, in the time when he was governor, maintained the
forces of these islands in a very flourishing condition; for he was
able to build and assemble ten powerful galleons and two pataches,
with which he undertook to join the viceroy of Yndia to destroy the
Dutch and drive them from these seas. Although he set out, he did not
find any preparation on the part of the said viceroy; and by waiting
for it he lost an excellent opportunity when the enemy had left their
station. It is said that he died from grief at having spent so much
and achieved so little result; and that this was the cause for the
islands having fallen into so great poverty, and for your Majesty's
royal treasury being so embarrassed. For the governors to equip armed
fleets is a very difficult enterprise; for from that time until the
present people have been bewailing the heavy costs, and regretting
the ruin of the Indians who perished in the shipyards. If this colony
is preserved in its present condition, not displaying our weakness to
the enemies, but rather giving them and all the neighboring peoples to
understand, even with a few ships, that your Majesty is lord of these
seas--except of the strait of Sincapura, where the Dutch keep all their
forces--no little will be accomplished--even if your Majesty do not,
as I said above, send one thousand Spanish soldiers. I do not mention
the money, for neither can your Majesty send it; and I am planning here
how to economize and to maintain myself with the royal duties, a few
encomiendas, and the licenses of the Sangleys for the eight hundred
thousand pesos which are spent in these islands. [_Marginal note_:
"Bring the decree which gave rise to this paragraph, and the plan of
Hermosa Island, and whatever has been written about this matter."]
10. In another decree, dated Madrid, January 30, 35, your Majesty
commands that these ships shall sail from here so that they will
reach Acapulco December first. Your Majesty gave me the same orders
last year by another decree that they should leave this port,
without fail, by June first. Having called a council of all the
pilots, both chiefs and subordinates, they affirm and assert that
the said ships cannot leave until the twelfth or fifteenth of July,
because the vendabals--the winds with which they must sail--do not
begin until that time, nor are they strong until the early days of
August; and the ships waste the said fifteen days in sailing the
eighty leguas which they have to make among the islands to reach
the Embocadero of San Bernardino. For at times when they have sailed
earlier they have been detained, before they could leave the channel,
one or two months, in which time they have consumed a large part of
the supplies for the voyage; and as a result, many of the men have
died, from the hardships of the voyage or from want of food. For all
these and many other reasons, I entreat that your Majesty will be
pleased to believe that I shall not waste time in these despatches,
as best suits the service of your Majesty and the benefit of your
vassals. I have spared the viceroys of Mexico from sending flour, oil,
fodder, and a thousand other things for the equipment of the soldiers,
of which there is no lack there--as how I am informing the viceroy,
the Marques de Cadereyta, in the memoranda which I am sending him. By
this your Majesty has been saved a great part of your revenue, as well
as by the galleons not being repaired in Acapulco; for the viceroy
did nothing more to them after the necessary repairs from the calkers
and carpenters who went on the ships. In a little more than a month,
they could be again sent to sea; and they did not spend, at most, more
than five months in going from here, three in returning, and one in
the port. [_Marginal note_: "Tell him that those ships are to depart
at the time which shall seem most seasonable, since the orders do not
intend that they shall set out with evident loss and risk at the time
which has been fixed. While matters remain as they are, therefore,
he shall make such arrangements as are most expedient."]
11. In another decree, dated Madrid, November 29, 634, your Majesty
commands that a report be made of the vacancies which there are in the
dignities, canonries, raciones, and medias-raciones. Don Juan Cereso
de Salamanca, during the time while he governed after the death of
Don Juan Nino de Tabora, promoted the following persons. The post, of
schoolmaster was given to the canon Don Francisco de Valdes. Because
Don Alonso de Campos, appointed by your Majesty, remained in Espana,
his canonry was given to Don Gregorio Descalona, a racionero; and
his racion was given to Pedro Diaz de Ribera. By the death of Don
Garcia de Leon, who was archdeacon by your Majesty's appointment,
his office was given to the cantor Brizeno; and his cantorship was
given to Don Francisco de Valdes, the schoolmaster. The schoolmaster's
office was conferred upon the canon Don Gregorio Descalona; and his
canonry was given to Pedro Diaz de Ribera, racionero, his racion to
Diego Ramirez de Alcantara, a medio-racionero, and his medio-racion to
Pedro Flavio. By the death of the said archdeacon, Don Juan Brizeno,
the archdeaconry was given to Don Francisco de Valdes, cantor; his
cantorship, to Thomas de Guimarano, treasurer; and his treasurership,
to Don Juan de Olasso. By the death of the said Guimarano, the
cantorship was given to Don Gregorio de Escalona, schoolmaster;
his post as schoolmaster to Don Fabian de Santillan, canon; and his
canonry, to Don Pedro de Quesada. On account of the resignation of
the archdeaconry by Don Francisco de Valdes (in which post I found
him serving), I presented to the said dignity of archdeacon Master
Don Andres Arias Xiron; he is a cleric of thoroughly satisfactory
character, and good parts, and is now filling that post. Of all this
I have given account to your Majesty in another letter; you will
command according to your pleasure, in regard to all the aforesaid
persons. It will give me pleasure to inform your Majesty very soon
of the vacancies which you are to fill without presentation of names
by this government; but I shall always exercise the care which I
ought in the execution and fulfilment of this decree, according to
my obligation. [_Marginal note_: "In the memorial."]
12. In another decree, dated Madrid, February 16, 635, your Majesty
gives command on account of the information sent you by Don Juan
Cereso Salamanca that the trade with Xapon had been spoiled by the
indiscretion of certain religious. I promise your Majesty that the
religious orders have done you a great service in this respect,
especially that of St. Dominic. Although they have so many times
been told of what your Majesty has seen fit to command by various
decrees, they have been unwilling to obey. About a month ago, their
provincial sent a champan belonging to the said order, with three
of their religious; one of these was among the most prominent of
their members, and he has greatly disturbed the peace of this colony
since he arrived in it. They went with a Japanese priest. It was
not enough with these religious to show them your Majesty's decrees,
nor to threaten them that an account of their proceedings should be
given to you, and that the favors which they usually demand gratis
from the government would be withheld from them. [I told them this]
in order to induce them to cease following their own pleasure in this
matter, [which they do] without heeding that your Majesty is spending
so great an amount of your income in bringing them to these islands
for the reduction of the Indians to our holy Catholic faith. But
for this they do less than is right, although they have in these
islands, without going far away to seek them, so many on whom they
can exercise the charity of their office. I assure your Majesty, with
all truthfulness, that I do nothing in your service in which I earn
more merit than in tolerating and enduring some of these religious
orders. I will endeavor, as discreetly and diligently as possible, that
this and other decrees of your Majesty relative to this matter shall be
observed. [_Marginal note_: "Tell him to deal with the religious orders
with great moderation, in making them observe what is commanded."]
13. In regard to the deficiency of Spanish soldiers, it is because
so many have died, on account of the unhealthy climate and the great
heat, not because so many permissions for going away have been given as
your Majesty has been informed. For in these galleons no Spaniard is
going, unless he is married and going to live with his wife, as your
Majesty has ordered in other royal decrees; or else, if they are not
married, they have given bonds, satisfactory to the royal officials,
for two thousand or four thousand pesos that they will return to
this country; and even the seamen and artisans on the galleons have
given bonds for the same, in greater or less sums. [_Marginal note_:
"Tell him to observe the decrees and orders that have been issued in
regard to this and to endeavor to prevent frauds in their execution."]
14. In another decree, dated Madrid, February 16, 635, your Majesty
commands that I take measures to check the raids which the Joloan,
Camucon, and Bornean Indians make, so that they shall not injure the
settlements in these islands, plundering them and carrying the people
into captivity--of which the Audiencia has given an account to your
Majesty. For many years, Sire, nothing has been done to stop this,
save to waste your Majesty's incomes; for, after the mischief had
been already done, vessels sailed from here with troops who were
untrained, poorly equipped, and with no relish for fighting. Then,
after all the expense had been made, the Indians who are subject to us
were left plundered and captive; and the enemy remained victorious,
and still more daring and insolent. The only measure which I,
but recently arrived, could take for the remedy of this evil was to
order all the alcaldes-mayor to raise companies of Indians, exempting
the captains, alferezes, and sergeants from tributes and personal
services, and equipping them with firearms, pikes, and lances. As
a result, this year only one village has been plundered--and that
because the alcalde-mayor could not arrive in time; and the only
damage they did was to capture a religious of St. Francis and some
few Indians. The fort which has been erected near La Caldera, that
of Camboanga, which is in the very territory of those Indians, holds
them somewhat in check. I wish to become freed somewhat from so many
necessary demands upon my attention as this government requires, and
see to the completion of a galley which I have begun, in order to try
whether I can at one blow make an end of these enemies, and thus carry
out what your Majesty is pleased to command. But these [Moros] are a
people who, if they encounter any resistance, no matter how small,
betake themselves in flight through the mountains, with which they
are so well acquainted; while the Spaniards cannot follow them on
account of the great heat, and the many difficulties of the journey;
and our peaceful Indians, when they have not the Spaniards near them,
are timid and accomplish nothing. Consequently, the whole enterprise
has some share of hindrances and difficulties; but I will try, so far
as it lies in my power, to accomplish it, and so that your Majesty
may not have occasion to command this another time. [Marginal note:
"This is well."]
15. In another decree, dated Madrid, February 21, 635, your Majesty
commands that the shipyards be supplied with timbers, planks,
and all that is necessary for the repairing and equipment of the
galleons, because your Majesty has understood that there is a lack
of these materials and of the provisions necessary for the royal
storehouses. Your Majesty was correctly informed of this; but for
the past year efforts have been made to remedy these deficiencies,
by building flat-bottomed boats for transporting the said timbers,
and having as many as possible of the latter cut. With this, the
galleons which go to Castilla have been put in very good order,
and there is sufficient lumber left for the necessary and usual
repairs which continually have to be made in this port. As for the
provisions for the storehouses, not only have the necessary supplies
been lacking, but there are no storehouses in which to place them. I
shall therefore begin two buildings: one a storehouse at this port,
inside the castle of San Phelipe; and another as lodgings for the
infantry company which forms the garrison. Hitherto the soldiers
of that company have lived outside the said castle, as they had no
quarters--some of them in wretched cabins built by their own hands. In
the same manner, Sire, or very little better, the rest of the troops
were lodged in Manila. As I have written to your Majesty in other
letters, I am building them a chapel, where the dead may be buried
and the sacraments administered to them; also a barracks, where they
can live comfortably. I am endeavoring that [the expense of] this
may be met by donations and gratuitous services, and not from the
royal treasury of your Majesty. I have ordered that a large house,
in which the governors were lodged when they came to this port, be
set aside for a royal hospital. I have had it repaired, and two wings
added; and thus medical treatment can be given in it to the seamen,
the convicts on your Majesty's galleys, the carpenters and calkers, and
some sixty-six slaves of the crown. It was said that your Majesty has
also carpenters ashore, besides petty court officers, and the Lascars
and Moros who serve in mooring the vessels and for all the extra labor
that is needed ashore; and hitherto they have had no hospital, and it
was necessary to take them to Manila for treatment. [_Marginal note_:
"Ascertain what provision has been made for this in other regions. As
for the buildings for parish church, hospital, and barracks for
soldiers, this is explained by another letter from the governor. As
for the shipbuilding, what he says is approved."]
16. In a decree dated Madrid, February 16, 635, your Majesty commands
that I exercise care to see that the religious shall not go to Japon
for the present, because the king of that country has so tightly
closed the door to the Catholics. [_Marginal note_: "Seen."]
17. He has commanded this, with very rigorous penalties of death and
confiscation of property, that no vassal of his shall for ten years
leave his kingdom, in any kind of vessel, so that religious may not
go in their ships; he thus checks the trade with the Chinese also,
so that they may not carry religious. Only the Dutch maintain commerce
with Japon, from which has resulted great loss to these your Majesty's
islands--for they bring from Xapon much silver; copper and tin, for
casting artillery; wheat; and many other products and conveniences
which are very necessary for the said islands. Then the barter of the
silks, fine Castilian cloths, and Spanish leather made from deerskin,
which were carried there from these islands--all this is so cut off
that it seems as if no way could be found to restore the trade unless
God in His mercy shall open one in the course of time. [_Marginal
note_: "Seen."]
18. Don Pedro de Quiroga y Maya, whom your Majesty has been pleased
to send to Mexico to take the residencia of the Marques de Cerralbo;
sends me a certified copy of a section in the instructions which your
Majesty gave him, in which your Majesty has commanded me, by one of
your royal decrees that, in order to stop the illegal transportation to
Nueva Espana of more merchandise than is permitted to the citizens,
the ships shall be built thus: the almiranta, of four hundred to
five hundred toneladas' burden; and the capitana, of five hundred
to six hundred toneladas. These decrees, Sire, have not come to my
hands thus far, further than a copy which the said royal visitor
sends me, issued in the term of Don Juan Nino de Tabora. This shall
be very punctually obeyed in the future construction of the ships;
but it is necessary to make the present voyage with the galleons
that are already built. I must remind your Majesty that the islands
are at the end of their resources, as far as the Indians in them are
concerned; for it is they who bring the timber from the forests for
the said shipbuilding. I have thought of an expedient for this, in
order not to complete the destruction of the Indians; it is, to ask
the viceroys of your Majesty in Nueva Espana and Piru to send vessels
here. Every two years, let the viceroy of Piru send to Nueva Espana a
ship with the permission which your Majesty has given, one of those
which the viceroy the Conde de Chinchon caused to be built in the
time when I served your Majesty there; they were of three hundred
to four hundred toneladas' burden, and carried twelve, fourteen,
or sixteen pieces of artillery. The cost of these will be paid here,
on the account of this royal treasury. With this, and with rebuilding
the galleons that are here, and repairing them every year, may be
remedied the loss in the shipyards, and the destruction and ruin of
the Indians. It is no light burden to maintain the laborers who cut
the timber for the repairs every year. Will your Majesty be pleased to
command the said viceroys to do what I have proposed; and thus in the
course of time the ships will come to be of the burden and lading that
your Majesty requires. Meanwhile, until the matter is arranged, the
galleons will go from here to Nueva Espana every two years, each with
two registers--one for the previous sailing, and one for the present
year--as they go now. In the year when they go, they will bring back
the half of the silver for the proceeds [from the merchandise sent];
and in the following year, when they do not have to go, the rest of the
money will be brought in the ship which will be sent from Piru. I hope
that your Majesty will approve this, and give such commands as are
most expedient for your royal service, in order that these vassals
who are so poor may be encouraged, and the merchandise that they
export may bring in good returns when nothing goes unregistered,
and that the Indians may be saved from ruin. [_Marginal note_:
"Let there be no innovation in this matter which he proposes, and
follow the orders which have been issued in regard to the building
of ships; and tell him that, as he has been commanded, he shall make
no innovations without first consulting the government in regard to
the matter, so that orders may be given him to be put into execution."]
May our Lord guard the Catholic person of your Majesty, as Christendom
has need. At Cavite, July 11, 636. Sire, your vassal kisses your
Majesty's feet.