Law XVII

Inasmuch as the ships of the Filipinas line have been overladen,

many have been wrecked and their crews and cargoes lost; and,

inasmuch as it is advisable to provide beforehand the remedy,

therefore we order that great care be taken so that the toneladas

[assigned] be those that the ships can carry, in accordance with

their capacity. The things conveniently necessary for the crew, and

the necessary food, with a reserve in case the voyage be prolonged,

shall be left in them. Especial care is to be taken that the ships

do not sail overladen, or embarrassed, because of the danger of

being wrecked in any misfortune. They shall make the voyage each

way as lightly laden as is necessary for the chance of storms and

enemies. Felipe III--Valladolid, December 31, 1604.]

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 17 of 55 1609-1616 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century · 第 32 / 113 题