[Customhouse red tape.] The customs inspection, and the many
formalities which the native minor officials exercised without any
consideration appear all the more wearisome to the new arrival when
contrasted with the easy routine of the English free ports of the
east he has just quitted. The guarantee of a respectable merchant
obtained for me, as a particular favor, permission to disembark after
a detention of sixteen hours; but even then I was not allowed to take
the smallest article of luggage on shore with me.
[Shelter for shipping.] During the south-west monsoon and the stormy
season that accompanies the change of monsoons, the roadstead is
unsafe. Larger vessels are then obliged to seek protection in the
port of Cavite, seven miles further down the coast; but during the
north-east monsoons they can safely anchor half a league from the
coast. All ships under three hundred tons burden pass the breakwater
and enter the Pasig, where, as far as the bridge, they lie in serried
rows, extending from the shore to the middle of the stream, and bear
witness by their numbers, as well as by the bustle and stir going on
amongst them, to the activity of the home trade.
[Silting up of river mouth.] In every rain-monsoon, the Pasig river
sweeps such a quantity of sediment against the breakwater that just
its removal keeps, as it seems, the dredging machine stationed there
entirely occupied.
[Few foreign vessels.] The small number of the vessels in the
roadstead, particularly of those of foreign countries, was the more
remarkable as Manila was the only port in the Archipelago that had any
commerce with foreign countries. It is true that since 1855 three other
ports, to which a fourth may now be added, had gotten this privilege;
but at the time of my arrival, in March, 1859, not one of them had
ever been entered by a foreign vessel, and it was a few weeks after
my visit that the first English ship sailed into Iloilo to take in
a cargo of sugar for Australia. [14]
[Antiquated restrictions on trade.] The reason of this peculiarity
laid partly in the feeble development of agriculture, in spite of the
unexampled fertility of the soil, but chiefly in the antiquated and
artificially limited conditions of trade. The customs duties were
in themselves not very high. They were generally about seven per
cent. upon merchandise conveyed under the Spanish flag, and about
twice as much for that carried in foreign bottoms. When the cargo
was of Spanish production, the duty was three per cent. if carried
in national vessels, eight per cent. if in foreign ships. The latter
were only allowed, as a rule, to enter the port in ballast. [15]
[Discouragements for foreign ships.] As, however, the principal wants
of the colony were imported from England and abroad, these were either
kept back till an opportunity occurred of sending them in Spanish
vessels, which charged nearly a treble freight (from £4 to £5 instead
of from £1 1/2, to £2 per ton), and which only made their appearance
in British ports at rare intervals, or they were sent to Singapore and
Hongkong, where they were transferred to Spanish ships. Tonnage dues
were levied, moreover, upon ships in ballast, and upon others which
merely touched at Manila without unloading or taking in fresh cargo;
and, if a vessel under such circumstances landed even the smallest
parcel, it was no longer rated as a ship in ballast, but charged on the
higher scale. Vessels were therefore forced to enter the port entirely
devoid of cargo, or carrying sufficient to cover the expense of the
increased harbor dues; almost an impossibility for foreign ships,
on account of the differential customs rates, which acted almost as a
complete prohibition. The result was that foreign vessels came there
only in ballast, or when summoned for some particular object.
[Export taxes.] The exports of the colony were almost entirely
limited to its raw produce, which was burdened with an export duty
of three per cent. Exports leaving under the Spanish flag were only
taxed to the amount of one per cent.; but, as scarcely any export
trade existed with Spain, and as Spanish vessels, from their high
rates of freight, were excluded from the carrying trade of the world,
the boon to commerce was a delusive one. [16]
[Laws drove away trade.] These inept excise laws, hampered with a
hundred suspicious forms, frightened away the whole carrying trade
from the port; and its commission merchants were frequently unable
to dispose of the local produce. So trifling was the carrying trade
that the total yearly average of the harbor dues, calculated from
the returns of ten years, barely reached $10,000.
[Manila's favorable location.] The position of Manila, a central
point betwixt Japan, China, Annam, the English and Dutch ports of
the Archipelago and Australia, is in itself extremely favorable
to the development of a world-wide trade. [17] At the time of the
north-eastern monsoons, during our winter, when vessels for the sake of
shelter pass through the Straits of Gilolo on their way from the Indian
Archipelago to China, they are obliged to pass close to Manila. They
would find it a most convenient station, for the Philippines, as we
have already mentioned, are particularly favorably placed for the
west coast of America.
[The 1869 reform.] A proof that the Spanish Ultramar minister fully
recognizes and appreciates these circumstances appears in his decree,
of April 5, 1869, which is of the highest importance for the future
of the colony. It probably would have been issued earlier had not the
Spanish and colonial shipowners, pampered by the protective system,
obstinately struggled against an innovation which impaired their
former privileges and forced them to greater activity.
[Bettered conditions.] The most noteworthy points of the decree are
the moderation of the differential duties, and their entire extinction
at the expiration of two years; the abrogation of all export duties;
and the consolidation of the more annoying port dues into one single
charge.
[Pre-Spanish foreign commerce.] When the Spaniards landed in the
Philippines they found the inhabitants clad in silks and cotton stuffs,
which were imported by Chinese ships to exchange for gold-dust,
sapan wood, [18] holothurian, edible birds' nests, and skins. The
Islands were also in communication with Japan, Cambodia, Siam, [19]
the Moluccas, and the Malay Archipelago. De Barros mentions that
vessels from Luzon visited Malacca in 1511. [20]
[Early extension under Spain.] The greater order which reigned in
the Philippines after the advent of the Spaniards, and still more the
commerce they opened with America and indirectly with Europe, had the
effect of greatly increasing the Island trade, and of extending it
beyond the Indies to the Persian Gulf. Manila was the great mart for
the products of Eastern Asia, with which it loaded the galleons that,
as early as 1565, sailed to and from New Spain (at first to Navidad,
after 1602 to Acapulco), and brought back silver as their principal
return freight. [21]
[Jealousy of Seville monopolists.] The merchants in New Spain and Peru
found this commerce so advantageous, that the result was very damaging
to the exports from the mother country, whose manufactured goods were
unable to compete with the Indian cottons and the Chinese silks. The
spoilt monopolists of Seville demanded therefore the abandonment of a
colony which required considerable yearly contributions from the home
exchequer, which stood in the way of the mother country's exploiting
her American colonies, and which let the silver of His Majesty's
dominions pass into the hands of the heathen. Since the foundation of
the colony they had continually thrown impediments in its path. [22]
Their demands, however, were vain in face of the ambition of the
throne and the influence of the clergy; rather, responding to the
views of that time the merchants of Peru and New Spain were forced,
in the interests of the mother country, to obtain merchandise from
China, either directly, or through Manila. The inhabitants of the
Philippines were alone permitted to send Chinese goods to America,
but only to the yearly value of $250,000. The return trade was limited
to $500,000. [23]
[Prohibition of China trading.] The first amount was afterwards
increased to $300,000, with a proportionate augmentation of the
return freight; but the Spanish were forbidden to visit China, so
that they were obliged to await the arrival of the junks. Finally,
in 1720, Chinese goods were strictly prohibited throughout the
whole of the Spanish possessions in both hemispheres. A decree of
1734 (amplified in 1769) once more permitted trade with China, and
increased the maximum value of the annual freightage to Acapulco to
$500,000 (silver) and that of the return trade to twice the amount.
[Higher limit on suspension of galleon voyages.] After the galleons to
Acapulco, which had been maintained at the expense of the government
treasury, had stopped their voyages, commerce with America was
handled by merchants who were permitted in 1820, to export goods
up to $750,000 annually from the Philippines and to visit San Blas,
Guayaquil and Callao, besides Acapulco.
[ British occupation inspired new wants.] This concession, however,
was not sufficient to compensate Philippine commerce for the injuries
it suffered through the separation of Mexico from Spain. The possession
of Manila by the English, in 1762, made its inhabitants acquainted with
many industrial products which the imports from China and India were
unable to offer them. To satisfy these new cravings Spanish men-of-war
were sent, towards the close of 1764, to the colony with products of
Spanish industries, such as wine, provisions, hats, cloth, hardware,
and fancy articles.
[Manila oppositions to trade innovations.] The Manila merchants,
accustomed to a lucrative trade with Acapulco, strenuously resisted
this innovation, although it was a considerable source of profit to
them, for the Crown purchased the Indian and Chinese merchandise for
its return freights from Manila at double their original value. In
1784, however, the last of these ships arrived.
[Subterfuges of European traders.] After the English invasion,
European vessels were strictly forbidden to visit Manila; but as
that city did not want to do without Indian merchandise, and could
not import it in its own ships, it was brought there in English and
French bottoms, which assumed a Turkish name, and were provided with
an Indian sham-captain.
[The "Philippine Company" monopoly.] In 1785, the Compañía de Filipinas
obtained a monopoly of the trade between Spain and the colony, but it
was not allowed to interfere with the direct traffic between Acapulco
and Manila. The desire was to acquire large quantities of colonial
produce, silk, indigo, cinnamon, cotton, pepper, etc., in order to
export it somewhat as was done later on by the system of culture in
Java; but as it was unable to obtain compulsory labor, it entirely
failed in its attempted artificial development of agriculture.
[Losses by bad management.] The Compañía suffered great losses through
its erroneous system of operation, and the incapacity of its officials
(it paid, for example, $13.50 for a picul of pepper which cost from
three to four dollars in Sumatra).
[Entrance of foriegn ships and firms.] In 1789 foreign ships were
allowed to import Chinese and Indian produce, but none from Europe. In
1809 an English commercial house obtained permission to establish
itself in Manila. [24] In 1814, after the conclusion of the peace
with France, the same permission, with greater or less restrictions,
was granted to all foreigners.
[Trade free but port charges discriminating.] In 1820 the direct
trade between the Philippines and Spain was thrown open without any
limitations to the exports of colonial produce, on the condition
that the value of the Indian and Chinese goods in each expedition
should not exceed $50,000. Ever since 1834, when the privileges
of the Compañía expired, free trade has been permitted in Manila;
foreign ships, however, being charged double dues. Four new ports
have been thrown open to general trade since 1855; and in 1869 the
liberal tariff previously alluded to was issued.
[Port's importance lessened under Spain.] Today, after three centuries
of almost undisturbed Spanish rule, Manila has by no means added to the
importance it possessed shortly after the advent of the Spaniards. The
isolation of Japan and the Indo-Chinese empires, a direct consequence
of the importunities and pretensions of the Catholic missionaries, [25]
the secession of the colonies on the west coast of America, above all
the long continuance of a distrustful commercial and colonial policy--a
policy which exists even at the present day--while important markets,
based on large capital and liberal principles, were being established
in the most favored spots of the British and Dutch Indies; all these
circumstances have contributed to this result and thrown the Chinese
trade into other channels. The cause is as clear as the effect,
yet it might be erroneous to ascribe the policy so long pursued to
short-sightedness. The Spaniards, in their schemes of colonisation,
had partly a religious purpose in view, but the government discovered
a great source of influence in the disposal of the extremely lucrative
colonial appointments. The crown itself, as well as its favorites,
thought of nothing but extracting the most it could from the colony,
and had neither the intention or the power to develop the natural
wealth of the country by agriculture and commerce. Inseparable from
this policy, was the persistent exclusion of foreigners. [26] It seemed
even more necessary in the isolated Philippines than in America to cut
off the natives from all contact with foreigners, if the Spaniards had
any desire to remain in undisturbed possession of the colony. In face,
however, of the developed trade of today and the claims of the world
to the productive powers of such an extraordinarily fruitful soil, the
old restrictions can no longer be maintained, and the lately-introduced
liberal tariff must be hailed as a thoroughly well-timed measure.
* * * * *
[Galleon story sidelight on colonial history.] The oft-mentioned
voyages of the galleons betwixt Manila and Acapulco hold such a
prominent position in the history of the Philippines, and afford
such an interesting glimpse into the old colonial system, that their
principal characteristics deserve some description.
[Chinese part in galleon trade.] In the days of Morga, towards the
close of the sixteenth century, from thirty to forty Chinese junks
were in the habit of annually visiting Manila (generally in March);
towards the end of June a galleon used to sail for Acapulco. The trade
with the latter place, the active operations of which were limited to
the three central months of the year, was so lucrative, easy, and safe,
that the Spaniards scarcely cared to engage in any other undertakings.
[Favoritism in allotment of cargo space.] As the carrying power of
the annual galleon was by no means proportioned to the demand for
cargo room, the governor divided it as he deemed best; the favorites,
however, to whom he assigned shares in the hold, seldom traded
themselves, but parted with their concessions to the merchants.
[Division of space and character of cargo.] According to De Guignes,
[27] the hold of the vessel was divided into 1,500 parts, of which
the majority were allotted to the priests, and the rest to favored
persons. As a matter of fact, the value of the cargo, which was
officially limited to $600,000, was considerably higher. It chiefly
consisted of Indian and Chinese cottons and silk stuffs (amongst
others fifty thousand pairs of silk stockings from China), and gold
ornaments. The value of the return freight amounted to between two
and three millions of dollars.
[Profit in trade.] Everything in this trade was settled beforehand;
the number, shape, size, and value of the bales, and even their selling
price. As this was usually double the original cost, the permission
to ship goods to a certain amount was equivalent, under ordinary
circumstances, to the bestowal of a present of a like value. These
permissions or licenses (boletas) were, at a later period, usually
granted to pensioners and officers' widows, and to officials, in lieu
of an increase of salary; these favorites were forbidden, however,
to make a direct use of them, for to trade with Acapulco was the
sole right of those members of the Consulado (a kind of chamber of
commerce) who could prove a long residence in the country and the
possession of a capital of at least $8,000.
[Evasion of regulations.] Legentil, the astronomer, gives a full
description of the regulations which prevailed in his day and the
manner in which they were disobeyed. The cargo consisted of a thousand
bales, each composed of four packets, [28] the maximum value of each
packet being fixed at $250. It was impossible to increase the amount of
bales, but they pretty generally consisted of more than four packets,
and their value so far exceeded the prescribed limits, that a boleta
was considered to be worth from $200 to $225. The officials took good
care that no goods should be smuggled on board without a boleta. These
were in such demand, that, at a later period, Comyn [29] saw people
pay $500 for the right to ship goods, the value of which scarcely
amounted to $1,000. The merchants usually borrowed the money for these
undertakings from the obras pias, charitable foundations, which, up
to our own time, fulfil in the Islands the purposes of banks. [30]
In the early days of the trade, the galleon used to leave Cavite in
July and sail with a south-westerly wind beyond the tropics, until
it met with a west wind at the thirty-eighth or [Route outward.]
fortieth parallel. [31] Later on the vessels were ordered to leave
Cavite with the first south-westerly winds to sail along the south
coast of Luzon, through San Bernardino straits, and to continue along
the thirteenth parallel of north latitude [32] as far to the east as
possible, until the north-easterly trade wind compelled them to seek a
north-west breeze in higher latitudes. They were then obliged to try
the thirtieth parallel as long as possible, instead of, as formerly,
the thirty-seventh. The captain of the galleon was not permitted
to sail immediately northward, although to have done so would have
procured him a much quicker and safer passage, and would have enabled
him to reach the rainy zone more rapidly. To effect the last, indeed,
was a matter of the greatest importance to him, for his vessel,
overladen [Water-supply crowded out by cargo.] with merchandise,
had but little room crowded out for water; and although he had
a crew of from four hundred to six hundred hands to provide for,
he was instructed to depend upon the rain he caught on the voyage;
for which purpose, the galleon was provided with suitable mats and
bamboo pails. [33]
[Length of voyage.] Voyages in these low latitudes were, owing to the
inconstancy of the winds, extremely troublesome, and often lasted five
months and upwards. The fear of exposing the costly, cumbrous vessel
to the powerful and sometimes stormy winds of the higher latitudes,
appears to have been the cause of these sailing orders.
[California landfall.] As soon as the galleon had passed the great
Sargasso shoal, it took a southerly course, and touched at the
southern point of the Californian peninsula (San Lucas), where news
and provisions awaited it. [34] In their earlier voyages, however,
they must have sailed much further to the north, somewhere in the
neighborhood of Cape Mendocino, and have been driven southward in sight
of the coast; for Vizcaino, in the voyage of discovery he undertook
in 1603, from Mexico to California, found the principal mountains and
capes, although no European had ever set his foot upon them, already
christened by the galleons, to which they had served as landmarks.
[35]
[Speedy return voyage.] The return voyage to the Philippines was an
easy one, and only occupied from forty to sixty days. [36] The galleon
left Acapulco in February or March, sailed southwards till it fell in
with the trade wind (generally in from 10° to 11° of north latitude),
which carried it easily to the Ladrone Islands, and thence reached
Manila by way of Samar. [37]
[Galleon's size and armament.] A galleon was usually of from twelve
hundred to fifteen hundred tons burden, and carried fifty or sixty
guns. The latter, however, were pretty generally banished to the
hold during the eastward voyage. When the ship's bows were turned
towards home, and there was no longer any press of space, the guns
were remounted.
[Capture of "Santa Anna".] San Augustin says of the Santa Anna, which
Thomas Candish captured and burnt in 1586 off the Californian coast:
"Our people sailed so carelessly that they used their guns for ballast;
.... the pirate's venture was such a fortunate one that he returned
to London with sails of Chinese damask and silken rigging." The cargo
was sold in Acapulco at a profit of 100 per cent., and was paid for
in silver, cochineal, quicksilver, etc. [Value of return freight]
The total value of the return freight amounted perhaps to between
two and three million dollars, [38] of which a quarter of a million,
at least, fell to the king.
[Gambling rather than commerce] The return of a galleon to Manila,
laden with silver dollars and new arrivals, was a great holiday
for the colony. A considerable portion of the riches they had won
as easily as at the gaming table, was soon spent by the crew; when
matters again returned to their usual lethargic state. It was no
unfrequent event, however, for vessels to be lost. They were too
often laden with a total disregard to seaworthiness, and wretchedly
handled. It was favor, not capacity, that determined the patronage
of these lucrative appointments. [39] Many galleons fell into the
hands of English and Dutch cruisers. [40] ["Philippine Company"
and smugglers cause change.] But these tremendous profits gradually
decreased as the Compañía obtained the right to import Indian
cottons, one of the principal articles of trade, into New Spain by
way of Vera Cruz, subject to a customs duty of 6 per cent; and when
English and American adventurers began to smuggle these and other
goods into the country. [41] [Spanish coins in circulation on China
coast.] Finally, it may be mentioned that Spanish dollars found their
way in the galleons to China and the further Indies, where they are
in circulation to this day.