the money for the reënforcements which your Majesty sends to the
Filipinas, and other things, is spent for their maintenance; and of
the resources which they possess available (if it were not for Maluco)
for their own maintenance.
Since your Majesty sent an order and command to Don Pedro de Acuña to
go with a force of troops to recover Maluco, which the Portuguese had
lost, all the reënforcements of money, troops, and munitions which
have since been raised here are spent in maintaining the forts of
Maluco; and the great quantity that Don Juan de Silva expended was
in the expeditions which he made. Not only has this been spent, but
Manila and all the islands are today almost ruined because of this,
besides the embarrassment in which that placed your royal treasury,
so that if it had to pay what is due to the Indians, excluding what it
owes the citizens, that would be more than two millions. If it had
not these calls upon its revenues, there would be enough to maintain
it without your Majesty expending any more than the profits which he
obtains from the islands, as may be seen by what follows, which is
copied from the royal books of the royal accountancy with all fidelity.
Pesos
There are assigned to the royal crown tributes amounting to
36U516 and a half, of which 28U483 and a half of 8 reals
are collected. The rest, amounting to 5U033 of 10 reals,
which is the province of Ylocos, amounts to 39U807
There are in all the islands 130U939 tributarios in
encomiendas, and those under the crown pay your Majesty two
reals of income 32U734
The tenths of gold are worth 2U000
The tenths on herds of cattle 2U500
The customs duties from the Chinese at six per cent on
merchandise 80U000
Licenses imposed by Don Juan de Silva on every Chinaman who
remains in the country, at 8 pesos 80U000
Duties on cloth belonging to citizens, which is brought in
the ships from Mexico. 2U500
Customs duties on ships that go to Mexico sent by citizens
of Manila, at three per cent of the merchandise 12U000
Other items, 4U pesos 4U000
Total amount 255U541
In this way your Majesty has, from year to year, a little more or
less than two hundred and fifty thousand reals of eight, and in this
there are included neither the freight charges of the ships which go
to Nueva España, amounting to more than 30U pesos, nor the twelve per
cent paid there on the merchandise which is sent, because this enters
into the royal treasury of Mexico. The expenses which your Majesty
has in these islands are not so great that, if it were not necessary
to furnish support for the war in Maluco with the Dutch, there would
not be rather some surplus than a deficit; and you could well maintain
four galleons and six galleys for its protection and defense.