Chapter X: Preface (9)

It is very pernicious to permit the importation of the silk of China and its trade, both in the Indias and in España. For although not more than two hundred and fifty thousand pesos de Tipuzque can be taken from Nueva España to the Filipinas annually, besides that sum another incalculable quantity of money is taken in reals of eight; for the said silk can be bought or traded for nothing else, nor will the Chinese give or exchange it for other merchandise. Consequently, they manage to get hold of and carry away annually the greater part of the eight-real pieces which are made in the said Nueva España, in exchange for grass, which is the substance of that coarse and harsh silk which is so plentiful among the Chinese. [53] Thus do they weaken our strength and increase their own; and consequently they can make war on us whenever they wish, without any cost to them as far as we are concerned. And since this money does not come to España, it cannot be invested there in merchandise, and the customs duties and the excise duty cannot be collected from them; and they cannot return with a greater sum of money with which to make larger investments, resulting in the great increase of the said royal incomes, and the common benefit of his Majesty's vassals. Besides, if that silk were not taken from China to Nueva España, it would not be used there; nor would it be poured into Piru and Tierra Firme, as is done. For, notwithstanding the prohibition established forbidding any merchandise to be taken there from China, a very large quantity of it is taken to the said provinces from Nueva España, and it is used there--the viceroys, generals, and justices concealing and favoring it for their own private interest and benefit. For that reason much less Spanish merchandise is used in the said Piru and Tierra Firme than was formerly consumed, and than would be used if the merchandise of China were not sent there. That condition causes the merchandise of España to have one-half less value than before. Hence it results that daily fewer trading ships arc sent from these kingdoms than formerly, and than would be sent if the said trade with China were to cease. That is the reason why the Spanish silks and other merchandise are so seldom demanded or consumed in the Indias. That, with the low prices at which they are sold, and the numerous duties which are paid, and the trade so ruined, makes the exporters and merchants derive so little gain from their investments that they do not care to increase or to continue their trade, and cease to attend to it. On that account, the said Indias do not depend, as it is right that they should depend, on these kingdoms; while, as there and in these kingdoms is consumed the merchandise of China, which is only bought with standard reals of eight, an enormous amount of coin is taken there in exchange for the merchandise, and thus is not sent to these kingdoms to be invested here, in order to return them to the said Indias. [If that were done], the duties thereon (together with the great cargoes and the increase of business in all directions) would increase very greatly, as would be clearly and quickly seen in the increase of the royal revenues. The prohibition of the said merchandise of China is of much greater advantage to the royal revenues than the permission; besides, it is the universal remedy [for the troubles] of these kingdoms and of the said Indias, that the said merchandise be not exported to either the former or the latter. [There is a parallel to this in our domestic trade], for in place of the wheat (because of the lack of it that is generally experienced in the maritime towns of this kingdom), foreigners are continually carrying away from us so great an amount of money through the permissions given to them for export, and with what they demand besides, for the wheat, and in exchange for the copper coins that they force on us, and other articles that they bring to us, which they have in plenty--but which we do not need, as we have all of them in our España. Thus they weaken our resources and strengthen their own; but this would be avoided if we did not need the wheat, and they were not permitted to bring the other things. Just so, not having need (as there is none) of the wares from China, because we have so many of them in these kingdoms (which moreover are known to be so much better in quality), we should cease this trade, which only carries to China that great treasure which is annually withdrawn and conveyed thither, without any hope that any part of it will ever return to us. For the Chinese have a great surplus of all goods, and never come to buy anything, but only to sell--and that only for reals of eight; and consequently, they make their prices so cheap, in order to get the reals, that they constrain one to buy a much greater quantity of their merchandise than he would buy if the prices were higher and the profits less. And although the profits are seemingly large at first, they are not so in reality, because of the little durability of the Chinese goods, and because of the damage caused to the merchandise of España by their importation; for, by permitting it, the consumption of Spanish goods is lessened, and they have less value. Consequently--setting aside the so universal damage to all the natives [of España], and in particular that to the producers of the said silk (and its production is daily diminishing, to such an extent, indeed, that in a very few years so little will be produced that the damage will be made plainly evident in the royal duties, and in its lack and scarcity), and how much greater benefit would be the prohibition than the permission of the said silk of China--his Majesty and his ministers, in attending to his royal revenues, are under obligation to furnish suitable relief for this, for the welfare of his kingdoms and vassals. Since the towns of the kingdom of Granada were given, after their insurrection, [54] under an annuity obligation [censo] to private persons so that they might settle therein, and the annuity amounts to more than one hundred thousand ducados of revenue, which are paid through the increase in the production of the silk; and [it is necessary] that there should be a ready sale and handling of it, for the estates that were given to them have no other important products from which they could obtain the money to pay the said annuity; necessarily, if the production of the silk ceases, then the payment of the annuity will cease. For in that and in the ready sale of the said silk consists the power [to pay the annuity]; and it also consists in the many people who, having the silk, would occupy themselves in its production, culture, and preparation, who will consume and use a great quantity of food. That would cause an excise duty on the food of more than one hundred thousand additional ducados per year; but this income would cease if the production and cultivation of the silk ceased, and his Majesty would lose the said one hundred thousand ducados. Besides, the said silk paying, as it does, three hundred and two maravedis per libra--without reckoning the tenth, or the forty per cent on the gross price at which it is at once sold in the alcaicerias--as soon as it is sold, while there would be less produced and sold, and the price of it would be lower, the duties will be less. And since the silk of China does not pay more than fifteen per cent of import tax and excise, because it is foreign, his Majesty loses twenty-five per cent on each libra of the silk of the kingdom of Granada. That silk is produced in less quantity by the importation of that of China; and since our silk pays higher duties than the foreign--either because of its excellent quality, or because it is native, or for some other reason--that freedom from duties ought to be extended to it rather than to the Chinese silk, instead of burdening it with greater duties. These latter should be imposed upon the Chinese silk, so that, less of it being imported for that reason, less money would be taken from Nueva España to Filipinas for its purchase; while more money would be brought to these kingdoms. That would result in greater investments and cargoes, and more silk would be produced in these kingdoms. For so little silk has been produced in the kingdom of Granada for the last two years, because of its little sale and value and its great cost, that the duties from the revenues of their silk have been worth thirty thousand ducados less each of those two years than they were worth during the years before. Two signal losses have resulted from that, and they will become greater every day, and more irreparable. The first is that as so little silk is produced, and the producers have left the leaves on the mulberry-trees, the trees have come to such a pass that for lack of pruning and care they will be ruined in little time and destroyed--so that when one may try to remedy them he will be unable. The other is that the little silk that has been produced has been of so little profit to the producers because of its diminished value during this time--on account of the quantity of foreign silk that has been imported and its better sale, because of the lower price at which it has been sold--that the said producers and the holders of the annuity grants have not had sufficient means to pay the said annuities; and for the last two years they have owed his Majesty two hundred thousand ducados. It will be impossible to pay that sum and what shall be owing in the future years, as long as the importation and sale of that foreign silk is not prohibited. But if that be done, the production will be increased, and the trade and value [of the Spanish silk] will return to its former figure. By that benefit all the producers will be encouraged to persevere in it, and will cause greater duties, not only for the larger amount of silk that there will be, but in the excise duty for the consumption of food. The producers will have the means to pay what they owe on the annuities that are due and will fall due. And although the silks will be dearer than now, the greater durability of what will be made from them, because of their good quality and worth, will make them cheaper. For if the Chinese silk is not imported, nor ours mixed with it (which is the thing that spoils, harms, and damages ours), what is woven will never break, and will not be dear at any price. The money [now] invested in the silk of China and taken to that country will come to these kingdoms, and will be invested in our silks and merchandise and the returns from them will continue to increase both in the increase of the royal revenues, and in the universal welfare of his Majesty's vassals. Thus will it be seen in a very short time how well advised has been the decision that will be made in the prohibition of the said silks of China, as well as the great damage that its importation has caused. Besides, the danger of navigation will not be so great, because of both its less distance and its greater safety; nor will there be so many losses of ships and property as there arc continually now. This trade will proceed with less coercion by the enemies; consequently, the power of the latter will not be so great, nor will the depredations that they commit on our own coasts by robbing us have to be feared. That is all worth very considerable thought, in order that one may see how just is this claim, and so that the remedy for this difficulty be procured, as it is the one that demands reform most urgently of all that now present themselves to our attention.

_Juan Velazquez Madrco_

[_Endorsed in writing_: [55] "Arguments why the silk of China should not be admitted into the Yndias or into España. October 7, 628." "File it with the papers that treat of this matter."]

DECREES REGARDING THE CHINESE

The King. To Don Juan Niño de Tavora, member of my Council of war, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein, or the person or persons in whose charge their government may be: Fray Melchor de Manzano, of the Order of St. Dominic, has reported to me, in the name of the Chinese living in those islands, that the said Chinese pay me annually sixty-four reals in silver for the sole purpose of remaining in that country, in addition to five more, which is the usual tribute, and twelve more for the treasury, which are spent in assessments for affairs of my service; and that, for a few years back, the alcaldes-mayor have introduced the practice that no Chinese enter or live in their districts without their permission (even though they have yours), and the permission given by the alcaldes-mayor is for a very short period, in order to get from them the fees for the said permission very frequently. Although orders have been issued in this matter by that Audiencia of mine, prohibiting the granting of the said permissions, those orders have not been obeyed. On the contrary, those officials proceed in their own interest, and oblige the Chinese at the same time to attend to the service of the city, by going to fish and to provide all the necessaries of life; and, whenever they go they experience many annoyances. He petitions me that I will be pleased to order that, since the Chinese pay so large fees to live in that country, the permissions that you shall grant them be valid in all the districts of the said alcaldes-mayor; and that the latter take no other fee, or the former have no need of any other permission, besides yours; and that for yours not more than one real in silver be collected. If the expedition made by the said Chinese should not last longer than one month, the permission of the alcalde-mayor of their district will be sufficient, and they shall not be obliged to get another in that place to which they go, within the said month. That given by the said alcalde-mayor shall not carry fees in excess of one-half real. If the alcalde-mayor of the Parián grant such permission, he shall collect no fee, since the said Chinese pay ten pesos to him, and the same amount to the clerk of the salary fund. Having examined the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it advisable to refer the matter herein contained to you, so that you may provide that the said Chinese be not annoyed or molested, in order that there may be no occasion for their coming to complain; and you shall advise the said my royal Council of the Indias of the correction that you shall apply in this matter. Madrid, June 8, 1628

_I The King_ By order of the king our sovereign: _Don Fernando Ruiz de Contreras_

The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia resident in the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands: Fray Melchor Manzano, of the Order of Preachers, in the name of the Chinese living in those islands has reported to me that it has been ordered for the security of the islands that the Chinese live in the village of the Parián, outside the walls of that city; but that for a few years past they have been scattered among different settlements outside of the said village. There with difficulty can the wrongs experienced at various times by such settlements be righted, as many of them do not go to mass or hear the word of God, but indulge in excessive gambling, to their own hurt and that of the inhabitants of that city. Any insurrection can easily be feared because they can arrange one very safely in the said settlements, where they can hold secret assemblies and meetings--from which resulted the impositions, false testimonies one against another, and false witnesses; and the fortifications of the walls of that city are in great danger. For if the said Chinese live in the village of the Parián, one can derive from that means to fortify the walls and prevent destruction and losses; but if they live outside the Parián, that will be lacking, and consequently the safety of that city [will be endangered]. I have been petitioned that I be pleased to order, under severe penalties, that no Chinese be permitted to have a dwelling outside the Parián; and that those now outside return there, except the married Christians who may live in the village of Vindanoc [i.e., Binondo], which has been assigned to them. Having examined the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it fitting to refer the matter to you, so that you may proceed in it with all the haste that may be advisable for the service of God our Lord and my own, in order that those troubles cease. You shall advise me of what you shall do, on the first opportunity. Madrid, August 17, 1628.

_I The King_

By order of his Majesty: _Don Fernando Ruiz de Contreras_

The King. To Don Juan Niño de Tavora, member of my Council of War, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein, or the person or persons in whose charge their government may be: I ordered you by a decree of September 10, 627, to appoint to the office of protector of the Sangley Chinese (which was held by the fiscal of that Audiencia) a person who should prove competent, with the salary that was assigned to him; and to order that my said fiscal of those regions exercise the office no longer. You were ordered to charge the person whom you thus appointed to watch over the said Sangley Chinese most carefully, so that they might not be troubled or annoyed, or any ill-treatment shown them; and that any balance left any year in the fund that he keeps should remain there, in order that the Sangleys may be assessed so much less the following year. When that order was executed, you were to inform me of what had been done and what took place in respect to those who are mentioned in the said decree, as well as the advantages or troubles that its execution might cause, as is contained more in detail in the decree, to which I refer. Doctor Don Juan de Quesada Hurtado de Mendoza, whom I have appointed as my fiscal of that Audiencia, has reported to me that, having petitioned that the documents be given to him as to his predecessors, and one of them being the decree that orders that the fiscal of that my Audiencia be the protector of the natives and the Sangleys, he found that the above decree had been despatched, ordering you to appoint a competent person. The cause therefor was that Fray Melchor Manzano, of the Order of St. Dominic, urged it for private purposes, until he actually obtained it. The fiscal declared that it was advisable for my service to have the decree suspended, and that my fiscals of that Audiencia exercise the said office, as they had always done; and that the said Fray Melchor Manzano, while he was in those islands, and other religious of his order, having made themselves protectors of the said Sangleys, and having petitioned the governor to order that the fiscal be not the protector of them, and that the salary of whoever should be protector be moderated, the said governor did not change the custom of whether the fiscal should or should not be the protector. In regard to the salary, it was moderated only to eight hundred pesos. When the matter came before that my Audiencia, it declared by acts of examination and review that the said protection pertained to the said my fiscal. In consideration of that, Don Fernando de Silva, my governor _ad interim_ of those islands, ordered that the said acts be executed; and that, in conformity with them, the office of protector of natives and Sangleys be exercised by Licentiate Marcos Zapata de Galvèz, my fiscal of that my Audiencia at that time. I am petitioned, in consideration of that, to be pleased to have a decree despatched ordering that he and other fiscals who shall succeed him in that my Audiencia be protectors of the said Sangleys and natives, as they have been, notwithstanding the ruling of the said decree of September 10, 627. Having examined the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, together with what Licentiate Juan Pardo, my fiscal therein, stated and alleged--for I wish to know whether the Sangleys have need of that protector and whether they ask for him--I order you to inform me of what you find out concerning this; and in case that it appears necessary that they have one, I order you and that Audiencia to appoint six persons who may be suitable for such protector. You shall cause such nominations to be sent to the said my Council, so that it may indicate that one of the six appointees who is most suitable. He must not have trade or business relations with the said Sangleys; and the one named by the said Council shall be, for the time being, the one who shall seem most suitable to the Council. Madrid, March 27, 1629.

_I The King_

By order of his Majesty: _Andres de Rozas_

RELATIONS OF 1628-29