Kitabı oku: «The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 30 of 55», sayfa 6

Informatory decree, in regard to opening the commerce between the kingdoms of Perù and Nueva España

The King. To the reverend father in Christ, Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, bishop of the cathedral church of the city of Puebla de los Angeles, [etc. Here follows a preamble identical with that of the first decree, as explained in the second one. This decree continues:]

Both Perù and Nueva España oppose the method followed in the commerce of the said Philipinas Islands, and complain of the above prohibitions, setting forth certain difficulties which result from closing to them the commerce which those two most opulent states have maintained (as it were, by nature) between themselves; the chief of these is their being entirely deprived of the mutual intercourse and relations which ought to prevail between them. On this account, another permission of two ships has been granted to them. One of these shall sail every year from the port of Callao de Lima, and may carry to that of Acapulco silver to the amount of 200,000 ducados, for investment in the products peculiar to Nueva España – whether of agriculture, stock-raising, or manufacture – and no others, even those sent from these kingdoms. The other ship shall return from Acapulco to Callao with these proceeds [of the investment], the prohibition of cloth from China remaining in force; and the decree declares that none of that cloth may be sent in return for the 200,000 ducados, nor outside of that amount, enforcing its execution by heavy penalties [imposed] by the decrees of December 31, 1604, and March 8 and June 20, 1620. By these decrees final shape was given to this permission which now is suspended; and it was ordered to cease by a decree of November 23, 1634, without the reason which had given cause for this act being known – further than the measures which had been proposed for ruining the islands, and this, that the ships of Perù might not sail to Acapulco, to the so great harm of the Philipinas Islands, as this alone would be enough to ruin them. For if ships do not go from Perù, the islands remain exposed to the failure of their aid, in the year when their ships do not make the voyage, by having been wrecked, or forced to put back to port, or having arrived late. As in such cases, it is usual to make good their deficiency with the ships from Perù, sending in them the usual succor of men and money, if the latter do not go, and the others do not come [to Acapulco], there will not be ships for that purpose, and the islands might remain for several years without the succor that supports them, at the evident risk of being ruined. To this may be added, that there are, as will be stated, in Nueva España more than fourteen thousand persons who sustain themselves with the industry of silk-raising and silk manufacture, by express permission, and the order that this industry be preserved. It cannot be maintained with only the silk that is produced in that country, the total amount of which is very small, and it therefore employs the silk that comes from Manila, as being suitable for delicate fabrics. The silk fabrics of Nueva España have always been exported to Perù, as commodities included in the trade permitted to those countries, which was mainly composed of these stuffs; while the fabrics of China remained for meeting the expenses of the country, which regularly consumed all that came thence. Since the exportation of what formerly went to Perù has ceased, the necessary result is that these goods remain and are consumed in Nueva España, as being its own product, and that just so much less of the Chinese silk is required – which is substituted in place of the home product when the former goods are imported through the permission – and necessarily less of the other is produced. Besides taking away their occupation from the people who are engaged in the silk industry, this will cause an evident diminution in the commerce of Philipinas, the bulk of which consists in silks; for just so much less of what the islands export is consumed [in Nueva España] as cannot be sold out of what is produced there – which will be an amount so noticeable that with this reduction alone that commerce will become excessively weakened. This has been already proved in regard to the last ships which came from those islands – for, as they failed to come the previous year, they found no market for their goods, and could not sell enough of these even to pay the freight charges and the duties, according to letters from Nueva España and authentic documents; it is, therefore, very expedient that the permission given to Perù should be revived, else, by not conceding it, a great reduction is feared in that of Philipinas. If, when that permission was granted, the matter was discussed with adequate information, and the advantages which there might be on either side were considered, and now if no new reasons or circumstances arise which compel the decision to be suspended beyond the fact that Francisco de Victoria contrived such expedients, without heeding other objects, so that it seems as if he cared only for the abandonment and ruin of the islands, no opportunity should be given for that suspension. Even if the memorials which [Don Juan Grau] has furnished on the other topics prove to be sufficiently answered, and their arguments are shown to be weak or false, it must not be understood that there are better ones for what concerns the permission given to Perù; but no answer is made here, save in what pertains to the Philipinas, for the rest concerns Nueva España and Perù, who will give fuller explanations. And, considering the evident injury and risk to which the islands are exposed by the lack of freight ships that can sail thither, since in case the ships belonging to the commerce are wrecked, or forced to take refuge in other ports, or arrive late, the islands will perish if there are no other ships in which to send the usual succor of men and money: and since freight vessels are not built, which is necessary in all the coasts of Nueva España, this deficiency must be supplied some years by the ships from Perù that go to Acapulco – which do not sail now, on account of the permission which was given for that purpose being suspended – from which also result to the islands the losses which have been set forth in the said memorial, which are stated anew in this petition, because it is so expedient that the traffic between Nueva España and Perù be restored: [Don Juan Grau] has petitioned me to consent to raise the suspension, or prohibition, which is laid or imposed on the said permission of Perù and Nueva España, even though, for its fulfilment and better observance, the penalties be increased so far as is expedient. This matter having been considered in my royal Council of the Indias, as I desire to ascertain the advantages or disadvantages which may result from the aforesaid measure, whether to my greater service, to the increase or diminution of my royal dues, to the preservation of my vassals of the said Philipinas Islands, or to their relief or injury: I request and charge you to inform me very thoroughly of all that you shall ascertain and understand to be most expedient, in order that when I have considered all the reliable information in your report, I may take such measures as may be most fitting. Done at Madrid, February 14, in the year 1640.

I the King

By command of the king our sovereign:

Don Gabrièl de Ocaña y Alarcòn

Decree in which his Majesty commands that a hearing be given in a court of justice to the citizens of the city of Manila, regarding their claim that they be not included in the condemnations and compositions of the 900,000 pesos; and [it is declared] that it is his Majesty’s intention that they should not pay what they do not owe

The King. To the reverend father in Christ, Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, bishop of the cathedral church of Tlaxcala,¹⁵ member of my royal Council of the Indias, to whom I have entrusted the general visitation of my royal Audiencia of the City of Mexico in Nueva España and of its tribunals, and the visitation of the port of Acapulco, and other affairs very important for my service. [Most of this decree is omitted, as being only a repetition, in the main, of statements in Grau’s memorial preceding. The king rehearses the injuries done to Philippine commerce, the arguments pro and con an increase of duties, and the representations by the citizens of Manila in behalf of their petition for relief; and continues: ] What they entreat with the humility belonging to my vassals, and set forth with arguments of expediency and good government, subject in everything to what shall be for my greater service, is that what is past be punished, but not so as to inflict the same penalty on those whose guilt is unequal; for if there shall prove to be guilt, it must be because they were induced to it more by their need and hardships than by the profits on their investments; and it is the fact that whatever they have acquired by these is known to be but a small part of the means which they have at present, and they have spent it and intend to spend it in serving me and in preserving those islands at the cost of their blood and property. They ask that for the present attention be given to what is hidden and concealed, and that this be diminished and reduced to the amount permitted and regulated; and that, until they know in the islands what they ought to do, and what new decrees shall be issued, those penalties be not carried out against the citizens, and that they shall not be punished for what they have committed through ignorance. They ask that for the future the duties be not increased on what shall be found within the amount permitted, whether in silver or merchandise; that no innovations be made in the appraisement of the goods, nor by opening the packages or measuring them, through any different method from that which has been [hitherto] observed and followed, since (as is very evident) they pay more than they are able to; and they state that the despatch of the two ships was included and is still contained in the composition of the 600,000 pesos for the year 1635 – a proposition very plain and undisputed, which does not admit of doubt, since it is expressly, clearly, and distinctly stipulated, noted, and agreed in the document which was executed regarding this matter, the first section of which reads as follows: “First: that in this agreement shall be set down and included the two ships which are expected to come from the Philipinas Islands this present year, or early in this coming year of 1636, to this Nueva España with registry; and if one or both of them shall not have sailed, or shall not sail, from the said islands, or if they be forced to put back to port, this agreement shall hold good regarding those which shall come in the following year, at whatever time therein; and the ship which shall not sail this year may do so next year, so that there will be two vessels; and they may land at the port of Acapulco in this Nueva España the goods that they carry, paying to his Majesty his customary royal dues, without those goods being seized; nor can anything be confiscated thereon in case each person declares what he shall carry, in conformity with the proclamation which will be issued. [This goes] with declaration that if (which may God not permit) the ship be wrecked at sea, or plundered by enemies, no other shipment be allowed.” It does not seem as if the persons who drew up and signed this contract could state more contingencies regarding the voyage of these ships, in order that these might be included in the document, since they set down the following: sailing in the year 1635; being obliged to put back to port, and being shipwrecked; sailing not in that year, but in the following one, that of 1636; arriving at Acapulco in that year, or in 1637 at whatever time therein; one ship arriving, and the other being obliged to go back to port, or not sailing at all; and finally, settling beforehand the account and despatch of two ships which would arrive after the date of the contract and agreement, up to the completion of the said year 1637. Moreover, the necessary declarations were made as to the cargo of the ships: that it must pay the customary dues, all goods being declared; and that, if this alone were done, they could not be confiscated, even though they should come outside of the registry, for this is meant by declaring them. The facts of the case were, in all these matters, that the ships did not sail in the year 1635, but in 1636, and reached Acapulco at the beginning of 1637 – a voyage included and expressly stated in the [aforesaid] document. In this case, conformably to the section which is here copied, it could not and cannot be doubted that these two ships were the first to arrive after the agreement, within the limit set therein, and with the permitted amount of goods registered – not only as that amount had always come, but with more rigorous and orderly [inspection]. As for the landing of the goods, this was done as the above section directed; for Don Pedro de Quiroga, when the ships cast anchor, caused proclamation to be made that all should declare whatever goods they carried; with this, and the severity which he exercised in permitting the goods to be removed from the ships, not a bale was concealed, or considered as such, nor was anything seized as contraband. [The king then mentions Quiroga’s rigorous and oppressive measures, almost in Grau’s own words, and continues:]

But it is a fact that, according to that agreement, what had to be done was to appraise all that came registered – as had been done during the six years before, to which the commission extended without making any kind of innovation, since the contract was that they had to collect the customary dues; and if anything came outside the registry, its owners, by declaring it in accordance with the proclamation (as they did declare it), had to pay the same dues, freight charges, and alcavala as did the registered merchandise – which is the same practice as that in Sevilla when, at the arrival of the galleons, my royal decree regarding declarations is issued and proclaimed. And this the proclamation of Don Pedro de Quiroga could not exceed, because it was of the same character, not only on account of his own official position, but by the obligation of the contract. Such was the proper course of action, according to justice and reason, and conformably to the contract approved by the viceroy and the visitor and by me; and since, in virtue of his document,¹⁶ the 400,000 pesos of the two thirds of 1636 and 1637 were already collected. What he did was to contravene all this, the same as if such usage had not been current; [but in that case] such a composition would not have been made, nor such a contract drawn up. For, as if the ships were not included in the agreement, whatever they carried was immediately seized (as has been stated), saying that it was confiscated – not for coming outside of registry, since of this sort there was nothing belonging to the citizens of the islands; but because the permitted amount came registered,¹⁷ as it always has come and ought to come, in order to fulfil therein the condition of the document, which was that each chest be carried as one pico of silk, to which is introduced the addition of a quarter, from which Manila has made petition. For if it were not with the express condition that these ships should be thus despatched, there would have been no reason for mentioning them in the agreement. Besides, they conformed to the order of which Don Pedro de Quiroga notified the islands, as appeared by a section of his letter, inserted in a document which the governor wrote to the city of Manila, which reads thus: “We have been expecting the ships which thus far have not arrived, by which we deem it certain that they have been obliged to take refuge in port; and in order that the service of his Majesty, to which your Lordship is always so attentive, may be furthered, it is necessary for me to express my opinion (as you commanded me, in your instructions) that all the goods which go registered in the ships, even if there be more of them than the 250,000 pesos of the permission, should remain free, by paying the dues at the port of Acapulco; and the same should be done with those that are not registered, if they are declared in the said port within twenty-four hours after the vessel casts anchor.” This was the proclamation which I ordered to be made; and that if the said ships should sail from that city, or after sailing should put back into port, they might come freely the following year with the said merchandise; and this was the order that the visitor sent to Manila, and which the governor executed to the letter. In accordance with it, the ships sailed, according to the agreement and its first condition; from this is positively known the notorious injury and injustice which has been done to all those engaged in this commerce who took part in the first composition – compelling them by severe measures to enter upon the second one, and to pay or be obliged to pay for it the said 300,000 pesos, endeavoring to deprive them of having recourse to my clemency with a protest. For even if there had been (as was not the case) the same or greater infractions of law in those two ships than in all the preceding years, as these cannot be of different character from those of the past, and from those included in the commissions of Don Pedro de Quiroga, they should in justice, and by obligation and legitimate contract, agreed to and executed, be included and contained in the composition of the 600,000 pesos; and in virtue of that agreement ought to have been despatched as usual, without making accusation or fixing blame for what they carried registered, or was declared at Acapulco. The islands therefore claim that they ought not to be included in the first composition, and that what they have paid ought to be restored to them and is imposed upon them when they do not owe it, on account of the said composition. They also claim that the second composition, to which those who signed the document were compelled, ought to be declared null and void; that all who were involved therein be set free from their obligation; and that what they shall have paid or contributed for its fulfilment and execution be returned and restored to them. [The king here enumerates (again in Grau’s language) the losses which these rigorous measures have caused to his royal exchequer, the injuries and dangers thus occasioned to the Philippines, and the services rendered to the crown by its citizens;] notwithstanding that in a letter of September 2, 1638, I thought best to inform the said city of Manila that in regard to the citizens of those islands being included in the former compositions made by the said Don Pedro de Quiroga, my royal intention was that they should not pay what they did not owe. And since this depended on the acts and the general decision which Don Pedro de Quiroga made regarding these compositions, in which the citizens of the islands claim they were not included, the judge was notified to proceed in those commissions, in order that he might hear them and administer justice as was fitting, affording redress to those who had been injured. In conformity therewith, I have considered it well to issue the present, by which I commission you, and give you all the power and authority that is required by law in order that, after hearing them, you may administer justice, and furnish redress to those who shall have been wronged in whatever has been represented to me; for such is my will. Done at Madrid, February 14, 1640.

I the King

By command of the king our sovereign:

Don Gabrièl de Ocaña y Alarcòn

History of the Dominican Province of the Holy Rosary

By Fray Diego Aduarte, O.P.

[Aduarte’s work¹⁸ is here presented, partly in full translation, partly in synopsis – the latter portions being, as usual, printed within brackets.]