The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 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, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 51]

150

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. 5 I

When, without risking any capital of his own, the
merchant might thus share the enormous profits of
this trade, with no more exertion than signing the
invoices and letters (they were written by Indian
clerks), and receiving the treasure on the return of
the vessel, it is not surprising that for nearly two
centuries they neglected all the other commercial
advantages which surrounded them, or that such a
commerce produced such merchants: the history of
it and of them for that period may be confined to
a few words:-they were the agents of the merchants
of Madras and Bengal, receiving and shipping their
goods, and returning their proceeds, while their profits were confined to a large commission on them.'1
This trade was anciently confined to a single ship
annually, the famous Galleon. She was fitted out,
manned and armed, at the king's expense, and commanded by a king's officer. This was reimbursed by
a duty of 33 I-3 per cent. on the registered cargo,
the merchants contributing to her provisionment,
back, the interest was always repaid,-which of course entitled
them to borrow again, till a fortunate loss made them independent.
And where every body did this, no one thought it incorrect.
107 It is not here meant to controvert the principle of this
kind of commerce being at times the most lucrative that can be
carried on; but to remark, that had it not been for the strange
system of trading just described, the restrictive system, and the
monopoly of the Phillippine Company, the activity and ingenuity
of private traders would have discovered other branches of commerce, and with them, that their own produce might suffice to
pay for the piece goods of Bengal. As an instance, the English
and every other nation of Europe have for a century carried betelnut to China, but from the Phillippines not a nut was exported -
it was a royal monopoly! and the merchants and growers were
thus deprived of about half a million of dollars annually, that the
king might pocket 30,000. Many other instances might be cited.