Even before the coming of Basco, the taking of Manila by the English in 1762 had a good economic effect, for it acquainted England with the natural resources of the Philippines, and the possibilities for material development. [143] Perhaps as a result of the information thus gained, we find an English commercial house obtaining permission to establish itself in Manila in 1809. And in 1814, probably due to the liberalizing influence of the war of independence just closed in Spain, it was stipulated that all colonial ports still restricted should be opened to foreign traffic, and that foreigners should be allowed to enter, and engage in commercial activities; thus was swept away the restrictive colonial policy, which had prevailed among the European nations, and which Spain was the very last to abandon. In the beginning, however, there was need of special royal permission for each foreign house established. Later on the permission of the Governor General only sufficed. [144] An earlier edict of the Philippine government, repeated in 1828 and again in 1840, forbade foreigners to sell at retail or to enter the provinces to carry on business of any kind. [145] In 1842 there were in Manila thirty-nine Spanish shipping and commercial houses, and about a dozen foreign houses, of which seven or eight were English, two were Americans, one was French, and another Danish, while consuls of France, the United States, Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium resided there. [146] By about 1859, according to Bowring, there were in Manila seven English, three American, two French, two Swiss, and one German commercial establishments; and in the other ports, there was no European business house, except one in Iloilo, where there was an English firm of which the British vice-consul was the directing partner. [147] Once Manila was opened, the advocates of greater freedom did not rest content with only one free port, because there were great difficulties in connection with the exportation of products from the places far from Manila. The products of the Ilocano provinces, southern Luzon, and the Visayas, and even Mindanao, had all to be taken to Manila, and from there, exported. Thus, the system entailed unnecessary risks, waste of time, and extra expense. [148] Accordingly, at the request of the government of the Philippines, Royal Order of September 29, 1855, approved the opening of the ports of Sual (Pangasinan), Iloilo, and Zamboanga. And lastly, by Royal Decree of July 30, 1860, Cebu, which up to that time was obliged to send her products for exportation either to Manila or Iloilo, was opened. Effects of the opening of the ports.