The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 08 of 55: 1591-1593; 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, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 08 of 55: 1591-1593; 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, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
To the fifth question he said that all the evils and difficulties and
offenses against God, our Lord, mentioned in these questions will
disappear if the said ordinance is properly executed; for all the
natives would work, and the country be well supplied with crops and
provisions, and a surplus sufficient for the maintenance of all the
natives and Spaniards, as before the coming of the Sangleys, and the
money which the Chinese now carry from this country to their own would
remain here. Indeed, if these traders stopped coming altogether, the
islands would not lack supplies; as for clothing, the natives could
dress in their own stuffs, which are three times better than those
brought from China; and, besides what they make for their own garments,
they could make a large quantity for trade with the Spaniards; thus
would be kept in this country a very large sum of money, and thus
all this country would be wealthy and prosperous. This has not been
accomplished hitherto because the natives, for the reasons before
mentioned, will not weave their stuffs as they used to. And, besides
all this, there would be an end of the very great injury caused by the
Sangley's buying the raw cotton and taking it to his own country, to
be there worked into cloth, which again is brought to these islands
for sale. Best of all, there would be an end of all the evils and
offenses which the question mentions, and for which a remedy is most
important. Thus he replied to this question.
To the sixth question he replied that everything said in the
questions in regard to the Chinese and the trading with them, before
the Spaniards had come, is true; that so matters were wont to be in
these islands. Where the natives had not the kinds of goods mentioned
in the question, they paid for them in rice and gold, which is very
advantageous to the Chinese. If they continue to come and seek to
trade with the natives, the arrangement described in the question
would be very advantageous to both parties; and the Chinese would no
longer draw from the country the large quantities of money which they
have taken away yearly. Thus he replied to this question.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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