The above is not the sole motive of the Dutch for desiring to gain control of the Filipinas, but they recognize that they are, by their location, the most suitable of all the islands in the Orient for carrying on the general commerce of these kingdoms and nations. Already we have discussed the domestic and private commerce that is now conducted, which is scanty and limited; and we have stated that what most enriches the islands, and makes them most valuable, is the foreign trade. For it is rich and of great volume, and furnishes so great profits to the European merchants that, for the sake of these, in spite of the expenses, risks, and dangers of so long a voyage, the Portuguese go to seek it by way of India, the Castilians by Nueva España; the Turks by way of Persia, the Venetians by way of Egipto; and the Dutch, now by the Eastern route, entering India, or by the Western, crossing the immense open stretch of the South Sea, or even by way of the north and Nueva Zembla. Number 21. Estimation of the commerce of the Orient, and its condition That commerce, then, consists, according to what the Filipinas can enjoy of it, in different products and trades because of the difference of the kingdoms or islands with which they do or can communicate. And inasmuch as the explanation of this commerce is the chief part of the matter; and so that one may see in what estimation it has always been held, and what it deserves, and that there is no other medium by which to maintain this crown except by the conservation of India and the Filipinas: we will here describe, as briefly as possible, the times through which that trade has run, and its varying conditions up to the present. Now it all belongs to the two royal crowns of Castilla and Portugal, but it is usurped in part from both by the Dutch, whose only aim is to secure possession of it; and this they will attain on that day when either of the two extremes presented [for which these--_MS._] which are maintained shall fail. [23] Number 22. Oriental commerce; why it is valued For many centuries has the oriental commerce been known as the foremost, and most valuable and rich in the world, as appears from Divine and human writings. [24] The kingdoms of Europa, Asia Minor, and part of Africa produce, for their mutual intercourse, certain fruits almost the same, and commodities for merchandise, which differ rather in quality or quantity than in essence. But in Asia and the regions of the Orient, God created some things so precious in the estimation of men, and so peculiar to those provinces, that, as they are only found or manufactured therein, they are desired and sought by the rest of the world. Accordingly, different voyages and routes have been taken, which have been varied by the change of monarchies, on which such accidents depend. Number 23. Beginnings of the Oriental commerce by way of Persia