See Raynal's account of the policy pursued in the New World by Spain, its results on both that country and the colonies, and the elements of weakness in it, in Etab. et com. des Européens, ii, pp. 290-356. [11] Spanish comercio, a word which has numerous meanings, according to the context; here evidently meaning a chamber of commerce, or an executive committee to look after the interests of the shippers. [12] At the outset, Pintado makes some statements to the effect that the Council of the Indias had taken the action which led to the decree of 1734, without consulting Cadiz, and had made certain inquiries and consultations with the Manila deputies alone. A marginal note by Abreu corrects this, saying, "Not only with the deputies; for the fiscal of the Council was heard [on the subject], who is impartial between the two commercial bodies." [13] The Manila deputies, however, claimed that the decree of 1726 did not reach the islands until 1730, so that it was first put into practice in that year, the five years' term, therefore, including the shipment of 1734. (Extracto, fol. 150, 185 and verso, 190 verso.) [14] One of the tables at the end of Raynal's atlas volume gives an itemized list of the cargoes carried by the "last eight Spanish trading-fleets to Vera Cruz"--that is, the last eight preceding Raynal's work. Their cargoes were of the following amounts: in 1733 (under command of Torrez), 618,595 cubic palmos; 1735 (Pintado's), 620,000; 1757 (Villena's), 618,557; 1760 (Reggio's), 841,717; 1765 (Idiaques's), 486,943; 1768 (Tilly's), 452,282; 1772 (Cordova's), 914,807; 1776 (Ulloa's), 934,366. But one of these fleets carried cinnamon, that of 1735; and cloves appear only in the trifling amount of 50 quintals, in 1768. The chief articles enumerated--which appear in every year's list--are paper, wax, iron, steel; brandy, wine, and oil; and unbleached stuffs [linens?] from Brabant. Quicksilver was carried in only 1765 and 1768, 7,506 and 8,000 quintals respectively. Wrought iron was sent in five of these shipments, but in no considerable quantity except in 1765, when also was sent 2,724 barrels of tin-plate (in other cargoes, in but trifling amounts). Silk ribbons made a solitary appearance in 1757, to the extent of 1,000 pieces--as did 1,000 "swords to be mounted with hilts," in 1765. The last two fleets carried consignments of gun-flints, respectively 650 and 386 thousand-weight.