of España and to the royal duties, of which they are depriving his Majesty with so many illicit importations [of foreign goods]. 11. Many other difficulties which would ensue from the abandonment of these islands can be seen in the Extracto historial [126] of the commerce of Philipinas, to which I refer--contenting myself, lastly, with calling attention to what we have lost by the Dutch having made themselves masters of the Molucas, the commerce of which has compensated them for the enormous expenses which they incurred. This subject also is treated by the said Extracto historial, and by the chronicles or histories of these islands. It is sufficient to say that the Dutch have enriched themselves with the cloves and spices of the Molucas, from which the Spaniards obtained nothing but great expenses, with no mercantile advantage; that with the said products they have drained the silver from our dominions; and that with this money they have waged most cruel war against us. 12. Let a computation be made of the expense which the Molucas caused us, and of the loss which we have experienced from abandoning them; and even he who is least versed [in such matters] will concede that the latter is vastly greater than the former. For ten years' expenditures for preserving the Molucas are not equal to the increase of strength which we have given every year to our enemies since they gained possession of those islands. I assert that we would not have abandoned that valuable piece of territory if our Spaniards had been as industrious and assiduous in trading as are the Dutch; or if they had realized what they lost, which has been the immense treasures which the Dutch have gained. But ours is the singular misfortune that we regard the land as useless that does not abound in silver; nor will we consent to be convinced that commerce is the most safe of mines, if the products which our provinces yield are promoted, cultivated, and worked up. 13. The importance of the Molucas was not thoroughly understood until we lost them; nor will the loss resulting from the abandonment of the Philipinas be realized until they are in the power of some other nation, less indolent and negligent than ours. Then their exceedingly rich products--cinnamon, cloves, pepper, nutmegs, cotton, gold, iron, and the others which are yielded in great abundance (as will be said in its place)--will be cultivated and gathered up; those foreigners will sell us these very fruits, which now we cannot appreciate, and with them will take away our money; and in any war we shall be ruined by the gains which our abandonment [of the islands] will produce to those [who possess them].