A Spanish officer in Manila, Manuel de Santistevan, writes to a cousin in Spain (January 28, 1730), giving the latter an account of his friendly relations with the new governor of Filipinas, Fernando Valdés Tamón; of various family affairs of his own; and of the troubles which he has experienced at the hands of the members of the Audiencia, who envy his intimacy with the governor and endeavor to undermine it. He has a quarrel with his father-in-law, a passionate, scheming, and selfish man; but it is patched up by the intervention of the governor and archbishop, and they are nominally reconciled. At the same time, Santistevan and his wife, who had had difficulties, are reunited. He asks his correspondent to secure for him several favors from the court: a certain amount of lading-space on the Acapulco galleon; an appointment to a governorship in one of the Spanish colonies; the command of the Acapulco galleon in which he hopes to leave the Philippines; and reimbursement for some property belonging to his wife which was seized by the viceroy of Mexico, on account of the late Governor Bustamante's debts to the crown.
At this point we resume the history of Philippine commerce with Nueva España which is presented in the Extracto historial (Madrid, 1736), the first two "periods" of which appeared in VOL. XXX of this series. On account of its great length and the necessary limitations of the space available to us, we are obliged to condense and abridge much of this work; but "Periods" ii-vi are given in full (save for the text of some long decrees). The third of these gives no information regarding that commerce from 1640 to the end of that century, save that the viceroy of Mexico made remonstrances during 1684-86 as to the difficulties which embarrassed the Mexican government in collecting duties and preventing frauds; and that in 1697 royal decrees command a stricter enforcement in Mexico of the existing laws and regulations for that commerce. This proceeding disturbs the merchants of Manila, who ask for more freedom and the removal of certain restrictions. Along with this, the Spanish government is beset by demands from its American colonies, who desire to profit by the Philippine commerce, and by remonstrances from the Spanish merchants who are being ruined by it. The government thereupon makes new regulations (August 12, 1702) for the Philippine trade, including some concessions to the Manila merchants--who nevertheless raise objections to some of them, as is shown by the governor's report; he makes some temporary concessions to them, which (with one exception) are not sustained by the home government. By its orders, the viceroy of Mexico makes an investigation (in 1712; "Period" iv) of the alleged illegal conduct of the Philippine-Mexican commerce, and finds very serious infractions of the law in many directions. A letter from the viceroy (dated August 4, 1714) to the king shows how these frauds are committed, and how difficult it is to prove them. He does all in his power to check or punish them, but conditions are such as to hamper his efforts and shield the guilty. Linares shows how these things are injuring the commerce of Filipinas and the interests of its native Spanish citizens, and places the whole matter before the home government for action thereon. The fifth "Period" is concerned with the injurious effects of that commerce on the industries and trade of the mother country, and the attempts of the government to remedy these. The merchants of Nueva España ask that the trading-fleets sent thither annually from Spain be discontinued, whereupon the royal Council ask for information on this subject from the commercial houses of Sevilla. The latter remonstrate against allowing the importation of Chinese goods into Nueva España, since this is ruining the commerce of Spain in that country. The Sevillans complain of the abuses in the Filipinas trade, and of the showy and cheap imitations of Spanish goods which the Chinese send by this agency to Acapulco, which have driven out the genuine articles and thus have ruined both the traders and the manufacturers of Spain. Moreover, the wealth of Nueva España is being drained into the heathen land of China. Accordingly, the Sevillans urge that severe restrictions be placed on the Manila-Acapulco trade, and that the Spanish trading fleets be sent regularly and often. As a result of this protest and of the proceedings in the Council, the king decrees (1718) that the trade in Chinese silken goods be henceforth prohibited.