Anson George
A Voyage Round the World
CHAPTER IX
FROM QUIBO TO THE COAST OF MEXICO
On the 12th of December we stood from Quibo to the westward, and the same day the commodore delivered fresh instructions to the captains of the men-of-war, and the commanders of our prizes, appointing them the rendezvouses they were to make and the courses they were to steer in case of a separation. And first, they were directed to use all possible dispatch in getting to the northward of the harbour of Acapulco, where they were to endeavour to fall in with the land between the latitudes of 18 and 19 degrees; from thence they were to beat up the coast at eight or ten leagues distance from the shore, till they came abreast of Cape Corientes, in the latitude of 20° 20'. After they arrived there, they were to continue cruising on that station till the 14th of February, when they were to depart for the middle island of the Tres Marias, in the latitude of 21° 25', bearing from Cape Corientes N.W. by N., twenty-five leagues distant. And if at this island they did not meet the commodore, they were there to recruit their wood and water, and then immediately to proceed for the island of Macao, on the coast of China. These orders being distributed to all the ships, we had little doubt of arriving soon upon our intended station, as we expected upon the increasing our offing from Quibo to fall in with the regular trade-wind. But, to our extreme vexation, we were baffled for near a month, either by tempestuous weather from the western quarter, or by dead calms and heavy rains, attended with a sultry air; so that it was the 25th of December before we saw the island of Cocos, which according to our reckoning was only a hundred leagues from the continent; and even then we had the mortification to make so little way that we did not lose sight of it again in five days.
This island we found to be in the latitude of 5° 20' N. It has a high hummock towards the western part, which descends gradually, and at last terminates in a low point to the eastward. From the island of Cocos we stood W. by N., and were till the 9th of January in running an hundred leagues more. We had at first flattered ourselves that the uncertain weather and western gales we met with were owing to the neighbourhood of the continent, from which, as we got more distant, we expected every day to be relieved, by falling in with the eastern trade-wind. But as our hopes were so long baffled, and our patience quite exhausted, we began at length to despair of succeeding in the great purpose we had in view, that of intercepting the Manila galeon. This produced a general dejection amongst us, as we had at first considered the project as almost infallible, and had indulged ourselves in the most boundless hopes of the advantages we should thence receive. However, our despondency was at last somewhat alleviated by a favourable change of the wind; for on the 9th of January a gale sprung up the first time from the N.E., and on this we took the Carmelo in tow, as the Gloucester did the Carmin, making all the sail we could to improve the advantage, because we still suspected that it was only a temporary gale which would not last long, though the next day we had the satisfaction to find that the wind did not only continue in the same quarter, but blew with so much briskness and steadiness that we no longer doubted of its being the true trade-wind. As we now advanced apace towards our station, our hopes began again to revive, and our former despair by degrees gave place to more sanguine prejudices; insomuch that though the customary season of the arrival of the galeon at Acapulco was already elapsed, yet we were by this time unreasonable enough to flatter ourselves that some accidental delay might, for our advantage, lengthen out her passage beyond its usual limits.
When we got into the trade-wind, we found no alteration in it till the 17th of January, when we were advanced to the latitude of 12° 50', but on that day it shifted to the westward of the north. This change we imputed to our having haled up too soon, though we then esteemed ourselves full seventy leagues from the coast; whence, and by our former experience, we were fully satisfied that the trade-wind doth not take place, but at a considerable distance from the continent. After this the wind was not so favourable to us as it had been. However, we still continued to advance, and, on the 26th of January, being then to the northward of Acapulco, we tacked and stood to the eastward, with a view of making the land.
In the preceding fortnight we caught some turtle on the surface of the water, and several dolphins, bonitoes, and albicores. One day, as one of the sailmaker's mates was fishing from the end of the gib-boom, he lost his hold and dropped into the sea, and the ship, which was then going at the rate of six or seven knots, went directly over him; but as we had the Carmelo in tow, we instantly called out to the people on board her, who threw him over several ends of ropes, one of which he fortunately caught hold of, and twisting it round his arm, he was thereby haled into the ship without having received any other injury than a wrench in the arm, of which he soon recovered.
When, on the 26th of January, we stood to the eastward, we expected, by our reckonings, to have fallen in with the land on the 28th, yet though the weather was perfectly clear, we had no sight of it at sunset, and therefore we continued our course, not doubting but we should see it by the next morning. About ten at night we discovered a light on the larboard bow, bearing from us N.N.E. The Tryal's prize, too, who was about a mile ahead of us, made a signal at the same time for seeing a sail. As we had none of us any doubt but what we saw was a ship's light, we were all extremely animated with a firm persuasion that it was the Manila galeon, which had been so long the object of our wishes. And what added to our alacrity was our expectation of meeting with two of them instead of one, for we took it for granted that the light in view was carried in the top of one ship for a direction to her consort. We immediately cast off the Carmelo, and pressed forward with all our canvas, making a signal for the Gloucester to do the same. Thus we chased the light, keeping all our hands at their respective quarters, under an expectation of engaging within half an hour, as we sometimes conceived the chace to be about a mile distant, and at other times to be within reach of our guns; for some on board us positively averred that besides the light they could plainly discern her sails. The commodore himself was so fully persuaded that we should be soon alongside of her that he sent for his first lieutenant, who commanded between decks, and directed him to see all the great guns loaded with two round shot for the first broadside, and after that with one round shot and one grape, strictly charging him, at the same time, not to suffer a gun to be fired till he, the commodore, should give orders, which, he informed the lieutenant, would not be till we arrived within pistol-shot of the enemy. In this constant and eager attention we continued all night, always presuming that another quarter of an hour would bring us up with this Manila ship, whose wealth, and that of her supposed consort, we now estimated by round millions. But when the morning broke, and daylight came on, we were most strangely and vexatiously disappointed, by finding that the light which had occasioned all this bustle and expectancy, was only a fire on the shore. It must be owned, the circumstances of this deception were so extraordinary as to be scarcely credible, for, by our run during the night, and the distance of the land in the morning, there was no doubt to be made but this fire, when we first discovered it, was above twenty-five leagues from us; and yet, I believe, there was no person on board who doubted of its being a ship's light, or of its being near at hand. It was indeed upon a very high mountain, and continued burning for several days afterwards; however, it was not a vulcano, but rather, as I suppose, a tract of stubble or heath, set on fire for some purpose of agriculture.
At sun-rising, after this mortifying delusion, we found ourselves about nine leagues off the land, which extended from the N.W. to E.½N. On this land we observed two remarkable hummocks, such as are usually called paps, which bore north from us: these a Spanish pilot and two Indians, who were the only persons amongst us that pretended to have traded in this part of the world, affirmed to be over the harbour of Acapulco. Indeed, we very much doubted their knowledge of the coast, for we found these paps to be in the latitude of 17° 56', whereas those over Acapulco are said to be 17 degrees only; and we afterwards found our suspicions of their skill to be well grounded. However, they were very confident, and assured us that the height of the mountains was itself an infallible mark of the harbour, the coast, as they pretended, though falsly, being generally low to the eastward and westward of it.
Being now in the track of the Manila galeon, it was a great doubt with us, as it was near the end of January, whether she was or was not arrived; but examining our prisoners about it, they assured us that she was sometimes known to come in after the middle of February, and they endeavoured to persuade us that the fire we had seen on shore was a proof that she was yet at sea, it being customary, as they said, to make use of these fires as signals for her direction when she continued longer out than ordinary. On this reasoning of our prisoners, strengthened by our propensity to believe them in a matter which so pleasingly flattered our wishes, we resolved to cruise for her some days, and we accordingly spread our ships at the distance of twelve leagues from the coast in such a manner that it was impossible she should pass us unobserved. However, not seeing her soon, we were at intervals inclined to suspect that she had gained her port already, and as we now began to want a harbour to refresh our people, the uncertainty of our present situation gave us great uneasiness, and we were very solicitous to get some positive intelligence, which might either set us at liberty to consult our necessities, if the galeon was arrived, or might animate us to continue our present cruise with chearfulness, if she was not. With this view, the commodore, after examining our prisoners very particularly, resolved to send a boat, under colour of the night, into the harbour of Acapulco, to see if the Manila ship was there or not, one of the Indians being very positive that this might be done without the boat itself being discovered. To execute this enterprize, the barge was dispatched the 6th of February, carrying a sufficient crew and two officers, as also a Spanish pilot, with the Indian who had insisted on the facility of this project, and had undertaken to conduct it. Our barge did not return to us again till the 11th, when the officers acquainted Mr. Anson that, agreeable to our suspicions, there was nothing like a harbour in the place where the Spanish pilots had at first asserted Acapulco to lie; that after they had satisfied themselves in this particular, they steered to the eastward, in hopes of discovering it, and had coasted along shore thirty-two leagues; that in this whole range they met chiefly with sandy beaches of a great length, over which the sea broke with so much violence that it was impossible for a boat to land; that at the end of their run they could just discover two paps at a very great distance to the eastward, which from their appearance and their latitude they concluded to be those in the neighbourhood of Acapulco; but that not having a sufficient quantity of fresh water and provision for their passage thither and back again, they were obliged to return to the commodore, to acquaint him with their disappointment. On this intelligence we all made sail to the eastward, in order to get into the neighbourhood of that port, the commodore being determined to send the barge a second time upon the same enterprize, when we were arrived within a moderate distance. Accordingly, the next day, which was the 12th of February, we being by that time considerably advanced, the barge was again dispatched, and particular instructions given to the officers to preserve themselves from being seen from the shore. On the 13th we espied a high land to the eastward, which was first imagined to be that over the harbour of Acapulco; but we afterwards found that it was the high land of Seguateneio, where there is a small harbour, of which we shall have occasion to make more ample mention hereafter. We waited six days, from the departure of our barge, without any news of her, so that we began to be uneasy for her safety; but on the 7th day, that is, on the 19th of February, she returned: when the officers informed the commodore that they had discovered the harbour of Acapulco, which they esteemed to bear from us E.S.E. at least fifty leagues distant; that on the 17th, about two in the morning, they were got within the island that lies at the mouth of the harbour, and yet neither the Spanish pilot, nor the Indian, could give them any information where they then were; but that while they were lying upon their oars in suspence what to do, being ignorant that they were then at the very place they sought for, they discerned a small light near the surface of the water, on which they instantly plied their paddles, and moving as silently as possible towards it, they found it to be in a fishing canoe, which they surprized, with three negroes that belonged to it. It seems the negroes at first attempted to jump overboard, and being so near the shore they would easily have swam to land, but they were prevented by presenting a piece at them, on which they readily submitted, and were taken into the barge. The officers further added that they had immediately turned the canoe adrift against the face of a rock, where it would inevitably be dashed to pieces by the fury of the sea. This they did to deceive those who perhaps might be sent from the town to search after the canoe, for upon seeing several remains of a wreck, they would immediately conclude that the people on board her had been drowned, and would have no suspicion of their having fallen into our hands. When the crew of the barge had taken this precaution, they exerted their utmost strength in pulling out to sea, and by dawn of the day had gained such an offing as rendered it impossible for them to be seen from the coast.
Having now gotten the three negroes in our possession, who were not ignorant of the transactions at Acapulco, we were soon satisfied about the most material points which had long kept us in suspence. On examining them we found that we were indeed disappointed in our expectation of intercepting the galeon before her arrival at Acapulco; but we learnt other circumstances which still revived our hopes, and which, we then conceived, would more than balance the opportunity we had already lost, for though our negroe prisoners informed us that the galeon arrived at Acapulco on our 9th of January, which was about twenty days before we fell in with this coast, yet they at the same time told us that the galeon had delivered her cargo, and was taking in water and provisions in order to return, and that the Viceroy of Mexico had by proclamation fixed her departure from Acapulco to the 14th of March, N.S. This last news was most joyfully received by us, since we had no doubt but she must certainly fall into our hands, and it was much more eligible to seize her on her return than it would have been to have taken her before her arrival, as the species for which she had sold her cargoe, and which she would now have on board, would be prodigiously more to be esteemed by us than the cargoe itself; great part of which would have perished on our hands, and none of it could have been disposed of by us at so advantageous a mart as Acapulco.
Thus we were a second time engaged in an eager expectation of meeting with this Manila ship, which, by the fame of its wealth, we had been taught to consider as the most desirable capture that was to be made on any part of the ocean. But since all our future projects will be in some sort regulated with a view to the possession of this celebrated galeon, and since the commerce which is carried on by means of these vessels between the city of Manila and the port of Acapulco is perhaps the most valuable, in proportion to its quantity, of any in the known world, I shall endeavour, in the ensuing chapter, to give as circumstantial an account as I can of all the particulars relating thereto, both as it is a matter in which I conceive the public to be in some degree interested, and as I flatter myself, that from the materials which have fallen into my hands, I am enabled to describe it with more distinctness than has hitherto been done, at least in our language.
CHAPTER X
AN ACCOUNT OF THE COMMERCE CARRIED ON BETWEEN THE CITY OF MANILA ON THE ISLAND OF LUCONIA, AND THE PORT OF ACAPULCO ON THE COAST OF MEXICO
About the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth, the searching after new countries, and new branches of commerce, was the reigning passion among several of the European princes. But those who engaged most deeply and fortunately in these pursuits were the kings of Spain and Portugal, the first of them having discovered the immense and opulent continent of America and its adjacent islands, whilst the other, by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, had opened to his fleets a passage to the southern coast of Asia, usually called the East Indies, and by his settlements in that part of the globe, became possessed of many of the manufactures and natural productions with which it abounded, and which, for some ages, had been the wonder and delight of the more polished and luxurious part of mankind.
In the meantime, these two nations of Spain and Portugal, who were thus prosecuting the same views, though in different quarters of the world, grew extremely jealous of each other, and became apprehensive of mutual encroachments. And, therefore, to quiet their jealousies, and to enable them with more tranquillity to pursue the propagation of the Catholick faith in these distant countries (they having both of them given distinguished marks of their zeal for their mother church, by their butchery of innocent pagans), Pope Alexander VI. granted to the Spanish crown the property and dominion of all places, either already discovered, or that should be discovered, an hundred leagues to the westward of the islands of Azores, leaving all the unknown countries to the eastward of this limit to the industry and disquisition of the Portuguese; and this boundary being afterwards removed two hundred and fifty leagues more to the westward, by the agreement of both nations, it was imagined that this regulation would have suppressed all the seeds of future contests. For the Spaniards presumed that the Portuguese would be thereby prevented from meddling with their colonies in America, and the Portuguese supposed that their East Indian settlements, and particularly the Spice Islands, which they had then newly found out, were for ever secured from any attempts of the Spanish nation.
But it seems the infallibility of the Holy Father had, on this occasion, deserted him, and for want of being more conversant in geography, he had not foreseen that the Spaniards, by pursuing their discoveries to the west, and the Portuguese to the east, might at last meet with each other, and be again embroiled, as it actually happened within a few years afterwards. For Ferdinand Magellan, an officer in the King of Portugal's service, having received some disgust from the court, either by the defalcation of his pay, or by having his parts, as he conceived, too cheaply considered, he entered into the service of the King of Spain. As he appears to have been a man of ability, he was desirous of signalizing his talents in some enterprize which might prove extremely vexatious to his former masters, and might teach them to estimate his worth from the greatness of the mischief he brought upon them, this being the most obvious and natural turn of all fugitives, more especially of those who, being really men of capacity, have quitted their country by reason of the small account that has been made of them. Magellan, in pursuance of these vindictive views, knowing that the Portuguese considered their traffic to the Spice Islands as their most important acquisition in the east, resolved with himself to instigate the court of Spain to an attempt, which, by still pushing their discoveries to the westward, would give them a right to interfere both in the property and commerce of those renowned countries; and the King of Spain approving of this project, Magellan, in the year 1519, set sail from the port of Sevil in order to carry this enterprize into execution. He had with him a considerable force, consisting of five ships and two hundred and thirty-four men, with which he stood for the coast of South America, and ranging along shore, he at length, towards the end of October 1520, had the good fortune to discover those streights which have since been denominated from him, and which opened him a passage into the South Seas. This, which was the first part of his scheme, being thus happily accomplished, he, after some stay on the coast of Peru, set sail again to the westward, with a view of falling in with the Spice Islands. In this extensive run across the Pacific Ocean, he first discovered the Ladrones or Marian Islands, and continuing on his course, he at length reached the Philippine Islands, which are the most eastern part of Asia, where, venturing on shore in an hostile manner, and skirmishing with the Indians, he was slain.
By the death of Magellan, his original project of securing some of the Spice Islands was defeated; for those who were left in command contented themselves with ranging through them, and purchasing some spices from the natives, after which they returned home round the Cape of Good Hope, being the first ships which had ever surrounded this terraqueous globe, and thereby demonstrated, by a palpable experiment obvious to the grossest and most vulgar capacity, the reality of its long-disputed spherical figure.
But though Spain did not hereby acquire the property of any of the Spice Islands, yet the discovery of the Philippines, made in this expedition, was thought too considerable to be neglected, since these were not far distant from those places which produced spices, and were very well situated for the Chinese trade, and for the commerce of other parts of India. A communication, therefore, was soon established and carefully supported between these islands and the Spanish colonies on the coast of Peru: whence the city of Manila (which was built on the island of Luconia, the chief of the Philippines) became in a short time the mart for all Indian commodities, which were brought up by the inhabitants, and were annually sent to the South Seas, to be there vended on their account; and the returns of this commerce to Manila being principally made in silver, the place by degrees grew extremely opulent, and its trade so far increased as to engage the attention of the court of Spain, and to be frequently controlled and regulated by royal edicts.
In the infancy of this trade it was carried on from the port of Callao to the city of Manila, in which navigation the trade-wind continually favoured them; so that notwithstanding these places were distant between three and four thousand leagues, yet the voyage was often made in little more than two months. But then the return from Manila was extremely troublesome and tedious, and is said to have sometimes lasted above a twelvemonth; which, if they pretend to ply up within the limits of the trade-wind, is not at all to be wondered at. Indeed, though it is asserted that in their first voyages they were so imprudent and unskilful as to attempt this course, yet that route was soon laid aside, by the advice, as it is said, of a Jesuit, who persuaded them to steer to the northward till they got clear of the trade-winds, and then by the favour of the westerly winds, which generally prevail in high latitudes, to stretch away for the coast of California. This we know hath been the practice for at least a hundred and sixty years past, as Sir Thomas Cavendish, in the year 1586, engaged off the south end of California a vessel bound from Manila to the American coast. And it was in compliance with this new plan of navigation, and to shorten the run both backwards and forwards, that the staple of this commerce to and from Manila was removed from Callao on the coast of Peru, to the port of Acapulco on the coast of Mexico, where it continues fixed to this time.
Such was the commencement, and such were the early regulations of this commerce; but its present condition being a much more interesting subject, I must beg leave to dwell longer on this head, and to be indulged in a more particular narration, beginning with a description of the island of Luconia, and of the port and bay of Manila.
The island of Luconia, though situated in the latitude of 15° north, is esteemed to be in general extremely healthy, and the water that is found upon it is said to be the best in the world. It produces all the fruits of the warm climates, and abounds in a most excellent breed of horses, supposed to be carried thither first from Spain. It is very well seated for the Indian and Chinese trade; and the bay and port of Manila, which lies on its western side, is perhaps the most remarkable on the whole globe, the bay being a large circular bason, near ten leagues in diameter, great part of it entirely land-locked. On the east side of this bay stands the city of Manila, which is large and populous, and which, at the beginning of this war, was only an open place, its principal defence consisting in a small fort, which was almost surrounded on every side by houses; but they have lately made considerable additions to its fortifications, though I have not yet learnt after what manner. The port, peculiar to the city, is called Cabite, and lies near two leagues to the southward: and in this port all the ships employed for the Acapulco trade are usually stationed.
The city of Manila itself is in a healthy situation, is well watered, and is in the neighbourhood of a very fruitful and plentiful country; but as the principal business of this place is its trade to Acapulco, it lies under some disadvantage from the difficulty there is in getting to sea to the eastward: for the passage is among islands and through channels, where the Spaniards, by reason of their unskilfulness in marine affairs, waste much time, and are often in great danger.
The trade carried on from this place to China and different parts of India is principally for such commodities as are intended to supply the kingdoms of Mexico and Peru. These are spices, all sorts of Chinese silks and manufactures, particularly silk stockings, of which I have heard that no less than fifty thousand pair were the usual number shipped in each cargoe; vast quantities of Indian stuffs, as callicoes and chints, which are much worn in America, together with other minuter articles, as goldsmiths' work, etc., which is principally wrought at the city of Manila itself by the Chinese; for it is said there are at least twenty thousand Chinese who constantly reside there, either as servants, manufacturers, or brokers. All these different commodities are collected at Manila, thence to be transported annually in one or more ships to the port of Acapulco in the kingdom of Mexico.
This trade to Acapulco is not laid open to all the inhabitants of Manila, but is confined by very particular regulations, somewhat analogous to those by which the trade of the register ships from Cadiz to the West Indies is restrained. The ships employed herein are found by the King of Spain, who pays the officers and crew; and the tunnage is divided into a certain number of bales, all of the same size: these are distributed amongst the convents at Manila, but principally to the Jesuits, as a donation to support their missions for the propagation of the Catholick faith; and the convents have thereby a right to embark such a quantity of goods on board the Manila ship as the tunnage of their bales amounts to; or if they chuse not to be concerned in trade themselves, they have the power of selling this privilege to others: nor is it uncommon, when the merchant to whom they sell their share is unprovided of a stock, for the convent to lend him considerable sums of money on bottomry.
The trade is by the royal edicts limited to a certain value, which the annual cargoe ought not to exceed. Some Spanish manuscripts I have seen, mention this limitation to be 600,000 dollars; but the annual cargoe does certainly surpass this sum, and though it may be difficult to fix its exact value, yet from many comparisons I conclude that the return cannot be much short of three millions of dollars.
As it is sufficiently obvious that the greatest share of the treasure returned from Acapulco to Manila does not remain in that place, but is again dispersed into different parts of India; and as all European nations have generally esteemed it good policy to keep their American settlements in an immediate dependence on the mother country, without permitting them to carry on directly any gainful traffick with other powers; these considerations have occasioned many remonstrances to be presented to the court of Spain against this Indian trade allowed to the kingdom of Mexico. It has been urged that the silk manufactures of Valencia and other parts of Spain are hereby greatly prejudiced, and the linens carried from Cadiz much injured in their sale: since the Chinese silks coming almost directly to Acapulco, can be afforded considerably cheaper there than any European manufactures of equal goodness, and the cotton from the Coromandel coast makes the European linens nearly useless. So that the Manila trade renders both Mexico and Peru less dependant upon Spain for a supply of their necessities than they ought to be, and exhausts those countries of a considerable quantity of silver, the greatest part of which, were this trade prohibited, would center in Spain, either in payment for Spanish commodities, or in gains to the Spanish merchant: whereas now the only advantage which arises from it is the enriching the Jesuits, and a few particular persons besides, at the other extremity of the world. These arguments did so far influence Don Joseph Patinho, who was formerly prime minister, and an enemy to the Jesuits, that about the year 1725 he had resolved to abolish this trade, and to have permitted no Indian commodities to be introduced into any of the Spanish ports in the West Indies, except such as were brought thither by the register ships from Europe. But the powerful untrigues of the Jesuits prevented this regulation from taking place.