f/f 
 
 ^r 
 
'J""^'T5 839 606 A 
 
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOfiATION. 
 
 THE CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE, 
 
 BY 
 
 PEOF. BEENARD MOSES. 
 
 (From the Annual Keport of the American Historical Association for 1894, pages 93-123.) 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1896. 
 

IX.-THE CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 By Prof. Bernakd Moses. 
 
 The establishment of the absolute power of the Spanish 
 Crown made easy the adoption of the fundamental provision 
 of Sj)aiu's American jjolicy, namely, that Spanish America 
 should be regarded and treated as subject directly to the 
 King, and not to be controlled by the functionaries hitherto 
 existing for the government of Spain. When it is said that 
 Spain founded her rights in the New World on the celebrated 
 bull of Alexander VI, which was designed to put an end to 
 conflicting pretensions between Spain and Portugal, there is 
 revealed an attempt to conceal the fact that the only claims 
 which Spain or the Spanish King had to lands in America 
 were based on usurpation. Carrying the pretended right back 
 to a grant by the Pope only fixed the act of usurpation one 
 step earlier. But whatever title was transmitted by the papal 
 bull was conveyed to Ferdinand and Isabella, not to the Span- 
 ish nation, and the subsequent jDolitical and ecclesiastical ad- 
 ministration of the affairs of Spanish America was carried on 
 nnder the presumption that the King was the sole political 
 superior. From a strictly legal point of view Mexico and 
 Peru, and later the other states of equal dignity, appear as 
 kingdoms in a personal union with the Kingdom of Spain, 
 rather than as colonies in the ordinary meaning of that term. 
 
 As a consequence of this fundamental fact of Spanish policy, 
 other bodies were created to assist the King in administer- 
 ing the affairs of his American possessions. The first in rank 
 of these special agencies was the Council of the Indies. It 
 was created while Columbus was making preparations for his 
 second voyage, and at the time of its establishment consisted 
 of eight councilors. It was placed under the direction of the 
 archdeacon of Seville, Don Juan de Fonseca. It was required 
 to reside at court, and might be presided over by the King. 
 
 93 
 
94 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 It lield supreme and exclusive jurisdiction in tlie affairs of the 
 Indies. The separation of powers, whicli lias become a familiar 
 feature of modern states, was not carefully regarded in Sj)ain 
 in the sixteenth century. The Council of the Indies covered 
 the whole field of governmental activity. It was a legislative 
 body, iu that from it proceeded the laws for the government 
 of the Spanish possessions in America; it was also a judicial 
 body, sitting as a court of final appeal for all cases concerning 
 American affairs which were of sufHcient importance to be 
 carried to it; and it was, furthermore, an executive body, inas- 
 much as its advice was sought by the King on all questions 
 of great importance in the administration of the Indies. And 
 in order that it might be in a position to deal wisely with the 
 affairs intrusted to it, it was a part of the King's policy to 
 apx)oint many of its members from persons who had been in 
 the public service in America or in the Philippine Islands, and 
 had thus acquired great practical knowledge of the transat- 
 lantic countries. (Alman, Historia de Mejico, I, p. 35.) 
 
 Provision having been made for the management of the 
 political affairs of Spanish America by the establishment of 
 the Council of the Indies, a second body was then created to 
 take immediate control of the economicar affairs. This body 
 had its beginning in the exchange of Seville and the custom- 
 house of Cadiz, which were established between the first and 
 second voyages of Columbus (Lafuente, Historia de Espana, 
 IX, p. 407). When it had taken definite form it was known as 
 the Casa de Contratacion, which may be appropriately desig- 
 nated in English as the India House. It was definitely estab- 
 lished at Seville in 1503. In this year it was ordered that a 
 house should be built iu the shipyards of Seville for the trade 
 and commerce of the West Indies, the Canaries, and such 
 other islands as were already discovered or might be dis- 
 covered in the future. To this " house were to be brought all 
 merchandise and other things necessary for the trade, and 
 such as were carried to the said islands and brought from 
 them. And that in the said house there was to be a factor, a 
 treasurer, and an escrivano, register, or clerk, who were to take 
 charge of all the said trade, as would appear to them more 
 fully by an instruction their majesties had ordered to be drawn 
 up to that purpose." ^ 
 
 1 For the details of the organization of the Casa de Contratacion we 
 refer iu the first instance to the laws by which it was constituted and the 
 
CASA DE CONTRATAOION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 95 
 
 This organization, was made especially necessary by the 
 plan of the Spanish King to subject the trade with America 
 to a rigid and exclusive monopoly. Under its control Seville 
 became the only port from which ships might be sent to Amer- 
 ica, and through which colonial products might enter in return. 
 The India House took account of everything that concerned the 
 economical aliairs of the Indies; it had power to grant licenses, 
 to equip vessels, to determine their destiny, and to give them 
 instructions as to their loading and sailing. In the perform- 
 ance of its ample judicial functions it consulted lawyers who 
 were paid by the Government. From its decisions appeal could 
 be taken only to the Council of the Indies. Its officers con- 
 sisted of a president, a treasurer, a secretary, an agent, three 
 judges or commissioners, an attorney, and such other minis- 
 ters and ofiflcials as might be provided for by law. If it is . 
 said that the Council of the Indies stood for the King in polit- 
 ical matters and the India House in economical affairs, the 
 signiticance of the latter body is not thereby fully presented. 
 The activity of the India House is contrasted with that of the 
 Council of the Indies by its larger executive functions, its more 
 immediate participation in the in^actical work of administra- 
 tion, and by acting as the agent of the Spanish King in main- 
 taining and carrying out the laws relating to the Indies. Its 
 jurisdiction was without special territorial limits; it covered 
 all matters embraced in the ordinances, and reached all persons 
 who contravened these ordinances. All cases arising from 
 
 powers of the several officers were determined. Among the collections of 
 these laws the most important is that known as " Recopilacion de las 
 Leyes de las Indias Occidentales." The most serviceable single book on 
 this subject is Norte de la Contratacion de las Indias Occidentales, com- 
 piled by Don Joseph de Veitia Linage, sometime commissioner and treas- 
 iirer of the Casa. His book was published as a single folio volume in 
 Seville in 1672. It was ''made English" by Capt. John Stevens, under 
 the title of the Sjmuish Rule of Trade to the West Indies. lu his preface 
 Mr. Stevens sttysp'^I— have not, in the englishing of this work, confined 
 myself to the rules of translation, which would oblige me neither to add 
 nor diminish; for I have done both, only abstracting from the author and 
 others that have been consulted what was solid and material, without 
 swelling the volume to a needless bulk with those things that are no way 
 beneficial or instructive. And to make abundant compensation for those 
 useless matters omitted others of the greatest consequence have been 
 inserted, all with the approbation of persons most knowing in these 
 aifairs." The references here given are to the English volume, which was 
 printed in London for Samuel Crouch, in 1702 ; see page 2. 
 
96 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 theft or any other crime committed on the voyage to or return- 
 ing- from the Indies, in fact, all cases under the laws of the 
 Indies fell within its exclusive province. But in certain cases, 
 where private x)ersons had suftered injury on the voyage from 
 other private persons, the injured party might demand jus- 
 tice either before the judges of the Casa or before an ordinary 
 court of Seville. 
 
 In these two organizations, the Council of the Indies and 
 the Casa de Contratacion of Seville, we discover the two 
 special agents employed by the King in carrying out in Amer- 
 ica the measures of an essentially absolute rule, whether they 
 concerned the i)olitical or the economical affairs of his posses- 
 sions. All offices or bodies established in America for the 
 purpose of exercising authority of any kind whatsoever were 
 subordinate to the King and these agents of his power. The 
 viceroy, the captain general, the legislative, executive, and 
 ludicial council known as the audiencia, derived whatever 
 power they exercised directly from the King. The idea of 
 governmental power emanating from the governed found here 
 no application. Under the viceroy and the audiencia the 
 Government of Mexico or Peru was as arbitrary or absolute 
 as that of Spain herself. That there were several viceroys 
 established in the course of time was not a concession to the 
 wishes of the people to have a local government; it was sim- 
 ply a matter of administrative convenience. The audiencia of 
 San Domingo, the first important political body established 
 for the New World and having its seat in the New World, was 
 created by royal appointment and acted for the King. It 
 exercised not only judicial, but also political functions, and 
 sometimes even directed military operations. It superseded 
 the authority of the early discoverers and explorers who, under 
 the title of governor, had been clothed with certain govern- 
 mental powers. But whatever the titles of the organizations 
 created in America by Spanish authority, they were all de- 
 signed to contribute to the two great features of Spanish colo- 
 nial policy, namely, absolute political control and monopolistic 
 privilege in industry and trade. 
 
 The first step in carrying out the restrictive commercial pol- 
 icy which Spain had adopted was to limit the commerce with 
 America to a single Spanish port. Seville became the privileged 
 port, and so remained for about two hundred years, until, by 
 the decree of 1717, the India House with all its privileges was 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 97 
 
 removed to the port of Cadiz. The actual transfer was made 
 ill 1718. Down to this time no power had been adequate to 
 break Seville's exclusive j)rivilege. Whatever shi^^s went to 
 America were cleared by the authorities of the iDort of Seville, 
 although in certain cases they may have actually set sail from 
 the Bay of Cadiz. Ten years later, in 1728, the i^rivilege of 
 Cadiz was invaded. The Company of Guipuzcoa was granted * 
 the privilege of trading with the Province of Caracas from the 
 port of San Sebastian. This was the only exception in the 
 policy of exclusiveness till 1765. Then came a change through 
 which other Spanish ports were opened to the American trade; 
 and finally, in 1782, Spanish subjects or members of the colony 
 of IsTew Orleans were ]3ermitted to take cargoes from French 
 IDorts and return to these ports the wares of Louisiana and 
 western Florida. But as indicating the survival of the Span- 
 ish infatuation, these traders were not permitted to enter 
 money at the ports of France. 
 
 But the restriction as to ports was scarcely less severe at the 
 American end of the route than in Spain. At first a ship 
 might sail to America whenever it was ready and had received 
 the proper license; but later they were allowed to go only in 
 fleets and under a naval escort. This was the usual order, and 
 while it prevailed two fleets were sent annually, one to Porto 
 Bello, on the Isthmus, the other to Vera Cruz, in Mexico. 
 Under the immediate control of the India House, the fleet 
 might not be announced nor the officers chosen except under 
 the order of the Council of the Indies. 
 
 Under this arrangement all trade with Mexico had to pass 
 between the x)ort of Seville and that of Vera Cruz ; and all 
 trade with South America between Seville and Porto Bello, 
 trade between the several colonies being strictly prohibited. 
 Panama thus became the port of collection and distribution 
 on the Pacific. The exports from the Pacific Coast of South 
 America were gathered here and carried across the Isthmus to 
 Porto Bello, and here was held a fair of forty days' duration, 
 at which the European wares were exchanged for the gold 
 and silver and other products of America. For decades the 
 intercourse between Spain and Spanish South America was 
 annually confined to the few days of unloading and loading 
 the ships of the Spanish fleet. The fair of Porto Bello was, 
 therefore, the great event of the year for the whole of South 
 H. Mis. 91 7 
 
98 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 America. From it European wares were distributed to Vene- 
 zuela, Granada, Peru, Chile, and even to Buenos Ayres. But 
 by this system of transportation the i)rices of the wares 
 imported were increased by 500 or 600 per cent of the original 
 cost. This fair was more especially the great event for the 
 little town of Porto Bello. On the arrival of the vessels most 
 of the inhabitants of the town were accustomed to quit their 
 houses for the advantage of letting them, while others retired 
 to a few rooms in order to make money out of the rest. The 
 poorer quarters were naturally overcrowded, and barracks 
 were erected, principally for the accommodation of the ships' 
 crews, who here kept stalls for the sale of sweetmeats and 
 other things brought from Spain. "But at the conclusion of 
 the fair the ships put to sea, all these buildings were taken 
 down, and the town returned to its former tranquillity and 
 emptiness." (Ulloa, Vo.yage to South America, I, 88.) 
 
 At the time that the India House was organized at Seville 
 to manage the trade with America it was proposed that a 
 building should be constructed for the use of the olficers, but 
 by a subsequent order of the same year, 1503, the plan was set 
 aside, and the ofSces which had been created were kept in the 
 old alcazar. The clerk, whose business it was not only to keep 
 and report the accounts, but also to secure and preserve the 
 books, papers, and records of the trade, was later known as the 
 coDtador or comptroller. It was at first intended that the com- 
 missioners should live in the India House. In 1518, however, 
 Charles V ordered that no one should live in the house, but 
 that it shoald be held exclusively for trade and the meetings 
 of the officers. In order that the officers of the house might 
 issue proper directions, they were ordered to "consult with 
 and receive information from such persons as were acquainted 
 with the countries discovered 5" and the judges of other courts 
 were ordered not to encroach upon their jurisdiction. 
 
 The formation of a special corporation at the port of Seville, 
 through which should pass the affairs of the Indies, was one 
 of the first practical indications that these affairs were to be 
 regarded as belonging j)articularly to the Crown and not to the 
 civil authorities of Spain. In view of the opposition which 
 this i^olicy aroused, the King ordered the "supreme magistrate 
 of Seville not to intermeddle on any account with what con- 
 cerned the jurisdiction of the India House, but rather diligently 
 to support and maintain it in the privileges granted by him." 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 99 
 
 (Veitia Linage, p. 7.) Similar commands were issued subse- 
 quently, and they were accompanied with the statement that 
 he would not only maintain the new institution, but would add 
 to its authority if necessary. Under Philix) II its authority 
 was in fact extended, so that it was a repository not only for 
 the treasures brought from the Indies, but also for certain rev- 
 enues raised in Andalusia. Even the fitting out of the great 
 armada of 1588 was intrusted to the president and commis- 
 sioners of the India House, acting in conjunction with the Duke 
 of Medina Sidonia. Their power increased; their credit rose; 
 they appointed officers of fleets and civil magistrates; they 
 granted passes to ships; and in importance and dignity they 
 stood next to the royal councilors. They enjoyed the same 
 privileges and immunities as the judges of chancery and of the 
 other courts. They exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction in 
 all cases involving the owners and masters of ships, sailors, fac- 
 tors and merchants, and those intercepting letters or instruc- 
 tions relating to the Indies. They took cognizance of all crimes 
 committed while sailing to or returning from the Indies, and 
 in these cases no other judges had power to intermeddle; and, 
 according to a decree of 1558, the same method of x)rocedure 
 was followed as in the royal courts of Valladolid and Granada. 
 
 Persons violating the ordinances of the India House might 
 be brought from any part of the Spanish King's dominions 
 and be tried by this body in its judicial capacity in Seville. 
 As a court it had, moreover, full jurisdiction over its own 
 officers. In 1655 one of the comptrollers killed another in a 
 street in Seville, and a contest between the India House and 
 the city as to jurisdiction in this case was decided in favor of 
 the former of the contestants. I:>]"ot only had the India House 
 the extensive jurisdiction here indicated, but it was also sub- 
 ordinate to no council but that of the Indies. And it had 
 power to inflict any degree of punishment. 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of the ordinances, the 
 president, "appointed to reside and preside in the India 
 House," was required to be "a person of note and experience, 
 well versed in the afl'airs of the Indies," having knowledge of 
 places, of the history, and of the voyage. He bore the title of 
 lordship, and in 1628 an order of the council of war decreed 
 that the president on visiting Cadiz should be allowed a guard 
 of sixteen men and an officer. The j)resident was so careful 
 of his dignity that he never acted jointly with the regent of 
 
100 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Seville on any public occasion, because of difficulties of pre- 
 cedence, and in making visits of compliment he was attended 
 by two judges or commissioners, and the aguaciles were accus- 
 tomed to go before the coach. All the elaborate ceremonies 
 attending his taking up the duties of his office were carefully 
 X)rescribed by law. (Yeitia Linage, pp. 19, 20.) 
 
 Among the duties of the president, one of the most impor- 
 tant was the fitting out of the fleets and the armadas. He was, 
 moreover, expected to supervise the embarcatiou of passengers, 
 taking special care that none should go without a license, and 
 that licenses should not be sold or counterfeited. The general 
 ordinance prohibiting the officers of the India House from en- 
 gaging, either directly or indirectly, in the trade with America 
 applied to the president as well as to all other officers. The 
 punishment of any president found guilty of violating this 
 ordinance was reserved in the hands of the King. 
 
 After the president, the most important officers were the 
 judges, who enjoyed the distinction of being styled "jueces 
 oflciales," a title which all other officers belonging to the West 
 Indies were forbidden to assume. For a number of years they 
 had the power to appoint the high officers of the fleets, but 
 after the creation of the Council of the Indies this power fell 
 into the hands of that body. Yet the admirals and vice-admi- 
 rals continued subordinate to the judges of the India House. 
 They enjoyed supreme authority only when under sail, "and 
 as soon as in their return they cast anchor in any port of 
 Spain their authority ceases, and is transferred to the judge or 
 commissioner who goes down to receive or clear the shii^s." 
 (Yeitia Linage, p. 26.) 
 
 The law not only determined the order of business, but 
 also prescribed the office hours of the members. They were 
 required to be on duty three hours in the forenoon of each day, 
 from 7 to 10, during the season from Easter to the end of Sep- 
 tember, and from 8 to 11 during the rest of the year. After- 
 noon sessions were held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 
 and if anyone were absent without just cause it was provided 
 that his salary for that day should be withheld. The rule fix- 
 ing the hours of the judges were not always observed, for 
 "when there are armadas or flotas to fit out or clear they 
 sit at all times and hours, without excepting the greatest holi- 
 days or unseasonable times at night j so that, as no hours are 
 exempt from business upon extraordinary occasions, so when 
 
CASA DE CONTEATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 101 
 
 there is no business tliey do not sit in the afternoon." (Yeitia 
 Linage, p. 27.) 
 
 i«ro judge or commissioner was permitted to be absent with- 
 out leave. At first, while there were only three judges, leave 
 was granted by the King, and the absent judge was obliged 
 to secure a deputy; but later, after the number of officers had 
 been increased, it became customary for the president to grant 
 such leaves of absence as were not for more than thirty days. 
 (Veitia Linage, p. 28.) 
 
 The members of the India House were divided into two 
 bodies, called the chamber of direction or government and the 
 chamber of justice. For eighty years, or until the founding 
 of the chamber of justice in 1583, the whole business of the 
 institution was conducted by a single body. During the first 
 fifty-four years of this period this body was composed of three 
 judges, and during the last twenty-six years of three judges 
 and a president. After the creation of the chamber of justice, 
 this body took cognizance of all criminal cases; but cases not 
 involving the King's revenue, nor specified in the laws and 
 ordinances of this court, might be tried before this or any 
 other court, at the pleasure of the parties concerned. 
 
 The chamber of justice, as established in 1583, consisted of 
 two lawyers, who were called judges, but were distinguished 
 ffom the jueces oficiales, or judges by office. A few years 
 later, in 1596, a third judge was added, in order to avoid a 
 tie, and to permit all cases brought before the chamber to 
 be decided. All matters of law and justice were determined 
 by the judges, who were lawyers. If a case were originally 
 brought up in the chamber of direction, and there were de- 
 veloped in the course of its consideration contests belonging 
 to a court of justice, it was immediately turned over to the 
 chamber of justice. In this court suits were terminated with 
 a hearing or a rehearing, but cases involving more than 
 600,000 maravedis, or $1,500, might be appealed to the Coun- 
 cil of the Indies. All cases involving the revenue or duty 
 for convoys, or pay due from the King, or sums in charge of 
 the house, which might not be delivered by an order of a 
 court of justice alone, could not be taken up by the chamber 
 of justice until after they had been presented to the chamber 
 of direction. If it were disputed whether an item of business 
 belonged to the chamber of direction or the chamber of jus- 
 tice, the point in question was referred to the president and 
 
102 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIOK. 
 
 one judge from each cliamber. For all matters not covered 
 by the particular laws of tbe India House, resort was bad to 
 the general laws of tbe Kingdom. 
 
 Besides tbe officers already mentioned, tbere w^as a fiscal or 
 solicitor, wbo bas been described as "tbe King's moutb in 
 causes wberein be is concerned, a cbeck upon tbose tbat man- 
 age tbe revenues, a spy upon tbose wbo embezzle it, an in- 
 former against tbose tbat defraud it, an agent to improve it, 
 and lastly a two-edged sword in a civil and criminal capacity 
 to defend tbe patrimony of tbe crown." Tbis office was first 
 establisbed in 1546. Before tbis time one of the commission- 
 ers bad been appointed to perform its duties. He was required 
 to keep a record of all suits managed by bim for tbe King and 
 to pass it on to bis successor. His duties, in fact, were tbose 
 of a iirosecuting attorney, but bis action was limited to cases 
 concerning tbe King or bis revenue; and bis cases took 
 precedence of all otbers. One of tbe duties of tbe commis- 
 sioners was to go to tbe port and dispat(;b tbe armadas or 
 fleets, and also to receive tbem on tbeir return. Tbis was 
 regarded as one of tbeir most unpleasant duties, and was pe-;- 
 formed in turn, beginning witb tbe eldest. An extra allow- 
 ance for tbis service of ducats a day was made to eacb com- 
 missioner performing it, and 12 ducats a day to tbe president. 
 Tbis dutj^ consisted in inspecting tbe sbips and determining 
 Avbetber or not tbey were in a proper condition to be sent to 
 sea. If repairs were needed tbe extent of tbem was deter- 
 mined and tbej^ were ordered to be made. If tbej^ were over- 
 loaded a portion of tbe freigbt was ordered to be removed, 
 and great care was taken tbat no goods sbonld be put on tbe 
 vessels after tbey bad been cleared. To prevent tbis no boats, 
 except tbose i^roperly licensed, were permitted to go over tbe 
 bar witb tbe fleet. Tbe commissioner clearing tbe vessels 
 was required to send to tbe officers of tbe King at tbe ports 
 to M-bicb tbe sbii^s were bound an account of tbe destination 
 of tbe sbips. wbat force of men and guns tbey carried, wbat 
 freigbt, and tbe extent of tbeir provisions. It was tbe duty of 
 tbe commissioner, moreover, to prevent tbe sbipment of pas- 
 sengers witbout tbe proper licenses from tbe King or council. 
 In case passengers were sbipped witbout sucb licenses a pen- 
 alty of 1,000 ducats was imposed npon tbe officer nnder wbose 
 command tbey were carried. Tbe commissioner dispatcbing 
 vessels was required, moreover, to see tbat tbe sbips cari'ied 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 103 
 
 a sufficient amount of provisions and fresh water, and that 
 they were ready to sail at the proper time. Having- set sail, 
 all the merchant ships were required to follow the admiral, 
 to approach and salute him every day, and not change their 
 course without his leave "ou pain of death aud forfeiture of 
 goods."' (Veitia Linage, p. 45.) 
 
 There was a general prohibition that no magistrate or offi- 
 cer of justice in the Kingdom of Spain should interfere in any 
 matter falling within the jurisdiction of the India House, and 
 that no seaport officers should go on board vessels bound to or 
 returning from the Indies. In going from Seville to Cadiz to 
 dispatch vessels the commissioner took with him one of the 
 clerks and a constable. He made the journey on the barge 
 belonging to the India House or on a vessel hired for him for 
 this purpose. 
 
 On the return of ships from the Indies they were received 
 by some judge or commissioner of the Casa. This duty, like 
 the duty of dispatching vessels, devolved in turn upon the sev- 
 eral members of the organization. The smaller ships were 
 received in Seville near the Golden Tower. Those that were 
 unable to ascend to this point on the river were received at 
 a i^lace called Barrego, while those that came in fleets were 
 always received in the port of Bonanza. (Veitia Linage, p. 47.) 
 In 1589 it was ordered that no one but a judge or commis- 
 sioner from the chamber of direction of the India House should 
 bo given a commission to visit the armadas or flotas. The 
 thorough inspection involved m the commissioner's visit ap- 
 peared to be necessary in carrying out Spain's protective pol- 
 icy. It involved mustering the men to see if those who had 
 left Spain had returned; also an examination to determine 
 whether the vessels carried the guns and ammunition which 
 under the law they were required to carry, and to find out if 
 they had observed their instructions as to landings or had 
 brought goods not properly entered. The commissioner was 
 also required to determine " whether there was any blasphe- 
 mous person aboard, or any that kept a wench, or whether 
 they had played at prohibitive games or committed any other 
 crimes." (Veitia Linage, p. 48.) 
 
 If on inquiry the commissioner found that the master owed 
 the sailors any part of their pay he was required to command 
 that the payment be made within three days; and if this com- 
 mand was not obeyed the master was arrested and ordered to 
 
104 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 pay an additional sum to each person to whom he was indebted 
 for every day of delay in making payment. If it appeared 
 from the oath taken by the master and the crew that any per- 
 son had died on the outward or return voyage, an accouut and 
 an immediate delivery of his goods were demanded; and if the 
 goods were not immediately delivered the master was required 
 to pay the amount of their value aud forfeit to the King double 
 this amount. In his official inspection the commissioner was 
 required to find out whether any slaves or passengers had 
 been admitted on board the vessel without leave, and whether 
 any Indians had been brought from America. This last was 
 strictly prohibited under penalty of a large pecuniary fine, 
 perpetual banishment from the West Indies, and a payment 
 for the return of the Indians to the province or island from 
 which they had been taken. If the i)erson guilty of this oifense 
 was unable to meet the payment for the return transportation 
 he was condemned to suffer a hundred lashes. In case persons 
 belonging on the ships were absent at the time of the inspec- 
 tion, it was at first the practice to have them brought before 
 the president and the court, but later they were brought be- 
 fore the commissioner at the port. The result of tbis leniency 
 was that often the majority of the men were absent from the 
 muster, and this led to the imposition of a small fine for leav- 
 ing the ship before the inspection. Not only the merchant 
 sliiiDS, but also the men-of-war, were inspected on their arrival, 
 with the view of determining whether they had complied with 
 the prescriptions of the law. 
 
 It was incumbent upon the India House to render to the 
 Council of the Indies the earliest possible information concern- 
 ing the arrival of tlie galleons and flotas. In pursuit of this 
 l)urpose, the commissioner at the port, on the first intimation 
 of the approach of vessels, sent out a boat to bring this infor- 
 mation, which he at once dispatched by an express to the India 
 House, however imperfect it might be. As soon as the vessels 
 had reached the port a second messenger was dispatched to 
 carry to the India House the number of the ships and a state- 
 ment of the treasure which they contained. This information 
 having been received by the i^residout, was by him immedi- 
 ately sent to the King. The process of unloading the vessels 
 was indicated in the law with great detail. The chests, with 
 letters and accounts, were conveyed to Seville by a special 
 messenger as rapidly as possible. 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 105 
 
 The plate is unloacled out of tlie ships into great vessels called '^gavar- 
 ras" or lighters, that of each galeon apart, an escrivano certifying the 
 bars, chests, or other parcels so unloaded, upon which every boat has its 
 guide, and a waiter appointed to bring it uji. This is when the sliips 
 unload in the ijort of Bonanga, for if it be done at Cadiz an officer with 
 some soldiers is to be in every boat, the whole cargo being in the charge 
 of the admiral's cajitain, who goes in one of the said boats, and an ensign 
 or sergeant in each of the others, with such number of soldiers as the 
 admiral shall appoint. (Veitia Linage, p. 52.) 
 
 In the first pliase of its orgaiiizatiou the India Honse com- 
 prised three judges or commissioners. As judges they had 
 some functions in common, but in addition to these each had 
 certain peculiar administrative duties. One commissioner was 
 at the same time the comptroller. He kept a detailed account 
 of all sums received by the treasurer and of all bills drawn 
 upon these sums. He was required to preserve " the entries 
 of shii)s sailing to or returning from the West Indies upon 
 pain of paying the damage the partj^ shall sustain whose entry 
 is lost." (Veitia Linage, p. 50.) For the management of the 
 affairs of his office he was permitted to have a certain number 
 of subordinate officers and clerks. The most important of these 
 was a deputy comptroller who took charge of all matters belong- 
 ing to the King's revenue. In case the comptroller was sick 
 or absent the deputy was empowered to sign for him and to 
 dispatch all the business of the office. In appointing deputies 
 to any commissioner great care was taken to exclude all such 
 persons as were in anyway concerned in trade with the West 
 Indies. 
 
 Among the other officers subordinate to the comptroller 
 there was one who took charge of the goods of deceased per- 
 sons, the goods of persons absent, and property left in trust. 
 This officer, whenever the occasion arose through illness or 
 absence, might act for the deputy comj)troller. Another officer 
 was charged with making the entries of commodities passing 
 through the India House. There was still another officer 
 whose duty it was to have a book in which was kept a record 
 of persons departing for the Indies, their names, x>laces of 
 birth, and the names of their parents. Another officer or clerk 
 had charge of the credits and the uncoined silver. He also 
 conducted the correspondence between the court on the one 
 hand and the King and private persons on the other. All these 
 officers held commissions approved by the chamber of direc- 
 tion. Such other clerks might be employed in the comptroller's 
 office as were demanded by the business in hand. 
 
106 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Some idea of the details of this ofSce may be had from a hst 
 of the books kept in the regular course of business. They 
 were as follows: (1) Books of receipts and expenditure, in 
 which were entered " all the charges, in a very plain and dis- 
 tinct method, mentioning what chest the sum came from, what 
 hands it has gone through, whether it came entire, in what 
 sort of coin, and if it be ingots of gold or silver, in what shapes, 
 upon what terms it was sold, mentioning the particular num- 
 ber of bars or other i^ieces of gold or silver, with the numbers, 
 fineness, and weight, and whether they weighed the same 
 they did in the Indies." (Veitia Linage, p, 58.) In these 
 books were entered also orders for payments, and these 
 orders were the comptroller's receipts for his disbursements. 
 (2) Books of the revenue derived by the cruzada. (3) Books 
 of the King's private revenue. These contained accounts of 
 the sale of gold and silver ingots which were sold at the treas- 
 ury. These accounts embraced statements of the number and 
 weight of bars, the persons to whom they were sold, and the 
 dates and terms of sale. (4) Books wherein were entered all 
 the commodities deposited in the warehouses. (5) Boolis in 
 which were recorded all the resolutions. of tLe chamber of 
 direction. (G) Books of the dead, in wliich a record was kept 
 of all property that belonged to deceased persons, "stating 
 accounts nicely with the dead, making him creditor for all that 
 is brought over in armadas and flotas, and debtor for all that 
 is delivered to his heirs, executors, and creditors." (Veitia 
 Linage, x). 59.) (7) Books in which were entered the fines and 
 the expenses of the court. (8) Books of passengers, in which 
 were entered the names, birthjilace, and parentage of all per- 
 sons going to the Indies, the places of their destination, and 
 the terms of their licenses. (9) Books of letters, embracing 
 copies of all letters written by the court. (10) Books in which 
 were filed copies of all orders, bills, informations, and certifi- 
 cates. (11) Books in which were entered or filed the commis- 
 sions of all the officers of the India House. (12) Books in 
 which were filed copies of all naturalization papers that had 
 been issued to persons to enable them to participate in the 
 trade with the West Indies. (13; Books in which were charged 
 all utensils and goods delivered to the chief jjilot, cosmog- 
 rapher, and other officers. (14) Books in which were kept 
 accounts of the loading of all ships. 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 107 
 
 Anotlier commissiouer held the special office of treasurer, and 
 whatever money was received from the sale of gold, silver, 
 pearls, and other products of the Indies was committed to his 
 custody. The treasurer and the other commissioners were 
 required to give bonds to the amount of 30.000 ducats each, 
 and the treasurer, as the receiver of the money of deceased 
 persons, an additional bond of 15,000 ducats, while of the sub- 
 treasurer there was required a bond of 10,000 ducats. The 
 treasury chamber, to which the laws make frequent reference, 
 was a room with barred windows and double doors. Each door 
 had three unlike keys, which were distributed among the com- 
 missioners. 
 
 Payments of money belonging to the Crown were made on 
 orders issued by the King, "passed by the councils of the West 
 Indies and of the revenue in such manner that the Council of 
 the Indies gives an order for the gross sum, and then that 
 of the revenue grants particular warrants to those that are to 
 receive it. These warrants are presented in the chamber of 
 direction, where assignments are given upon the treasurer." 
 (Yeitia Linage, p. 62.) The sums belonging to deceased per- 
 sons which came into the hands of the treasurer were very great 
 during the early decades of Spanish dominion in America, 
 and it became customary to make loans from this store. In 
 1633 the King had borrowed from it more than 500,000 ducats, 
 and all the pressure that could be brought to bear upon him 
 was inadequate to make him restore it. It therefore happened 
 that iDersons holding valid claims against this fund could not 
 recover what was due them because the fund itself had been 
 exhausted by loans to persons who, like the King, either would 
 not or could not meet their obligations. In order to avoid com- 
 plications and embarrassment from delayed claims, steps were 
 taken to insure that the most efficient means possible should 
 be taken to discover the heirs in all cases; but in case they did 
 not appear or were not discovered within two years after 
 inquiry for them had been instituted, the property of such 
 deceased persons should be regarded as forfeited. The x^rop- 
 erty of deceased jDcrsons here intended included not only that 
 of persons who had died in the Indies, but also that which had 
 been left by passengers, sailors, and others who had died on 
 the outward or return voyage. For managing this property 
 the treasurer, by a decree of 1671, was granted a fee of 1 per 
 cent of all that came into his hands. 
 
108 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The third of the three judges or commissioners wlio at first 
 constituted this court of trade held, in addition to his ofSce of 
 commissioner, the si)ecial office of factor or manager. His 
 principal function was to purchase, on behalf of the King or 
 the King's officers, commodities needed for the King's service 
 in America. If a governor or any other officer of the King's 
 appointment in the Indies had need of any material from Spain 
 for the proper conduct of affairs in his department of the public 
 service, he sent to the factor at Seville or Cadiz, who purchased 
 the desired articles and sent them to him by the ordinary means 
 of communication. The factor, moreover, was charged with 
 all commodities brought from the Indies for the King, or bought 
 by the King's orders to be sent thither, except gold, silver, and 
 precious stones. These were consigned to the treasurer. Using 
 the King's arsenal as a storehouse for the things received, the 
 factor was accustomed to deliver them on an order from the 
 King, the council, or the chamber of direction. The actual 
 care of the commodities was confided to a deputy of the factor, 
 who occupied an apartment in the building in which they were 
 kept. Although the King's gold and silver were in the custody 
 of the treasurer, yet if any of it was to be melted down at the 
 mint the supervision of this work devolved upon the factor. 
 And he had, moreover, the control of the funds advanced by 
 the King for carrying ecclesiastics to the Indies and furnish- 
 ing them those things which they might need and to which 
 they were entitled under the law. 
 
 One of the important articles of trade between Spain and 
 the Indies was quicksilver, which was extensively used in the 
 production of silver. The trade in this particular commodity 
 was monopolized by the King, and no other person might 
 engage in it, under penalty of death and forfeiture of property. 
 It having been found that the mine of Almaden did not pro- 
 duce enough to supply the demand of IsTew Spain, it was 
 determined to make up the deficiency from the mines of Peru. 
 For three or four years, therefore, quicksilver was carried from 
 Peru to New Spain, and, as a part. of this transaction, goods 
 of various kinds were carried from New Spain to Peiu, thus 
 violating the law i^rohibiting trade between these two coun- 
 tries. Although this trade may have been mutually advan- 
 tageous to the two colonial kingdoms immediately concerned, 
 it was nevertheless regarded by the King as detrimental to 
 the interests of Spain, and was consequently suppressed. The 
 
CAS A DE CONTRATACION OF SKVILLE MOSES. 109 
 
 subsequent failure of the Peruvian mines caused the Indies 
 for a certain period to be supplied entirely from Europe, prin- 
 cipally from Germany and the mine of Almaden. Whatever 
 part was sent from Spain passed through Seville, and was pre- 
 pared for shipment under the care of the factor or manager of 
 the India House. The manner of putting it up has been 
 described by Veitia Linage : 
 
 Every half quintal, or half hundred, is put into a sheep's skin well hound 
 "with hempen cords, and that into a tight cask, nailed down, and three 
 of these casks containing a quintal or au hundred and an half into a 
 chest, which, heing nailed and bound over with hempen ropes^ is wrapped 
 with coarse mats and bound over again. Upon every chest is fastened the 
 King's arms painted on linen cloth, and these chests are for New Spain ; 
 for those carry but a quintal that are for the Firmland. (The Spanish 
 Rule of Trade in the West Indies, p. 68.) 
 
 To avoid the danger of the skins rotting it was found advisa- 
 ble not to form the packages until the ships were ready to sail. 
 
 A commissary was appointed to go in the ships that carry quicksilver, 
 who gave bonds to the factor for the delivery of them to the King's officers 
 at the port they were destined for, and to make good the deficiencies of 
 the regular convoy duty the masters were obliged to pay for such goods 
 as they take aboard. These commissaries were appointed by the presi- 
 dent of the India House, and being brought before the chamber of direc- 
 tion gave security ; and for their trouble and hazard were allowed 12 
 ducats for every 18 quintals, accounted a ton, which was paid by the 
 King's officers where they delivered the quicksilver. (Ibid., p. 69.) 
 
 For one hundred and twenty-two years the organization 
 known as the India House consisted of three commissioners, 
 who, as already indicated, filled the several offices of comp- 
 troller, factor, and treasurer. In 1625 Phili]3 IV added the 
 Duke of Olivares to the list of commissioners, at the same 
 time conferring upon him the office of chief aguazil, which was 
 made hereditary to the immediate heirs of his family. The 
 list of judges or commissioners was also increased by the crea- 
 tion of the office of chief alcayde, or keeper, which was con- 
 ferred upon the Count of Castrillo and made hereditary to his 
 heirs forever. It devolved ux)on him, among his other func- 
 tions, to appoint the doorkeepers of both the chamber of jus- 
 tice and the chamber of direction and their assistants, the 
 doorkeepers of the office for convoy money, the porter at the 
 gate, the keepers of the treasury chamber, and certain other 
 officers of the custom-house and port, all of whom had jpre- 
 viously been appointed by the president of the Council of the 
 Indies. 
 
110 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The attitude of Spain toward trade and traders was sucli 
 as to furnish a positive hindrance to commercial development, 
 and iu the course of time the Spaniards had to himent that, 
 througli their failure to honor and encourage merchants, most 
 of their trade had fallen into the hands of foreigners. In view 
 of the tendency toward this result, certain special privileges 
 were extended to Spanish merchants trading with the Indies. 
 Among these x)rivileges may be noted that of deferring j)ay- 
 ments to creditors in case of misfortune causing considerable 
 loss. Any person who had been granted this privilege through 
 letters of license was accustomed to pay 5 per cent per annum 
 on the amounts of the payments deferred. 
 
 It was one of the rules of transportation that goods must be 
 landed at the port to which they were consigned, and if they 
 were permitted to be sent to adjacent ports, it was required 
 that they should be sent thither in other vessels than those 
 which carried them from Spain. Goods brought fi-om the 
 Indies consigned to the King were always introduced into S^Dain 
 free of duty. Provisions and other commodities sent for the 
 use of the soldiers iu the garrison in Florida also ]3aid no duty. 
 After import duties had been removed, it was customary to 
 allow goods for use in Spain to be taken frorh the shii)S wherever 
 they might come to anchor. But goods imported for reexpor- 
 tation had to be brought to Seville, that arrangements might 
 tbere be made for the duty of exportation. In the later times 
 the duties were so exorbitant that the officers did not pretend 
 to collect the full amount. It appeared from experience that 
 by this means the maximum revenue would accrue to the State, 
 because of the extraordinary efforts that were made to escai^e 
 payment altogether wlien the full duty was demanded. 
 
 Important among the burdens imposed upon the commodi- 
 ties involved in the trade between Spain and the Indies was 
 the haberia, or duty levied on the goods carried in order to 
 meet the expenses of the convoy. It was first imposed in 
 1543, and was then at the rate of 2^ per cent, and in 1587 it 
 Avas raised to 7 per cent. After the sea had become somewhat 
 more safe by the cessation of hostilities between England and 
 Spain the rate of convoy duty fell to 6 j)er cent, but it apiiears 
 to bave risen again in the first half of the seventeenth, cen- 
 tury, for by a decree of Philip IV, dated 1G44, it was ordered 
 that this duty should not exceed 12 i^er cent. All commodities 
 
CASA DE COXTRATACIOX OF SEVILLE MOSES. Ill 
 
 whatsoever carried to or brouglit from the Indies, not except- 
 ing those belonging- to the King himself, were required to pay 
 this duty. jSTo goods were delivered until the duty for convoy 
 had been paid, and this was exacted although the goods had 
 on another account been forfeited. Yet silver and commodi- 
 ties consigned for the holy places at Jerusalem and for the 
 redemption of captives were exempt from this duty. The 
 collecting and accounting for this duty was at one time 
 -intrusted to the commissioners of the India House, but after 
 1572 it was placed in the hands of a special commission of five 
 persons, who sat in a chamber of the India House, which had 
 been appointed for their use. 
 
 Besides the functionaries already mentioned there was also 
 a proveedor, or commissary-general, whose duty it was ''to 
 order all payments for i)rovisions bought," and to see that no 
 more provisions and stores were taken on board than were 
 needed for use. This officer was subordinate to the president 
 and commissioners of the India House, and all agreements 
 which he might make required their approval in order to be 
 valid. He was i^ermitted to employ four agents or under- 
 comraissaries, and was required to render an account of all 
 provisions turned over by him to the officers of the ships tak- 
 ing charge of them. Such provisions were free from all duties. 
 The proveedor might appoint a deputy to act in his absence, 
 and also two clerks, when the amount of the business de- 
 manded it. 
 
 Among the other j)ersons employed in connection with the 
 shipping to America mention may be made of the superin- 
 tendent of the workmen engaged in the shipyaras. He was 
 expected to examine the ships needing repairs and to oversee 
 the work of repairing, preventing waste through dishonest 
 work or the stealing of material. The master carpenters and 
 master calkers were appointed by the King, on the recommen- 
 dation of the commissioners of the India House. They were 
 paid by the day whenever they had work. There was also a 
 storekeei^er, who had charge of all provisions and materials 
 for fitting out ships, and who delivered them as they were 
 needed " from the time the ships began to be fitted till they 
 sailed." During part of the colonial period there were two of 
 these officers, and at other times three. 
 
 The visitors of ships. were important officers of the India 
 House. They have been described as next to the commissioners 
 
112 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 in dignity. They were required to be " expert and skillful" in 
 fitting out ships, to inspect them, and to determine the number 
 of men and the amount of stores, arms, and ammunition that 
 should be put on board of each. Before leaving for the Indies 
 each ship was required to have a license from the president and 
 commissioners of the India House, and to have been examined 
 either by the president and commissioners themselves or by 
 the visitor. The ship was examined before it was loaded, in 
 order that it might be seen if it were seaworthy in all respects 
 and well ballasted. In addition to these precautions it was 
 provided, in 1609, that no ship under 200 tons burden should 
 be admitted to the convoyed fleet. It was customary to have 
 every ship visited three times. 
 
 The first visit was for the visitor to appoint how the vessel was to he 
 fitted ; the second, to see whether all had been performed that was ordered ; 
 and the third, to clear it for sailing. (Veitia Linage, p. 98.) 
 
 The third visit was that already referred to as made by the 
 president or one of the commissioners of the India House. He 
 was accompanied by a visitor, who was to see that the ships 
 were not overloaded, that no freight was carried on deck, that 
 a sufficient amount of x)rovisions had been taken on board, that 
 the vessels carried the requisite amount of arms and no more, 
 and that they had on board no unlicensed passengers or wares 
 not properly entered. At the sailing of a vessel the business 
 of the visitor with reference to it was ended, for on the return 
 of the ships the visitor had nothing to do with them. (Veitia 
 Linage, j). 99.) In addition to these officers there was a large 
 number of clerks and other subordinates, who had in hand 
 the mass of details relating to the trade between Spain and 
 America. 
 
 Concerning emigration to the Indies, it was provided in 1511 
 that any subject of Spain, on properly entering his name, might 
 be allowed to go to the Indies. But later, in 1518, in 1522, in 
 1530, and in 1539, orders were passed involving restrictions, in 
 accordance with which the bar of exclusion was raised against 
 all persons newly converted from Judaism or Mohammedanism 
 to the Catholic faith, against the children of such persons, or 
 the children and grandchildren of persons who had worn the 
 St. Andrew's cross of the Inquisition, and against the descend- 
 ants of any person who had been burned or condemned for 
 heresy. Any person violating these provisions was liable to 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 113 
 
 forfeiture of property, a hundred lashes, and perpetual banish- 
 ment from the Indies. To prevent violations of the restrictive 
 laws concerning emigration it was provided by a royal order 
 of 1522— 
 
 That for the future the judges or commissioners of the India House 
 should not suffer any person whatsoever, though of such as were allowed 
 or though he had the King's letters of license, to go over to the Indies 
 iiuless they brought certificates from the places where they were horn, to 
 make appear whether they were married or single, describing their j)er- 
 sons, setting down their age, and declaring that they are neither Jews nor 
 Moors, nor children of such, nor persons newly reconciled, nor sous or 
 grandsons" of any that have been punished, condemned, or burned as here- 
 tics or for heretical crimes, such certificates to be signed by the magis- 
 trates of the city, town, or place where such persons were born. (Veitia 
 Linage, p. 108.) 
 
 A few years later, in 1559, the prelates in the Indies were 
 instructed " to inquire whether there were any Jews, Moors, or 
 heretics in those parts, and to j^unish them severely." And in 
 1566 all the sons and grandsons of heretics were excluded 
 from oifices or jilaces of trust. 
 
 All magistrates, captains, x)ilots, masters, mates, or other 
 persons aiding in the violation of these restrictions on emigra- 
 tion were subject to a great variety of jDenalties — fines, lashes, 
 banishment, imprisonment, and transportation to Spain — 
 which were increased to such an extent that in the beginning 
 of the seventeenth century it was decreed that passengers who 
 should go to the Indies without the proper leave " should be 
 sent to the galleys for four years, or, if they were persons of 
 quality, to Oran for ten years." This penalty should also be 
 imposed upon masters of ships, and in addition a fine of 1,000 
 silver ducats. In 1607 it was provided that any sea officer 
 carrying passengers to the Indies without leave should be 
 punished with death. But in the course of time the extreme 
 rigor of the law was abated in favor of a pecuniary fine. Yet 
 the severer measures continued to have supporters, since the 
 removal of restrictions caused the countries to be overrun with 
 peddlers, who cut off more or less of the trade of the estab- 
 lished merchants. 
 
 The president and commissioners of the India House, with- 
 out reference to the King, might grant leave to go to the Indies 
 to mestizos who had been brought to Spain; to merchants, even 
 such as were married, provided they had permission from their 
 H. Mis. 91 8 
 
114 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 wives and left 1,000 ducats as a guaranty that they would re- 
 turn within three years j to agents of merchants in the Indies, 
 but only for three years, and to inhabitants of the Indies who 
 were known to have wives there. Any other person required a 
 license from the King. 
 
 When the question arose as to what persons should be 
 regarded as merchants, the title was interpreted so as to 
 include anyone who had shipped goods rated for the payment 
 of duties at $750 or more. Married women whose husbands 
 were living in the Indies might go to them and be accompanied 
 by a kinsman within the fourth degree of consanguinity; but 
 in case the husband went to Spain for his wife he was not per- 
 mitted to return without a license from the King; and the 
 I)rivilege of going to the Indies was strictly withheld from all 
 single women. 
 
 Although the president and commissioners of the India 
 House might permit merchants to go to the Indies without 
 their wives for a period of three years, provided they had the 
 consent of their wives and left the guaranty of $1,000, yet no 
 other married man, not even a governor or other officer of state, 
 was allowed to go without his wife, except under an express 
 dispensation from the King. And without this dispensation 
 the wife of the highest officer, as well as the wife of the ordi- 
 nary man, was required to bring the same x^roofs of identity 
 that were required of the men. 
 
 How rigid was the restriction imposed on emigration may 
 be seen from the fact that although one held a commission 
 for employment in the Indies, and even a pass from the King, 
 he was not permitted to sail without a license from the India 
 House. It was not, however, to be expected that all persons 
 would bring their certificates of qualification in the exact form 
 required by the law. And when there were deficiencies in the 
 papers presented, such deficiencies were sometimes supplied 
 by information gathered by the officers of the India House; 
 and sometimes, in order to avoid the great inconvenience that 
 might be caused by delay, a pass or license was issued on the 
 receipt of satisfactory security that certificates in due form 
 would be subsequently forwarded from the proper sources. 
 
 The rules governing the passengers on the voyage required 
 that they should carry their own provisions, and the masters of 
 ships were prohibited from undertaking to furnish them food. 
 The passengers were, moreover, required to swear that they 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 115 
 
 would not remain at any port at which they might stop on the 
 way to their proper destination, and that they would not carry 
 their goods ashore before they had been examined. If one 
 carried a license to reside at a specified town in the Indies, he 
 was expected to reside there: and if one pretended to be going 
 to the Indies to exercise a certain handicraft, he was obliged to 
 follow it. (Veitia Linage, p. 113.) And there were also rules 
 prohibiting persons from going from one province to another 
 without leave from the King. Similar restrictions were imposed 
 upon persons going from the Indies to Spain. They might not 
 leave without permission " from the viceroys, presidents, or 
 governors of the places of their habitation." And the gov- 
 ernors of seaports were prohibited from granting leave to any 
 person not residing in their jurisdiction, except on the presen- 
 tation of a license from the civil officer within whose jurisdiction 
 he lived. 
 
 By an ordinance of 1560 it was provided that i^ersons going 
 to the Indies without license should forfeit to the Crown all 
 property acquired there, with the exception of one- fifth part, 
 which should go to the informer; and they should, moreover, 
 be arrested and sent as prisoners to Spain at their own expense. 
 ISTeither they nor their heirs might receive goods sent to them -, 
 and, in accordance with a bull issued by Alexander VI, they 
 were declared to be excommunicated. 
 
 If the royal ordinances which touch on the ecclesiastical 
 affairs of America indicate the will of the Spanish Kings in 
 this matter, they were moved with a strong desire to promote 
 the religious welfare of the Indians. Presupposing this desire, 
 the restrictions which were placed on the emigration of friars 
 and priests appear as means for preventing any but those of 
 virtuous and exemplary lives from going to the Indies. These 
 restrictions were carried out through orders to the commis- 
 sioners of the India House not to allow the friars of any order 
 to go without a license. Persons attempting to avoid this 
 provision were seized and sent back to Spain. As early as 
 1530 an order was issued to the commissioners of the India 
 House requiring them not to permit foreign friars to go to the 
 Indies, even if they had leave from their superiors. This pro- 
 hibition was confirmed by later ordinances, under which it was 
 required that all applications by ecclesiastics for passes should 
 be referred to the Council of the Indies. In 1664 the privilege 
 of entering upon missionary work in the Indies was granted 
 
116 , AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 to Jesuits under certain restrictions. The members of tlie 
 religious orders wlio went to America under these conditions 
 went at the King's expense, but they were obliged to restore 
 to him the amount of his outlay in case they returned to 
 Spain without leave. In the course of time, by reason of the 
 rise of ])rices, the allowance which had been granted in the 
 beginning for these expenses was found to be quite inade- 
 quate, and whatever further amount was needed by the friars 
 was made up by the orders to which they belonged. 
 
 Friars of the order of Carmelites who went shod were spe- 
 cially prohibited from going to the Indies, but this prohibi- 
 tion did not stand against the barefooted friars of this order. 
 After the beginning of the seventeenth century the prohibi- 
 tion was made to apply to all orders which had not already 
 established monasteries in America. By an act of the coun- 
 cil it was provided, in 1665, that no friar having returned 
 from America to Spain would be allowed to go back, even 
 though he had a license, unless on his arrival in Spain he had 
 reported to the council the cause of his return. The long list 
 of ordinances limiting the movements and general activity of 
 the members of the religious orders indicates to what marvel- 
 ous lengths and into what minute details Spain's restrictive 
 system extended. 
 
 In keeping with the restrictive policy of the Spaniards, all 
 foreigners were forbidden to trade with the Indies without a 
 special license from the King; and having obtained such a 
 license, they were limited to dealing in their own wares, and 
 might not, even if naturalized, become owners or masters of 
 ships. By foreigners were meant all x3ersons not born in the 
 Kingdom of Castile, Leon, or Aragon. Later the territory to 
 be born in which constituted one a native in the meaning of 
 the law was extended so as to include Kavarre, Valencia, and 
 Catalonia. The class of xjersons known in Spain as natives 
 was further extended by the decree of 1562, and made to 
 embrace such foreigners as had been settled householders in 
 Spain for ten years and had married a Spanish or an Indian 
 woman. But residence, even for more than ten years, did not 
 confer this privilege on bachelors. In 1608 the line was drawn 
 somewhat more strictly. Twenty years of residence, including 
 ten as a householder, were required; also marriage with a 
 native or with a daughter of a foreigner born under Spanish 
 dominion. 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 117 
 
 In order to avoid tlie effect of these iDrovisions foreigDers 
 who were " not capacitated to trade, contrary to the known 
 laws, sold their commodities to subjects and natives of 
 these kingdoms, to be paid for them in the Indies, by which 
 means the gold and plate brought from those parts was car- 
 ried to other countries, and that very often before it came into 
 Spain." (Veitia Linage, p. 127.) This practice led to the 
 passage of special ordinances prohibiting it. These were con- 
 firmed at different times, and death and forfeiture of goods 
 fixed as penalties for their violation. An attempt was, more- 
 over, made to prevent foreigners from trading in the Indies by 
 ordering that persons residing there should not purchase com- 
 modities of foreigners, on pain of forfeiting half their property 
 and of being returned to Spain as prisoners. By a later law 
 foreigners were forbidden to reside in the Indies, and those 
 already there were expelled ; yet in the course of time the 
 harshness of this law of expulsion was toned down by lax exe- 
 cution. In spite of the severe measure taken against foreign- 
 ers attempting to trade with the Indies or residing there, it 
 was decreed that foreigners residing in Seville and at adjacent 
 ports, although they might not engage in the India trade, 
 should nevertheless be obliged to contribute to the fitting out 
 of armadas and fleets and to all other expenses borne by the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 The intimate relation between the King and his American 
 dominions necessitated a regular organized system of postal 
 communication. As early as 1514, by a royal warrant. Dr. 
 Galindez de Carvajal was made postmaster of the Indies, and 
 by a subsequent order of the Council of the Indies, issued in 
 1525, all persons were restrained from interfering with him in 
 the dispatch of messages concerning the affairs of the Indies. 
 The lines of this service covered the distances between Seville 
 and the other ports and Madrid, as well as the distances 
 between Spain and America. The postmaster of the Indies 
 was an officer of the India House. His duties were " to receive 
 all dispatches sent by the president, commissioners, or other 
 officers, or by the prior and consuls, and other persons trading, 
 to the Indies." He provided means for sending- messages to 
 the court and to the various ports by keeping post horses 
 at certain stations. The service was rendered by persons 
 appointed by the postmaster, who were prohibited from mak- 
 ing any charges above the rates fixed by law. The customary 
 
118 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 speed at wMcli messages were transmitted uuder tliis system 
 was thirty leagues a day. Eigoroiis laws enjoined all persons 
 from intercepting and opening letters and packets. Of the 
 amount paid for this service the postmaster was allowed one- 
 tenth part. 
 
 The laws and ordinances contain abundant details concern- 
 ing the organization and control of the royal navy and fleets 
 of merchant ships engaged in furthering the India trade. The 
 admiral or captain-general held the chief command, and while 
 on the sea was clothed with power which was essentially abso- 
 lute; yet he was under oath " that he would not avoid death 
 in defense of the faith, of his master's honor and right, and 
 of the public good of the kingdom." The admirals and vice- 
 admirals, before beginning to exercise the functions of their 
 offices, were obliged to present their commissions and instruc- 
 tions to the officers of the India House, and to furnish the 
 required security that they would faithfully perform the duties 
 of their offices, or meet whatever fines might be imposed upon 
 them. The amount of the security demanded varied accord- 
 ing to the dignity of the office, ranging from 300 ducats, in the 
 case of the physician, to 5,000 ducats in the case of the 
 admiral. 
 
 After having crossed the bar of San Lucar, the admiral's 
 vessel took the lead, the other vessels followed, the ship of the 
 vice-admiral held her position in the rear, and the other men- 
 of-war kept to windward of the merchant vessels. If any 
 ship strayed from the fleet, a fine was imposed upon certain of 
 her officers, and they were excluded for a series of years from 
 making this voyage ; but if a ship was willfully taken from the 
 fleet, the guilty officers suffered death and forfeiture of prop- 
 erty. After putting to sea the admiral or vice-admiral exam- 
 ined all the ships. If goods were found that had not been 
 properly entered, they were confiscated j and if passengers 
 were found without license, they were set on shore at the 
 Canaries, and sent back to the prison of the India House. 
 
 The effect of the restrictive policy as carried out through 
 the India House was disastrous to both Spam and her Ameri- 
 can ^possessions. 
 
 The population of Spain declined, her manufactories were ruined, her 
 merchant marine ceased to exist except in name, her capital was dimin- 
 ished, foreigners carried on her commerce by means of contraband, and 
 all the gold and silver of the New World found its way to other countries 
 than Spain. (Mitre, Historia de Belgrano, I, p. 23.^ 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 119 
 
 Professor Oairnes says that " about the middle of the eight- 
 eenth century/' when, according- to Robertson, " the exchisive 
 trade to America from Seville was at its height," the freight 
 that was carried to America in the legal traffic of Spain with 
 her colonies " did not exceed 27,500 tons." (Political Essays, 
 p. 12.) 
 
 To surround the violation of commercial regulations with all 
 the terrors of the law, it was provided that in case foreigners 
 should succeed in entering Spanish American ports the inhab- 
 itants should not trade with them, on pain of death and con- 
 fiscation of property. But these laws were not effective. The 
 number of foreigners in the seaport towns and the amount of 
 foreign trade increased, and in certain quarters, particularly 
 at Buenos Ayres, the contraband trade very early exceeded 
 the legal trade with Spain. In fact, the city of Buenos Ayres 
 outran in its growth other towns because of the great advan- 
 tages of the contraband trade over the legitimate trade. 
 
 IsTot only in commerce, but also in agriculture, was the 
 Spanish policy restrictive. As late as 1803 orders were re- 
 ceived in Spanish America from Spain to root up all the vines 
 in certain provinces, "because the Cadiz merchants complained 
 of a diminution in the consumption of Spanish wines." (Hall, 
 Journey, II, p. 244.) 
 
 Spain objected also to the cultivation of tobacco in Spanish 
 America, and the inhabitants were prevented from raising flax, 
 hemp, or saffron. The cultivation of the olive was forbidden, 
 lest it might limit the market for Spanish oil. If in Buenos 
 Ayres the inhabitants were allowed to cultivate grapes and 
 olives, it was only '' by special permission, and only in suffi- 
 cient quantity for the table." 
 
 The Spanish i3olicy with reference to the American i^osses- 
 sions not only imposed restrictions on industry and commerce, 
 but also on the movement of population. The violation of 
 laws concerning this latter subject was j)unished with confis- 
 cation of property, one-fourth of which went to the informer 
 and the rest to the royal treasury. Although the policy le- 
 specting migration reveals a vicious tendency to hedge about 
 popular movement with too many restrictions, it must be 
 admitted that some of the regulations indicate a humane spirit 
 on the x>art of the makers of the law. Such was the require- 
 ment that no slave who was married should be allowed to go 
 
120 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 to the Indies without his wife and chiklren. The restrictions 
 on emigration necessitated a slow increase in the population 
 of the Spanish colonies, and thus permitted a more complete 
 assimilation of the Spaniard to the Indian type than would 
 have been loossible had the emigration to the colonies been 
 unrestrained and rapid. 
 
 But the people of Spanish America complained that the 
 restrictions which were imjoosed upon them sacrificed the well- 
 being of a continent to the ignorance and selfishness of the 
 Spanish court and its privileged adherents. If a settler on 
 the bank of the Eio de la Plata wished some article of Euro- 
 pean ]3roduction, for a long time the route by which it could 
 reach him in the course of legitimate trade was from Seville 
 to Porto Bello, from Porto Bello across the Isthmus to Panama, 
 from Panama to Lima, and from Lima across the continent to 
 its destination. The effect of this, except in a few favored 
 places like Lima and the City of Mexico, was to prevent the 
 use of European wares and to compel the settlers to accept 
 such substitutes as they were able to produce or obtain from 
 the Indians. In other words, the trade restrictions which 
 were imjiosed upon the colonists, instead of permitting them 
 to start with the advantages of the achievements of European 
 civilization, in many cases drove them back to the barbarism 
 of the aborigines and doomed them to go over again the pain- 
 ful Avay up to civilization which their ancestors had trod in 
 Europe. To go from Spain to America, except to a few privi- 
 leged places, was not merely to go into exile, but even to 
 renounce civilization. And not only this; for by reason of the 
 restrictions placed on agriculture and the industries, as well 
 as on trade, one was not given a free hand with which to work 
 his way forward. It is true there were no legal hindrances 
 to the raising of cattle on the vast and fertile plains of the 
 Argentine. But the natural ports of this region were closed, 
 and there was no outlet toward the civilized world for the 
 l^roducts of these ranges except across the continent to Peru, 
 over the Isthmus to Porto Bello, and from Porto Bello to 
 Spain once a year. With a limited poi)ulation and no exit, 
 and with practically unlimited herds, the value of these herds 
 disappeared. In the early years of the eighteenth century, 
 even after the port of Buenos Ayres had been opened to the 
 extent of admitting two small vessels annually, an ox was 
 
CASA DE CONTRATACION OF SEVILLE MOSES. 121 
 
 worth $1, a sheep from 3 to 4 cents, and a mare 10 cents. 
 The prices had risen to this amount from a still lower point 
 under the influence of the demand made by these vessels for 
 hides, strengthened by the larger demand of the contraband 
 trade of the EngHsh and Portuguese. It was clear enough to 
 the iDeople of the Argentine that to them a closed port meant 
 poverty and a free port prosperity. Their opposition to the 
 Spanish policy, and, in fact, to the Spanish rule, which ap- 
 peared in the beginning of this century was no sentimental 
 opposition, but rested on the hard basis of economical con- 
 siderations. As economical considerations were conspicuous 
 in the motives of the Dutch in revolting against the authority 
 of Spain, and furnished also an important ground of the action 
 which the thirteen English colonies took against the mother 
 country, so the industrial and commercial restraints with 
 which Spain hampered the economical develoximent of South 
 America constituted a standing grievance and had great 
 weight in ultimately determining the people to make them- 
 selves free. The intensity of the evils of restriction was 
 decreased in the course of time, but for this no thanks were 
 due to the authorities of Spain. The Spanish jDolicy failed 
 because it involved an irrational scheme. It failed because 
 it undertook permanently to contravene the normal oijeration 
 of economic forces. It broke of its own weight, and it left the 
 people to whom it had applied with a weakened sense of their 
 obligations to uphold the law. 
 
 The inhabitants of Spanish America, with unimportant ex- 
 ceptions, revolted against the protective system which had 
 been imposed upon them. Prominent among the exceptions 
 were the little towns of Panama and Porto Bello. As long as 
 all trade to the greater part of South America had to pass the 
 Isthmus, these ports, as points for the collection and distribu- 
 tion of the wares involved, maintained a degree of relative 
 importance. They wei'e naturally interested in the continu- 
 ance of the royal policy. But the great bulk of the peoiile 
 desired freedom. They saw that governmental restrictions on 
 trade were likely to be made in the interests of a few ijersons, 
 or of certain limited sections. Buenos Ayres, standing on the 
 Atlantic shore facing Europe, objected to being made by law 
 the extreme frontier, and the insignificant concession of 1618, 
 which permitted two ships of 100 tons each to enter the port- 
 
122 AMP^RICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 annually, failed to satisfy their commercial ambition. The 
 inhabitants of this and other isolated provinces recognized 
 that the commercial regulations violated their interests, and 
 they were driven to decide between upholding a law which 
 sacrificed their well-being and giving countenance to a viola- 
 tion of this law through which would come prosperity and 
 progress. The result here was what might have been expected. 
 The vast extent of the border of Spain's possessions made it 
 impossible for her to guard it efficiently. Smuggling could, 
 therefore, be carried on with impunity, and the high ijrices 
 which had been given to European wares in America by the 
 system of restriction constituted a sufficient inducement to 
 lead the merchants of other nations to engage in contraband 
 trade. 
 
 The discovery of the passage around Cape Horn opened 
 new currents for the trade with Spanish America. With this, 
 the Pacific ceased to be an inland sea of the Spanish domin- 
 ions, reached only by crossing Spanish territory. It was 
 entered by all nations, and the doctrine of the freedom of the 
 sea, which was later formulated by Hugo Grotius, was intro- 
 duced in x>ractice. Here was the beginning of the end of 
 Spanish monopoly. Both the eastern and western coasts of 
 South America were infested with English, French, Portu- 
 guese, and Dutch traders, who carried their contraband wares 
 to nearly every Spanish- American port; but nowhere were 
 the effects of this smuggling more marked than in the devel- 
 oi:)ment of Buenos Ayres. Here the commercial nations, by 
 trading either directly or through the Portuguese settlements 
 in the neighboring territory of Brazil, i)articularly through 
 Colonia, gathered, as General Mitre has said, '■'■ the best fruits, 
 which Spain in her blindness denied to herself." " The contra- 
 band trade constituted the true commerce, and its operations 
 were carried on with the regularity of a lawful act for the pro- 
 tection of the common interest. The merchants of the i)ort 
 had agents for this purpose in Eio Janeiro and Lisbon, and even 
 in Seville;" and the traffic was conducted in complete security, 
 undisturbed by the authorities, who were unable to suppress 
 it, and ^' had to tolerate it or consent to it, as a fact or as a 
 necessity." (Mitre, Historia de Belgrano, I, p. 42.) ISTowhere 
 else in the history of the world has contraband trade been so 
 
CASA DE CONTEATACION OF SEVILLE ^MOSES. 123 
 
 regularly and thoroughly organized as here. Under it, to use 
 the words of Merivale — 
 
 Buenos Ayres rose from an insignificant station to a considerable city, 
 merely from being the center of the contraband traffic between Europe 
 and Peru. The Spaniards guarded their coasts with an expensive mari- 
 time force, while they resorted in the interior to the strange measure of 
 making smuggling an offense cognizable by the Inquisition. But all 
 such efforts were fruitless to check the force and violence of the ordinary 
 trade. The flotas and galleons sank to insignificance; and their owners 
 "were glad to make these licensed squadrons serve for introducing the 
 contraband commodities of other nations. (Colonization and Colonies, 
 pp. 15, 16.) 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 llllllllll