the whole voyage
takes up very near an entire year. For this reason, though there is often
no more than one ship employed at a time, yet there is always one ready
for the sea when the other arrives, and therefore the commerce at Manila
are provided with three or four stout ships that, in case of any
accident, the trade may not be suspended. The largest of these ships,
whose name I have not learned, is described as little less than one of
our first-rate men-of-war, and indeed she must be of an enormous size,
for it is known that when she was employed with other ships from the same
port to cruise for our China trade, she had no less than 1,200 men on
board. Their other ships, though far inferior in bulk to this, are yet
stout, large vessels, of the burthen of 1,200 tons and upwards, and
usually carry from 350 to 600 hands, passengers included, with fifty odd
guns. As these are all King's ships, commissioned and paid by him, there
is usually one of the captains who is styled the "General," and who
carries the royal standard of Spain at the main-topgallant masthead.

The ship having received her cargo on board and being fitted for the sea,
generally weighs from the mole of Cabite about the middle of July, taking
advantage of the westerly monsoon which then sets in to carry them to
sea. When they are clear of the islands they stand to the northward of
the east, in order to get into the latitude of thirty odd degrees, when
they expect to meet with westerly winds, before which they run away for
the coast of California. It is most remarkable that, by the concurrent
testimony of all the Spanish navigators, there is not one port, nor even
a tolerable road, as yet found out betwixt the Philippine Islands and the
coast of California and Mexico,* so that from the time the Manila ship
first loses sight of land she never lets go her anchor till she arrives
on the coast of California, and very often not till she gets to its
southernmost extremity.

(*Note. The Sandwich Islands were discovered by Captain Cook in 1779. The
Spanish ships had usually crossed the Pacific 9 or 10 degrees south of
them.)

ACAPULCO.

The most usual time of the arrival of the galleon at Acapulco is towards
the middle of January, but this navigation is so uncertain that she
sometimes gets in a month sooner, and at other times has been detained at
sea above a month longer. The port of Acapulco is by much the securest
and finest in all the northern parts of t