h is annually withdrawn
and conveyed thither, without any hope that any part of it will ever
return to us. For the Chinese have a great surplus of all goods,
and never come to buy anything, but only to sell--and that only for
reals of eight; and consequently, they make their prices so cheap, in
order to get the reals, that they constrain one to buy a much greater
quantity of their merchandise than he would buy if the prices were
higher and the profits less. And although the profits are seemingly
large at first, they are not so in reality, because of the little
durability of the Chinese goods, and because of the damage caused to
the merchandise of Espana by their importation; for, by permitting
it, the consumption of Spanish goods is lessened, and they have less
value. Consequently--setting aside the so universal damage to all the
natives [of Espana], and in particular that to the producers of the
said silk (and its production is daily diminishing, to such an extent,
indeed, that in a very few years so little will be produced that
the damage will be made plainly evident in the royal duties, and
in its lack and scarcity), and how much greater benefit would be
the prohibition than the permission of the said silk of China--his
Majesty and his ministers, in attending to his royal revenues, are
under obligation to furnish suitable relief for this, for the welfare
of his kingdoms and vassals. Since the towns of the kingdom of Granada
were given, after their insurrection, [54] under an annuity obligation
[censo] to private persons so that they might settle therein, and
the annuity amounts to more than one hundred thousand ducados of
revenue, which are paid through the increase in the production of
the silk; and [it is necessary] that there should be a ready sale
and handling of it, for the estates that were given to them have no
other important products from which they could obtain the money to pay
the said annuity; necessarily, if the production of the silk ceases,
then the payment of the annuity will cease. For in that and in the
ready sale of the said silk consists the power [to pay the annuity];
and it also consists in the many people who, having the silk, would
occupy themselves in its production, culture, and preparation, who
will consume and use a great quantity of food. That would cause an
excise duty on the food of more than one hundred thousand additional
ducados per year; but this income would cease if the production