7 Yuegang harbor: Author’s visits; Li 2001:chap. 1; Lin 1990:170–73; Li, Y. 1563. Request to Establish a County. In Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 21, “Writings” (“long time now”); vol. 24, “Collected Stories” (ten-family law). My thanks to Huang Zhongyi and Lin Renchuan for taking me around the remains of Yuegang; to Li Jinming for tolerating two long interviews; and to Kenneth Pomeranz for illuminating discussions.
8 Wokou crisis begins: Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Bandit Incursions”; vol. 24, “Collected Stories” (ten-family policy).
9 Zhu Wan: Li 2001:12–13, 24–25; Chang 1983:254–55; So 1975:50–121 (fine, 63); Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Bandit Incursions.” I have approximately rendered Zhu’s title of “grand provincial coordinator” as “governor.”
10 “them to leave”: Chang 1983:242.
11 More than twenty thousand died: Chang 1983:246.
12 “hilly ruins”: Luo 1983:vol. 2, n.p. (“Records of Eastern Barbarians: Japan”).
13 “to the town”: Zhuge 1976:n.p. (“Sea Pirates”).
14 Twenty-four Generals and end of piracy in Yuegang: Li 2006c (Wu Island, 50); Chang 1983:200–17 (hiring smugglers), 230–34 (officials in smuggling families), 251–58 (battles with Yuegang pirates); So 1975:151–53; Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Bandit Incursions”; vol. 21, “Writings” (“itself moaned”). Li (2001:16) says that Shao actually beheaded Hong.
15 Motives for rescinding ban: One Fujianese official argued that after legalizing international trade the “good people” from Yuegang who were now “scattered abroad” would “return permanently to their homeland and live amongst the rebels. Should any unlawful behavior begin to sprout up, the public will learn of it first and report it to local officials, who could then make a concerted effort to wipe them out” (Li, Y. 1563. Request to Establish a County. In Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 21, “Writings”).
16 Chinese coins and paper money: Von Glahn 2010 (export coins, 467–68); 2005 (“short-string,” 66; huizi value, 75); 1996:51–55; Ederer 1964:91–92; Tullock 1957.
17 First European banknotes: Mackenzie 1953:2. They were issued in Sweden, which previously had used heavy copper coins. Very heavy—weighing about forty-three pounds—the Swedish ten-dollar coin is said to be the heaviest ever made. England first tried paper money in 1694.
18 Cowry shells: Johnson 1970. Commodity money like gold is also problematic because if inflation occurs the government has to worry about the ostensible value of the coin becoming less than the actual value of the gold it is made of, which leads to people melting down their change and selling the metal. To forestall this possibility, governments can debase their coins by mixing in less valuable materials. But that creates, in effect, two parallel currencies: a valuable old currency and a less valuable new currency.
19 Cycles of paper and silver: Von Glahn 1996:43–47, 56–82 (“economic realities,” 72); Chen et al. 1995; Tullock 1957. Silver use varied widely by location (Pomeranz, pers. comm.).
20 “ring out”: Gao Gong, quoted in Quan 1991b.
21 “It never ends”: Runan Gazetteer (1608), quoted in Quan 1991b:598; see also, Von Glahn 1996:168.
22 Zhangpu County and Jiajing coins: Von Glahn 1996:86–88, 96–102, 143–57 (Wanli coins not accepted); 220–22 (Gu’s economic ideas); Quan 1991b:597 (Gu quote).
23 Kanyinshi: Interviews, Li Jinming, Lin Renchuan, Dai Yefeng.
24 Silver in one-tenth: Quan 1991b:573–74. The writer was Jin Xueyan in 1570.
25 Tax reform: Von Glahn details the slow change from a paper-money to a coin to an uncoined silver tax system (1996:75–161 passim). See also, Flynn and Giráldez 2001:262–65; Huang 1981:61–63; Atwell 1982:84–85; Quan 1972b.
26 Decline of silver mining: Von Glahn 1996:114–15; Quan 1991c, 1972b. See also, Atwell 1982:76–79.
27 China seeks silver overseas to finance government: Guo 2002; Qian 1986:69–70; see also, Von Glahn 1996:113–25.
28 Trade-driven diaspora: Guo (2002) says more than 100,000 may have gone out.
29 Chinese in Philippines: Anon. Relation of the Conquest of the Island of Luzon, 20 Apr. 1572. In B&R 3:141–72, at 167–68 (150 in Manila). A lower number—eighty couples, plus, one assumes, children—occurs in Anon. (Martín de Goiti?). Relation of the Voyage to Luzon, 1570. In B&R 3:73–104, at 101. The Ming Shi claims that before Legazpi Fujianese “traders of abundant means, several tens of thousand in number,” lived in the Philippines. They “took up a long residence there, and did not return home until their sons and grandsons had grown up” (MS 323.211.8370). “Tens of thousand” should be understood figuratively, as “a great number, perhaps as many as ten thousand.” My thanks to Devin Fitzgerald for this translation.
30 Discovery of Potosí: Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 33–39; Gaibrois 1950:11–22; Capoche 1959:77–78; Acosta 1894:308–10; Baquíjano y Carrillo 1793:31–32.
31 Indian metallurgy and smelters: Mann 2005:82–83 (and references therein); Acosta 1894:324–26; Cieza de Léon 1864:388–89 (chap. CIX).
32 Potosí population: Dressing 2007:39–41 (migration restriction); Chandler 1987:529 (list of American cities by population); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 43 (more than fourteen thousand in 1546), vol. 3, 286 (160,000 in 1611); López de Velasco 1894:502 (1560s); Acarete du Biscay 1698:2–5 (restrictions); Anon. 1603:377–78; Baquíjano y Carrillo 1793:37–38 (160,000). Potosí’s only competitor was Mexico City, which in 1612 had about 145,000 inhabitants (Beltrán 1989:216). At this time, “Seville barely housed 45,000 residents; Paris, 60,000; London and Antwerp, 100,000; and Madrid, 6,000 souls” (Pacheco 1995:274). All these figures are debatable, but they give an idea of relative sizes.
33 Potosí opulence: Author’s visit (coat of arms); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 250 (“strands of pearl”); Acarete du Biscay 1698:61 (silver paving); Quesada 1890:vol. 1, 178–80 (courtesans), vol. 2, 420 (bidding war). A single peach could cost one hundred pesos (Baquíjano y Carrillo 1793:38).
34 Dependence on imports: Cobb 1949:30–31; López de Velasco 1894:503; Acosta 1894:306; Anon. 1603:373.
35 Mercury amalgamation: Whitaker 1971 (“mountain of Potosí,” 105, note 21). My thanks to Bryan Coughlan for helping me with the chemistry.
36 Four thousand a week: Brown 2001:469–70 (Huancavelica); Cole 1985:12 (Potosí). The numbers fluctuated over time; I give typical numbers for the beginning of the program.
37 3–8 million deaths: E.g., Galeano 1997:39. The historian David Stannard (1993:89) wrote that the life span of a mine worker was “about the same as that of someone working at slave labor in the synthetic rubber manufacturing plant at Auschwitz.” The actual death rate, though still horrific, seems to have been much smaller (Cole 1985:26).
38 Huancavelica conditions: Brown 2001; Whitaker 1971; Lohmann Villena 1949. A fine summary is Reader 2009: 10–14.
39 Potosí schedule, conditions: Cole 1985:24–25; Acosta 1894:321–23; Acarete du Biscay 1698:50 (“After Six days constant work, the Conductor brings ’em [sic] back the Saturday following.” As the laborers staggered to bed, the Potosí governor “causes a review to be made of ’em, to make the owners of the Mines give ’em the Wages that are appointed ’em, and to see how many of ’em are dead, that the [native leaders] may be oblig’d to supply the number that is wanting”); Loaisa 1586:600–03 (“Saturday,” 602).
40 Violence in Potosí: Padden 1975:xxviii (bodies in walls); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 192–93 (first birth); Quesada 1890:vol. 1, 387 (city council); Lodena, P. d. Letter to Audiencia de La Plata, 29 Apr. 1604. In Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 258 (tailors). See also, Valenzuela, J. P. d. 1595. Letter to Crown, 8 Apr. In Dressing 2007:38.
41 Montejo and Gudínez: Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 75–92 (all quotes, 75–76).
42 Basque dominance of Potosí: Dressing 2007:65–78, 104–06, 144–45 (Basque gangs as enforcers); Crespo 1956:32–39; Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 186, 249. According to Dressing (2007:128), eleven of the twenty-four members of the city council were Basques.
43 Martínez Pastrana’s audit: Dr
essing 2007:112–31 (council debtors, 128; corruption claims, 130–31); Crespo 1956:39–64 (“not Basque,” 39; salary, 48; royal order banning tax cheats, 49–54; council debtors, 50; revolt begins, 63–64).
44 Insurrection in Potosí: Dressing 2007:143–252 (Basque Spanish challenge, 146; saving Verasátegui, 151–53; Manrique’s Basque sympathies, fiancée, 164–65, 198–209, 248–49, 285–88; burning down home, 211; “arrogant manner,” 230; ransacking homes, 232); Crespo 1956:65 (“cuckolds,” 66; saving Verasátegui, 71–73; burning Manrique home, 97–99; riots, 109–12); Arzáns 1965:vol. 1, 328–407 (hands and tongue, 330; attempt to kill Manrique, 359–64; viceroy’s harsh position, 387–88).
45 Martínez Pastrana, Manrique leave: Dressing 2007:207, 248–49, 277; Crespo 1956:96, 132–33 (“the Basques,” 133), 156.
46 Lack of disruption to mines: Dressing 2007:161.
47 1549 shipment: Cobb 1949:30.
48 Silver production: Barrett 1990:236–37 (150,000 tons); Morineau 1985:553–71; Soetbeer 1879:60, 70, 78–79, 82–83 (145,000 tons); Cross 1983:397 (80 percent). Garner says it was “more than 100,000 tons” (1988:898).
49 Inflation and instability: This is the “price revolution” of the late sixteenth century and the “general crisis” of the next, both discussed in Chap. 1.
50 Fall in silver price consequences: Flynn and Giráldez 2008; 2002; 1997. See also below.
51 Yuegang today and past harbor perils: Author’s visits; interviews; Li 2008 (“fish scales,” 65); Lin 1990:170–73; Deng et al. eds. 1968 (early map of area).
52 Yuegang-Manila trade: Author’s interviews, Li Jinming; Li 2001:chap. 7 (number of ships, 86–87); Qian 1986:74 (number of ships); Chaunu 2001:453 (leave in June); Schurz 1939:77 (smuggling); Dampier 1906:vol. 1, 406–07 (description of junk); Morga 1609:vol. 16, 177–83 (“his Majesty,” 181); Salazar, D. d. 1588. Relation of the Philipinas Islands. In B&R 7:29–51, at 34. The trade exploded: “In the 64 years from 1580 to 1643, 1,677 Chinese trading vessels went to Manila; an average of 26.2 entered the port each year. Excluding the three years for which there are no records (1590, 1593, 1595) and calculating based on the 61 known years, the actual annual average number of ships entering the port of Manila was 27.5, approximately 13.5 times that prior to the opening of the seas” (Guo 2002:95).
53 Piracy in China Sea: Cevicos, J. 1627. Inadvisability of a Spanish Post on the Island of Formosa. In B&R 22:168–77 (galleys, 168–69); Sotelo, L. 1628. A Synopsis of Juan Cevicos’s Discourse Regarding the Dutch Presence in the Seas of Japan and China. In Borao ed. 2001:54–56, at 54–55. See also the letters to the king in idem:57–58.
54 Sangley (footnote): Sande, F. d. 1576. Relation of the Filipinas Islands. In B&R 4:21–97, at 50; Cevicos, J. 1627. Inadvisability of a Spanish Post on the Island of Formosa. In B&R 22:175 (“heathen sangleys”).
55 Parián founding, description: Ollé Rodríquez 2006; Schurz 1939:79–82; Bañuelo y Carrillo 1638:69–70; Morga 1609:vol. 16, 194–99; Salazar, D. d. 1583. Affairs in the Philipinas [sic] Islands. In B&R 5:210–55, at 237; idem. 1590. The Chinese, and the Parián at Manila. In B&R 7:212–38, at 220–30. Parián buildings were thrown together from reeds, bamboo, and scraps of wood and tile. Inevitably, the ghetto burned to the ground. It was rebuilt again, in a different place. A few years later it was again consumed by fire and again rebuilt in another location. And again. Each new Parián was bigger than its predecessor.
56 Spanish plans to conquer China, acquiescence to Parián: Ruiz-Stovel 2009 (gobernadorcillo, 57); Ollé Rodríquez 2006:40–46 (acquiescence), 2002:39–88 (plans); Guo 2002.
57 King tries to shutter Chinese shops: Felipe II. 1593. Letter to Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, 17 Jan. In B&R 8:301–11, at 307–08; idem. 1593. Decree on Chinese shops, 11 Feb. In B&R 8:316–18.
58 Chinese drive Spaniards out of business: Bobadilla, D. d. 1640. Relation of the Filipinas Islands. In B&R 29:277–311, at 307–08 (“wooden noses”). Salazar, D. d. 1590. The Chinese and the Parián at Manila. In B&R 7:212–38 (“Spanish tradesman,” 226–27).
59 Parián population: Estimates range from ten thousand (1587) to “four to five thousand” (1589) to four thousand (1589) to two thousand (1591) to about one thousand (1588) (in order: Vera, S. d., et al. 1587. Letter to king, 25 Jun. In B&R 6:311–21, at 316; Anon. 1589. Instructions to Gómez Pérez Desmariñas. In B&R 7:141–72, at 164; Vera, S. d. 1589. Letter to king, 13 Jul. In B&R 7:83–94, at 89; Desmariñas, G. P. 1591. Account of the Encomiendas in the Philippine Islands. In B&R 8:96–141, at 96–98; Salazar, D. d. 1588. Relation of the Philipinas [sic] Islands. In B&R 7:29–51, at 34). Discrepancies may be due to not distinguishing between Chinese inside and outside the Parián. One cleric suggested there were three to four thousand in the Parián, four to five thousand on Luzon, and two thousand more during trading times (Salazar, D. d. 1590. The Chinese and the Parián at Manila. In B&R 7:212–38, at 230). See also, Guo 2002:97.
60 Malaria in Manila: DeBevoise 1995:143–45.
61 Chinese silver prices: Ollé Rodríguez 2006 (“for free,” 26); Boxer 2001:168–69; Flynn and Giráldez 2001:432–33; Von Glahn 1996:127; Atwell 1982:table 4; Quan 1972d.
62 “very rich”: Bañuelo y Carrillo 1638:77. (Emphasis mine.)
63 Taxes, levies, freight charges, etc.: Ronquillo de Peñalosa, G. 1582. Letter to Philip II, 16 Jun. In B&R 5:23–33, at 30–31; Salazar, D. d. 1583. Affairs in the Philipinas Islands. In B&R 5:210–55, at 236–40; See also, Letter to M. Enriquez. In B&R 3:291–94.
64 Cartel: Schurz 1939:74–78; Philip II. 1589. Royal Decree Regarding Commerce. In B&R 7:138–40.
65 One-third to one-half silver to China: Flynn and Giráldez 2001:434–37; Quan 1972d. For a dissenting view, see Garner 2006:15–17.
66 Galleons increase in size: Chaunu 2001:198 (“administration itself”); Quan 1972c:470–73; Schurz 1939:194–95.
67 More than fifty tons of silver: Quan 1972d:438–40.
68 Smuggling: Flynn and Giráldez 1997:xxii-xxv (San Francisco Javier); Cross 1983:412–13; Schurz 1939:77, 184–87; Álvarez de Abreu, A., ed. 1736. Commerce Between the Philippines and Neuva España. In B&R 30:53–56 (see also 54, note 7); Bañuelo y Carrillo 1638:71 (“been registered”); Garcetas, M., et al. 1632. Letter from the Ecclesiastical Cabildo to Felipe IV. In B&R 24:245–62, at 254–55.
69 Import quotas: Chaunu 2001:198–200. Their gradual tightening is seen in B&R 6:282, 284; 7:263, 8:313, 12:46, and 30:50–52.
70 Mulberry trees: MS 78.54.1894 (“bolt of silk”); Quan 1972c:453. A somewhat analogous shift took place in Guangdong (Marks 1998:119–21, 181–84).
71 China silk industry: Quan 1972c.
72 Chinese make Spanish fashions: Álvarez de Abreu, A. 1736. Commerce of the Philippines with Nueva España, 1640–1736. In B&R 44:227–313, at 255.
73 Spanish merchants complain of Chinese goods, seek regulatory redress: Álvarez de Abreu, A. 1736. Commerce of the Philippines with Nueva España, 1640–1736. In B&R 44:227–313, at 253–58, 293–95, 303–04.
74 Maluku mutiny: Borao 1998:237–39; MS 323.211.8370–72; Argensola, B. L. d. 1609. Conqvista de las Islas Malvcas. In B&R 16:211–318, at 248–61 (“Europa,” 258); Morga 1609:vol. 15, 68–72; Dasmariñas, L. P., et al. 1594. Letter to Japanese emperor, 22 Apr. In B&R 9:122–37, at 126–27, 133.
75 Expelling Chinese: Morga, A. d. 1596. Letter to king, 6 Jul. In B&R 9:263–73, at 266; Tello, F. 1597. Letter to Felipe II, 29 Apr. In B&R 10:41–45, at 42; idem:1597. Letter to Felipe II, 12 Aug. In B&R 10:48–50.
76 Benavides: Benavides, M. d. 1603. Letter to Felipe III, July 5. In B&R 12:101–12 (“will remain,” 110). Benavides was just a bishop, but he occupied the archbishopric after Salazar’s successor died of disease.
77 Gold mountain expedition: Borao 1998:239–42; Morga 1609:vol. 15, 272–76; Salazar y Salcedo, G. d. 1603. Three Chinese Mandarins at Manila. In B&R 12:83–97 (Chinese letter, 87–94); Benavides, M. 1603. Letter from Benavides to Felipe III, 5–6 Jul. In B&R 12:101–26, at 10
3–06. Beijing officials’ suspicions and anger about the incident are detailed in the Ming Shi-lu (Wade ed. trans. 2005): Year 30 (Wanli reign), Month 7, Day 27 (12 Sep. 1602); Year 31, Month 11, Day 12 (14 Dec. 1603); Year 32, Month 11, Day 11 (31 Dec. 1604); Year 32, Month 12, Day 13 (31 Jan. 1605).
78 1603 massacre: Chia 2006; Guo 2002; Borao 1998:239–42; Zhang 1968:59–60 (all quotes); Horsley 1950:159; Schurz 1939:86–90; Laufer 1908:267–72; Philips 1891:254; Deng et al. eds. 1968:vol. 18, “Disasters and Achievements” (“In the 31st year of the Wanli reign, 25,000 Chinese were killed in Luzon, eight of every ten from Yuegang”); Wade ed. trans. 2005: Year 32 (Wanli reign), Month 12, Day 13 (31 Jan. 1605); Year 35, Month 11, Day 29 (16 Jan. 1608); Morga 1609:vol. 16, 30–44; B&R 12:138–40, 142–46, 150–52, 153–60, 167–68.
79 Aftermath of massacre: Ollé Rodríguez 2006:44–46 (“Parián,” 46); Chang 2000:221–30 (widow suicides); Schurz 1939:91–93; Philips 1891:254; Anon. (Xu Xueju?). 1605. Letter from a Chinese Official to Acuña. In B&R 13:287–91, at 290–91; Laufer 1908:272 (“grow once more”). By 1640 royal officials were again griping that Manila’s Spaniards “are always in anxiety about the Chinese, or Sangleys, who number more than 30,000 in Manila” (B&R 30:34).
80 Repeated massacres in Parián: Ruiz-Stovel 2009; Ollé Rodríguez 2006:28–29, 44–45; Chia 2006 (esp. 1686 massacre). In 1709 and 1755 all the Chinese were expelled, but with less bloodshed; the death toll may have been as low as several hundred. The 1820 massacre occurred during a Filipino uprising against foreigners. Firsthand accounts include B&R 29:201–07, 208–58; 32:218–60; 44:146.
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