value of provisions and other articles sold in this island, as well
as of the harvests therein and of the supplies that are brought from
Nueva España and the realms of Castilla, they gave orders to make,
and they did make, before me the following investigation.

Luis Velez Cherino


And, for the said investigation, the honorable licentiate Rojas,
auditor of the royal Audiencia, took and received an oath before God
and the blessed Mary, and on the sign of the cross and on words of
the holy gospels, from Don Antonio Gofre Carrillo, treasurer of his
Majesty's royal exchequer in this city and the Philipinas islands-under
which obligation he promised to tell the truth. Being asked regarding
the tenor of the title of this inquiry, he said that this witness knows
that every year one or more ships come from Nueva España to these
islands for traffic, which bring, as merchandise, velvets, satins,
damasks, taffetas, ribbed cloths in colors, velvet caps, shoes and
stockings, linens from Holland and Rouen, wine, vinegar, oil, olives,
capers, preserves, hams and fat bacon, flour, soap, hats, netted hose,
Cordovan leather, raisins, almonds, and many other articles from the
produce of España and Nueva España. All these things are in this land
usually worth double their value and cost in Nueva España. Many times
we have experienced lack of wine for saying mass and for the sick;
sometimes a jar holding an arroba of wine has been worth at least one
hundred gold pesos, and even much more. These things which are brought
from Nueva España are so necessary that the people, especially those
of gentle birth, could not do without them. For instance, they cannot
clothe themselves with stuffs that are made in this land, or with
those that are brought from the mainland; for these are thin silks