Christian captives, vassals of your Majesty in the
Filipinas--sufficient men could be captured to man the galleys. If
this measure be not sufficient, a frigate or two should be sent to
Malaca for cloves on your Majesty's account, which would bring back
negroes at two hundred reals, more or less, with which to man them;
these oarsmen are very satisfactory, as experience has shown. In order
to maintain the crew and replace those who die, men could be captured
continually from our enemies, on a thousand occasions, without fail.

The support of the galley slaves is inexpensive, for they live on rice,
fish, and a little jerked beef--which, besides, is often captured from
the enemy there; and is very low in price when it has to be bought,
as, at present, in the island of Macacar.

The third and last measure is, if these two fail, such that I dure
not write it, for that is not expedient; but I will explain it to
your Majesty, if you are pleased to learn it. I shall not go into
this matter any further, nor explain the reasons more in detail,
as this is not to be long; but if your Majesty should be pleased to
carry out any of the suggestions here made, I shall explain away the
doubts which may present themselves.

In the second place the person who is to govern should have the said
requisites, for he is the soul of the undertaking; and it is he who
must execute whatever your Majesty orders and commands. Whatever he
is, such will be the rest. That this may not appear an exaggeration,
I will prove it by evidence.

There are dependent upon the governor not only the secular Spanish
residents of those islands, but the ecclesiastics; also war and peace,
and the royal Audiencia, the archbishop, the bishops, and all the
other soldiers and citizens; for it is he who must reward and honor
them with offices of peace and war. He must assign the cargoes of
the ships, the profits and advantages. The royal Audiencia, because
he appoints their relatives and constituents to offices of profit,
must needs keep in his graces. The archbishop and bishops, if they do
not conform to his will, may have their temporal support taken from
them; for if he cannot do it with good cause, he can easily do it in
other ways. In a thousand things which occur, too, they need him for
the direction of their affairs; and he can inflict on them so many
burdens and annoyances that they realize how dearly they are buying the
privilege of opposing him or contradicting