Exploitation of Pearl Fisheries in the Spanish American Colonies

Home , Antonio de Ulloa, Hernando de Soto

De Re Metallica, 13, 2009 pp. 19-33 © Sociedad Española para la Defensa del Patrimonio Geológico y Minero ISSN: 1577-9033

EXPLOITATION OF PEARL FISHERIES IN THE SPANISH AMERICAN COLONIES

Enrique Orche

Universidad de Vigo. SEDPGYM. E.T.S.I. Minas, Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo. [email protected]

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the pearl oyster exploitation process carried out in the Spanish American Colonies compiled by virtue of an integration of researched existing information. The study covers the whole of the colonial period and describes the various productive pearl fisheries by considering all of the exploitation aspects, viz., location and discovery of oyster beds, harvesting methods, labour, diving equipment, taxes and productions. This study therefore gives us a wholesome vision on the issue.

KEY WORDS: Colonial America, pearls, diving, taxes.

RESUMEN

El presente trabajo describe la explotación de ostras perlíferas llevada a cabo en la América española de acuer- do con las fuentes de la época. El trabajo cubre el período colonial completo y describe las distintas pesquerías productivas considerando todos los aspectos involucrados, como son la localización y descubrimiento de los ostrales, la recogida de las ostras, el trabajo de los pescadores, los equipos de buceo, los impuestos a que estaban sometidas las perlas, su valor y las producciones perlíferas deducidos de éstos. Por tanto, este trabajo proporciona una visión de conjunto de las explotaciones perlíferas de la América colonial española.

PALABRAS CLAVE: América hispana, perlas, buceo, impuestos.

INTRODUCTION banks at depths of between 10 to 20 metres. Pearls are formed in the mantle of the oysters when a foreign body (generally a parasite, shell pieces, sand grains, etc...) Pearls are shiny hard concretions that are either enters the mantle cavity and the oyster neutralises the spherical or irregular in shape but with a curved sur- irritant foreign body by secreting layers of pearl ooze face. They are formed in the mantle of certain molluscs, around it. This process lasts a few years wherein the generally marine molluscs, although Margaritana mar- pearl size increases with each successive layer deposi- garitifera a fresh water species inhabiting mountainous tion. regions can produce real but badly formed pearls The density of the pearls is 2.70 g/cm3. They are amongst its tissues. Some gastropods belonging to the quite hard and are made of thin superimposed layers of Trochidae and Haliotidae can also produce pearls but calcium carbonate in the form of aragonite (82-86%), an the fine and valuable pearls are found in diverse species organic substance called conchiolin (10-14%) and water of oysters generically termed pearl oysters (Smith et (2-4%). A pearl is formed when the existing spaces al., 1973). These lamellibranchs that fundamentally between conchiolin deposits (which are spider web-like) belong to the species Pteria (= Meleagrina) margari- are filled with microscopic aragonite crystals and with tifera, Pinctada maxima, and P. vulgaris (Symes & Hard- its main axis located radially with respect to the pearl ing, 1991), generally exhibit a rough shell with an nucleus. The value of a fine pearl depends on many fac- almost circular perimeter and a diameter (Lindner, tors: its weight (calculated in carats or grams), its 1983) of between 25 and 30 cm. The inside of the shell colour composed of a basal tone (normally white or is smooth and lined with mother of pearl. They live cream coloured) which can be affected by a second attached to rock bottoms in tropical seas from where superimposed colour tone, its reflection (pink, green. they are harvested to extract the pearls that they nor- blue), its iridescence caused by light diffraction in the mally contain while the shells are used to extract moth- superimposed mother of pearl layers, its shape, its lus- er of pearl. The pearl oysters are generally found in tre, its transparency, etc.

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 19 During the colonisation period, pearls had different names depending on their shape: asientos (flat on one side), berruecos (irregular), aljófar (small & irregular), and margaritas (round uniformly white and with a skin- like lustre). The most highly appreciated pearls of the time were those that originated in the Gulf of Persia followed by those that originated on the Atlantic Columbian coast (Arphe, 1985) called the Cabo de Vela. It is quite possible that pearls were the first gems used by Man during ancient times because they did not require further treatment to highlight their natural beauty. It is known that Mankind was keenly interested in pearls since these have been found in ornaments that were made in India many centuries before the present time. Cleopatra was also known to have used pearls. Japanese chronicles are found to mention them in the VI century. In later years, pearls continued to be consid- Figure 1. Map of Pearls´ Coast, in northern Venezuela, in which Margarita and ered as highly important ornamental elements and Cubagua islands are placed (1594). acquired prices comparable to gems of mineral origin. The Spaniards upon arrival in America learned of the existence of pearls as soon as contact with the native American Indians was established with whom they com- Pearl size depended on the amount of dew received menced trading via a barter system (called rescate in by the oyster. If there happened to be thunder and light- those times) whereby local goods were exchanged for ning before the shells closed, the mature shells would Spanish goods. After ascertaining the abundance of shut tight frightened by the thunder and lightning. This pearl oyster beds, the colonisers soon isolated the pros- sudden reaction could forcefully expel the pearl or perous ones and exploited them exhaustively. During affect its normal growth, thereby resulting in imperfect colonial times, pearls were more abundant than pre- or small pearls. cious metals and therefore were of less economic Pearls were naturally soft when in water and would importance. Their supply was discontinuous and often harden upon removal from water. The oysters were coincided with discovery and exploitation of newer bet- afraid of fishermen and therefore hid amongst and ter pearl oyster fisheries. Despite the irregular supply, attached to rocks. They either swam or walked in the pearls were always present in cargo sent on a regular company of other oysters and their King , who happened basis to Spain, although most of the pearls were distrib- to be the biggest and oldest oyster. If the King, who the uted in the colonies themselves. They were solely used others followed was somehow captured, the rest that for ornamental purposes even though there was a con- followed were also easily captured. Pearls were born stant quest for medicinal properties which were diffi- inside the flesh of a live oyster and apparently waxed cult to prove (Arphe, 1985). Pearl production was sub- and waned with the different moon phases. When an ject to Royal Tax just like all other valuable substances. oyster felt the hand of a fisherman upon itself, it would protect the pearl by drawing its mantle over it and try to hurt the intruder by biting with its valves. THE ORIGIN OF THE PEARLS Las Casas said that there were some not so presti- gious authors who cast doubt on the above statements Las Casas (1995) compiled existing theories of the but were unable to come up with alternate explanations period on the origin of pearls, these being based entire- for pearl formation. They opined that some natural ly on the conception of classical authors like Plinio, process was responsible for their creation such as the Megastenes and others which the friar accepted with mineralisation influence of seawater and of celestial certain reservations. According to belief, pearls were bodies, which the friar did not think insensible either. created from dew drops that fell into the oysters when open. To this end, at certain times of the year, the oysters would surface on to the beaches, feeling an urge to PRINCIPAL PEARL FISHERIES conceive and would await dew drops to fall from the sky above. Pearl quality depended on the purity of the dew; A greater part of the coast between the north of clean dew resulted in white pearls whereas turbid dew Venezuela and Florida, both on the Atlantic and resulted in brown or dark pearls. The earlier the dew Caribbean, as well as the Pacific sides were favourable fall, the whiter were the pearls. Whiteness also depend- environments for the abundant presence of pearl oyster ed on age and therefore the younger the oyster the beds. As the Spaniards began conquering newer territo- whiter the pearl. Oysters escaped from the heat of the ries, they discovered newer pearl oyster fisheries that sun into the depths of the sea to preserve the whiteness resulted in either an increased production or in a trans- of the pearls. fer to sites in the newer colonies.

20 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época Pearls were obtained from a number of places and just a handful of writers of the time mention place names while the great majority made a passing reference to place names. The following important fisheries are mentioned in chronological order according to the year of their discovery: – 1499 Margarita & Cubagua Islands (Venezuela) – 1501Atlantic Columbian Coast (Riohacha, Santa Marta & Cartagena) Figure 2. Illustration of pearl oysters´ shells (end of the 16th century). – 1513 The Pearl Islands (Pacific Panamanian Coast) – 1533 Gulf of California (Mexico) – 1540 Florida (USA) thereby leading to an abandonment of such expeditions (Céspedes, 1994). The first of these voyages (Morales, 1988) organised THE FIRST CONTACT OF THE SPANIARDS WITH by Alonso de Ojeda left Spain in May 1499 and the aim PEARL ZONES: MARGARITA & CUBAGUA ISLANDS was to travel along the coast that was recently discovered by Columbus on his third trip. After 27 days of nav- Christopher Columbus arrived at the Island of Trinin- igation, they sailed the Golfo de Paria, obtained a size- dad, on his third voyage, in August 1498 and stepped on able quantity of pearls in the Margarita & Cubagua the American Continent for the first time in the Golfo de Islands (Majo, 1972), thereafter sailed westwards cover- Paria (Venezuela), after having crossed the mouth of the ing the Venezuelan coast up to Lake Maracaibo from River Orinoco (Izard, 1987). The rich pearl fisheries of where they returned to Europe in June, 1500, after hav- the Margarita & Cubagaua Islands were discovered on ing obtained some gold and more pearls. this trip, where the Spaniards purchased pearls from the The second expedition under the command of natives either by weight or in exchange for glass orna- Christóbal Guerra and Pedro Alonso Niño left Spain ments (Bry, 1997; Kirkpatrick, 1999; Las Casas, 1995). shortly after Ojeda s expedition (June, 1499) and also Many later expeditions in the beginning of the XVI cen- arrived at the Golfo de Paria and Margarita & Cubagua tury visited the areas after learning about these rich Islands, from where they collected an abundant supply fisheries which due to the exhaustive nature of pearl of pearls a few days earlier than Ojeda s expedition. oyster exploitation resulted in their depletion in a peri- The economic success of the expedition was splendid od of just 40 years. (Morales, 1988), as declared upon its arrival to Spain After 1495, The Catholic Kings, at no cost whatsoev- (April, 1500) namely, 117.5 marcos of pearls (about 27 er to the Crown, authorised voyages to America to pri- kg), in addition to another 2 long sac full and 785 of vate entrepreneurs under strict conditions and in order loose pearls which they did not declare to the Royal to break the monopoly agreement with Columbus. Exchequer (Hacienda Real ). Amongst the many obligations (called capitulaciones de Vicente Yañez Pinzón led the third expedition which descubrimiento) of these new entrepreneurs one must was unsuccessful and sailed the coast between Brazil s highlight the prohibition to enter in the areas reserved S. Roque Cape and the Island of Trinidad. Diego de Lepe for Portugal according to the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) later organised a fourth expedition (December, 1499 to as well as non-entry into the areas discovered by Colum- July-August, 1500) which practically repeated the same bus (Izard, 1987). Thus many expeditions were under- trajectory, finally ending in the Golfo de Paria, where taken between 1499 and 1502 between the Panamanian their attempt at obtaining pearls failed and on their Atlantic Coast and the Cape of S.Agustin in Brazil, all of return to Spain declared just five ounces (150 g) of which were undertaken to find riches such as gold, sil- pearls. ver and pearls that were believed to be abundant on the Lake Maracaibo was revisited by a new private expe- said coasts. The Captains of the vessels were in posses- dition that covered the same area (Rodrigo de Bastidas, sion of nautical charts (derroteros colombinos) and nav- February, 1501 to September, 1502) in which Vasco igated known coasts following the coastline and gath- Nuñez de Balboa was just a simple seaman. From there ered everything valuable. The only insecure business on they sailed towards Panama, covering the Columbian these trips was the rescate or barter with the natives. If Atlantic Coast and arrived at the Golfo de Urabá (where natives appeared, they were given gifts in exchange for Balboa would return 8 years later). When the expedition information, and gold, pearls and slaves were bartered arrived back to Spain, they took back more than 100 for cheap manufactured goods. The Captains drew maps marcos (23 kg) of low purity gold or guanin and an unde- of the explored coastline which were then made public termined quantity of pearls collected along the recent- upon their return to Spain. To return to Spain , they ly discovered coasts. stopped over in Santo Domingo, then Capital and the Ojeda organised another expedition to Venezuela in best port of the Island of La Hispaniola, where they 1502, to set up campsites and act as the Governor of the would take on provisions, cargo and passengers. Howev- said land according to the Royal Concessions (Capitula- er, after 1504, commerce between Seville & Santo ciones) conferred on him by the Catholic Kings after the Domingo was better trade wise rather than as rescate, discoveries of 1499 (Majo, 1972). After sailing the Golfo

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 21 de Paria, Margarita Island and Cumaná collecting pearls, Ojeda suffered a set of vicissitudes that thwarted him from fulfilling his expedition objective and sadly termi- nated the expedition in La Hispaniola. All of the above mentioned voyages, served to mani- fest, the wealth of pearls available on a stretch of the Venezuelan coastline, which was then baptised as the Pearl Coast. A short while later, in 1500, the first colonisers arrived from La Hispaniola and founded a settlement on Cubagua Island, dedicated to the extraction of pearl oysters (Izard, 1987), which in 1523 was baptised as Nueva Cádiz. The city was attacked in 1528 by French pirates who were defeated and thereafter, the city rapidly slumped until 1543 when a hurricane devas- Figure 3. Illustration that idealizes the encounter of the Spaniards with pearl tated the area whereby the city was abandoned shortly oyster fishing in Cubagua island (1594). afterwards. This decadence came about not only due to the overexploitation of the bigger oysters but also the exhaustion of young oysters which would have otherwise de Oviedo, 1996) cite the existence of a third modest helped regenerate the fishery, this fact being fishery (300 km SW) on the islands at the mouth of denounced before the crown in 1534 (Izard, 1987). The Cartagena Harbour. In 1748, Ulloa (1990) makes no ref- above situation meant that Margarita pearl settlements erence to pearl production when describing the city and could hardly exist in the early part of the XVII century its surroundings, however, he does cite pearls when (Vázquez de Espinosa, 1992). describing Panama and the Pearl Islands, from which This fishery was the first ever fishery exploited by the one can deduce that the fishery must have been deplet- Spaniards in the New World. More than 10,000 marcos of ed by that time. pearls (2,300 kg), weighing between 2-5 carats (Cés- The Columbian oyster beds are mainly cited by chron- pedes, 1994), i.e., with diameter between 6.6-8.9 mm iclers of the XVI century which could mean that they got were obtained during the first five years of existence of depleted very quickly either at the end of the same cen- Nueva Cádiz. This meant approximately 3.2 million tury or at the start of the next century. Pearls from Cabo pearls which gives us an idea of the size of the fishery. de la Vela were well appreciated in Spain due to their According to Las Casas (1995), each oyster could contain perfect shape and colour (Arphe, 1985). between 4 & 5 pearls of different sizes.

FISHERIES OF THE PEARL ISLANDS THE COLUMBIAN ATLANTIC COAST FISHERY The discovery of these fisheries is strictly attributed The discovery of these fisheries was no doubt due to to Vasco Nuñez de Balboa (Jerez, 1972a). He settled on the expeditions of Bastidas (1501) and his later visits La Hispaniola after sailing from Spain as a member of (after founding Santa Marta in 1525), that of Pedro Rodrigo de Bastidas 1501 expedition. In 1510, he decid- Heredia (founder of Cartagena de Indias in 1533) and ed to go to the recently created province of Urabá other Conquistadors holding Royal Concessions (Capitu- (Panamanian & Columbian Atlantic Coast) and actively laciones) over the coastal territories. participated in the founding of Santa María la Antigua The knowledge of the presence of pearl oysters in del Darién, which was the first city on Continental these waters since ancient times and the decadence of America, of which he was appointed Mayor. While the Margarita fishery influenced some of its inhabitants exploring the surrounding territories, he befriended the to move eastwards by a 1,000 km and found Riohacha in natives, who in 1511 told him of the existence of anoth- 1542, where they would continue the extraction of pearl er sea to the south of the city, where gold was in plen- oysters (Céspedes, 1994). tiful supply. Balboa waited until 1513 to cross the Pana- Pearls were in abundance along the Columbian ma isthmus and arrived at the Pacific Ocean near the Atlantic Coast since fisheries existed all along the coast Golfo de S. Miguel (Lucena, 1985) in September of the from Cabo de la Vela to Cartagena de Indias covering a same year. stretch of approx. 800 km of coastline. The main centre The natives from whom he obtained a lot of pearls was Riohacha (Acosta, 1987; Anonymous, 1996) where also informed him of the existence of Terarequi (Fernán- pearls arrived from the many oyster beds located dez de Oviedo, 1996) Island, located about 20 miles between this city and Cabo de Vela (Vázquez de from the coast, where there were abundant quantities Espinosa, 1992; Anonymous, 1996). of pearls. Bad weather prevented them from getting to Santa Marta was a second important source of pearls the Islands, so they travelled around navigating on the Columbian Coast (Esteve, 1992), although of a nearshore and over land. Successive contacts with the lesser importance then Riohacha (Vázquez de Espinosa, natives meant more pearls, which arrived from Ter- 1992). The chronicles of the time (Bry, 1997; Fernández arequi Island, that formed part of a little archipelago,

22 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época Figure 4. Ship for pearl oyster fishing used in northern Venezuela. Some fishermen jump into the sea with baskets, in order to gather the oysters, while another man takes to the boat a basket full of shells newly gathered (end of the 16th century). thereafter named The Pearls (Jerez, 1972a). The natives Information from the epoch stated that the pearls extracted pearls from the shells by throwing them into were bigger and more valuable than even those from the fire and this resulted in their loss of whiteness and Margarita (Fernández de Oviedo, 1996) although at the gloss. The Spaniards therefore showed the natives how beginning of the exploitation, the numbers were small- to obtain pearls without damaging them (Las Casas, er there (Haring, 1979).The first consignments around 1995). After fulfilling the aims of the expedition, they the year 1515 contained pearls of surprising sizes: there returned to Santa María in 1514 loaded with pearls and is mention of a queer pear shaped pearl weighing 31 gold, after a 5 month voyage around the isthmus. carats and another spherical one of 26 carats (approxi- Upon his return, Balboa was substituted by Pedrarias mately 15.4 mm in diameter) that won the admiration Dávila, who had recently arrived from Spain with full of the Spaniards. As a reference, one can say that per- powers. When Balboa informed Pedrarias of the exploits fectly formed pearls weighing 10 carats (approximately from his travels, Pedrarias sent successive expeditions 11.2 mm in diameter) were difficult to come by (Arphe, on reconnaissance missions and to obtain gold, pearls 1985). Pearls from this fishery used to be irregular and and slaves from all over the territory. In 1515, one such many of them were pear shaped (Fernández de Oviedo, expedition commandeered by Morales and Peña Sola 1996). arrived at the Island of Terarequi and returned with abundant gold together with 95 marcos (22 kg) of pearls (Jerez, 1972a). THE FISHERIES FROM THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA Balboa personally visited the Island of Terarequi for the first time when he led an expedition in 1518 after When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1517, the ini- being conferred with the title of “Adelantado del Mar tial trade with the natives and later the sumptuous gifts del Sur y Gobernador de Panamá y Coiba” and stayed from Moctezuma to Hernan Cortés rarely included pearls there for four months during which time he obtained or objects made from pearls (Jerez, 1972b; Díaz del gold and pearls. Castillo, 1997). Nevertheless, they were present in some Production data from this fishery are non-existent, of the objects used by the Aztec Cacique and formed however, this was undoubtedly an important fishery. It is part of his own personal treasure (Díaz del Castillo, known that pearls were in abundance there and their 1997). Likewise, the noble Aztecs adorned their clothes extraction continued at a good rate until the middle of with feathers and gold, and chronicles from the epoch the XVII century. In fact, when the English pirate Morgan rarely mention pearls for such functions (Sahagún, sacked Panama in 1671, a Spanish galleon filled with 1990). Pearls did not form part of the deity ornaments gold, silver, pearls and other valuable goods derived either. from the city commerce (Exquemelin, 1988) managed to Pearls were considered to be precious stones and, as escape. Pearl extraction continued during the XVIII cen- opposed to what happened in other areas, no mention is tury (Ulloa, 1990) and still continues to this day. made whatsoever of pearl fisheries or their sources dur-

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 23 ing the initial years of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. diminished further northwards since their colour was Even a meticulous author such as Sahagún (1990) rarely ochre and this greatly reduced their value. provides data on the same. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the natives However, the fact is that, even though pearls were only made use of the oyster meat by cooking it on not abundant, their existence and value was known in a fire and discarded the burnt pearls, except some Nueva España (Mexico), and therefore were used as tribe from the south which used to use them as ornaments of the higher Aztec classes. The question was ornaments. After the arrival of the Spaniards, the where had they obtained their pearls from. natives learnt the real value of the pearls from the In 1530, when Cortés returned from Spain where he barter goods (rescates) that the Spaniards were had been giving an account of his position as Governor willing to give them in exchange for pearls. From of Mexico, he brought back the capitulaciones or per- then onwards, the natives began fishing for pearls mission to discover and populate the Islands from Mar and storing them awaiting the arrival of the conti- del Sur (Portillo, 1982). He organised and financed four nental expeditions. Just like the natives from La expeditions which discovered the Gulf of California and Florida and Panama, these did not know how to pry Peninsula. open the oysters without the aid of fire and so the The first of these expeditions (1532), commandeered Spaniards taught them how to open them with a by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza was lost without a trace. knife. The second expedition (1533) co-commandeered by Fine pearl oyster beds were abundant (Barco, 1989) Diego de Becerra and Hernando de Grijalba, discovered in southern California until 1738. The fishery declined the Island of Santa Cruz, which was the southern tip of due to excessive indiscriminate harvesting which imped- the Californian peninsula, which was believed to be an ed the regeneration of the fishery. island until 1702. They were informed of the existence In 1740, the sea washed a huge amount of oysters on of pearl fisheries in the then Sea of Cortés, later re-bap- the northern shores of the peninsula, which had not yet tised as the Gulf of California. When a part of the crew been visited by the pearl collectors. The natives, who went ashore for reconnaissance, they were killed by the had learnt of their value, collected the pearls and sold native Indians, and the rest of the crew returned to them to the Spaniards at the S. Ignacio mission. One of Nueva España and informed of their new discovery upon the soldiers from the mission, Manuel Ocio, left the mil- return to the continent. Cortés himself participated in itary (the troops were banned from pearl fishing) and the third expedition (1535). His intention was reconnais- led an expedition himself in 1742 to the northern fish- sance of the presumed Santa Cruz island and form new eries and had a huge success. With the proceeds, he settlements but had problems with supplies and had to funded a second expedition in1743, from which he return to Nueva España without fulfilling his aims. obtained 5 arrobas (57 kg) of pearls. On his third voyage Cortés finally financed a fourth expedition (1536) under the following year, he managed to gather 11 arrobas the command of Francisco de Ulloa, who navigated for (126 kg) in less than 3 months both via fishery and via seven months around the Gulf of California and returned trade, and he wasn t the only person there involved with without having obtained economic benefits worth high- the fishery since many others especially from Sonora lighting. were in the business since news of Ocio s first expedi- There were many explorers and adventurers after tion had spread. After this year, production rates Cortés who were attracted by the lure for pearls. Apart slumped although pearls continued to be harvested for from the great number of expeditions that departed this northern fishery, until the year 1750 when almost no fleetingly from west coasts of Nueva España, there were one ever frequented such grounds (Barco, 1989). No one many other attempts to establish permanent pearl fish- knows the amount of pearls produced from the almost eries with authorisation from the Crown which legalised two centuries of Californian fishery but they must have pearl fisheries in 1585 (Portillo, 1982). The first of such been sizeable. Unfortunately, the economic value of reconnaissance expeditions that successfully found 400 these pearls was reduced because of their poor quality km of pearl oysters grounds on the peninsula coastline and huge abundance. was that of Nicolás de Cardona (1615). Years later, Fran- The fishery went into further decadence in the XIX cisco de Ortega undertook three expeditions between century and nowadays, pearl oysters are practically 1632 and 1636 to look for fisheries and a detailed non-existent in the Gulf of California. account was written in his log books (Esteve, 1992). Another six attempts of this nature are known for the XVII century. FISHERIES FROM FLORIDA The fisheries (also called placers) in the Gulf of Cali- fornia were located on the peninsula coastline that was These fluvial fisheries were discovered in 1540 by rocky. The coastline on the opposite side was sandy and Hernando de Soto on his trip to the South and Centre of not apt for oyster colonies. The shells normally con- the Eastern half of the present day USA: The expedition tained one pearl and rarely two or more. They came in left the previous year from La Havana, after Soto had all sizes and shapes. The fisheries located on the south- arrived from Spain with the pertinent capitulaciones ern half of the peninsula from Cape of S. Lucas to Posi- (Royal Concessions). tion Parallel 27 provided fine white pearls. The quality The first pearl oyster beds were found in the region

24 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época Figure 5. Way of fishing pearl oysters everywhere with great ease and alacrity (1623). located to the south of the Appalachia, on the border native Indians opened them by throwing them into the of Florida with Georgia (Vázquez de Espinosa, 1992). A fire: They strung them using heated copper needles. few months later, they once again found fluvial pearl Somehow the high temperature affected the smooth fisheries on both flanks of the Blue Mountains when surface of the pearls which made them less attractive travelling northwards, at the head of the River Savan- (Vega, 1996). nah basin, to the NW of South Carolina, as well as in the River Tennessee and its tributaries on the eastern side of the State of Tennessee. This unknown state was OYSTER EXTRACTION METHODS included in La Florida in the XVI century and was described as such by chroniclers of the time (Vázquez The chroniclers and Spanish travellers left well docu- de Espinosa, 1992; Vega, 1996). In fact, this zone con- mented details of how oyster were harvested in the fish- stituted the northern border of the Spanish territories eries. The following accounts from between 1525 and in the New World and therefore was less frequented. 1750 are available: Besides, the area was overrun shortly by other Euro- Margarita & Cubagua Islands: peans with colonial interests in North America (the Eng- – Bartolomé de las Casas lish and the French), which later became part of the – Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo newly established USA. Therefore, these fisheries hard- – Antonio Vázquez de Espinosa ly ever provided pearls to the economy of the Spanish – The Drake manuscript Colonies. Riohacha: One can gather from Hernando de Soto s expedition – José de Acosta details that the fisheries on the eastern flank of the The Pearl Islands: Blue Mountains were located in a river with great flow – Antonio de Ulloa and with an abundance of pearl oysters that produced Gulf of California: fine pearls and aljófares (small irregular pearls). The – Miguel de Barco natives would collect them in baskets in their funeral The oyster harvesting method was pretty similar in temples placed besides the corpses and gifted the all fisheries, and they varied just on principles and diver Spaniards as many as they wanted to take, the officers working conditions. The fishery was undertaken by har- put aside 20 arrobas (230 kg) towards Hacienda Real vesting small zones which would then be abandoned (Royal Taxes) to take back to La Havana as proof of the after depletion of the pearl oysters. The fishermen newly found wealth, since the amount of pearls that the would then move to another site which had been previ- natives had stocked over the years was enormous, the ously inspected by the divers for their pearl harvest conquistadors calculated that there were more than potential. 1,000 arrobas (11,500 kg). The other slope of the Blue Diving was performed under lung power although Mountain also had oysters distributed over different flu- many underwater breathing apparatuses were invented vial beds and the natives had collected and stored them and patented due to the physical weakening of the just like as described earlier. divers. These pearls were of good size (medium to big chick A settlement or ranchería was usually founded near pea size) and there were some that were as big as a the fisheries of the Margarita & Cubagua Islands. Har- hazelnut shell. Just like in the other fisheries, the vesting was done manually with the diver submerging

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 25 and surfacing repeatedly with the catch which was 1990) and hand them to the vessel owner. When the deposited into a medium sized canoe fitted with a Latin divers had filled their bags with oysters, they stopped sail which usually belonged to a fisherman or señor de la diving and began opening the oysters for pearl extrac- canoa (boatman). The human team was usually com- tion, which would then be handed to the foreman, who prised of a Spanish helmsman, the canoero (the oars- asked them to account for even the smallest and most man) and a mayordomo (foreman) together with at least imperfect ones. The excess pearls would belong to the 12 divers with their chief who happened to be an expert diver, even if they were bigger, better and more valu- on the matter (Vázquez de Espinosa, 1992). The shift able, and the vessel owner had no additional right other started when everybody involved was transported to the than to buy the same at a just price. The divers were fishing ground which happened to be at a distance of not always able to fulfil the daily pearl quota, in which about one or two leguas (5.5-11 km). Once on site, the case they had to complete the quota using their reserve divers submerged to manually bring back oysters which pearls or write them into a debt account. There were were at a depth of about 14 fathoms (23 m) and the normal sharks, blue sharks and manta rays which were a greater the depth, the bigger the pearls (Anonymous, danger to the divers. The divers usually carried a knife 1996). The divers carried a small net with one end tied to defend themselves. The caporal (foreman) stayed in to the net and the other to the canoe, and in which they the canoe and kept watch for approaching animals and deposited the shells extracted from the bottom (Las warned the divers by tugging at a chord that they had Casas, 1995). In deeper water, the divers submerged by tied to their bodies. When necessary, he would jump tying stones to their waists as ballast and would release into the water to collaborate in the defence operations. the weights when surfacing (Fernández de Oviedo, The Californian pearl fishery, as against other fish- 1996). They surfaced holding on to the string and would eries described earlier, was organised as a three months descend once again after having rested sufficiently, campaign (July to September), wherein a vessel owner eaten some food, pulled the net to the surface and after taking on provisions and rescate (barter goods), deposited the contents into a place reserved inside the would approach the fishing grounds where he would canoe, for each diver. This procedure would continue contract native Indian divers to harvest the oysters and until sunset when they would return to the ranchería. also purchase any oysters that they might have been After anchoring the canoe, each diver would hand his collected between campaigns. Some of the natives, like catch to the mayordomo (foreman). They would then those from the island of S.Jose, were so fond of the have dinner and later open the oysters to remove the canoes that they would request a barter of a canoe for pearls. After this they would move into a bigger hall pearls, which they then used for raids on the surround- owned by the vessel owner, where they would rest for ing coasts, and stole and looted the S. Juan Bautista the night under lock, to prevent them from escaping to Liguig mission on three occasions, before they were preserve their chastity, since it was believed that if this finally overcome and their canoes confiscated. During measure failed then “the divers would not be able to times of plenty, the vessel owners would carry a sailboat stay underwater and would float on the water like cork” with one or several canoes but as catches fell, the num- (Vázquez de Espinosa, 1992). Those divers who did not ber of vessels and sizes diminished until finally they catch many oysters or were rebellious were tied with would just take the one or at most two canoes. The con- shackles and punished with blows or whip. The work was tracted divers could either opt for a salary or a part of exhausting and was crudely described by Las Casas the catch (partido). The salary system meant that the (1999). The working day was from sunrise to sunset, vessel owner had to pay a previously agreed sum and all wherein they were underwater for the greater part of harvested pearls belonged to him. In the second system, the day, which soon affected their health seriously. The no salary was paid out but half of the catch belonged to divers ate fish, oyster meat and cassava or corn bread. the divers. In both cases, the vessel owners would have Casualties due to shark attacks were not rare either. In to ship the divers to the fishing grounds and then return the final years of the fishery, the divers would hide and them to their place of origin. The divers had to be fed keep some of the valuable pearls which would permit during the fishing season, and given a knife to open the them to exchange them on festive occasions with their oysters in addition to a patio, a cotton cloth measuring bosses (compulsorily) for clothes. 1.6 metres which they had to wear around their waists The diver group was bigger (18-20 persons + foreman) before entering the water, as well as a wooden pot in the Panamanian fisheries of the Pearl Islands than in (Barco, 1989). At the beginning of July, the vessel owner the Margarita fisheries and they also had their base in would approach the grounds that he considered best, rancherías. The divers did not carry a net bag with them near which he would set ranchería (camp). After con- when submerging and dived tied to a string. They there- tracting the divers, the vessel owner would ferry them fore surfaced with three or four oysters per dive, bring- across to the fishing grounds, where the divers would ing them up under their left armpit or in the right hand submerge in the waters taking a net bag with them to or even in the mouth. Once at the surface, they would put the oysters in and a pointed stake attached to a then introduce the oysters in a cloth bag and after gath- string to defend themselves from the manta rays or to ering breath, they would submerge once again until end collect pearl oysters. They would return to surface of work or until they felt tired, since each diver was when they needed to breathe or when the bag was full obliged to collect a fixed amount of oysters (Ulloa, and submerged a while later for more oysters. They

26 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época Figure 6. Way of fishing pearl oysters in waters many or few fathoms deep with great ease and alacrity (1623). dived for 5 hours on average daily from ten in the morn- delegate for the entire season and the others had to ing to three in the afternoon, in order to make good use treat him accordingly, and hand him the quinto real. of the daylight hours. The working depth was about ten The delegate in turn had to send the quinto real to the to fifteen fathoms (17-25 m), at times it could get to Capitán de Loreto. When there was just the one vessel between twenty and twenty-five fathoms (33-42 m) and owner on the fishing ground, this person had to ensure exceptionally down to thirty or more fathoms (50 m). that the pearls pertaining to the quinto real went to According to Barco (1989), “the efficiency of the divers Loreto. The Captain gave receipts for all pearls handed during the first days was poor since they appeared to be to him as quinto real. From Loreto, the Captain would dazed and with a headache, since they were not used to personally take the pearls to Gaudalajara (Mexico) and holding their breath or because of water entering their hand them to the Royal Officials. The Captain did not ears, but after three to four days, their ears would receive any compensation for his job. begin to bleed and that cleared their heads and made them agile for the fishing operation”. After finishing the day s work, they would return to camp, distribute the LABOUR oysters and extract the pearls. Those that had chosen the share option would then count the oysters in public In 1441, the Portuguese navigators began trade of and make three heaps, from which they would place one African blacks, by taking them to Portugal and became for the vessel owner, a second one for the diver, a third rich in just a few voyages. In 1444, they founded a one for the vessel owner, a fourth one for the diver and blacks company which they supplied via a firm estab- a fifth one for the King. The oysters were distributed as lished on the Guinean coast from where they obtained they were taken from the heaps and since they were black slaves to supply an ever increasing demand. The closed no one knew whether they contained pearls or slaves were captured from their tribes by armed Arabs not. The divers that were contracted on a salary, would and sold to the Portuguese firms (Ibañez, 1988). At the hand all of the oysters to the vessel owner, after putting end of the XV century, the presence of black slaves was aside one fifth for the King (quinto real). The shells well established on the Iberian peninsula (Sepúlveda, were then opened with a knife and the flesh was taken 1995), and there was an annual recruitment of about to a dump except for those oysters that were saved for 500 slaves from the Portuguese settlements in Africa consumption. At the end of the season, the oyster waste (Pardo, 1995). would be washed in large earthen pots to recover those Shortly after the discovery of America, the Spaniards pearls that went unnoticed amongst the mantle folds began taking native Indian slaves back to Spain and during the previous check-up. The waters in the Gulf Christopher Columbus was the first to propose to the would cool at the end of September and the fishing was Catholic Kings, the trade of Indians as a work force (Seg- closed for the season. The vessel owners had to apply reo et al., 1991). However, the Catholic Queen Isabella for the diving licence to the Juez de Quintos who almost cut short this trade down to the grassroots and prohib- always was the Captain of the Loreto prison. When many ited that her new subjects from America be enslaved. vessel owners approached the same grounds, the said Nevertheless, the colonial legislation had anticipated Captain would appoint one of the vessel owners as his different forms of converting the native Indians into

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 27 slaves: by capturing them as prisoners in the wars with authorised (Portillo, 1982), considerable numbers were the natives, for transgressing the colonial rules, or as not evident due to the absence of mining, agriculture part tax payment by the Caciques to the Crown, etc. and extensive cattle farming, the seasonal nature of The Motherland was a great distance away and the con- pearl fisheries and due to the abundance of native work- quistadors lamented not being able to use the cheap force, thanks to the improved working conditions which and abundant labour available and would resort to had greatly improved life expectancy. fraudulent means to legally oblige the Indians to work in The original documents consulted cover the period slavery conditions on plantations, in mining, in the pearl from 1525 (Fernández de Oviedo, 1996) to 1750 (Ulloa, fishery, etc. This situation produced a capture and 1990; Barco, 1989). A gradual humanisation of the hard undercover trafficking of Indian slaves which lasted pearl oyster harvesting working conditions was observed until 1547, the year in which encomiendas (trusteeships) throughout the 225 year period. In the first fishery were established to fight the said situation, whereby exploited (Margarita & Cubagua Islands), the natives the natives became servants with limited rights to the were brutally treated like slaves and were practically Spanish Lords in return for work (Izard, 1987). The Indi- exterminated, as denounced by Rev. Bartolomé de las ans were not used to working on a continual and regular Casas (1999) before the Crown, when the monk even basis, at least, not under the harsh conditions imposed requested the King to prohibit pearl fishing (Bataillon & by the Spaniards, since their tropical surroundings Saint-Lu, 1994) and appealed for new laws that came amply looked after their needs. Therefore, under the into force in 1542. A Royal Cédula (Decree) from that subjugation of the encomenderos (Spanish Lords), the year prohibited under the death penalty, any person natives preferred to escape or commit suicide, which from forcing native Indians into the pearl fishery against together with the work mortality and death due to dis- their will. The employment of aborigines was prohibited eases carried to America by the Spaniards and the black in 1585 but authorised the use of Africans which shows slaves, resulted in an abrupt reduction of the native that the Royal Decree was not complied with in 1542 population (Sánchez-Albornoz, 1994). (Izard, 1987). In later years, the divers were certainly The Spanish laws that prohibited the slavery of native black slaves who were given the right to keep the excess Americans, Arabs and Jews, however, permitted the pearls fished while the working conditions became more transportation of African slaves into America, which humane. Finally, the divers in the Californian fishery first took place in 1501. And the importation of black were contracted freely on a salary or with the option to slaves into the New World was thus established. In those keep a part of the pearls obtained, in which they times, Portugal dominated the trade in African work- worked a shift of 5 hours during three months of the force, since Spain could not set foot in Africa due to the year. treaty of Tordesillas, and therefore, Portugal was the Since the black slaves were given small salaries as sole supplier of slaves to the American Colonies. The perks for good results, they could save money and buy petition for slaves was continuous immediately after the back their freedom thus constituting free black commu- Catholic King Fernando authorised the shipment of 200 nities who were contracted on a day wage basis, just blacks to work in the gold mines. Even Bartolomé de las like the Californian Indians. Casas, who promoted the slave trade in his quest for improving the situation for the native Indians (Barco, 1989), managed to fix a quota of 1000 blacks for each of DIVING EQUIPMENT the bigger Antilles. The slave settlements became continuous throughout the XVI, XVII (with supply from the Right from the early stages, the presence of the Portuguese), XVIII and XIX (with supply from the English Spaniards meant the transference of industrial tech- and the North Americans) centuries until slavery was niques to the production processes that were supposed eventually abolished. to be implanted in the newly discovered territories. The panorama, therefore was that the workforce for However, the conditions that the Spaniards found in the hard work of pearl oyster harvesting was native Indi- America were not the same as in Spain, therefore they an in the initial stages and black slaves a short time had to resort to invention or adaptation of equipment later, when the native Caribbean Indians had practically and processes that permitted the start of an industrial disappeared. So, the presence of Indians is cited in the production of the resources in America. During the XVI, Islands of Margarita & Cubagua around 1525 (Fernández XVII & XVIII centuries, there were many attempts and de Oviedo, 1996; Las Casas, 1999), who were then initiatives in this direction, therefore we can say that replaced by black slaves in the final decades of the this period was the heightened period of technical inno- same century (Anonymous, 1996) and obviously in the vation in America. It was mostly the Spaniards who con- following century (Vázquez de Espinosa, 1992). Some- tributed their innovations to the New World, further thing similar must have happened to the Columbian fish- developing proper legislation for copyrights, that is eries, although Acosta does not provide any information patents (García, 1992). Not all of the inventors of the to that respect. The workforce in Panama also evolved technical inventions used in America were present along similar lines: native Indians in Balboa s time and there. Sometimes, these inventions were presented in black shortly afterwards (Ulloa, 1990; Jerez, 1972b). On Spain, to the Consejo de Indias (Council for Overseas the contrary, in California, although black slaves were Territories), in order to obtain an exclusivity licence for

28 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época the American territories, which was conceded to them on approval by the said Council if the invention was found to be useful and would function adequately. People generally believe that the patents for the American inventions were initiated in the USA but it is not the case, because when the first US patent arrived on the scene, the Hispano Americans had already been doing so for over a century. One has to highlight the important role that the Span- ish Crown played right from the beginning in as far as the introduction of the industrial techniques into Amer- ica, because all Monarchs starting with the Catholic Kings up to the Enlightenment Monarchs always provided institutional support to the inventors and scientists. To this end, we can cite Phillip II and Charles III, widely separated in time but not in their ideas in as far as the importance of technology in the development of the New World. Some of the most important inventions of the time were those related to diving equipment because of the huge physical casualty that the divers underwent during diving operations for the pearl fishery and the salvage of cargo from sunken ships, and the economic importance of both the above mentioned activities was the stimulus to the design and development of diving equipment that could aid such work. Ever since the discovery of the Margarita Island fishery in 1499, it was evident that there would be an Figure 7. Way of fishing pearl oysters from a ship with great ease (1623). important economic repercussion in future years (Morales, 1988). Due to the high mortality, first of the Indias for the extraction of gold and pearls from the bot- native Indians and then of the black slaves, the inven- tom of the sea. A year later, Antonio Luis de Cabrera, tors, in an attempt to improve the working conditions of Antonio de Lima and Diego de Lira founded a company divers, sharpened their ingenuity to try and perfect div- to exploit pearl fishing based on a diving invention, ing equipment which although present during the IX cen- whose licence had been patented with the above men- tury B.C. had not really evolved a lot since then. tioned Council in 1568. The patent was awarded for 16 In the middle of the XVI century, there were many years and had privileges such as: obtaining all necessary instruments used for diving which were basically of two material for its manufacture at a tax free rate, the types. The greater part of them were spheres or a cylin- authorisation to take three workers to America and per- drical recipient, like a diving bell, open on the lower mission to use 100 black slaves for diving. As compensa- side from where the diver introduced his head and tion, they promised to give the Crown half of the sunken which had small glass windows at eye level for exterior treasures that they would salvage with their invention viewing. The second system consisted of an imperme- together with one fourth of the pearls. able leather bell, weighted with stones, which was sunk The Consejo de Indias awarded Francisco Soler a to the bottom and which contained a certain amount of patent for a new diving instrument in 1573. The diving trapped air, where the diver approached when in need inventions were perfected with ongoing experience. In of a breath, by introducing his head through the bottom 1577, the Consejo de Indias awarded a patent to part. The inconvenience of all of these simple inven- Cristóbal Maldonado for a yoke which for the first time tions was that the time that the diver could spend incorporated two independent tubes: one for air entry underwater was limited to the resistance of his lungs or and the other for air exit, but which lacked the corre- to the capacity of the equipment to retain air, which sponding air inlet and outlet valves, which were used usually resulted in serious accidents. Therefore, the years later by Ayanz. This moment in time was very near general interest to perfect these types of equipment. the discovery of the diving apparatus that would permit There were many initiatives and improvements, espe- the diver to stay submerged for an indefinite amount of cially in the middle of the XVI century and at the start time. of the XVII century which are described in detail by Gar- Giusepe Bono from Florence managed to patent an cía (1992). invention in 1585 with the Consejo de Indias for harvest- Blasco de Garay (1543 patent) was the first to start a ing of pearls and coral on the American coast by using a series of inventions towards facilitating the extraction simple diving bell, without any accessories, by which of pearls and treasures. Sometime later, in 1556, Pedro the diver could leave the water without getting wet and de Herrera patented an invention with the Consejo de could stay underwater for as long as he wished. Bono

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 29 managed to do trials in Seville and Lisbon, whereby wit- nesses confirmed that the diver did not get wet since he was confined inside the bell surrounded by air, but hid- ing the fact that the diver could not stay there perma- nently breathing used air. The official support for this apparatus which was condemned to failure, provoked vociferous protests from the Spanish inventors who saw Bono as an opportunist swindler. Some years later, in 1589, Hernán Ruiz de Rozas proposed to build an instrument with which the divers could stay underwater indefinitely and requested for official aid to finish the project. The next diving apparatus was that of Jerónimo de Ayanz, the most notable submarine inventor of the time. He introduced two open circuit tubes in all of his diving inventions and what is more important, he included inspiration and expiration valves, with one-way systems such that the expired air could not ever be breathed in again. Ayanz s diving instruments were composed of the same elements as can be found in today s diving equipment: compressor (substituted for bellows), pressurised air cylinders (substituted for air filled wine skins), flexible tubes, dry suit, diving goggles, etc. The system was tested in the river Pisuerga where it passes through Valladolid in 1602, in the presence of King Phillip II and his court, and it was probably the first time ever that a diver stayed underwater for more than an hour without the minimum discomfort, which was Figure 8. Tackle for fishing pearl oysters everywhere no matter how many or viewed by the innumerable public present at the site. big they are, or whether they are surrounded by stones or hollows (1623). This invention was destined for recovering cargo from sunken vessels and for pearl harvesting, especially from latter is quite improbable since the important develop- the Margarita Island. To this end, 4,000 cow skins were ments in diving bells and scuba gear did not take place imported to manufacture the diving suits. Thus Ayanz until the first quarter of the XVI century as has already litigated against Bono who aspired to do the same but been indicated earlier. Bartolomé de las Casas testimo- with inadequate means. ny on the harsh working conditions of the native Indians The diving equipment inventions continued during (Las Casas, 1999) also points to the former explanation. the XVIII century and special mention must be made of Graphical documentation of the epoch (Bry, 1997; a diving suit designed by Alejandro Durand in 1720 and Anonymous, 1996) does not show any such underwater called by the author as “Máquina hydroándrica” or breathing apparatuses, not even rudimentary ones. clothing to cover a man underwater, whose sketches Ulloa (1990), who wrote two centuries after Fernández were detailed very well but no one knows if this was de Oviedo s detailed account of oyster harvesting in ever put into practice. The design was far behind that Panama, does not mention anything on the subject made by Ayanz about a century earlier as it did not have either: and moreover, his details of the pearl oyster fish- inspiration and expiration valves. ery clearly demonstrate that no underwater breathing Funnily enough, despite the important developments apparatus was being used at the time. In fact, Ulloa in the underwater breathing apparatuses, one cannot indicated that black divers on the job must have had find references to the use of such systems for the har- huge lung capacities (largo resuello), a very significant vesting of pearls in the different fisheries. This could be comment. due to the fact that either the use of such equipment Of all the documentation consulted from the epoch was obvious or that nobody ever used them. Fernández on the extraction of pearl oysters (Acosta, 1987; Anony- de Oviedo (1996) tells us in 1526 that the Indians from mous, 1996; Barco, 1989; Fernández de Oviedo, 1996; Margarita, in those early days, could stay underwater Las Casas, 1999; Ulloa, 1990; Vázquez de Espinosa, for more than an hour depending upon their individual 1992), one can conclude that the use of diving equip- physical capacities. This could be interpreted in the fol- ment in the American fisheries was something unusual, lowing two ways: that the said time corresponded to in spite of the efforts from the Crown and the inventors continuous immersion periods, wherein they periodical- at the beginning of the XVI century to develop and per- ly surfaced for breathing purposes and submerged once fect such systems. The fact that Durand s 1720 suit did again without resting or to the time they spent under- not incorporate Ayanz s technology from 1602 could water extracting oysters without surfacing, evidently indicate that his invention did not get sufficient atten- using some sort of underwater breathing apparatus. The tion and was long forgotten.

30 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época TAXES

Right from the very beginning, the Crown participated in the benefits from the expeditions, that is, the barter exchanges and the exploitation of the valuable substances from the New World, which the Crown nego- tiated each operation individually. The agreements varied according to the territories visited and in function of the investment of the Crown or the Vessel Owner. Therefore, one cannot generalise and state that the Royal Treasury kept a fixed percentage of all that the Vessel Owners obtained from the expeditions. Pearls were also subject to Royal Tax (Pardo, 1995) just like all other valuable products from the New World, which on some occasions happened to be 20% and was therefore known as the quinto real. This tax (a fifth) was deduct- ed by the vessel owners or the barterers and was handed over to the offices of the Royal Tax Collectors. How- ever, contraband and tax dodging was a frequent occur- rence just like in the cases of precious metals. There- fore, as detailed earlier, the tax rate was not a fixed rate, it being 20% in just a handful of cases. However, the depletion of mines and fishing grounds brought about a relative decrease in tax rates, since otherwise, the fiscal pressure would have acted as a deterrent to newer explorations and exploitations. In many cases, the tax reduction and temporal fiscal concessions Figure 9. Another way of fishing pearl oysters anywhere in the sea and no together amounted to less than the 20%, although fiscal matter how deep (1623). language of the time continued to refer to it as the quinto real, which somehow complicates the evaluation therefore, the amount of pearls that the Crown received of the production volumes from those figures (Bernal, varied greatly depending upon the number of shells that 1998). contained pearls. It is quite clear from the above that There have been many references to the payments of the Tax Collector (Juez de Quintos) was authorised to the quinto real from the discovery or barter of pearls proceed as he deemed fit. right from the times of the first conquistadors. Thus, after the discovery of the Columbian fisheries, Rodrigo Bastidas on his return to Spain in 1502, paid the corre- PRODUCTIONS sponding quinto real (Las Casas, 1995); Balboa likewise also paid the quinto real for the pearls obtained from Knowledge of pearl production from the colonies is Panama, as reclaimed by the King of Spain in a letter to always an approximation. What is evident is that, virgin him in 1513 (Núñez de Balboa, 1988); a third case was fisheries discovered produced enormous quantities in that of Hernando de Soto who told a soldier that he the first years of production. According to data from would pay the corresponding quinto real for the pearl Céspedes (1994), pearl production in the first five years that he had found in an oyster, which he was eating at in Nueva Cádiz, from the fisheries of the Margarita & the time, and which he had offered as gift to the wife Cubagua Islands, gave a total of 2,300 kg of pearls of of the Conquistador (Vega, 1996); in fact, there were between 2-5 carats. This meant the extraction of about Tax officials travelling on this expedition whose job was 1,800 pearls per day. Pearl oysters were so abundant in to separate one fifth of all the valuables obtained by the the Pearl Islands that it would have been rare to find Spaniards. All quantities of pearl cargos that arrived in inhabitants of Panama not using slaves in the fishery Spain on the different expeditions were registered in (Ulloa, 1990). The productions in California were also the Treasury Register (Casa de Contratación de Sevilla), spectacular at the start as has already been described that is those sent to the King (quinto real) as well as earlier. A chronicler from the time, Fernández de those sent to individuals, and therefore can serve as a Oviedo wrote in his book “Historia General y Natural de reference basis for estimating pearl production from the las Indias”, published in 1547, that the quinto real from New World. the pearl fisheries amounted to more than 15,000 The method of keeping the quinto real was not uni- ducats per year, which would mean an approximate form either since, at times, the fifth corresponded to declared production of 75,000 ducats per year, never- the amount of pearls obtained (Vega, 1996; Núñez de theless, the real value would be a lot higher. Balboa, 1988) and at other times to the fifth of the oys- The abundance of pearls in the New World meant ters obtained (Barco, 1989) before opening them, and that they lost their character as an ornament for the

De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época 31 – In 1523, a vessel arrived from America with 600 marcos (138 kg) of pearls which had been stolen by the French pirate Jean Florin, and who was captured in 1527 and hanged shortly after. – In 1538, Blasco Nuñez de Vela s fleet brought back to the Casa de Contratación de Sevilla 208 ducats of pearls from Cartagena as quinto real. – In 1543, the fleet of Martín Alonso de los Ríos took to Seville 9,211 ducats in pearls for the Royal Trea- sury. – In 1556, the fleet of Alvar Sánchez de Avilés brought back 17,585 ducats of pearls as quinto real. – In 1587, Acosta (1987) cites that on his voyage to Spain, the ship transported three boxes and 18 marcos (4 kg) of pearls for the King, and seven sacks and 1,264 marcos (291 kg) of pearls for private individuals. The fact that the pearls imported from America had to bear their own specific tax (tasa de avería) is another data that proves that this merchandise was a well known one.

PRODUCTION YEAR QUINTO REAL EXTRAPOLATION Figure 10. Hydroandric machine or suit to be worn underwater by a man, (20% tax rate) designed by Alejandro Durand (1720). 1503 - 1507 4.6 kg 23 kg 1508 4.2 kg 21 kg 1513 3 sacks 15 sacks elite and were very popular, as mentioned by Acosta (1987) in 1590, that even the lowest classes in society 1514 3.0 kg 15 kg wore chains made from them. Ulloa (1990) years later 1515 2.9 kg 14 kg affirmed the use of pearls as an usual feminine orna- 1516 11.2 kg & 5 pearls 56 kg ment. 1517 3.8 kg & 4 pearls 19 kg The Spaniards had known and eaten oysters in Spain 1518 71.2 kg & 615 pearls 356 kg as well as in the New World because of their abundant supply. They were eaten cooked in Spain and one fre- 1519 7.8 kg 39 kg quently was surprised to find a pearl while eating 1520 37.3 kg 186 kg although at the risk of loosing a tooth or teeth (Acosta, 1526 - 1530 42.6 kg & 380 pearls 213 kg 1987; Vega, 1996). 1530 - 1537 305.8 kg & 1,969 pearls 1,529 kg A part of the pearls extracted in America were brought back to Europe but the greater majority was Table 1. Estimation of total equivalent production of pearl for a tax rate of left behind in the colonies and their circulation depend- 20% between 1503 and 1537. ed on the demand. Therefore, most of the pearls from Panama were taken to Lima where they were sold and When used with the right precautions, the knowledge made their way to the interior of the Viceroyalty of of the quinto real is interesting not only from the point Peru. The pearl cargos that came to Spain were concen- of view of tax collecting but also to obtain an estimate trated in certain important cities near the fishing of pearl production from the New World, to which one grounds, such as Cartagena de Indias (those that arrived would have to add numbers from contraband. This from the Margarita & Cubagua Islands and the assertion is valid when the quinto real quantities are Columbian coasts), Panama (Those that arrived from the expressed as weight (marcos, ounces, etc.). When the Pearl Islands) and Guadalajara (those that arrived from quantities are expressed as monetary units (ducats, California) from where they were transhipped to the maravedís, etc.) it is practically impossible to estimate point of concentration of the fleet that would return to the corresponding pearl production of these quantities, Spain, most likely in La Havana. since the value of the pearls depended on their weight, There are many references of pearls being sent to the and they increased exponentially with weight, together Mother Country, which generally corresponded to the with other characteristics which are difficult to quanti- quinto real but also contained consignments sent by fy such as (form, colour, iridescence, etc.) just like in individuals. To cite a few important examples amongst present times (Arphe, 1985). many in the XVI century (Haring, 1979) are: Table 1 reproduces slightly modified figures of

32 De Re Metallica 13 julio–diciembre 2009 2ª época income from the Casa de Contratación de Sevilla Ibañez, J. M. R. 1998. La trata de negros en España. Historia expressed in kg of pearls, between 1503 and 1537 (Har- 16, 266, 56-65. ing, 1979) and an estimation of total equivalent produc- Izard, M. 1987. Tierra Firme. Historia de Venezuela y Colom- tion for a tax rate of 20%. The results do not fit well bia. Madrid, Alianza Editorial. with the estimated indications in other work places, Jerez, J. 1972a. Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Geneve, Ed. de which only corroborates the importance of contraband, Crémille. the exaggeration of pearl production data from some Jerez, J. 1972b. Hernán Cortes. Geneve, Ed. de Crémille. sources of the times, the variable percentage of the Kirkpatrick, F. A. 1999. Los conquistadores españoles. Madrid, quinto real or the inconsistency of some of the data. Rialp. The amount of pearls exported as contraband with- Las Casas, B. de 1995. Historia de las Indias. 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