“Manila lies between the richest countries in the East and West Indies. One can find here the silver of Peru and New Spain, diamonds from Golconda, topaz, sapphires and cinnamon from Ceylon, pepper from Java, cloves and nutmeg from Molucca, rubies and camphor from Borneo, pearls and costly carpets from Persia, benzoin, rubber and ivories from Camboja, musk from Lequios, silks and cotton goods from Bengal, porcelain and fabrics and other luxuries from China.” So runs an eighteenth-century description of the wealth carried by the yearly treasure ship which sailed between Acapulco, in Mexico, and Manila.