With regard to the title of the book he alleges reasons for his selection of it. As mariners direct their course across the ocean by observing the polar star, so may his readers, he hopes, be guided through the intricacies of commerce by the perusal of his work; and as the needle by pointing to the same quarter instructs the mariner, so may his book instruct the readers of it. The edition contains a curious wood-cut frontispiece representing in the upper portion 'D. Ferdinandus & Elisabet' enthroned on the left, and 'D. Carolus II. & Regina Mater' on the right, supported by two columns on either side. In niches between the pairs of columns are full-length figures of 'Colon' and 'Cortés.' A representation of the ocean with galleons sailing on it occupies the center. Numerous scrolls with Latin inscriptions are scattered on the wood-cut. In 1702 this work was 'Made English by Capt. John Stevens,who added 'Two Compleat Lists: One of the Goods Transported out of Europe to the Spanish West-Indies, the other of commodities brought from those Parts into Europe.' A comprehensive history of the Philippine trade is to be found in Extrncto Historial Del Expediente Que Pende En El Consejo Real, Y Supremo De Las Indias, A Instancia De La Ciudad De Manila, Y Demás De Las Islas Philipinas, published in Madrid by order of the king in 1736, and containing 324 folios. This work comprises a large number of royal and other official documents, from early times, bearing upon commerce between the Philippine Islands and China and New Spain. The injury done to Spanish commerce by the introduction of Chinese silk fabrics into Acapulco, is especially entered into, and the restrictions which were imposed upon such articles induced the king, on the representations of Manila merchants, to cause a complete investigation to be made. Among modern authorities on the commerce of New Spain, Lerdo de Tejada may be mentioned as one conspicuous for research and with a correct judgment of causes and effects. His Apuntes Historicos De La Heróica Ciudad de Vera-Cruz was published in Mexico in 1850, and besides furnishing a general review of commerce from the conquest until after the independence, contains a historical sketch of events from the history of Columbus, and a description of Vera Cruz and the port of San Juan de Ulúa. In 1853 Lerdo de Tejada published another work on Mexico, entitled Commercio Esterior de Mexico, which contains tabular forms exhibiting the number of vessels entering Mexican ports during the period from 1728 to 1795, besides other information. The writings of this author are an important addition to the literature of Mexico.
The researches of Humboldt which embrace commercial matters may be considered defective and occasionally inaccurate. Embracing in his calculations the commerce of all the Spanish American colonies, and basing them more particularly upon the exports of the precious metals, his deductions are too general to afford information in detail relative to the earlier trade of New Spain. From the commencement of free trade, however, he has made valuable calculations and supplied figures setting forth the values of exports and imports, with comparative tables exhibiting the increase of commerce since the removal of the restrictions. Essai Polit., ii. 733-8. In his description of the highways and roads of Mexico he shows excellent observation and supplies good suggestions for improvement.
Correo Mereantil de España y sus Indias, Madrid, 1792-4, in 4 vols.
