This volume is part of a monumental, 55-volume collection of meticulously translated primary source documents, serving as a foundational reference for the history of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period. The collection was compiled and edited in the early 20th century, providing English readers access to a vast array of contemporaneous books and manuscripts detailing the political, economic, commercial, and religious conditions of the islands from the arrival of European nations through the close of the nineteenth century. Volume XXX covers documents pertaining to the year 1640. Its content is bipartite: the first part is an in-depth historical survey of the regulated galleon trade between the Philippines and Nueva España (Mexico). It discusses the controversies, restrictions, and economic pressures placed upon the trade—particularly the export of Chinese silk fabrics—as well as the strategic importance of the Philippine colony for the Spanish crown's military and commercial interests in Asia. The second, longer portion presents the initial chapters of Diego Aduarte’s history of the Dominican missions. This section details the establishment of the Dominican religious province, their missions in areas like Bataan and Pangasinan, and their extensive ministry to the Chinese Christian community in Manila and the surrounding town of Binondo. The volume documents both the economic lifeblood of the colony and the intensive religious labor that defined the era.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (Vol. 30, 1640)