since in the "Brpedieate de la Archivo General de Indias" in Sevilla, where his sketch can 

 "be fo-ond, nothinc is shov/n that the license for this invention v/as granted. 



The e-xp.cl mmber of Indian or ITegro divers employed hy Spaniards is not know. 

 It is reasonahle to expect, however, that it v;as ouite large, prohably not less than several 

 hiiidred. In l621, when only I30 Negro divers v/ere left on Margarita, it was recommended 

 that 300 slaves 'be imported to revive the pearl fishery. 



After a period of rapid exploitation following Coltinbus* discovery of the New 

 "orld, the -Dearl fishery along the northern coast of South America continued on a gradually 

 diminishing scale, and completely ceased hy the end of the lyth Century. Severe and prob- 

 ahly final "blows were dealt "by frequent pirate rsids, which completely ruined the pearl 

 fisheries of Margarita, Cuhagua, and Coch^. 



It would be, of course, of great interest to obtain some records of the value 

 of x>earls taken at this time from Venezuelan pearl oyster grounds. Although no satisfactory 

 records of peaxl trade are available, some idea of the relative importance and value of 

 ■oearl fishery to Spanish treasure in the l6th Century can be gained from the data assembled 

 oy Alexander v. Humboldt (ISI9-IS29, II p. 273). In liis travels in Venezuela, Humboldt, 

 '.,'ith his indefatigable energjr, was able to gather old records of the number and value of 

 •oearls shiTroed from South America to Spain. Since the King's treasiiry collected "one-fifth" 

 of the pearls found in these v;aters, the shipments vfere very carefully recorded and entered 

 in Treasury's book. From this source we learn that in the earlier years of the l6th Century 

 UT to 1530* ^i^^ value of pearls sent to Europe averaged more than 800,000 piastres (pesos) 

 annually. It is interesting to note that at that time the value of all the products mined 

 every year in America and exported to Europe did not exceed 2,000,000 pesos. 



The richness of the pearl grounds off the Venezuelan coast can be judged by the 

 follo'.'in.!; recordsi In one month of January I529 morj/than 1,500 marks (12,000 ounces) of 

 ■oearls, or the equivalent of over 17 million carats, were taken from the pearl beds of the 

 Islsjid of Coch^. This quantity far exceeds the best annual catch of the present years. 

 Further information may be obtained from a sttidy of the accovmts of shipments made by the 

 offici=ls of the Royal Treasury at Hispanola to the Casa Contrataci^n in Spain— a special 

 agency set up by the government to collect the tax on gold, pearls, precious stones and 

 other goods brought from America (Haring, I9I8). Tor instance, on January 2U, 1533t the 

 Captain of the Vessel Trinidad received from the royal officials at Cubagua several boxes 

 of -oearls, one of them containing 90 pearls of good size, and the others holding more than 

 10 narks of rough pearls. Other shipments contained large number of pearls. The "Nicolas," 

 v/hich sailed for Spain in June 1533» carried more than 200 marks (l,600 ounces) of pearls. 

 In July 153^, the Captain of the Santa Maria de Begonia received for shipment two boxes of 

 pearls from Cubagua, one containing 200 marks (l,600 ounces) of "common" peajls, while 

 another contained 1,000 marks (S,000 ounces) of small pearls. 



Other records refer to the shipments, varying from 93 to lUo marks, of pearls 

 nsjde in Jvne 1535 sni June I536. In 153S, the squadron, under the command of Blasco Nunez 

 de Vela, transported peaxls valued at 208 ducats. The largest shipment, worth 9»000 ducats, 

 WPS made in 15^3* 



Oviedo stated (l. c. lib. XIX, caps 28, q.uoted from Haring, I9I8) that the royal 

 "cuinto" or one-fifth from the pearl fisheries amounted to 15,000 ducats and more a year. 

 Ee himself possessed a round pearl v/eighing 26 carats and secured another one in 1529 which 

 he sold for U50 "pesos de ord. " 



A pear-shaped pearl from Darien, Panama, weighing 3I carats and of very fine 

 color './as sold in 1515 for 1,200 pesos and later found its way into the possession of the 

 Queen. These scattered records give some idea of the value of pearls during the first half 

 of the 16th Cent-ory. 



1/ metric caxat = 0.2 gram; cne avoirdupois ounce a lUl.7'^-7 carats 



