656 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW 



behaved as they pleased, the king extended the jurisdiction of 

 the ship's officers to cover the time while they were in port. 125 



Life aboard ship could not have been attractive, except for 

 the glamor which has always surrounded going to sea. Ships 

 in those days were the antithesis of cleanliness. Rats and vermin 

 swarmed over the vessel. The most vivid account of the condi- 

 tions comes from the experience and pen of Gemelli Careri. 



. . . the galeon is never clear of an universal raging itch, as an 

 addition to all other miseries . . . the ship swarms with little 

 vermine, the Spaniards call Gorgojos, bred in the bisket; so swift that 

 they in a short time not only run over cabins, beds, and the very 

 dishes the men eat on, but insensibly fasten upon the body. . . there 

 are several other sorts of vermin of sundry colours, that suck the 

 blood. 126 



Besides these discomforts, he, like others, complains of the 

 "terrible shocks from side to side, caus'd by the furious beating 

 of the waves". The galleons were always overladen with mer- 

 chandise, and the decks were crowded with the chests of the 

 sailors, hen-coops, and bales of goods. The very narrowness of 

 the quarters was distressing, and on one galleon at least, led to 

 civil war which was stopped only through the efforts of the 

 fathers who were aboard. 127 



Provision for rations aboard ship was most unsystematic and 

 improperly attended to. In the first place, those who furnished 

 the rations for the crew often put in food of poor quality. 128 

 Then also, the passengers and religious, who were often numerous, 

 consumed food provided for the crew. 129 Stowaways were an 

 additional drain upon provisions. 130 So also were the slaves of 



126 Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, [Letter to Felipe IV.], Cavite, July 11, 

 1636. Translation in Blair and Robertson, XXVI. 269-290. See pp. 272, 273. 

 186 Gemelli Careri, op. cit., in Churchill, IV. 464. 

 m Aduarte, op. cit., in Blair and Robertson, XXX. 129. 



128 Admiral Hieronimo de Banuelos y Carillo, Relation de las islas Filipinas 

 (Mexico, 1638). Translation in Blair and Robertson, XXIX. 66-85. See p. 84. 



129 Recopilacidn de leyes, libro IX, titulo XXVI, ley IX, cited in Blair and 

 Robertson, XVII. 133. 



180 Gregorio Lopez, S. J., [Relation of 1609-1610], Manila, July 1, 1610. Trans- 

 lation in Blair and Robertson, XVII. 100-143. See p. 133. 



