119 



has almost equalled that of Mexico * ; it rose 

 in the province of Venezuela to 40,000 arrobas, 

 or a million of pounds, the value of which 

 exceeded 1/250,000 piastres -f*. I shall here 

 give from official documents J, never before 

 published, the progressive augmentation of this 

 branch of agriculture at Aragua. 



Exportation of Indigo by the way of La Guayra. 



Annual mean? 1>7 - Q « h „ rtA , 



from 1774 to{ 1778— 20,300 pounds. 



1784— — -126,233 



1785— 213,172 



1786— 271,005 . 



1787— 432,570 



1788 -505,956 



1789 718,393 



1792 680,229 



1794 —898,353 



1796 737,966 



In this statement no attention has been paid 

 to the contraband trade, which may be com- 



* The commerce of Guatimala amounts to 1,200,000 or 

 1,500,000 pounds of indigo. 



t The pound of indigo at ten rials of plate. 



J Expediente relativo al Comercioy Crecido contrabando de la 

 Provincia de Caracas, dirigido al Exc. Senor Don Pedro Garcia, 



por el Conde de Casa Valencia, 13 Junio, 1797. Itiformes de 



Don Esteban Fernandez de Leon, Intendente de Caracas, del 26 

 Sept., 1795. (MSS.) 



