Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/104

84 and two smaller vessels, and the estimated cost of maintenance, six hundred thousand ducats, should be levied on the islands and mainland from Panamá, northward. Mexico offered to contribute two hundred thousand pesos by means of an excise tax of two per cent. Merida placed herself on the list with seven thousand pesos for fifteen years, and other towns came forward with different amounts. One duty of the fleet was to prevent smuggling, from which the treasury suffered greatly, and while the chief station must be Vera Cruz, other ports were to be frequented. To this end surveys should be made, partly with a view to future shipyards.

The declaration of war by France in 1633 added another to. the many enemies arrayed against Spain through the unfortunate policy of Felipe IV., and the colonies had to share her misfortunes not alone in the form of pirate raids, but in being subjected to forced loans and pressing appeals for voluntary and tax imposts. Already by cédula of December 4, 1624, the king had intimated to his subjects that they ought to assist him in his dire need by voluntary gifts, and New Spain was told that 600,000 ducats would be expected by the following year from her rich colonists. They sent 432,000 pesos, and this liberal response caused the donativo, or gift, fund to become a fixed source of revenue. The appeal for this fund