Falling on hard times

The fortunes of Luis Pérez continued to deteriorate. In his letter of 6 December 1596, after reporting on happenings concerning Cambodia, he turned his attention to China and then progressed to a plea for financial assistance, which occupied about a quarter of the long epistle. He had been hoping for a significant sum from his father’s estate, and indeed estimates of the worth of the elder Dasmariñas were around 100,000 pesos. ¹ In fact he was now expecting only ‘a very small sum indeed – all the rest, I say, without omitting anything of money value, will amount, in my opinion, to something like five thousand pesos, and even that sum may not be reached’. ² In addition he had debts of 38,000 pesos. The letter dated December was sent via Melaka, since the galleon to Acapulco would not leave until about July of the following year. Worse was to come. On 30 June 1596, he again wrote to the king about his debts and asked for a licence to send to Peru ‘a ship of two hundred and fifty or three hundred toneladas, with articles and goods from China – although I do not know what I can do with my small capital and means’. ³ Though he would not know it for some time the king ordered that nothing be done until the residencia of Luis Pérez had been received in Spain. ⁴ Luis Pérez would write yet again in 1601, see below.