Following
Cortés' explorations of the Pacific coast of Mexico (1533-1538), a
number of expeditions were fitted out for securing pearls by trading
with the natives, by forcing them to fish, and by even more
questionable means. Several of these expeditions found record in
history either by reason of their unusual success or through the
extreme cruelty with which they were conducted. The contact of the
Spaniards with the Indians resulted in very bitter feelings on the part
of the latter, so that it became risky for small traders to venture
among them. From time to time, successful expeditions were made,
especially the one of 200 men sent in 1596 by the viceroy of Mexico to
"the rich Isles of California," mentioned by Teixeira.1
Antonio de Castillo, a Spanish colonist, with headquarters south of
Mazatlan, was one of the most successful of the early adventurers, and
Iturbide Ortega and José Carborel were also among the fortunate ones of
that period.2 Ortega marketed his pearls in the city of
Mexico, and the reported sale of one for 4500 dollars had considerable
effect in stimulating the industry.
The
advent of the Jesuits to western Mexico in 1642, developed amicable
relations with the Indians; and although the missionaries were
agriculturists rather than fishermen, the restoration of harmony
resulted in a more favorable prosecution of the fisheries. The
colonists of Sinaloa and Nueva Galicia, who had formerly, in small
vessels and with great danger, made occasional visits to the pearl
beds, built larger vessels and made more frequent visits without
apprehension. The skilful Yaqui and Mayo Indians were employed or
impressed as divers, just as natives of the Bahamas had served in the
fisheries of Venezuela. Great profits resulted from the operations.
Venegas wrote that "it was certain that the fifth of every vessel was
yearly farmed for 12,000 dollars."3
So
profitable was the fishery that the Spanish soldiers and sailors
stationed in the Gulf of Cortes—as the Gulf of California was then
called—were frequently charged with devoting more attention to pearling
than to their official duties. In order to put a stop to this evil, in
1704, Father Silva-Tierra, who was in authority in that part of the
country, ordered that no soldier or sailor should engage in the
fishery. With a view to removing the demoralizing influences of
promiscuous adventurers among the Indians, the industry was later
restricted to persons specially authorized.
Probably the most successful of the early pearlers was Manuel
1 Hakluyt's "Voyages," Glasgow, 1904, Vol. "Venegas,
"Noticia de las Californias," IX, pp. 318, 319· Madrid, 1757, p. 454.
2 Clavigero, "Storia della California," Ve-nezia, 1789, Vol. I, p. 161.
