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Show BOOK VII. .......-v--J S ll C T, XXXVI. lY.IODcy. H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. numerous an d 1r1.0 var1'ous , that hiftorians who f•a w the• m, a•f tet• · m• aking 1 d tedious enumeration, conclude With faymg, It IS tmpof-a ong an . . . h · . n· . · d fible to exprefs them all. Wnhout contrad1chng t eu nuettl?n, an to av01' d pro l1'x 1"ty , we will endeavour to comprehend them 111 a few d To that iiquare were carried to be fold or exchanged all the war s. d" · 1 · 1 produCtions of the Mexican empire, or a ~acent_ countnes, w 1~c 1 could ferve for the necefiaries of life, the convemence, the lu~unes, · the vanity, or curiofity of man (x); innumerable fpecies of an11nals, both dead and alive, every fort of eatable which was in ufe amongft them, all the metali and gems which were known to t?em, all the medicinal drugs and fimples, herbs, gum, refins, and nuneral earths, as well as the medicines prepared by their phyficians, fuch as beveridges, eleB:aries, oils, plafi:er5, ointments, &c. and ~very fort of manufac: ture and work of the thread of the metl, mague1, or aloe, of the mountain palm, of cotton, of feathers, of the hair of animals, of wood, of ftone, of gold, filver, and copper. They fold ther~ alfo flav~s, and even whole veffels, laden with human dung, for drefhng the fkms of animals. In ihort, they fold in that fquare every thing which could be fold in all that city; for they· had no mart elfe.where, nor was any thing fold out of the market-place except eatables. The po~ters and jewellers of Cholula, the goldfmiths of Azcapozalco, the pmnters of Tezcuco, the ftone-cutters of Tenajocan, the hunters of Xilotcpec, the filhers of Cuitlahuac, the fruiterers of hot countries, the mat-weavers and chair-makers of ~auhtitlan, and florifts of Xochimilco, all a.ffembled there. Thoir commerce was not only carried on by way of exchange, as many authors report, but likewife by means of real purchafe and fale. They had five kinds of real money, though it was not coined, which ferved them as a price tG purchafe whatever they wanted. The firft was a certain fpecies of cacao, different from that which they ufed in their daily drink, which was in conlbnt circulation through the hands of traders, as our money is amongfi: us. They counted tbe cacao by Xi. vuepi!ii, (this as we have before oblerved, w,ls equal to eight thoufand), (x) Whoever will take .the trouble to read the dcfcription which Cortes, Bernal Dia1., and the anonymous conqttcror have given of their market, will be convinced there is uo cxaggc· ration made here of the v:1riety of their mcrchandizes. and H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. a!ld to fave the trouble of counting them when the merchandize was of great value, they reckoned them by facks, every {ack having been reckoned to contain three xiquipilli, or twenty-four thou.G1nd nuts. The fecond kind of money was certain fmall cloths of cotton, which they called patolquaerhtli, as being folely deil:ined for the purchafe of merchandizes which were immediately neceif.1ry. The third fpecies of money was gold in du!l:, contained in goofe-quills, which, by being tranfparent, ihewed the precious metal which filled them, and in proportion to their fize were of greater or lefs value.· The fourth, which moil: refembled coined money, was made of pieces of coppe~ in the form of .aT, and was employed in purchafes of little value. The fifth, of which mention i~ made by Cortes, in his )aft letter to the emperor Charles the V th, confi!l:ed of thin pieces of tin. They fold and exchanged merchandizes by number and meafure; but we do know that they made ufe of weights, either becaufe they thought them liable. to fraud~, as fome authors h;we Gid, or becaufc they did not find ~hem necefiary, as others have affirmed, or becaufe if they did ufe them the Spaniards never knew it (y). To prevent fraudulent contraCts and diforder among!l: the traders, there were certain c;ommiffioners who were continually traverfing the .market to obferve what happened, and a tribunal of commerce, compofed of twelve judges, refiding in a houfe of the fquare, was appointed to decide all difplltes between traders, and take cognizance of all trefpa!fes committed in the market-place. Of all the goods which were brought into the market, a certain portion was paid in tribute to the king, who was on his part obliged to do jufl:ice to the merchants, and to proteCl: their property and their' perfoits. A theft feldom happened in the market, on account of the vigilance of . the king's ~~·· cers, and ·the feverity with which it was infi:antly pu1ulhe ~. But Jt lS _nat the leafi furprifing, that theft was fo rigoroufly pumthed, where the finalleil: diforders were never pardoned. The laborious and mo!l: (y) Gotn:tra believed that the Mexicans made no ufc Gf fcalcs or wcig ~m;. b:cnufe ~l~ey were ignorant of fuch a ;ol\trivnnc¢; but it ia very improbable, t h:~t a J~atton to uulufino\15 nnd commercial thould not hnve known the manner of afccrtaining the wctght of goods, when among other natt·o ns of Amen·c a, le fis acute t••1 an t h•e M· ex!·c ans ' tl:il)•ards wer.e made ufe of, ac- cording to the -report of the fame author, to we·i g1' go ld • Of how ma' ny ctrcumtl:.a nc.c s rc 1a d- m· e to Amcn· can :mu·q m· ty :u'C we fit' l•'. 1· gnorant, ow·m g to the want of proper examtuatlon :m, . I enqmry · fincere Ddd2 • BOOK VH. '---v--J SF. cT. XXXVI!. Rcgulatlpns of the mar• ket. • |