PHILIP IV OF SPAIN (1605 - 1665) King of Spain from 1621 to 1665 and also King of Portugal (as Philip III) from 1621 to 1640, remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the Thirty Years' War. His reign, after a few years of inconclusive successes, was characterized by political and military decay and adversity and Philip has been held responsible for the decline of Spain, which was mostly due, however, to causes largely beyond the control of any one ruler. Handsome, fine content manuscript document (unsigned), 6pp. legal folio, Madrid, June 29, 1651, a royal order sent by Philip via his military commander LUIS FERNANDEZ DE CORDOVA regarding the Spanish treasure fleet system (‘flota’) operating between Veracruz, Havana and Spain, as well as matters pertaining to the ongoing Spanish Inquisition. In part: ‘I inform you that Don Luis Fernandez de Cordoba, Knight of the Order of Santiago, Gentleman of the Chamber of Don Juan of Austria, my son, whom I have appointed as my Captain General of the fleet that this year is to depart to New Spain, has represented to me that…it is necessary for the proper government of the island during the outward passage and return passage of the fleet, for you to carry out the duties entrusted to you…among the enemies who frequent those seas who may seek to hinder the security of the said voyage, especially the Dutch, who appear to be preparing to undertake new enterprises…But since your Grace has seen fit to arrange that from Havana…the ship which is departing for Veracruz should make the necessary arrangements with the commanders…and with the attention required by the seriousness of the matter, measures shall be taken as it is most suitable for the security of the ships that are to sail from Havana, up the fleet of New Spain…The new developments of the past month communicated by Don Pedro Valazquez de Medrano from those parts oblige us to take advantage of the opportunity and to have the necessary preparations ready. If circumstances should require it, and should there be any threat or hostile undertaking, those under your command are to proceed to Havana…You shall proceed with my Armada to the island of Havana, where you will find orders concerning whatever circumstances, times and occasions may arrive…Once you have assembled in Havana with the General of said Armada, the person who succeeds to that command shall give his orders, and you shall comply with them…The abuses that have occurred in these dominions through the removal of silver, fruits, and merchandise outside the registered trade, have caused considerable harm to my revenues, and the losses resulting from this have become such that they demand prompt remedy. Because no one can possess such authority as you in matters relating to the fleet, I consider it very much your obligation to devote particular attention to ensuring that all persons declare their goods and that the regulations governing embarkations and customs collections are observed. At the time of loading and unloading, both in the ports and in the Indies, you shall take care that whatever is required by my service is carried out…You are to understand that the General and Admiral of the fleet and that, during the present year, no one shall return from Havana in [the fleet vessels] who has been condemned to perpetual banishment by the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition of the Indies [Mexico and Lima], notwithstanding any orders that may have been issued to the contrary. The purpose of the prohibition is to prevent them…from returning to those kingdoms. Those who, under the title of being reconciled penitents or for other reasons, are not to remain in the ports of the Indies…I order that whenever the Inquisitors of New Spain wish to send certain prisoners of that kind to these kingdoms, they deliver them to the Inquisition of Seville. You shall embark them in ships of the fleet under your command and convey them there, taking all necessary precautions to ensure that they do not escape during the voyage. Under no circumstances are they to be embarked at Havana, since this would lessen the effectiveness of the punishment imposed upon them and would give rise to inconveniences…I trust in this that you will conduct yourself as I expect…’.Our document touches on many of Philip’s use of the treasure fleet as well as continued obsession with maintaining Christian orthodoxy through the Inquisition. Spain entered the sixteenth century as a global superpower whose empire hinged on the acquisition of gold and other treasures in ‘New Spain’. Other countries jockeyed for their share of the riches, forcing Spain to come up with a system to keep the spoils to itself: the treasure fleet, or ‘Flota de Indias’, in which larger vessels sailed in convoy under the supervision of nautical experts and the protection of an Armada. Havana was the cornerstone of the activities of this fleet: designated to be ‘the key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies’ in 1634, Havana became a central assembly point of transatlantic trade between Spain, Veracruz and the Caribbean, receiving treasures plundered from Mexico and Peru, spices, minerals, and other goods, as well evolving into a main center of ship building. Havana’s conversion into a thriving maritime outpost in an emerging global mercantile economy was one of the few Spanish Caribbean success during Philip’s reign.At the same time, the work of the ‘Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition of the Indies’ the colonial branch of the Spanish Inquisition mentioned in our document – was hard at work in extending the Spanish Empire’s persecutorial mission. With offices situated in Mexico City, Lima and Colombia, the Tribunal was not authorized to persecute the indigenous peoples who forcibly converted to Catholicism. However, it was empowered to investigate and punish a broad array of offenses, including heresy, apostasy, crypto-Judaism, witchcraft, and later, political subversion. Cuba’s role in the Inquisition was key in the development of the Catholic Church within this region of the Spanish Empire, which included Florida and Jamaica. However, even though Cuba was officially an Inquisitorial colony, the Inquisition’s hegemony was never fully actualized on the island due to Spanish officials finding themselves in disputes with rival authorities. It is no surprise, then, that in our document Philip insists his Inquisitorial prisoners be brought back to Spain to face justice rather than risk their being dropped off in Havana and into bureaucratic oblivion.Indeed, by the time of our document in 1651, Philip had much to protect and even more to lose. Spain was on the verge of collapse: over-extension in the form of costly military engagements in Thirty Years’ War and subsequent Franco-Spanish War drained the country’s resources. The country had declared bankruptcy multiple times. Even after the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, Spain and France found themselves still deadlocked in continued conflict. Spain was also embroiled in the internal, French-backed ‘Reapers’ War’ in Catalonia which culminated in the Siege of Barcelona in July 1651, the month of our letter. In this lesser-known engagement, an army raised by Don Juan José de Austria, Philip IV’s illegitimate son, attacked the crucial port. Barcelona was the last major urban stronghold after the fall of other key Catalan defenses like Lleida and Tortos and perhaps most importantly, a nexus of commerce like the port of Havana, making it an essential revenue source. Trade became more crucial than ever but -- like any heavily regulated monopoly – Spain’s treasure fleet also spawned the smuggling and corruption mentioned in our document: the illegal trade proliferated over the years, and gradually Spain’s handle on trade would splinter as merchants from England, Holland and other countries would trade directly with the Spanish territories. By the time 1700 rolled around, Spain had lost its position as a superpower. Penned in a fine secretarial hand on letterhead reading 'For official documents, two maravedis'