Editing South Sea Company (section)

=== The annual ship ===
The slave Asiento contract of 1713 granted a permit to send one vessel of 500 tons per year, loaded with duty-free merchandise to be sold at the fairs of [[New Spain]], [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] and [[Portobelo, Colón|Portobello]]. This was an unprecedented concession that broke two centuries of strict exclusion of foreign merchants from the Spanish Empire, although a quarter of the profit was to be paid to the Spanish Crown.<ref>Walker, G. J. (1979), p. 101</ref>

The first ship to head for the Americas, the ''Royal Prince'', was scheduled for 1714 but was delayed until August 1716. In consideration of the three annual ships missed since the date of the Asiento, the permitted tonnage of the next ten ships was raised to 650.<ref>Archivo General de Indias, Seville, Spain IG2785</ref> Only seven annual ships sailed during the Asiento, the last one being the ''Royal Caroline'' in 1732. The company's failure to produce accounts for all the annual ships but the first one, and lack of payment of the proceeds to the Spanish Crown from the profits for all the annual ships, resulted in no permits being granted after the ''Royal Caroline'' trip of 1732–1734.

In contrast to the "legitimate" trade in slaves, the regular trade of the annual ships generated healthy returns, in some case profits were over 100%.<ref>McLachlan, (1940), pp. 130–131</ref> Accounts for the voyage of the ''Royal Prince'' were not presented until 1733, following continuous demands by Spanish officials. They reported profits of £43,607.<ref>Archivo General de Indias, Seville, Spain C266L3</ref> Since the King of Spain was entitled to 25% of the profits, after deducting interest on a loan he claimed £8,678. The South Sea Company never paid the amount due for the first annual ship to the Spanish Crown, nor did it pay any amount for any of the other six trips.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hildner |first=Ernest G. |title=The Role of the South Sea Company in the Diplomacy Leading to the War of Jenkins' Ear, 1729–1739 |journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=322–341 |date=August 1938 |jstor=2507151 |doi=10.2307/2507151}}</ref>{{rp|341}}