The viceroy prohibited Hanseatic ships from anchoring in Veracruz. When this legal source of a large quantity of merchandise was blocked, smuggling rose. It was said that even the vicereine dressed in contraband cloth from England or from Flanders. Güemes y Horcasitas earned a reputation for governing efficiently and honorably. He took steps to ensure that government employees met the obligations of their offices. He increased the revenues of the government, even though revenue from the mines decreased due to the scarcity of mercury (for extracting silver). He increased the size of the fleet protecting shipping between Veracruz and Havana. With the expansion of commerce and the decrease in piracy after the end of the war with England, mercury from Spanish mines began flowing into New Spain in sufficient quantities to raise the production of silver back to pre-shortage levels. He reorganized the management of official documents and required that civil and religious affairs be handled independently. These reforms are considered the foundation of what became the General Archives of Mexico. He was accused of having accumulated an enormous personal fortune while in office, but when he left, he left a large surplus in the treasury, and a wealth of stores and provisions. Foreign affairs Spain was at war with England again (the War of the Austrian Succession), and news was received in Mexico City that a fleet of 17 ships of the line and transports had been assembled at Portsmouth under Admiral Richard Lestock, for an invasion of Spanish possessions in America. The information did not include where the English intended to make a landing, so the viceroy worked to prepare all the provinces under his jurisdiction to repulse an attack. A preliminary peace was signed on 30 April 1748. Spain was required to pay its debts to England, and England to return the Spanish possessions it had captured. New Spain's military expenses suddenly decreased, and the bonus was used for such projects as the colonization of Nuevo Santander. While maintaining good relations with France, he vigilantly prevented French encroachments on the territory of New Spain. The garrisons in Texas were strengthened. In 1755 he founded a presidio at Horcasitas (Sonora) for the purpose of controlling the Apaches. Return to Spain After turning over the government to his successor, Agustín de Ahumada, Güemes returned to Spain, where he was made captain general of the army. He was proposed as