In order to take part in the exchange itself, the Mexican government, which ruled California at this time, instituted a fee for foreign ships to pay upon entry into the coastal waters, a fee often manipulated and avoided by trading captains through subterfuge and bribery of collectors. A tariff system charging up to 15,000 pesos enacted by the Mexican government would be paid at the customs house at Monterey, which allowed trading vessels to buy and sell goods at all of the California ports. To be able to evade the tariff was considered the mark of a professional and a badge of honor by many captains of the day. Predominantly American vessels, which negotiated high tariffs on their payloads via honest or dishonest means, often saw returns three times the value of the cargo which they brought.