 | |
| Native name | Spanish:Galeón de Manila,Tagalog:Galeon ng Maynila |
|---|---|
| English name | Manila galleon |
| Duration | From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) |
| Venue | BetweenManila andAcapulco |
| Location | New Spain (Spanish Empire) (currentMexico) |
| Also known as | Nao de China or Galeón de Acapulco[1] |
| Motive | Trading maritime route fromEast Indies to theAmericas |
| Organised by | Spanish Crown |
TheManila galleon (Spanish:Galeón de Manila;Tagalog:Galeon ng Maynila) refers to theSpanish tradingships that linked thePhilippines in theSpanish East Indies toMexico (New Spain), across thePacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports ofManila andAcapulco from the late 16th to early 19th century.[2] The term "Manila galleon" can also refer to the trade route itself between Manila and Acapulco that was operational from 1565 to 1815.[1]
TheManila galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 after theAugustinian friar and navigatorAndrés de Urdaneta pioneered thetornaviaje or return route from the Philippines to Mexico. Urdaneta andAlonso de Arellano made the first successful round trips that year, by taking advantage of theKuroshio Current. The galleons set sail from Cavite, inManila Bay, at the end of June or the first week of July, sailing through the northern Pacific and reaching Acapulco in March to April of the next calendar year. The return route from Acapulco passes through lowerlatitudes closer to theequator, stopping over in theMarianas, then sailing onwards through theSan Bernardino Strait offCape Espiritu Santo inSamar and then to Manila Bay and anchoring again off Cavite by June or July.[1][3] The trade using "Urdaneta's route" lasted until 1815, when theMexican War of Independence broke out. The majority of thesegalleons were built and loaded inshipyards inCavite, utilizing nativehardwoods like thePhilippine teak, with sails produced inIlocos, and with therigging and cordage made from salt-resistantManila hemp. The vast majority of the galleon's crew consisted ofFilipino natives; many of whom were farmers,street children, or vagrantspress-ganged into service as sailors. The officers and other skilled crew were usually Spaniards (a high percentage of whom were ofBasque descent). The galleons were state vessels and thus the cost of their construction and upkeep was borne by theSpanish Crown.[3][4]
The galleons mostly carried cargoes of Chinese and other Asianluxury goods in exchange for New World silver. Silver prices in Asia were substantially higher than in America, leading to an arbitrage opportunity for the Manila galleon. Every space of the galleons were packed tightly with cargo, even spaces outside the holds like thedecks,cabins, andmagazines. In extreme cases, they towed barges filled with more goods. While this resulted in slow passage (that sometimes resulted inshipwrecks or turning back), the profit margins were so high that it was commonly practiced.[3] These goods includedIndianivory and precious stones, Chinesesilk andporcelain,cloves from theMoluccas islands,cinnamon,ginger,lacquers, tapestries andperfumes from all over Asia. In addition,slaves (collectively known as "chinos") from various parts of Asia (mainly slaves bought from thePortuguese slave markets andMuslim captives from theSpanish–Moro conflict) were also transported from the Manilaslave markets to Mexico.[5] Freeindigenous Filipinos also migrated to Mexico via the galleons (including galleon crew that jumped ship), comprising the majority of free Asian settlers ("chinos libres") in Mexico, particularly in regions near the terminal ports of the Manila galleons.[5][6] The route also fostered cultural exchanges that shaped the identities and the culture of the countries involved.[1]
The Manila galleons were also known colloquially in New Spain asLa Nao de China ("The China Ship"), because they carried mostlyChinese goods shipped from Manila.[3][7][8][9] The Manila Galleon route was an early instance ofglobalization, representing a trade route from Asia that crossed to the Americas, thereby connecting all the world's continents inglobal silver trade.[10]
In 2015, the Philippines and Mexico began preparations for the nomination of the Manila–Acapulco Galleon Trade Route in theUNESCOWorld Heritage List with backing from Spain, which has also suggested the tri-national nomination of the archives on the Manila–Acapulco Galleons in theUNESCOMemory of the World Register.
In 1521, a Spanish expedition led byFerdinand Magellan sailed west across the Pacific using the westwardtrade winds. The expedition discovered theMariana Islands and thePhilippines and claimed them for Spain. Although Magellan was killed by natives commanded byLapulapu during thebattle of Mactan in the Philippines, one of his ships, theVictoria, made it back to Spain by continuing westward.
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To settle and trade with these islands from the Americas, an eastward maritime return path was necessary. TheTrinidad, which tried this a few years later, failed. In 1529,Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón also tried sailing east from the Philippines, but could not find "westerlies" across the Pacific. In 1543,Bernardo de la Torre also failed. In 1542, however,Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo helped pave the way by sailing north from Mexico to explore the Pacific coast, reaching just north of the38th parallel at theRussian River. The frustration of these failures is shown in a letter sent in 1552 fromPortuguese Goa by the Spanish missionaryFrancis Xavier toSimão Rodrigues asking that no more fleets attempt the New Spain–East Asia route, lest they be lost.[11]
Despite prior failures navigatorAndrés de Urdaneta effectively persuaded Spanish officials in New Spain that a Philippines-Mexico trade route was preferrable to other alternatives. He argued against direct trade between Spain and the Philippines through thestrait of Magellan on the basis that climate would made passage through the strait possible only during summer and that therefore ships would need tostay the winter in a more northern port. His preference for Mexico rather than for the shorter oveland route throughDarién is thought to have been due to his links to thePedro de Alvarado.[12]
The Manila–Acapulco galleon trade finally began when Spanish navigatorsAlonso de Arellano and Andrés de Urdaneta discovered the eastward return route in 1565. Sailing as part of the expedition commanded byMiguel López de Legazpi to conquer the Philippines in 1564, Urdaneta was given the task of finding a return route.[13] Reasoning that thetrade winds of the Pacific might move in agyre as the Atlantic winds did, they sailed north, going all the way to the38th parallel north, off the east coast of Japan, before catching the westerlies that would take them back across the Pacific. He commanded a vessel which completed the eastward voyage in 129 days; this marked the opening of the Manila galleon trade.[14]
Reaching thewest coast of North America, Urdaneta's ship, theSan Pedro, hit the coast nearSanta Catalina Island, California, then followed the shoreline south toSan Blas and later toAcapulco, arriving on October 8, 1565.[15] Most of his crew died on the long initial voyage, for which they had not sufficiently provisioned. Arellano, who had taken a more southerly route, had already arrived.
The English privateerFrancis Drake also reached the California coast, in 1579. After capturinga Spanish ship heading for Manila, Drake turned north, hoping to meet another Spanish treasure ship coming south on its return from Manila to Acapulco. He failed in that regard, but stakedan English claim somewhere on the northern California coast. Although the ship's log and other records were lost, the officially accepted location is now calledDrakes Bay, onPoint Reyes south of Cape Mendocino.[a][24]
By the 18th century, it was understood that a less northerly track was sufficient when nearing the North American coast, and galleon navigators steered well clear of the rocky and often fogbound northern and central California coast. According to historian William Lytle Schurz, "They generally made their landfall well down the coast, somewhere betweenPoint Conception andCape San Lucas ... After all, these were preeminently merchant ships, and the business of exploration lay outside their field, though chance discoveries were welcomed".[25]
The first motivation for land exploration of present-day California was to scout out possible way stations for the seaworn Manila galleons on the last leg of their journey. Early proposals came to little, but in 1769, thePortola expedition established ports atSan Diego andMonterey (which became the administrative center ofAlta California), providing safe harbors for returning Manila galleons.
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Monterey, California, was about two months and three weeks out from Manila in the 18th century, and the galleon tended to stop there 40 days before arriving in Acapulco. Galleons stopped in Monterey prior to California's Spanish settlement in 1769; however, visits became regular between 1777 and 1794 because the Crown ordered the galleon to stop in Monterey.[26]
Trade withMing China via Manila served as a major source of revenue for theSpanish Empire and as a fundamental source of income for Spanish colonists in the Philippine Islands. Galleons used for the trade between East and West were crafted by Filipino artisans.[27] Until 1593, two or more ships would set sail annually from each port.[28] The Manila trade became so lucrative thatSeville merchants petitioned kingPhilip II of Spain to protect the monopoly of theCasa de Contratación based in Seville. This led to the passing of a decree in 1593 that set a limit of two ships sailing each year from either port, with one kept in reserve in Acapulco and one in Manila. An "armada", or armed escort of galleons, was also approved. Due to official attempts to control the galleon trade, contraband and understating of ships' cargoes became widespread.[29]
The galleon trade was supplied by merchants largely from port areas ofFujian, such asQuanzhou, as depicted in theSelden Map, andYuegang (the old port ofHaicheng inZhangzhou,Fujian),[30] who traveled to Manila to sell the Spaniards spices, porcelain, ivory,lacquerware, processed silk cloth and other valuable commodities. Cargoes varied from one voyage to another but often included goods from all over Asia: jade, wax, gunpowder and silk from China; amber, cotton and rugs from India; spices from Indonesia and Malaysia; and a variety of goods from Japan, the Spanish part of the so-calledNanban trade, includingJapanese fans, chests,screens, porcelain andlacquerware.[31]
In addition,slaves of various origins, including East Africa, Portuguese India, the Muslim sultanates of Southeast Asia, and the Spanish Philippines, were transported from Manila and sold in New Spain. African slaves were categorized asnegros orcafres while all slaves of Asian origin were calledchinos. The lack of detailed records makes it difficult to estimate the total number of slaves transported or the proportions of slaves from each region.[32]
Galleons transported goods to be sold in the Americas, namely inNew Spain andPeru, as well as in European markets.East Asia trading primarily functioned on asilver standard due to Ming China's use ofsilver ingots as a medium of exchange. As such, goods were mostly bought withsilver mined from New Spain andPotosí.[29]
The cargoes arrived in Acapulco and were transported by land across Mexico. Mule trains would carry the goods along the China Road from Acapulco first to the administrative center of Mexico City, then on to the port ofVeracruz on theGulf of Mexico, where they were loaded onto theSpanish treasure fleet bound for Spain. The transport of goods overland by porters, the housing of travelers and sailors at inns by innkeepers, and the stocking of long voyages with food and supplies provided byhaciendas before departing Acapulco helped to stimulate the economy of New Spain.[33]
The trade of goods and exchanges of people were not limited to Mexico and the Philippines, since Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru also served as supplementary streams to the main one between Mexico and Philippines.[34]
Around 80% of the goods shipped back from Acapulco to Manila were from the Americas – silver,cochineal, seeds, sweet potato, corn, tomato, tobacco, chickpeas, chocolate and cocoa, watermelon seeds, vines, and fig trees. The remaining 20% were goods transshipped from Europe and North Africa such as wine and olive oil, and metal goods such as weapons, knobs and spurs.[31]
This Pacific route was the alternative to the trip west across the Indian Ocean, and around theCape of Good Hope, which was reserved to Portugal according to theTreaty of Tordesillas. It also avoided stopping over at ports controlled by competing powers such as Portugal and the Netherlands. From the early days of exploration, the Spanish knew that the American continent was much narrower across thePanamanian isthmus than across Mexico. They tried to establish a regular land crossing there, but the thick jungle and tropical diseases such asyellow fever andmalaria made it impractical.[citation needed]
It took at least four months to sail across the Pacific Ocean from Manila to Acapulco, and the galleons were the main link between the Philippines and the viceregal capital atMexico City and thence to Spain itself. Many of the so-called "Kastilas" or Spaniards in the Philippines were actually of Mexican descent, and the Hispanic culture of the Philippines is influenced by Spanish and Mexican culture in particular.[35] Soldiers and settlers recruited from Mexico and Peru also gathered in Acapulco before they were sent to settle at thepresidios of the Philippines.[36] Even after the galleon era, and at the time when Mexico finally gained its independence, the two nations still continued to trade, except for a brief lull during theSpanish–American War.
In Manila, the safety of ocean crossings was commended to the virginNuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga in masses held by the Archbishop of Manila. If the expedition was successful the voyagers would go to La Ermita (the church) to pay homage, and offer gold and other precious gems or jewelries from Hispanic countries to the image of the virgin. So it came to be that the virgin was named the "Queen of the Galleons".
Economic shocks due to the arrival of Spanish-American silver in China were among the factors that led to theend of the Ming dynasty.
In 1740, as part of the administrative changes of theBourbon Reforms, the Spanish crown began allowing the use of registered ships ornavíos de registro in the Pacific. These ships traveled solo, outside the convoy system of the galleons. While these solo voyages would not immediately replace the galleon system, they were more efficient and better able to avoid being captured by theRoyal Navy ofGreat Britain.[37]
In 1813, theCortes of Cádiz decreed the suppression of the route and the following year, with the end of thePeninsular War,Ferdinand VII of Spain ratified the dissolution. The last ship to reach Manila was theSan Fernando orMagallanes,[1] which arrived empty, as its cargo had been requisitioned in Mexico.[1]
The Manila–Acapulco galleon trade ended in 1815, a few years before Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. After this, the Spanish Crown took direct control of the Philippines, and governed directly from Madrid. Sea transport became easier in the mid-19th century after the invention of steam powered ships and the opening of theSuez Canal, which reduced the travel time from Spain to the Philippines to 40 days.
Between 1609 and 1616, ninegalleons and six galleys were constructed in Philippine shipyards. The average cost was 78,000 pesos per galleon and at least 2,000 trees. The galleons constructed included theSan Juan Bautista,San Marcos,Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe,Angel de la Guardia,San Felipe,Santiago,Salbador,Espiritu Santo, andSan Miguel. "From 1729 to 1739, the main purpose of theCavite shipyard was the construction and outfitting of the galleons for the Manila to Acapulco trade run."[38]
Due to the route's high profitability but long voyage time, it was essential to build the largest possible galleons, which were the largest class of European ships known to have been built until then.[39][40] In the 16th century, they averaged from 1,700 to 2,000 tons[which?][citation needed], were built of Philippine hardwoods and could carry 300–500 passengers. TheConcepción, wrecked in 1638, was 43 to 49 m (141 ft 1 in to 160 ft 9 in) long and displaced some 2,000 tons. TheSantísima Trinidad was 51.5 m (169 ft 0 in) long. Most of the ships were built in the Philippines; only eight were built in Mexico.
Sailors averaged age 28 or 29 while the oldest were between 40 and 50. Ships' pages were children who entered service mostly at age 8, many orphans or poor taken from the streets of Seville, Mexico and Manila. Apprentices were older than the pages and if successful would be certified as sailor at age 20. Mortality rates were high with ships arriving in Manila with a majority of their crew often dead from starvation, disease and scurvy, especially in the early years, so Spanish officials in Manila found it difficult to find men to crew their ships to return to Acapulco. Many native Filipinos and others of Southeast Asian origin (also calledIndios) made up the majority of the crew. Other crew were made up of deportees and criminals from Spain and other Spanish colonies. Many criminals were sentenced to serve as crew on royal ships. Less than a third of the crew was Spanish and they usually held key positions aboard the galleon.[41]
At port, goods were unloaded by dockworkers, and food was often supplied locally. In Acapulco, the arrival of the galleons provided seasonal work, as for dockworkers who were typically free African men highly paid for their back breaking labor, and for farmers and haciendas across Mexico who helped stock the ships with food before voyages. On land, travelers were often housed at inns ormesones, and had goods transported by muleteers, which provided opportunities for Mexico's native population. By providing for the galleons, colonial Spanish America was tied into the broader global economy.[33]
The wrecks of the Manila galleons are legends second only to the wrecks oftreasure ships in the Caribbean. In 1568, Miguel López de Legazpi's own ship, theSan Pablo (300 tons), was the first Manila galleon to be wrecked en route to Mexico. Between the years 1576 when theEspiritu Santo was lost and 1798 when theSan Cristobal was lost, twenty Manila galleons[42] wrecked within the Philippine archipelago. In 1596 theSan Felipe was wrecked in Japan.
At least one galleon, probably theSanto Cristo de Burgos, is believed to have wrecked on the coast of Oregon in 1693. Known as theBeeswax wreck, the event is described in the oral histories of theTillamook andClatsop, which suggest that some of the crew survived.[43][44][45]
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Between 1565 and 1815, 108 ships operated as Manila galleons, of which 26 were captured or sunk by the enemy during wartime, including theSanta Ana captured in 1587 byThomas Cavendish off the coast of Baja California;[1] theSan Diego, which was sunk in 1600 inBahía de Manila byOliver Van Noort;[1]Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación captured byWoodes Rogers in 1709;[1]Nuestra Senora de la Covadonga captured in 1743 byGeorge Anson;[1]Nuestra Senora de la Santisima Trinidad captured in 1762 by HMSPanther and HMSArgo[38] at theAction of 30 October 1762 in theSan Bernardino Strait;[1]San Sebastián andSanta Ana captured in 1753–54 by George Compton;[1][46] andNuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad, in 1762, bySamuel Cornish.[1]
Over 250 years, there were hundreds of Manila galleon crossings of the Pacific Ocean between present-day Mexico and the Philippines, with their route taking them just south of theHawaiian Islands on the westward leg of their round trip and yet there are no records of contact with the Hawaiians. British historianHenry Kamen maintains that the Spaniards did not have the ability to properly explore the Pacific Ocean and were not capable of finding the islands which lay at a latitude 20° north of the westbound galleon route and its currents.[47] However, Spanish exploration in the Pacific was paramount until the late 18th century. Spanish navigators discovered many islands includingGuam, theMarianas, theCarolines and the Philippines in the North Pacific, as well asTuvalu, theMarquesas, theSolomon Islands,New Guinea, andEaster Island in the South Pacific. Spanish navigators also discovered thePitcairn andVanuatu archipelagos during their search forTerra Australis in the 17th century.
This navigational activity poses the question as to whether Spanish explorers did arrive in the Hawaiian Islands two centuries before CaptainJames Cook's first visit in 1778.Ruy López de Villalobos commanded a fleet of six ships that left Acapulco in 1542 with a Spanish sailor named Ivan Gaetan or Juan Gaetano aboard as pilot. Depending on the interpretation, Gaetano's reports seem to describe the discovery of either Hawaii or the Marshall Islands in 1555.[48]
The westward route from Mexico passed south of Hawaii, making a short stopover in Guam before heading for Manila. The exact route was kept secret to protect the Spanish trade monopoly against competing powers, and to avoid Dutch and English pirates. Due to this policy of discretion, if the Spaniards did find Hawaii during their voyages, they would not have published their findings and the discovery would have remained unknown. From Gaetano's account, the Hawaiian islands were not known to have any valuable resources, so the Spaniards would not have made an effort to settle them.[48] This happened in the case of the Marianas and the Carolines, which were not effectively settled until the second half of the 17th century. Spanish archives[when?] contain a chart that depicts islands in the latitude of Hawaii but with the longitude ten degrees east of the Islands (reliable methods of determining longitude were not developed until the mid-18th century). In this manuscript, the Island ofMaui is named "La Desgraciada" (the unhappy, or unfortunate), and what appears to be the Island ofHawaii is named "La Mesa" (the table). Islands resemblingKahoolawe,Lanai, andMolokai are named "Los Monjes" (the monks).[49]
The theory that the first European visitors to Hawaii were Spaniards is reinforced by the findings ofWilliam Ellis, a writer and missionary who lived in early 19th century Hawaii; he recorded several folk stories about foreigners who had visited Hawaii prior to first contact with Cook. According to Hawaiian writerHerb Kawainui Kane, one of these stories:
concerned seven foreigners who landed eight generations earlier atKealakekua Bay in a painted boat with an awning or canopy over the stern. They were dressed in clothing of white and yellow, and one wore a sword at his side and a feather in his hat. On landing, they kneeled down in prayer. TheHawaiians, most helpful to those who were most helpless, received them kindly. The strangers ultimately married into the families of chiefs, but their names could not be included in genealogies".[48]
Some scholars, particularly American, have dismissed these claims as lacking credibility.[50][51] Debate continues as to whether the Hawaiian Islands were actually visited by the Spanish in the 16th century[52] with researchers like Richard W. Rogers looking for evidence of Spanishshipwrecks.[53][54]
In 2010, the Philippines foreign affairs secretary organized a diplomatic reception attended by at least 32 countries, for discussions about the historic galleon trade and the possible establishment of a galleon museum. Various Mexican and Filipino institutions and politicians also made discussions about the importance of the galleon trade in their shared history.[55]
In 2013, the Philippines released a documentary regarding the Manila galleon trade route.[56]
In 2014, the idea to nominate the Manila–Acapulco Galleon Trade Route as aWorld Heritage Site was initiated by the Mexican and Filipino ambassadors toUNESCO. Spain has also backed the nomination and suggested that the archives related to the route under the possession of the Philippines, Mexico, and Spain be nominated as part of another UNESCO list, theMemory of the World Register.[57]
In 2015, the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines (Unacom) and the Department of Foreign Affairs organized an expert's meeting to discuss the trade route's nomination. Some of the topics presented include the Spanish colonial shipyards inSorsogon, underwater archaeology in the Philippines, the route's influences on Filipino textile, the galleon's eastward trip from the Philippines to Mexico calledtornaviaje, and the historical dimension of the galleon trade focusing on important and rare archival documents.[58]
In 2017, the Philippines established theManila–Acapulco Galleon Museum in Metro Manila, one of the necessary steps in nominating the trade route to UNESCO.[59]
In 2018, Mexico reopened its Manila galleon gallery at the Archaeological Museum of Puerto Vallarta, Cuale.[60]
In 2020, Mexico released a documentary regarding the Manila galleon trade route.[61]
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