ABSTRACT When the mission of the Basque adelantado Miguel López de Legazpi reached Luzon – the northernmost isle of the Philippine archipelago – in 1570, the ambitious Spanish conquistadores met the ‘Sangley’ merchants for the first time. During the 1570s many Chinese junks started to connect Manila with the ports of Fujian province and transformed the Philippine capital in a crossroads of the silk to silver exchange between China, Japan and the two Americas. Following the establishment of the Manila-Acapulco-Callao triangular trade line and with the influx of the precious ‘reals of eight’ from Mexico, the so-called ‘Naos de China’ started to enrich both the Spaniards and the ‘Sangleys’, triggering an irreversible process that led to the establishment of a ‘Galleon System’ in just two decades. This paper will discuss the role of Chinese trade in the Philippines at the close of the 16th century from the founding of Manila in 1571 to the establishment of the ‘Galleon System’ by the early 1590s.
The first of the Manila Galleons also known as the Nao de Manila were certainly elements of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's fleet. In 1565 after successfully establishing a Spanish settlement in Cebu, Legazpi sent two of his ships, the San... more
The first of the Manila Galleons also known as the Nao de Manila were certainly elements of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's fleet. In 1565 after successfully establishing a Spanish settlement in Cebu, Legazpi sent two of his ships, the San Pedro , accompanied by a patache, back to the New World. Under the guidance of its navigator, Fr. Andres de Urdaneta successfully arrived in Mexico on October 6, 1565. The San Pedro was the first major vessel to complete an east ward transpacific travel. It blazed the trail of the Manila galleons. Even if it did not originate from Manila it carried some goods from the East. The San Pedro was actually the first of the Nao de China also known as the Nao de Manila or the Manila galleon. From that time on galleons sailed regularly between the Philippines and Mexico for the next 250 years. This activity, a government monopoly brought goods, people and influenced cultures on both sides of the Pacific. By the dawn of the 19 th century the galleon trade entered its twilight years as a result of increasing competition from various quarters as well as political events in Europe and the Americas. In 1815 the galleon Magallanes left the Philippines in what was said to be the last voyage of the Nao de Manila. Contrary to what is written in various textbooks, the Manila galleon trade did not die in 1815. The proper end of this historic activity should be in the year 1817 when the Magallanes made its return trip to the Philippines. Historical documents also depict what happened to the Magallanes after the galleon trade had ended. Though the use of historic reports and documents, this paper will discuss the beginning and the end of the galleon trade in 1565 and in 1817.
En el S. XVI mares y océanos se habían convertido en ajetreadas zonas de paso, confrontación, exploración, etc. por las que pululaban armadas, corsarios, piratas, comerciantes y aventureros tanto de coronas europeas como de reinos... more
En el S. XVI mares y océanos se habían convertido en ajetreadas zonas de paso, confrontación, exploración, etc. por las que pululaban armadas, corsarios, piratas, comerciantes y aventureros tanto de coronas europeas como de reinos norteafricanos y orientales. La corona española centraba su interés en controlar las rutas comerciales, puertos, etc. tanto en las Américas como en el Mediterráneo y Norte de España, para proteger esos mercados tanto de la flota Otomana y los berberiscos en el Mediterráneo como de corsarios y demás enemigos en el Atlántico y pacifico, lo cual determino el sistema naval y defensivo que iba a emplear el imperio.
