Galleon Trade

YUCHENGCO MUSEUM

RCBC Plaza Corner Ayala & Gil J. Puyat Avenues Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines 1200 (+632) 889.1234 (+632) 887.5144 fax www.yuchengcomuseum.org

Draped in Silk: The Journey of the Manton de Manila
Manila-Acapulco Galleons Galleones de Manila-Acapulco The Manila-Acapulco galleons are Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice a year across the Pacific Oceanbetween Manila, Philippines and Acapulco, New Spain (Mexico). This trade, spanning from 1565 to 1815, allowed the Spanish colonial empire to flourish for 250 years, and ensured the economic survival of the Philippines as a colony without depending on Mexico or Spain. The Mexican War of Independence between 1810 and 1821 put a permanent stop to galleon sailings. The Route From Manila, the galleonssailed to southern Luzon onto Embocadero, the Northern Samar island that was the final stop before sailing to the Pacific Ocean. The galleons then began their ocean journey, climbing northeastward above the Marianas, and then following the trade winds on an almost straight course to the California coast, before falling southeast towards Acapulco. The return voyage was faster, taking a southerly routefor three months at the most, passing through the Marshall Islands and stopping over at Guam on the last leg of the journey westward of the Philippines. Manila as Entrepot The first galleon left Cebu in June 1565, carrying a small shipment of cinnamon from Mindanao. Manila, however, proved best fit by nature and economic geography to be the central entrepot of the Oriental trade. To the Spaniards,Manila was “the mistress of many seas and the capital of so many archipelagos, the center and depository of the Orient.” The Goods Although the presence of the Chinese in the islands predated the Spanish by centuries, the galleon trade’s demand for Chinese products spurred the continuous flow of merchants and emigrants into Manila. The regular arrival of the Chinese junks eliminated the necessityfor direct trade with China. By the 17th century, an average of fifty junks visited Manila annually. Besides silk, the Chinese brought everything from needles to gunpowder, to all kinds of spices and precious stones.

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The Manton de Manila that became much coveted merchandise in Mexico and Spain was, in reality, a silk shawl from China. From Manila, the galleons shipped Ming Dynastyporcelain and silks from China, spices from the Moluccas, perfumes from Arabia, rugs from Persia, fine muslin from Madras, and pearls from Sulu. In exchange, the New World poured millions of its wealth into the Philippines in the form of silver coins. The Spaniards, Mexicans, and SpanishAmericans who crossed the Pacific on the galleons brought with them a wide variety of tropical American flora,including papaya, cacao, pineapple, peanuts, varieties of beans, chico (sapodilla), and avocado. Religious images and icons found their way to the islands through the galleons as well. In 1626, the image of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje was brought by a noted passenger, Don Juan Niño de Tabora, when he got assigned to be the governorgeneral of the islands. The Marian image, which became thepatroness of the galleons for several years, was housed in the Manila Cathedral while the galleons docked in Manila. Aside from goods, the galleons brought in and out of the islands Spanish and Mexican religious and political personages to maintain the colony for 250 years. Shipbuilding In 250 years, 108 galleons crossed the Pacific, but only 50 were constructed for the Manila-Acapulco trade. In thebeginning, ships were sent from Mexico. But from the 1570s, galleons were built in several shipyards in Pangasinan, Cavite, Marinduque, Albay, Camarines, Masbate—all of them safe ports—with access to plentiful supplies of timber and native labor. Thousands of natives were assembled to build the galleons, while supplies to feed, clothe, and arm the crew were requisitioned by the government from...