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A painting of a Spanish galleon.
A painting of a Spanish galleon. A galleon was a large multi-decked Sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries

The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons (Spanish: Galeones de Manila-Acapulco) were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco, Mexico. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The City of Manila The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Acapulco (Officially Acapulco de Juárez) is a City and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from. [1] Service was inaugurated in 1565 and continued into the early 19th century. The Mexican War of Independence put a permanent stop to the galleon sailings. The Mexican War of Independence (1810 - 1821 was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and Spanish colonial authorities which started on September 16 1810 A galleon was a large multi-decked Sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries Though service was not inaugurated until almost 50 years after the death of Christopher Columbus, the Manila galleons constitute the fulfillment of Columbus' dream of sailing west to go east to bring the riches of the Indies to Spain and the rest of Europe. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer

Contents

Discovery of the route

The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade began when Andrés de Urdaneta, sailing in convoy under Miguel López de Legazpi, discovered a return route from Cebu City to Mexico in 1565. Andrés de Urdaneta ( Ordizia, November 30[[ 498]] - June 3, 1568, Mexico City) was an Augustinian Friar, sail-captain Miguel López de Legazpi ( 1502 &ndash August 20, 1572) also known as El Adelantado (The Governor and El Viejo (The Elder The City of Cebu ( Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbo, Filipino: Lungsod ng Cebu) is the capital of The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Attempting the return, the fleet split up, some heading south. Urdaneta reasoned that the trade winds of the Pacific might move in a gyre as the Atlantic winds did. A gyre is any manner of swirling Vortex. It is often used to describe large-scale Wind or Ocean currents. If in the Atlantic, ships made a wide swing (the "volta") to the west to pick up winds that would bring them back from Madeira, then, he reasoned, by sailing far to the north before heading east, he would pick up trade winds to bring him back to the west coast of North America. The phrase volta do mar, in Portuguese, means literally return through the sea, the navigational technique perfected in the late fifteenth century using History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the The human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along a now-submerged Though he sailed to 38 degrees North before turning east, his hunch paid off, and he hit the coast near Cape Mendocino, California, then followed the coast south to Acapulco. Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County California, USA is the westernmost point on the coast of California. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Most of his crew died on the long initial voyage, for which they had not sufficiently provisioned.

By the eighteenth century it was understood that a less northerly track was sufficient, but galleon navigators steered well clear of the forbidding and rugged fogbound California coast; "they generally made their landfall well down the coast, somewhere between Point Conception and Cape San Lucas. Point Conception extends into the Pacific Ocean in southwestern Santa Barbara County California. Cabo San Lucas (popularly known as just 'Los Cabos' - along with San José del Cabo - in Mexico and 'Cabo' in the United States) is a City at the southern tip After all, these were preeminently merchant ships, and the business of exploration lay outside their field, though chance discoveries were welcomed".

The first motivation for exploration of Alta California was to scout out possible way-stations for the seaworn Manila galleons on the last leg of their journey. Alta California (Upper California was formed in 1804 when the Province of the Californias, then a part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas in the Early proposals came to little, but in the later eighteenth century several Manila galleons put in at Monterey.

Spice trade

Trade served as the fundamental income-generating business for Spanish colonists living in the Philippine Islands. A total of 110 Manila galleons set sail in the 250 years of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1565 to 1815). Until 1593, three or more ships would set sail annually from each port. The Manila trade was becoming so lucrative that the merchants of Seville petitioned Philip, complaining of their losses, and secured a law in 1593 that set a limit of only two ships to sail each year from either port, with one kept in reserve in Acapulco and one in Manila. Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. An "armada", an armed escort was also allowed.

With such limitations, it was essential to build the largest possible galleons, which were the largest class of ships known to have been built anywhere up to that time. [2] In the 16th century, they averaged from 1,700 to 2,000 tons, were built of Philippine hardwoods and might carry a thousand passengers. The "Concepción", wrecked in 1638, was 43 to 49 m (140-160 feet) long and displacing some 2,000 tons. The Santísima Trinidad was 51. The Santísima Trinidad was a Spanish Galleon destined for merchant shipping between the Philippines and México. 5 m long. Most of the ships were built in the Philippines and only eight in Mexico. The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade ended when Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, after which the Spanish crown took direct control of the Philippines. (This became manageable in the mid-1800s upon the invention of steam power ships and the opening of the Suez Canal, which reduced the travel time from Spain to the Philippines to 40 days. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation )

The galleons carried spices, porcelain, ivory, lacquerware, processed silk cloth gathered from both the Spice Islands and Asia-Pacific, to be sold in European markets. A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive Porcelain is a Ceramic material made by heating raw materials generally including Clay in the form of Kaolin, in a Kiln to temperatures Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, Lacquerware is objects which are decoratively covered with Lacquer which is sometimes inlaid or carved This article covers the historical role of the Maluku Islands as a source of spices since early history when the islands where known as the Spice Islands Asia-Pacific or APAC is the area generally regarded as encompassing Littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the East Asia trading primarily on a silver standard, the goods were mostly bought by Mexican silver. The silver standard is a Monetary system in which the standard economic Unit of account is a fixed weight of Silver. The cargoes were transported by land across Mexico to the port of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, where they were loaded onto the Spanish treasure fleet bound for Spain. The city of Veracruz is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Beginning in the 16th century the Spanish treasure fleets (or simply West Indies Fleet from Spanish Flota de Indias) transported various metal resources and agricultural This route avoided the long and dangerous trip across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, a route that was barred by the Dutch once they were in control of the Cape Colony. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface The Cape of Good Hope ( Afrikaans: Kaap die Goeie Hoop, Kaap de Goede Hoop Cabo da Boa Esperança Persian Language: دماغه امید نیک The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 with the founding of Cape Town. The Spanish knew that the American continent was much narrower across the Panamanian isthmus than across Mexico. Panama is a country located in North America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia They tried to establish a regular land crossing there, but the thick jungle and malaria made it impractical. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including

It took 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 at Mexico City and thence to Spain itself. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Many of the so-called Spaniards in the Philippines were actually of Mexican descent, and the Hispanic culture of the Philippines is closer to Mexican culture than any other. Even when Mexico finally gained its independence, the two nations still continued to trade, except for a brief lull during the Spanish-American War. The Manila galleons sailed the Pacific for nearly three centuries, bringing to Spain their cargoes of luxury goods, economic benefits, and cultural exchange.

The wrecks of the Manila galleons are legends second only to the wrecks of treasure ships in the Caribbean. In 1568, Miguel López de Legazpi's own ship, the San Pablo (300 tons), was the first Manila galleon to be wrecked en route to Mexico.

References

Specific

  1. ^ Williams, Glyn. 1999. The Prize of All the Oceans. Viking, New York. ISBN 0-670-89197-5, p. 4
  2. ^ See Treasure Ship for Chinese vessels that may have been much larger. A Treasure ship is the name for a type of large wooden vessel commanded by the Chinese admiral Zheng He on seven voyages in the early fifteenth century

General

See also

External links

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