European Exploration, Trade and Scientific Studies

The Manila Galleon Trade Route was the major route traveled by Spanish galleons from 1565 to 1815 across the Pacific connecting Acapulco in New Spain (Mexico) to the east and Manila, Philippines in the west. The galleons carried spices, porcelains and other luxury goods from Asia and gold and silver from the Americas in one of the largest complexes of global exchange of people and goods in human history. The Mariana Islands was one stop along the route. CHamorus participated in trade with the galleons and provided water and food to the passing ships. What follows is a description of the trade route and the cargo transported by the Spanish galleons as they plied across the often dangerous waters of the Pacific Ocean.

When Miguel López de Legazpi’s expedition departed Mexico in 1564 with four ships across the Pacific to claim Guam and the Philippines for King Philip II of Spain, only one ship would return homeward from Manila, the San Pablo. Under the command of Legazpi’s grandson, Felipe de Salcedo, and navigated by Andrés de Urdaneta, the San Pablo was the first Spanish galleon to successfully return from Manila across the Pacific carrying mainly spices in 1565, thus beginning the 250-year long galleon trade.

The Manila Galleons. On 15 August 1568 the Spanish galleon San Pablo, anchored off the southwest coast of Guam, was hit by a sudden violent storm and was blown and battered onto a nearby coast. The 132 men sailing from Spain’s newly established Philippine colony began a three-month stay on Guam which allowed for intensive interaction with the CHamoru people, alternating between periods of trade and cooperation, and confrontation and violence. The Spanish sailors eventually converted the galleon’s boat into a large bark to return to the Philippines.

Personnel of the Manila Galleons. The galleons that passed through the Marianas carried scores of crew members in addition to soldiers and colonial or mission helpers on their way to the Marianas and the Philippines. These individuals conceivably could have engaged with the CHamoru people in interactions of trade and cultural exchange under various circumstances. Some of the crew members were shipwrecked in the islands, and some chose to stay and married CHamoru women.