Page 144 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

Chapter 6
Fujian and Hizen Ware: A 17th Century
Evidence of the Manila Galleon Trade
Found from Selected Archaeological
Sites in the Philippines

Nida T. Cuevas

Glazed ceramics are important material evidence of maritime contacts and external
exchanges, which have broadened the understanding of coastal polities
(Junker 2000: 3), their long-distance trades and maritime relations and interactions
(Nishimura 2014; Junker 2000). Philippine archaeological sites have yielded Chinese
trade ceramics dated as early as the 9th century (Beyer 1979: 115), establishing the
archipelago’s early involvement in external exchanges and contacts (Nishimura 2014;
Junker 2000; Fox 1979; Lim 1966; Beyer 1979). The Manila Galleons in the 17th
century heightened external exchanges and intensi!ed contacts subsequently brought
to the Philippines notable quantities of Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Japanese
ceramics and other trade items. The historical records have revealed that direct sailing
from thecoastalcityofQuanzhouin theChinese southeastern province of Fujian inthe
17th century opened new and shorter trade routes (Lam 2002: 53), and the abundant
presence of Fujian wares archaeologically found in the country’s major historical sites
has con!rmed the vibrancy of this trade. This has also been substantiated by the
presence of Japanese or Hizen wares in the archaeological sites which most often
associated with Fujian wares.
Such wares have been uncovered in the shipwrecks of San Diego in Fortune
Island, Nasugbu, Batangas and San Isidro in Zambales (Dizon and Orillaneda 2007:
179; Desroches 1997: 300). Land-based sites such as Boljoon in Cebu (Bersales
and de Leon 2011), PortaVaga site in Cavite City (Tatel 2002), and Mehan Garden
(Jago-on et al. 2003), Arroceros Forest Park (Katipunan Arkeologistng Pilipinas
Inc. 2006), and Intramuros sites in Manila also yielded Fujian and Hizen ceramics.
While scholars have largely studied trade ceramics in the context of under-
standing external patterns of exchange and commercial links, the examination of the
relations between material culture and a society’s social strati!cation (i.e. elite and

N. T. Cuevas (&)
National Museum of the Philippines, Metro Manila, Philippines
e-mail: ntc_cuevas@yahoo.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 115
C. Wu et al. (eds.), Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaports and Early Maritime
Globalization, The Archaeology of Asia-Paci!c Navigation 2,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9248-2_6