Page 158 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

Chapter 7
Archaeological Researches
on the Manila Galleon Wrecks
in the Philippines

Sheldon Clyde B. Jago-on and Bobby C. Orillaneda

The Spanish conquest of the Philippines began with the arrival of Ferdinand
Magellan in March 1521 (Pigafetta 1969). When Magellan was killed in April 27,
1521 by a local chieftain in the island of Mactan by the name of Lapu-lapu, the
remaining Spaniards hastily left and went back to Spain. It was not until exactly
44 years after the death of Magellan that another expedition arrived in the
Philippines (Cebu) under the command of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, with speci!c
instructions from the King of Spain to !nd the return route from Manila to New
Spain (present day Mexico). The discovery of the tornaviaje or the return journey
from Manila to Acapulco by Fray Andres de Urdaneta, Legaspi’s pilot and navi-
gator in 1565 completed the maritime route that was later utilized by the
Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade (Schurz 1985). The !rst few galleons left from
Cebu until Legaspi transferred his capital to Manila, leaving Cebu in economic
disarray (Fajardo 2018).
The galleon trade represents one of the earliest manifestations of economic
globalization where Asia, the Americas and Europe were linked together through
maritime high ways. The Galleon trade fostered both economic and cultural
exchanges between the Philippines and Mexico, which can be observed up to this
day (INQUIRER.net US Bureau 2017). The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade route
was operational for 250 years (1565–1815) where merchant ships traversed more
than 18,000 km across the Paci!c Ocean from Manila to Acapulco and vice versa.
At the western terminus, Manila became the world’s premier entrepot during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that linked peoples, cultures and material goods
between Asia and the Americas (Schurz 1985; Fish 2011).

S. C. B. Jago-on B. C. Orillaneda (&)
Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division, National Museum
of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
e-mail: bobbyorillaneda@yahoo.com
S. C. B. Jago-on
e-mail: clyde7116@gmail.com; scbjagoon@yahoo.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 129
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_7