Page 205 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

176 J. Kimura

to be reviewed. The Vivero’s accounts have been studied by many scholars, with
particular focus on details about his stay in Japan and its impact on the diplomatic
relationship between Japan and Spain (Gil 1991; Murakami 1966).
The accounts do not provide the details of the San Francisco, including its
construction and cargo manifests, have not yet been fully identi!ed. Presumably it
was in the style of the early Manila galleons, the hull possibly built in the manner of
Portuguese shipwrights, as indicated by the hull remains of the San Diego (1600)
found in Philippines waters (Fish 2011). The early Manila galleon shipbuilding
industry has not been fully examined, but the general view is that Cavite was a
major shipyard in the Philippines in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The
local shipbuilders constructed various types of ships, which ranged in size from 300
to 1000 ton (Robert 2016). The San Francisco could carry as much as 1000 ton of
cargo, according to Vivero’s account; another source indicates that its capacity was
approximately 300 ton. Furthermore, the limited evidence indicates that the hull
was relatively well built, but the ship had a problem with its rudder that caused
some dif!culties with its steering.
Apart from the copies of Vivero’s account, the project has also reviewed an
of!cial wreck report of the San Francisco, Relación de la pérdida de la naocapi-
tana which is achieved in Archivo General de Indias (Gil 2015). It is a handwriting
manuscript in the other documents, including letters from the Viceroyalty of New
Spain to the Spanish King with a date of October 20th, 1610. The author, place, and
the date of the report are really known; however, it could be produced by a survivor
of the San Francisco who managed to return to Mexico almost a year later after the
wrecking event (Fushimi 2019).
The part of the historical documents recount the hazardous voyage of the San
Francisco. The wreck report is the most important primary source to understand
how the San Francisco was sunken. Moreover, based on the existing study of the
two copies of Vivero’s account in Chap. 44 in the Abisos y proyectos para el
buengovierno de la monarch, the voyage and wrecking of the San Francisco can be
summarized as follows: The galleon fleet was commanded by Juan de Ezquerra,
who was already over seventy years old and close to retirement. The fleet, con-
sisting of the almiranta (flagship) San Antonio, the Santa Ana (the name of the San
Andres del Peru appears in the wreck report, not the Santa Ana as recorded in the
Vivero’s accounts), and the San Francisco, set sail from Cavite on July 25, 1609.
All three ships encountered storms around the islands of Los Ladrones (the
Northern Mariana Islands) on August 10, and only the San Antonio (or the San
Andrés del Peru) was able to complete the voyage and reach Acapulco. The Santa
Ana, commended by Sebastian de Aguilar, managed to limp to Bungo (modern Oita
Prefecture) but was almost entirely destroyed. Vivero emphasized that the storm
they experienced during the sixty-!ve-day voyage after the ship left Cavite was the
most powerful cyclone he had encountered in his life.
The storm entailed a number of incidents, including hitting a reef and sustaining
damage that may well have been a factor in the subsequent sinking of the San
Francisco. The water leaking has been problem since they left the Philippines.
During the storm, the bow sprit was damaged and sailors under the command of