Manila galleons

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Manila galleons

Post by Anatol » Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:18 pm

The Manila Galleons wereSpanish trading ships that made round-trip sailing voyages once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean from the port of Acapulco in New Spain (present-day Mexico) to Manila in the Spanish East Indies (present day-Philippines). The name of the galleon changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from. The term Manila Galleons is also used to refer to the trade route between Acapulco and Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 1815.
The Manila Galleons were also known in New Spain as "La Nao de la China" (The China Ship) because it carried largely Chinese goods, shipped from Manila.
The Manila Galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 after Agustinian friar and navigator Andrés de Urdanetadiscovered the tornaviaje or return route from the Philippines to Mexico. The first successful roundtrips were made by Urdaneta and by Alonso de Arellano that year. The route lasted until 1815 when the Mexican War of Independence ended Spanish control of Mexican ports. The Manila galleons sailed the Pacific for 250 years, bringing to Spain their cargoes of luxury goods, economic benefits, and cultural exchange.
In order to settle and trade with these islands from the Americas, an eastward maritime return path was necessary. The first ship to try this a few years later failed.
The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade finally began when Spanish navigators Alonso de Arellano and Andrés de Urdanetadiscovered the eastward return route in 1565. Sailing as part of the expedition commanded by Miguel López de Legazpi to conquer the Philippines in 1565, Arellano and Urdaneta were given the task of finding a return route. Reasoning that the trade winds of the Pacific might move in a gyre as the Atlantic winds did, they had to sail north to the 38th parallel north, off the east coast of Japan, before catching the eastward-blowing winds ("westerlies") that would take them back across the Pacific.
Reaching the west coast of North America, Urdaneta's ship the San Pedro hit the coast near Cape Mendocino, California, then followed the coast south to San Blas and later to Acapulco, arriving on October 8, 1565. Most of his crew died on the long initial voyage, for which they had not sufficiently provisioned. Arellano, who had taken a more southerly route, had already arrived.
Trade with Ming China via Manila served a major source of revenue for the Spanish Empire and as a fundamental source of income for Spanish colonists in the Philippine Islands. Until 1593, two or more ships would set sail annually from each port. The Manila trade became so lucrative that Seville merchants petitioned king Philip II of Spain to protect the monopoly of theCasa de Contratación based in Seville. This led to the passing of a decree in 1593 that set a limit of two ships sailing each year from either port, with one kept in reserve in Acapulco and one in Manila. An "armada" or armed escort of galleons, was also approved. Due to official attempts at controlling the galleon trade, contraband and understating of ships' cargo became widespread.
Due to the route's high profitability but long voyage time, it was essential to build the largest possible galleons, which were the largest class of ships known to have been built. In the 16th century, they averaged from 1,700 to 2,000 tons, were built of Philippine hardwoods and could 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 51.5 m long. Most of the ships were built in the Philippines and only eight in Mexico. The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade ended in 1815, a few years before Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. After this, the Spanish Crown took direct control of the Philippines, and was governed directly from Madrid. The galleon trade was nourished by merchants largely from port areas of Fujian who traveled to Manila to sell Spaniards spices, porcelain, ivory,lacquerware, processed silk cloth and other valuable commodities. Galleons transported the goods to be sold in the Americas, namely in New Spain andPeru as well as in European markets. East Asia trading primarily functioned on a silver standard due to Ming China's use of silver ingots as a medium of exchange. As such, goods were mostly bought by silver mined from Mexico and Potosí. The cargoes arrived in Acapulco and 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. It took at least 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. Even after the galleon era, and at the time when Mexico finally gained its independence, the two nations still continued to trade, except for a brief lull during the Spanish–American War.
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. Between the years 1576 when the Espiritu Santo was lost and 1798 when the San Cristobal (2) was lost there were twenty Manila galleons wrecked within the Philippine archipelago. In 1587 a Manila galleon was captured by Thomas Cavendish and in 1743 by George Anson, 1st Baron Anson.
After 1565, Urdaneta's new route allowed Manila galleons to sail regularly between Mexico and the Philippines for two and a half centuries, ending in 1815. The westward route from Mexico passed south of Hawaii, making a short stopover in Guam before heading for Manila. The exact route was kept secret to protect the Spanish trade monopoly against competing powers, and to avoid Dutch and English pirates. Due to this policy of discretion, if the Spanish did find Hawaii during their voyages, they would not have published their findings and the discovery would have remained unknown. The theory that Hawaii was discovered by the Spanish is reinforced by the findings of William Ellis, a writer and missionary who lived in early 19th century Hawaii, and recorded several folk stories about foreigners who had visited Hawaii prior to first contact with Cook. See also viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11076.
Philippines 2011;3х7р;SG?1998;15p;SG3088.1984;7p50;SGMs1822. Mexico1998;7,4d;SGMs2500.1964;80c;SG1086.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_galleon.
Attachments
img0222.jpg
img1791.jpg
img1792.jpg
img1787.jpg
img1784.jpg

aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Manila galleons

Post by aukepalmhof » Fri Dec 15, 2017 7:48 pm

Philippines 1998 sgMS ?, scott?
Attachments
1998 galleon.jpg

Post Reply