1. GALLEON
TRADE
“The Manila Galleon was… the first medium to reduce the world to a village.”
- Nick Joaquin (1990)

2. When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, our
ancestors were already trading with China, Japan,
Siam, India, Cambodia, Borneo and the Moluccas.
The Spanish government continued trade relations
with these countries, and the Manila became the
center of commerce in the East. The Spaniards
closed the ports of Manila to all countries except
Mexico. Thus, the Manila–Acapulco Trade, better
known as the “Galleon Trade" was born. The
Galleon Trade was a government monopoly.
The History . . . .

3. it was the longest shipping line in history
lasted for two and a half centuries after Legazpi’s
settlement in Cebu, from 1565 to 1815.
The Galleon Trade . . . .
108 galleons were used, and of this number, 30 were
lost by shipwreck
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

It made Manila the first primate city in Southeast
Asia by the early seventeenth century


4. Basically a trade between Mexico and China through
the Pacific Ocean with Manila as its stopover and/or
transshipment port
The first global transaction that opened the East to
the West for a period of 250 years,
The Galleon Trade . . . .


The trade saw an exchange of goods between
Mexico and China

Mexican silver was the principal product delivered to
China


5. The majority of the Manila Galleons sunk in the
Philippines and surrounding areas, including China
and Japan.
Most of the galleons were built in the Philippines and
only 8 in Mexico.
The Galleon Trade . . . .


In 1568,Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s own ship the San
Pablo (300 tons) was the 1st
Galleon to be wrecked in
route to Mexico.


6. The Philippines was considered interestingly as “a
colony of a colony” with Mexico as the most favored
colony of Spain renamed as Nueva España or New
Spain
The Philippines was for the first 200 years under
Mexico receiving and annual subsidy known as the
“situado”
A colony of a colony. . . .



7. 


From a broad economic point of view, the
Philippines through the era of the galleon trade
became part of what has been called the first-world
economy of modern times, namely, that based on
Seville and the Atlantic.
The Pacific trade moved in phase with economic
activity in the Atlantic.
The galleon trade was more of the result than the
cause of the ups and downs in the economy of the
Spanish Empire.

8. The Philippines whose geographical position as an
outlier of the Southeast Asian island arc had made
it in Pre-Hispanic times among the last to receive
some of the major cultural influences of the region,
now found itself in a position to gather together
trade flows from many directions.
General view. . . .

9. It
attracts…
It
attracts…
spices
Exchanging
them for silver
from the New
World
Exchanging
them for silver
from the New
World
cottons
silk
ivory

10. Spice trade . .
. .Trade served as the fundamental income-generating
business for Spanish colonists living in the Philippine
Islands.

A total of 110 Manila galleons set sail in the 250
years of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1565 to
1815).

The Manila trade was becoming so lucrative that the
merchants of Seville petitioned Philip, complaining
of their losses, and secured a law in 1593 that set a
limit of only two ships to sail each year from either
port


11. Until 1593, three or more ships would set sail
annually from each port.

With such limitations, it was essential to build the
largest possible galleons, which were the largest
class of ships known to have been built anywhere up
to that time.

In the 16th century, they averaged from 1,700 to
2,000 tons, were built of Philippine hardwoods and
could carry a thousand passengers.

An "armada", an armed escort was also allowed.

12. The galleons carried .
. .
spices
lacquer
ware
ivory
porcelain

13. East Asia trading primarily on a silver standard, the
goods were mostly bought by Mexican silver.

It took four months to sail across the Pacific Ocean
from Manila to Acapulco, and the galleons were the
main link between the Philippines and the vice regal
capital at Mexico City and thence to Spain itself.

The Manila galleons sailed the Pacific for nearly
three centuries, bringing to Spain their cargoes of
luxury goods, economic benefits, and cultural
exchange.


14. Filipinos made up from 50 to 80 percent of the crews
of the galleons and were paid less than Spanish
sailors

They suffered from;
Filipinos in the Galleon
Trade. . . .
the unaccustomed cold of the high latitudes
from frauds
delays in getting their wages
bad treatment aboard

15. The last half century of the Galleon Trade was a
period in which Spain introduced new economic
initiatives but Spain also embroiled in a series of war
and there is some haziness about trends at that
time.

The last years of the
Trade. . . .
In 1586, there had been 194 shippers sending cargo
on the annual galleon. Two centuries later, there
only 28. By then, there were notorious inequalities
of fortune among Manila’s citizen.


16. By the 1790’s the Galleon Trade had fallen the hard
times. New efforts to promote trade liberalization
and economic development had been made under
Charles III.

The last years of the
Trade. . . .
The Mexican War of independence broke out in
1810, and 1813 the Mexican patriot Morelos took
and held Acapulco for few months;

during this occupation, the Manila Galleon was
prevented from unloading and had to retire to San
Blas up the coast.


17. Finally, a conservative position was taken in a decree
of September 14, 1813; the Galleon Trade was to be
discontinued, but in its place private Philippine ships
could trade at Acapulco.

The last years of the
Trade. . . .
The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade earned for the
Filipinos the reputation as the “Ablest Asiatic
Seamen”

The Galleon Trade between Manila and Acapulco
opened the Philippines to the world.


18. The galleons attracted avid attention of various and
sundry freebooters, pirates, privateers, and
ultimately state navies.

The disadvantage . . .

19. A Royal Order in 1582 cut off the Peruvian Trade,
followed by laws passed in 1591, 1592, 1593, 1595
and 1604 prohibiting trade between China and the
Philippines with all of Spain’s American possession
except Mexico. To ensure that no Asian silks reached
Peru.
The Restrictive System. . .

20. a.) Necessary to measure cargo space in the galleons
and allot rights to such space to shippers.
In carrying the Restrictive System,. . .
b.) The right to ship on the galleon was represented
by a boleta - a ticket corresponding to one pieza
for a value of 125 pesos
c.) The distribution of boleta was handled differently
at different times.

21. A full evaluation of the galleon trade lies beyond the
scope of the present work, but some points can be
made briefly.
Despite the charge of industrial neglect, the galleons
to the end carried Philippine textiles, which could
not be said of subsequent phases of the trade.
A Brief Appraisal . . . .


Have been the establishment of Manila as the first
primate city in Southeast Asia

The incorporation of the Philippines into the first
modern world economy based on Seville and the
Atlantic


22. Schurz, William Lytle, The Manila Galleon
References ;
www.wikipedia.com
Legarda, After the Galleons