NAO DE CHINA (MANILA GALLEON): HISTORY, FIRST VOYAGE, ROUTE - HISTORY - 2025

The Naos de China or Manila galleons were Spanish trading ships that traveled from the Philippines (a former Spanish colony) to present-day Mexico, which made up the New Spain colony. The ships sailed with cargo from Manila, in the Philippines, to Acapulco.

After arriving in Acapulco they made the same return trip, bringing the wealth obtained from the American continent. The reason why these galleons are also known as Naos de China is because the goods they imported to New Spain were mostly from the Asian country, mainly silk and cotton.

Porcelain usually stayed in the Americas and did not return to Spain, and this served as an influence to many New World artists for the creation of unique vessels and dishes, from the American continent but with Asian touches. This route worked for more than 250 years, until the Mexican war of independence stopped the Spanish ships.

History

The first expedition that was related to the Manila galleons was commanded by Fernando de Magallanes in 1521, when he discovered in his journey the existence of the Philippines and the Mariana Islands, claiming them on behalf of Spain.

The then Spanish island would have to have some way of establishing trade routes with America, but there was no known route or maritime current capable of carrying galleons to the new continent.

The great problem that navigators of the time had to move between continents was the presence of constant winds that pushed the ships enough to make long intercontinental voyages. By the early 1500s, there was no record of any air current capable of carrying a ship from Manila to Acapulco.

Discovery and travel

In 1542, the navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo traveled near the 38th parallel north, which led to the discovery of the Acapulco-Manila route.

Once Cabrillo's trip was made, which transported him from Mexico to Russia, Alonso de Arellano and Andrés de Urdaneta discovered the route that the Manila galleons would use to return to Acapulco.

Both took different routes from Manila in 1565, near the 38th parallel north, and were able to reach the Philippines safely.

Import from China

The route was used for two and a half centuries and its main objective was the importation of Chinese goods to the South American continent, considering the proximity of the Philippines with the great mass of the Asian continent. Back in Manila, the ships carried riches such as gold and silver.

It should be noted that before its end, due to the Mexican war of independence, the route had already lost economic strength at the end of the 18th century, when other world powers began to establish trade routes with China.

First trip

The first voyage of a ship on the Manila galleon route was commanded by López de Legazpi, with Andrés de Urdaneta as his navigator. Legazpi and Urdaneta arrived in the Philippines in February 1565, having set sail from New Spain on December 25 of the previous year.

The route from Acapulco to Manila turned out to be much more direct and shorter than the opposite route. This was verified in June of that same year when the ship San Pedro set sail from Manila in the direction of New Spain: the crew did not set foot on land again until October.

The first round trip had a total duration of just over 8 months, taking into account the time that the vessels were at sea.

Main routes of the Nao of China

Given that the ships had to navigate with the wind in their favor, two different routes were used on the round trips:

1- The trip from Acapulco to Manila

Navigation was fairly straightforward in this direction, and the route was well established shortly after the first trip.

The boats left Acapulco heading north, seeking latitude 18 north of the Earth. Once located, the ships would be transported by the trade winds and would remain between latitude 10 and 15, north of the planet, until they met the Philippines.

2- The return from Manila to Acapulco

The journey from Manila back to Acapulco was much more tedious than the initial journey.

To get to New Spain, the ship had to first pass through the waters near the coasts of Taiwan and Japan, then make the intercontinental trip to California and from there go down to Acapulco. In total, the boats used to take six months to make this trip.

The trip from Manila to Japan was affected by one main factor: the summer monsoon rains, which brought strong changes in the waves and in the tide, making it difficult for the galleons to pass. The departure from Manila was in itself quite complicated because bad weather forced the ships to return to land in a timely manner.

Clashes on the high seas

After passing Japan, came the easy part of the trip. The ship only had to follow a constant straight direction and fight against the light winds that pushed the galleon towards the east. The tricky part was the final: the arrival in California.

The galleon arrived at an area of ​​the coast known as the “zone of whirlwinds”, where pirates and buccaneers militated in search of the cargo of commercial vessels. Once California was left behind, arrival in Acapulco was almost assured.

Products transported by ships

In addition to the products that the Manila galleons carried for trade, the vessels also had to transport enough food for the passengers, as well as weapons, bullets and gunpowder to defend themselves against pirate attacks.

As a consequence, the vessels carried much more cargo than royal law allowed. The main products carried by the Manila galleons for trade are the following:

From Manila to Acapulco

- Gold.

- Chinese products such as silk, different types of clothing for both the public and the members of the church, and porcelains, vessels and weavings.

- Asian woods.

- Ivory in various presentations.

- Asian spices and vegetable products.

- Tobacco.

- Animals and slaves.

From Acapulco to Manila

From New Spain mainly gold and silver were transported from the New World. However, records from the time also include:

- Cocoa.

- Woodlouse.

- Flamenco laces.

- Oils.

- Wines.

References

1. Manila Galleon, (nd). Taken from britannica.com
2. Manila Galleon, (nd), February 11, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
3. The Manilla Galleon, Metropolitan Museum of Arts by Johana Hecht, October 2003. Taken from metmuseum.org
4. Schurz, W. (1918). Mexico, Peru, and the Manila Galleon. The Hispanic American Historical Review, 1 (4), 389-402.
5. Navigation and the cargo of the Manila Galleons, (nd). Taken from guampedia.org
6. Trinidad (ship), (nd), February 13, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org