La Nao De China

After the conquest of Mexico and the Philippines in the sixteenth century, Spain extended its sway globally, but until then, there had been a nation so vast.

Spain established a sea route that went from China to the port of Manila in the Philippines, and then to the port of Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico .

The ship that carried out this route was known as the “Manila Galleon” and also as the ' ship of China ". This is an example of the use of the word ship in its generic sense, meaning ship. (In this case, Galleon).

When the stories of Marco Polo began sweeping across Europe, East incognito’s land became an obsession for the West. These stories spoke on a trading route covering huge northern China to the Arabian desert. This route brought silk and spices of the East, a condiment that came to be worth more than gold itself. Since then, and until the war between Muslims and Christians became impossible the passage of caravans, the Silk Road was extended to a culture -hungry Europe . In the fifteenth century the Portuguese take over the spice route that passed through the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon , and many other sites to China and the Spice Islands ( Moluccas ) .

This would be the main route, which would give Portugal global hegemony until opened Manila Road . Whenever we talk of the Nao de China , it is thought that it was a single boat that came and went from the East to our country, which was also called The Manila Galleon , but the reality is that more than a single ship , was a real nautical line , which certainly was not Chinese nor touched any port that distant country.

The ships were built in the Philippines, which were built by Chinese carpenters , led by European technicians , using hardwoods for flexible frames for the hull . The candles are made in the Philippines and parts of metal, such as hardware, anchors , nails , chains, were cast in Japan , China and India. The company had two boats and traveling with them around 500 people, including sailors, merchants, the chaplain , the doctor , cooks and carpenters , arranged between lumber , barrels , loads and guns for defense.

It was the first commercial communication history of the New World, for over 250 years continuously. The ships that made up the fleet, took from 3-7 months to make the trip from the Philippines to the Mexican coast, and sometimes when you had setbacks -pirates, cyclones, etc. - Took up to 10 months to make the journey.

The scales of ships along the Mexican coast, were leaving Asian goods in San Jose del Cabo , Baja California, in Banderas Bay , Puerto Vallarta and Santiago today , today Port of Manzanillo , reaching Acapulco.

These galleons from the Philippines , generically known as " La Nao de China " were at that time the basis of a major import and export trade , which began in the sixteenth century ( 1565 ) and lasted until the eighteenth century , when the last galleon called " Magallanes " , started in March 1815 to the East , leading todauna was terminated and marina, due to the political situation lived in the colonies of New Spain and the Spanish metropolis , which was the oldest online navigation in the world. Apart from " The Magellan " also included " The Santa Ana " which was captured by the English Cavendish , " The Covadonga " , which was assaulted by Lord Anson . The fabulous treasures transported gripped the ambition of English and Dutch pirates. From Acapulco was sent and silver bullion coin, cochineal dye , seeds , yams, snuff , chickpeas , chocolate and cocoa , watermelon , grapes and figs.

From Manila was sent from China: Silk fabrics and objects, in the Middle East: Persian carpets, Indian cotton, leaving Japan fans, drawers, cabinets, chests and boxes lacquered, Combs and bells, screens and porcelain, of brought Java and Ceylon species Eastern camel wool, wax, wrought or carved ivory, vines for baskets , jade, amber, precious stones , wood, iron, tin, China's gunpowder, among others.

The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons (Spanish: Galeones de Manila-Acapulco) were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain (present-day Mexico). The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from. Service was inaugurated in 1565 with the discovery of the ocean passage by Andrés de Urdaneta, and continued until 1815 when the Mexican War of Independence put a permanent stop to the galleon trade route.

Though service was not inaugurated until almost 50 years after the death of Christopher Columbus, the Manila galleons constitute the fulfillment of Columbus’ dream of sailing west to go east to bring the riches of the Indies to Spain, and the rest of Europe.

Discovery of the route

The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade began when Andrés de Urdaneta, sailing in convoy under Miguel López de Legazpi, discovered a return route from Cebu City to Mexico in 1565. Attempting the return the fleet split up, some heading south. Urdaneta reasoned that the trade winds of the Pacific might move in a gyre as the Atlantic winds did. If in the Atlantic ships made a wide swing (the “volta”) to the west to pick up winds that would bring them back from Madeira, then, he reasoned, by sailing far to the north before heading east he would pick up trade winds to bring him back to the west coast of North America.

Though he sailed to 38 degrees North before turning east, his hunch paid off, and he hit the coast near Cape Mendocino, California, then followed the coast south to San Blas and later to Acapulco. Most of his crew died on the long initial voyage, for which they had not sufficiently provisioned.

By the 18th century it was understood that a less northerly track was sufficient, but galleon navigators steered well clear of the forbidding and rugged fogbound California coast; According to historian William Lytle Schurz, “They generally made their landfall well down the coast, somewhere between Point Conception and Cape

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