In 1521, a Portuguese explorer by the name of Ferdinand Magellan had left Europe for the Philippines.  At this time, the Philippines was a strong trading center for both sailors and merchants coming from the Far East.  In fact, history tells us that it was the Europeans who were the first to attempt a colonization of the Philippines.  Even though the Spanish was small, consisting of just four ships, they reached the Philippines in 1564 but were unsuccessful in finding a route to take them back until 1565. 

Over the years, many different explorers and fleets also made their way to the Philippines, each with difficulty in finding a route to get back home.  Once the return route was found, the trading route of the Manila galleon, also known as “nao de la China”, translating to “The Ship of China” began.  Even with a route back to Mexico, more than 40 galleons were lost on the high seas, with others having wrecked and some carrying some of the richest cargos to ever go to sea.  A few of the vessels were actually overcome whereby the people on board being captured. 

Then, Legazpi became the first Royal Governor of the Philippines.  It was under the direction of King Philip II of Spain that orders were given to Legazpi for Philippines to be brought under the control of the Spanish but without any bloodshed.  Treating the Philippines with kindness and respect, the Spanish took over most of the island, converting the population to Christianity.  However, the Muslims to the south put up resistant, which went on into the 19^th century. 

Then in 1571, Legazpi defeated a local Muslim ruler, making Manila the new capital for the Spanish.  Since Manila had an outstanding harbor, large population, and vast supply of food from the rice fields of Luzon, this became an important area for trade.  In addition, spices from “Spice Islands” were provided along with porcelain, ivory, silk, gold, jade, mercury, gemstones, and other valuable items from China, making the Manila galleon trade incredibly lucrative. 

By 1571, a Chinese vessel was wrecked in the Philippines, with the crew being rescued by the Spanish.  As a way of showing their gratitude, the Chinese sent a vessel to Manila the following year loaded with wonderful trade goods.  With this, the direct trade route with Chine was established.  In addition, some trading with Japan was occurring although in 1638, Japan shuts itself off from the West.  Even so, a small amount of trade continued with the Dutch. 

With Europe and the New World now having a taste of the wonderful goods coming from the Far East, their desire for more became enormous.  In fact, China had a huge demand for silver that was coming out of New World mines so westbound Manila Galleons carried large supplies to them.  Acapulco was also an important trading port associated with the Manila galleons in the Americas, partly because of the harbor but also because of the accessibility to Vera Cruse on the Caribbean. 

Then in January of 1571, the Manila galleons sailed the calm seas heading to the Marinas, taking a route that was favored for its great sailing winds.  As the ships made their way toward the Philippines, sailing for about three months straight, a few of the ships ran into fierce storms, crashing.  From that time until 1593, more than three ships would sail every year.  The Manila trade continued to be a lucrative deal but the Spanish started to complain about lost profits, which prompted a new law to be passed whereby just two ships could sail from the two ports annually, keeping one in reserve in Manila and one in Acapulco. 

By the 16^th century, the ships being built were massive, averaging between 1,700 and 2,000 tons.  In fact, the ships now carried more than 100,000 passengers, taking them back to Acapulco.  After the new law passed in 1593, the Spanish tried to maintain the two-ship per year travels but often, just one would make the trip due to the voyages being so dangerous.  While many of the ships reached Acapulco in four months, the average trip was seven months long. 

Sadly, people died during the voyages, most often from malnutrition and disease.  In fact, one such ship called the Manila Galleon San Jose was found in the 17^th century at sea, having been floating around for over one year.  Unfortunately, the people aboard were all dead.  Another ship called the Santa Margarita left Manila in 1600 but after battling the sea and harsh conditions for more than eight months, it was finally wrecked on Carpana Island, leaving just a few of the passengers to survive. 

Each Manila Galleon would leave the port of Cavite on Manila Bay, making its way through the various islands as it headed toward the Marianas, usually not arriving to its destination for weeks.  Many of the ships were lost on the reefs while some would be faced with life on the sea for up to four months without land in sight.  When the ships did reach Acapulco, trade was done with merchants from around the New World. 

However, again ships were continually wrecking, losing both life and contents.  For instance, both the 1715 and 1733 Plate Fleets were wrecked off of Florida, which had been carrying precious cargo of ancient Oriental artifacts to include jewelry and porcelain.  Then, cargo from the Far East was on board a Spanish ship that also wrecked.  In fact, many of the Far East pieces were from the Ming and Ching dynasties. 

The last voyage of a Manila galleon was done by the ship Magallanes, which departed from Manila in 1811, returning four years later.  With this, the Spanish began to decline. Now faced with heavy competition from other countries involved in the China trade, the dominance in the China Trade by Spain came to an end.  Today, the Manila galleon wrecks are among some of the richest in the entire world.  While some of the treasures have been recovered, many have not.