Galleon Trade

- was a government monopoly. Only two galleons were used: One sailed from Acapulco to
Manila with some 500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120 days at sea; the other sailed from
Manila to Acapulco with some 250,000 pesos worth of goods spending 90 days at sea.
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- The Manila–Acapulco galleon trade finally began when Spanish navigators Alonso de Arellano and Andrés
de Urdaneta discovered the eastward return route in 1565.
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With a record of more than 250 years, the Galleon Trade was the longest running shipping line
of its time. Carrying silver, gold, spices, silk and objects that were fashionable between 1565-
1815, it was, as Nick Joaquin noted, “…the first medium to reduce the world to a village”

They were the sole means of communication between Spain and its Philippine
colony and served as an economic lifeline for the Spaniards in Manila. During the
heyday of the galleon trade, Manila became one of the world's great ports, serving as a
focus for trade between China and Europe

The Manila galleon trade made significant contributions to colonial Spanish culture. It helped
to fashion the very society of the Philippines, which relied upon its income, its merchandise, and
the services of Chinese, Malay, and other participants.

The so-called Manila Galleon (“Nao de China” or “Nao de Acapulco”) brought porcelain, silk,
ivory, spices, and myriad other exotic goods from China to Mexico in exchange for New
World silver. ... They then crossed Mexico overland for shipment to Spain.

The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade between the Philippines and Mexico started in
1565 and lasted until Sept. 14, 1815. For 250 years, Spanish ships crossed the Pacific
Ocean and traded in various goods such as spice, cotton, jade, ivory, silk and gold

written by British historian John E. Wills Jr. It had been 123 years since the first galleon made its
voyage from Luzon Islands across the Pacific Ocean to the Port of Acapulco in Mexico in 1565.
At that time, the Philippines was the regional center of international trade.

It was the captains of the Spanish navy, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Álvaro de Bazán,
who designed the definitive long and relatively narrow hulled galleon for Spain in the 1550s.

The Outstanding Universal Value of MAGT was summarized as follows: 1) “remarkable

significance for linking four continents and two oceans, contributing to the development of
trade in Asia, Europe, North and South America; 2) paved the way for the widest possible
exchange of material goods, cultural traditions