The Galleon Trade:

The Manila – Acapulco Trade,

1565 – 1815
 Content:
I. General View
II. The Sampan Trade
III. The Restrictive System
IV. Profits in the Restrictive System
V. Hardships for the Filipinos
VI. Filipinos in the Galleon Trade
VII. Trade with India
VIII. The Last Years of the Trade
IX. Implications of the Galleon Trade in the Spanish Colonial Philippines
General View

• 1565 - 1815
• 108 Galleons
• 30 were lost
• 4 captured by the British pirates
• The Philippines became a part of what has been called “the first world economy of
modern times.”
General View

• Silks from the North (China)

• Spices from the South (Moluccas)
• Cottons and Ivories from the West
• Exports to Mexico were textiles (silk and cotton), porcelain, Ivory (carved
religious images), furniture (inlaid and lacquered items), metalwork (grills),
various foods and plants from the Philippines and other Asian products (rice, tea,
mangoes, orchids and other flowering plants)
• Slaves were a common commodity.
Route of the Galleon Trade
General View

• Philippine exports were gold dust, wax, cordage, sheeting and

textiles from Manila, Ilocos, Cebu, and Lubang; not more than
10% of the value of the shipment.
• Carpets came from Persia, jewels from India, rich hangings
and beddings from Bengal, cinnamon from Ceylon, pepper
from Java and Sumatra, spices from the Moluccas, Balsam and
Ivory from Cambodia, camphor from Borneo, civet from
Ryukyus, silverware and lacquer from Japan and silks from
China.
General View

– On the return voyage from Mexico, 90 – 99% of the value of cargo was
made up of silver. Then, a mixture of New world product (cacao, leather
bags and transhipped Spanish items like; wine, olive oil and wool cloth.
– Other plants and plant product from Mexico and Central America like;
maize, tobacco, indigo, cacao, papaya, pineapple, eggplant, cassava,
tomatoes, potatoes and coffee.
– Religious images were some of the remaining evidence of the Philippine
and Mexico colonial contacts through Galleon Trade.
 The Sampan Trade

– Because direct trade with Spanish port cities in the Americas was prohibited, Chinese traders did
commerce with Spaniards in Manila. The trade complimented the Galleon trade and was known as
the Sampan trade. It is named after the kind of ships – Sampan (Chinese junks) – used by Chinese
merchants
Sampan Trade

– Sampans brought valuable items for the galleon trade. They also brought
foodstuff for local consumptions such as wheat flour, fruit preservers, salted
meats, live fouls, fresh fruits nuts. Other consisted of domesticated animals
such as buffaloes, horses, mules, asses and birds. Supplies for shipbuilding and
military use included saltpetre, gunpowder, copper nails and other metal items.
The assortment of imports indicates a heavy dependence of the new colony
(Philippines) on the Sampan Trade.
Sampan Trade

– Sampans did take home Philippine products such as gold dust, raw cotton, deer
skins, wax, dyewoods, and seashell. In the 18th century, indigo, rattan, tortoise
shell, bird’s nests and lead.
– Sampans were also financiers, they gave credits or advanced loans to needy
Spanish merchants. They also immigrated to the Philippines, mostly were the
ironsmiths, carpenters, brick makers, silversmiths, stonemasons, druggists,
bakers, butchers, fishermen and gardeners.
Sampan Trade

– The governor of Fujian (China) collected 80 – 100 thousand silvers annually from the
Sampan traders.
– Sampan also paid 3% - 6% import duty (tariff)
– In Manila, fees were being paid for their stay in the Parian quarters.
– Alternate periods of repression and expulsion lead to the Sangley (Chinese) beginning in
1603.
– From 1570 – 1670, Sampan trade attracted attention of enemies both foreign and Spanish
– Dutch
– Chinese pirates (the said foreign intrusion blocked Sampan trade for quite a while)
The Restrictive System

– The Royal Order of 1582 – cut off the Peruvian trade, prohibiting trade between China
and the Philippines with all of Spain’s possession except Mexico
– Spanish America residents were forbidden to trade directly with Asia. They had to send
supercargoes on the galleons of Acapulco, where an annual trade fair was held to
which the goods might be disposed to the Spanish American buyers.
– As part of the Restrictive System, a measurement for cargo space was imposed and
applying corresponding fees for such measurement.
– A bole or fardo divided into four packages or boletas.
– 250,000 pesos for outgoing
– 500,000 pesos for returning
The Restrictive System

• 1593 Decree – all citizens of those islands were eligible to be boleta holders.
• A committee composed of the ff.
• Audiencia, fiscal, regidores, and Archbishop
• Establishing the Casa de Contrario
• To allocate loading space on the galleons (corruption among committee members were evident)
• In case of an unused boletas, can be returned through a junta (a distribution to those who could re-
compensate)
• Limit to the number of bole or fardo was 4 thousand
• Limit to the galleon weight was 300 tons
Profits in the Restrictive System

• Profits to those with official access (members of the Casa de Contrario)

• Governors and Alcaldes Mayores were the official shippers
• Majority of the galleons were made in the Philippines (Cavite, Sorsogon Bay,
Albay, Masbate, Mindoro, Pangasinan), most of the ship builders were polistas
(working under the polo y servicio or forced labor).
Hardships for the Filipinos

• Shipbuilding was performed by the Filipinos (Indios, Mestizo) through polo y

servicio (40 days per year)
• Obras Pias was established and entrusted to the religious orders to give loans
with interest based on specific purposes:
• Acapulco Trade (20% – 50%)
• Ventures to India (16% - 22%)
• China Trade (12%-18%)
• Mortgages (5%)
• Income from the Obras Pias went to charity (hermanidad de la misericordia)
Filipinos in the Galleon Trade

• 50% to 80% of the crews were Filipinos and were paid less than the Spanish
sailors
• Thousands of Filipinos settled in Mexico, on the other hand, thousands of
Mexicans also settled in the Philippines.
Trade with India

• Brought about by the decline of the East Asian trade due to the following
reasons:
• Dutch Wars
• Closing of Japan to Foreign Commerce (Tokugawa Shogunate)
• The arrival of the British East India Co. (with her silver necessity), Manila was a
logical source.
• Spanish government never permitted them to trade with the Philippines
• Servants were permitted to venture out on their own (free merchants)
Trade with India

• Cargoes consisted of silk, blue cloth, painted fabrics, iron anchors and other
textiles (calicoes).
• Some of the products were used for Philippine consumptions (iron for the
construction of galleons) but quantities of calicoes were loaded on the galleons.
• Silvers were shipped to Madras (India) came from Manila trade. Philippine
products consisted of sugar, sapanwood, brimstone, copper, tobacco, wax, silver
and gold wares, leather, horses and pearls.
• By 1810, products from India were of equal value with China
The Last Years of the Trade

• Cycle of the Galleon Trade

• Expansion (1580 – 1620)
• Severe Contraction (1620 – 1670)
• Recovery (1670 – 1720)
• Mild Recession (1720 – 1750)
• Expansion (1750 – 1800)
• The Napoleon’s Invasion of Spain
• The Mexican War for Independence (1810)
Implications of the Galleon Trade in the
Spanish Colonial Philippines

• Failure to realize Manila as a trade entrepot

• The neglect of the country’s agriculture economy and industrial development
• The widespread official corruption and evasion of the law
• The abuse of the Encomenderos
• Hacienda system
• Large – scale Chinese immigration
• Obras Pias who financed and profited most from the trade.
References:

• Blair, Emma and Robertson, James Alexander (edited). The Philippines Islands, 1493 – 1898, Vol. 26.,
(1903).
• Corpuz, Onofre D. An Economic History of the Philippines. University of the Philippines Press,
Quezon City, (1997).
• De Jesus, E. The Tobacco Monopoly in the Philippines: Bureaucratic Enterprise and Social Change,
1782 – 1880. Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, (1998).
• De Mas, Sinibaldo. Report of the Condition of the Philippines in 1842. English Translation by Dr.
Carlos Botor, revised by Alfonso Felix Jr. National Historical Conservation Society, Manila, (1963)
• Legarda, Benito J. Jr. After the Galleons: Foreign Trade, Economic Change and Entrepreneurship in
the Nineteenth – Century Philippines. Ateneo de Manila University Press., (1999).
• Zaide, Gregorio (ed.). Documentary Sources on Philippine History. National Book Store Inc., (1990).
 Thank you for listening.

Prepared by:
Jaymee Carlo N. Ebreo