This groundbreaking book presents the first full history of the Manila galleons, which marked the true beginning of a global economy. Arturo Giraldez, the world's leading scholar of the galleons, traces the rise of the maritime route, which began with the founding of the city of Manila in 1571 and ended in 1815 when the last galleon left the port of Acapulco in New Spain (Mexico) for the Philippines, establishing a permanent connection between the Spanish empire in America with Asian countries, most importantly China, the main supplier of commodities during that era. Throughout the two-and-a-half-century history of the Manila galleons, the strategic commodity fuelling global networks was always silver. Giraldez shows how this most important of precious metals shaped world history, with influences that stretch to the present.
Acknowledgments Introduction
Chapter One: The Philippines before the Spaniards Monsoons, Islands, and the Rim of Firea Native Peoples on the Shores Barangays and the Age of Commerce after 1405 The Mountain Peoples The Gold of the Visayas and the Harvest of Cowries The Mediterranean Connection and the Long Post-1400 Trade Boom China and the Islands before Spain Chapter Two: The Origins of Spanish Settlement in the Philippines Manila and the Origins of World Trade Atlantic Silver in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries China and the Global Market in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries The Discovery of the Sea: Iberians and Spices The Military Revolution and the 35 Percent of the World The Portuguese and the Vasco da Gama Era Ferdinand Magellan Spanish Expeditions to the Spice Islands Miguel López de Legázpi Spaniards in Luzon Exploration of Luzon Chapter Three: Spanish Settlement in the Philippines The First Decades of the Colony and The China Enterprisea Settling Down in the Philippines The Magellan Exchangea and the Islands A New Agricultural Regime Reorganizing the Territory The Colony's Finances Native Contributions to the Colonial Economy The Situado The Role of Manila in the New Territorial Arrangements Indirect Rule: The Principalía Colonial Administration Chapter Four: The Seventeenth Century The Little Ice Agea The End of the Silver Cycle The Eighty Years' War with the Netherlands The Philippines and the War with the Dutch The Moro Wars Japan and the Friars The Portuguese in Manila The European Companies The Armenian Diaspora The New Christians' Mercantile Diaspora The End of the Century Chapter Five: The Galleons The Line The Voyage Officers and Sailors Acapulco Chapter Six: The Economy of the Line China and Silver in the Modern Era Textiles and the Galleons Galleon Line Regulations A Royal Inspector's Visit Chinese Merchants: The Sangleys The Chinese Rebellion of 1603 The Rebellion of 1640 Chapter Seven: The Eighteenth Century and the Galleon Line A New Ecological Regime The Mexican Silver Cycle The Tea and Opium Cycle The War of Jenkins' Ear and the Manila Galleon The Seven Years' War in the Philippines The Chinese in Eighteenth-Century Philippines Reforms in the Philippines The Moro Wars in the Eighteenth Century Changes in Spanish Imperial Policy The End of the Galleon Trade The End of the Line
Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: The Philippines before the Spaniards Monsoons, Islands, and the "Rim of Fire" Native Peoples on the Shores Barangays and the Age of Commerce after 1405 The Mountain Peoples The Gold of the Visayas and the Harvest of Cowries The Mediterranean Connection and the Long Post-1400 Trade Boom China and the Islands before Spain Chapter Two: The Origins of Spanish Settlement in the Philippines Manila and the Origins of World Trade Atlantic Silver in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries China and the Global Market in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries The Discovery of the Sea: Iberians and Spices The Military Revolution and the 35 Percent of the World The Portuguese and the Vasco da Gama Era Ferdinand Magellan Spanish Expeditions to the Spice Islands Miguel Lopez de Legazpi Spaniards in Luzon Exploration of Luzon Chapter Three: Spanish Settlement in the Philippines The First Decades of the Colony and "The China Enterprise" Settling Down in the Philippines The "Magellan Exchange" and the Islands A New Agricultural Regime Reorganizing the Territory The Colony's Finances Native Contributions to the Colonial Economy The Situado The Role of Manila in the New Territorial Arrangements Indirect Rule: The Principalia Colonial Administration Chapter Four: The Seventeenth Century The "Little Ice Age" The End of the Silver Cycle The Eighty Years' War with the Netherlands The Philippines and the War with the Dutch The Moro Wars Japan and the Friars The Portuguese in Manila The European Companies The Armenian Diaspora The New Christians' Mercantile Diaspora The End of the Century Chapter Five: The Galleons The Line The Voyage Officers and Sailors Acapulco Chapter Six: The Economy of the Line China and Silver in the Modern Era Textiles and the Galleons Galleon Line Regulations A Royal Inspector's Visit Chinese Merchants: The Sangleys The Chinese Rebellion of 1603 The Rebellion of 1640 Chapter Seven: The Eighteenth Century and the Galleon Line A New Ecological Regime The Mexican Silver Cycle The Tea and Opium Cycle The War of Jenkins' Ear and the Manila Galleon The Seven Years' War in the Philippines The Chinese in Eighteenth-Century Philippines Reforms in the Philippines The Moro Wars in the Eighteenth Century Changes in Spanish Imperial Policy The End of the Galleon Trade The End of the Line Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
