Manila–Acapulco Silver Route

Timeline

1. 1565–1571Acapulco, New Spain · MexicoIn 1565 the Augustinian friar Andrés de Urdaneta discovered a return route using the North Pacific trade wind system, making two-way Pacific navigation possible. After Manila was founded in 1571, regular annual galleon (galeón) round-trip trade was formally established, usually with only one or two galleons making the round trip each year, their tonnage limited by official Spanish quotas.
2. 1580–1620Manila and Fujian Yuegang (Zhangzhou) · PhilippinesManila became the hub of Asian trade: Chinese Fujian merchants (the resident Parian Chinese community in Manila) brought silk, porcelain and ironware to Manila in exchange for silver, which they carried back to China for tax payment and commercial circulation. In the 1590s an estimated 2–3 million pesos of silver were imported into China annually, an important external source of Ming monetary supply.
3. 1621–1630Manila and the waters off Luzon · PacificThe Dutch VOC established a base at Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in 1619, subsequently blockading the waters off Manila and attacking Spanish galleons. Between 1621 and 1624 multiple naval battles erupted between Spain and the Netherlands in Philippine waters; Spain strengthened Manila's fortifications and escort squadrons. Galleon trade volume consequently contracted somewhat, but the Spanish government maintained the annual voyages, the silver channel to China was not interrupted, and the Manila Chinese (Sangleys) continued to play a key intermediary role in port trade.
4. 1630–1815Pacific (Acapulco–Manila route) · Southeast AsiaAfter the Dutch threat diminished, galleon trade continued into the 18th century, but as the Spanish Empire's fiscal crisis deepened and Latin American independence movements arose, the Spanish government formally terminated the Manila galleon trade in 1815, ending this 250-year trans-Pacific silver–commodity cycle.