The first of
the galleons crossed the Pacific in 1565. The last one was put to port in 1815.
Yearly, for two and a half centuries, the galleons made the long and lonely
voyage between Manila and Aca-pulco in Mexico. No other line of ships had ever
endured so long, no other regular navigation had been so trying and dangerous.
As the richest ships in all the oceans, they were the most coveted
prizes of pirates and privateers.
The galleon commander was known as the general of the sea while the capitan de mar y guerra or captain of sea and war was second in command. When there where two galleons, the officer-in-charge of the almirante or second vessel was called admiral. Other galleon officers were two mates, three or four pilots, two boatswains, two constables and 2 surgeons. Each ship also carried a notary, chaplain, commissary, caulker, carpenter, diver and chief steward. On the return voyage from Acapulco, there were added a master of the silver, an alferez (ensign) and a sargento-mayor (sergeant major). Most of the Malay seamen were Filipinos.
The routes of the galleons were dangerous. The passage through San Bernardino Strait was especially feared. Squalls
The galleons
had a high forecastle and poop characteristic of
their class. The apparent top-heaviness of the ships whose masts towered high
above the water was partly offset by their unusual breadth of beam. In the latter
part of the 18th century, the high stern and bow were cut down to approximate
the lines of the frigate.
Most of the galleons were built in the yards of Cavite and other parts of Luzon where there were safe ports with plentiful supply of good timber and native labor. The framework was often made of teak, while other native woods were used for the remaining parts of the ship. For the ribs and knees, the keel, rudder and inside work, the hard Philippine molave was generally employed. The sheathing outside the ribs was usually of lauan, a wood of great toughness, but of such peculiar nature that small cannon balls remained imbedded in it, while larger shots rebounded from the hull made of timber. Excellent cordage for the rigging was obtained from abaca or Manila hemp. When completed, each one was a strong castle in the sea, a tribute to the galleon's resistive power against attack rather than to its mobility. The Santisima Trinidad, a 2,000-ton galleon captured by the British in 1762, received 1,080 eighteen-and-twenty-four-pound cannon balls which never penetrated her sides.
Most of the galleons were built in the yards of Cavite and other parts of Luzon where there were safe ports with plentiful supply of good timber and native labor. The framework was often made of teak, while other native woods were used for the remaining parts of the ship. For the ribs and knees, the keel, rudder and inside work, the hard Philippine molave was generally employed. The sheathing outside the ribs was usually of lauan, a wood of great toughness, but of such peculiar nature that small cannon balls remained imbedded in it, while larger shots rebounded from the hull made of timber. Excellent cordage for the rigging was obtained from abaca or Manila hemp. When completed, each one was a strong castle in the sea, a tribute to the galleon's resistive power against attack rather than to its mobility. The Santisima Trinidad, a 2,000-ton galleon captured by the British in 1762, received 1,080 eighteen-and-twenty-four-pound cannon balls which never penetrated her sides.
The galleon commander was known as the general of the sea while the capitan de mar y guerra or captain of sea and war was second in command. When there where two galleons, the officer-in-charge of the almirante or second vessel was called admiral. Other galleon officers were two mates, three or four pilots, two boatswains, two constables and 2 surgeons. Each ship also carried a notary, chaplain, commissary, caulker, carpenter, diver and chief steward. On the return voyage from Acapulco, there were added a master of the silver, an alferez (ensign) and a sargento-mayor (sergeant major). Most of the Malay seamen were Filipinos.
The routes of the galleons were dangerous. The passage through San Bernardino Strait was especially feared. Squalls
and fogs were frequent, while
shifting tides and treacherous currents threw the galleon in the winding
channel where shoals and rocks and low-lying islands menaced their safety.
The voyage of the Manila Galleon was the longest continuous navigation in the world. The more familiar Camino de Indias, the route of the trading fleets across the Atlantic, was a comparatively safe and well beaten path that could be travelled in a few weeks. The average duration of the voyage from Manila to Acapulco was close to six months.
The voyage of the Manila Galleon was the longest continuous navigation in the world. The more familiar Camino de Indias, the route of the trading fleets across the Atlantic, was a comparatively safe and well beaten path that could be travelled in a few weeks. The average duration of the voyage from Manila to Acapulco was close to six months.
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