Chunming Wu Editor

Early
Navigation in
the Asia-Pacific
Region
A Maritime Archaeological Perspective
Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region
Chunming Wu
Editor

Early Navigation
in the Asia-Pacific Region
A Maritime Archaeological Perspective

123
Editor
Chunming Wu
The Center for Maritime Archaeology
Xiamen University
Xiamen, Fujian
China

ISBN 978-981-10-0903-7 ISBN 978-981-10-0904-4 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4

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Foreword

Maritime archaeology is undergoing tremendous growth in East Asia and around the
world. This growth stems from a number of factors—from increasingly sophisticated
technology that enables more effective examination of difficult-to-reach submerged
sites and more precise mapping and visualization of underwater contexts, to
development projects that have exposed buried coastal remains hitherto unknown,
such as the thirty-seven shipwrecks discovered in a buried harbor in Istanbul
exposed during the construction of a new subway station and the exposure of buried
ship remains in the foundation of the new World Trade center building in New York
City, to the political significance of maritime archaeology in the South China Sea
and other parts of coastal Asia that has inspired an increasing interest (and conse-
quently greater political and financial support for) new research.
In this book, a distinguished group of respected scholars of maritime archae-
ology have come together to present examples and synthetic discussions of the new
archaeological research on early navigation in the Pacific region. The papers
include exhaustive summaries of known shipwrecks from the ninth century
onwards to the period of globalized maritime trade dominated by European mer-
chant networks, and overviews of the origins and development of the trade in
porcelains made for European markets. Also included are discussions of specific
shipwrecks and material remains directly related to maritime trade, including col-
lections of porcelains from trading ports and European-inspired architecture from
the various settlements that saw an influx of foreign influence during this period of
profound change in East and Southeast Asia.
In Eastern Asia, archaeologists have investigated shipwrecks of both local Asian
and European origin in southern China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines,
Indonesia, and Malaysia. Along the Pacific coast of the USA and Mexico, a number
of Spanish shipwrecks have been discovered as well. These materials illustrate early
pan-Pacific trading between East Asia and the Western world via the trade center of
Acapulco, Mexico, early European colonization in Eastern Asia, and resulting
issues of expanding globalization. In addition to these sixteenth–seventeenth-
century shipwrecks, there are also dozens of known shipwrecks predating the

v
vi Foreword

sixteenth century, revealing maritime cultural interaction between coastal China and
Southeast Asia, and the development of a local maritime cultural communities
predating the period of expansive European contact.
This book emerged from an international workshop held at Harvard University
in June 2013 sponsored by the Harvard-Yenching Institute and Xiamen University
called: “Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Maritime Archaeological
Perspective.” More than twenty participants from China, the Philippines, the UK,
Mexico, and the USA participated in this conference with presentations on new
research related to shipwrecks and related issues concerning maritime archaeology
of the Pacific region. The book compiles thirteen of the presentations in a compi-
lation of synthetic and specific studies that contribute archaeological and historical
studies to the literature on navigation and trade in the Pacific region around the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
In an introductory chapter, Wu starts the volume off with a comprehensive
catalog of over 30 shipwrecks in the Asia-Pacific region. This is followed by a
historical contextualization of fifteenth-century Southeast Asia by Orillanda who
summarizes the diachronic change in the degree to which merchants from China
were directly involved in maritime trade. Next, Skowronek provides an important
discussion of the spread of East Asian materials into interior regions in the
Americas and the variable values associated with various exotic commodities. Fahy
and Walker Vadillo then discuss the beginning of the trans-Pacific route of the
Manila Galleons. They confront the puzzling question of why the much faster and
seemingly more efficient route north along the west side of Luzon island was not
preferred over the dangerous and complicated route called the “embocadero”
through the middle of the Philippine archipelago, arguing that an important reason
was that the embocadero provided opportunities for illicit trade. Dizon focuses his
paper on the excavation of the Philippine wreck of the San Diego, a ship for which
there is abundant historical information but the sinking of which is clouded in
mystery, as is the apparently intentionally inaccurate descriptions of the ship in
historical records.
Focused on the other side of the Pacific, Junco examines the wreck of a Manila
Galleon in Baja California and illustrates the utility as a source to study shipwrecks
of a nautical treatise by Diego Garcia de Palacio, a Spanish ship captain and
would-be conqueror of China. This is followed by a detailed discussion by Von der
Porten of Kraak plate design sequence from shipwrecks along the Western coast of
North America. This paper shows how a refined chronology can be used to narrow
down and deductively determine the identity of specific shipwrecks and describes
how the early days of porcelain trade reflect a testing of the market to see what
designs would be received well by European consumers. The next two papers
continue discussion of wrecks off the American west coast. Williams describes
recent work on the Beeswax Wreck in Oregon providing a strong argument that the
ship was the Santo Cristo de Burgos, wrecked in 1693. Lally continues the eval-
uation of the Beeswax Wreck with a detailed analysis of collected ceramics, con-
cluding that it is unlikely that the wreck dates later than the 1690s due to a lack of
Foreword vii

certain motifs that would have been common in a later wreck, and the presence of
certain attributes that fell out of favor around this time.
The last few chapters return to the western side of the Pacific. Liu describes
various phases of shipwrecks in East Asia—from the late fifteenth century into the
early sixteenth century—seeing a transition from local trade networks in Southeast
Asia to the advent of European involvement in the region and the emergence of a
European market for products of the region including spices and especially
porcelains starting in the mid-sixteenth century. Ueda discusses recent excavations
in Banten, which started as a major pepper trading center in early sixteenth century,
was seized by the Dutch from the sultanate in late seventeenth century, and became
the location of an important Dutch fort dating to the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. Excavations have revealed a shift in the use of ceramics from a focus on
prestige goods used primarily by elites to a broader use of smaller tablewares by a
larger portion of the population. Deng reports on recent excavations of the
Xiaobaijiao wreck off the coast of Zhejiang, the contents of which illustrate the
complicated nature of sources from which ship cargos might come and the role of
private merchant firms off of China’s coast. Finally, Wu discusses the conflict
between local traders and Iberian merchants and the material changes in East Asia
resulting from this colonial encounter.
The material collected in this book relates to several important topics in
archaeology that have significance well beyond the maritime contexts and historical
periods covered here. One such topic concerns the nature of culture contact and
colonialism in a world where some populations included specialist traders and
soldiers who possessed radically more effective technologies of violence, trans-
portation, and communication when compared with populations they encountered
during their travels. The degree of imbalance varied considerably across the
Asia-Pacific region, and the nature of the encounter, therefore, would have been
quite different in Banten, the Philippines, the Chinese coast, and various parts of the
western coast of North America.
The ability of archaeologists to tease out the interactions that occurred between
maritime merchants and local populations is strongly influenced by the available
source materials, which extend beyond the material remains from shipwrecks and
other archaeological sites containing trade material to include historical documents
and oral histories. The papers in this volume employ a wide variety of source
material, from detailed analyses of ceramic chronology and function in the papers
by Lally, Von der Porten, and Ueda, to various historical documents, such as the
treatise discussed by Junco, to oral histories of Native American groups mentioned
by Williams in his assessment of the date of the Beeswax Wreck.
Likewise, various aspects of the material record reflect the complex processes of
cultural and technological hybridization that occur in many contexts of encounter.
The ships and their cargos that comprise a particularly central focus of many of the
papers in this volume and much of the broader literature on maritime archaeology
embody these processes in their complicated identities. We learn that it can be quite
difficult to simply and straightforwardly assign a boat to a particular place or
group. Sometimes boat designs came from one place, the material to make the boat
viii Foreword

from another, and the crew and cargo from a variety of locations and cultural
backgrounds. As Wu describes in his introductory essay, from the fourteenth to
fifteenth centuries the shipbuilding in the nascent maritime interaction sphere of
Southeast Asia developed into a hybridized technology. What does it mean to be a
“Chinese vessel” in this context? Does this mean a Chinese design? A Chinese
crew? Chinese craftsman ship? Chinese cargo? Fahy and Walker Vadillo, similarly,
mention how some of the Spanish sailing in the South China sea were using local
vessels. The detailed descriptions of shipbuilding techniques and the sources from
which various components of ship cargos came reveal some aspects of these
complicated cultural palimpsests.
Another important theme in the volume concerns the related topic of global-
ization, which involved not just the expansion of influence from one part of the
world to others, but also a series of significant effects. These include broadly shared
common practices across a large region, the bringing together of cultural influences
from a number of source, local variations on an emergent standardized set of
practices and idioms, and new forms of economic entanglement, including multi-
regional dependency and vulnerability. In Southeast Asia, we learn that while the
spice trade was a major driving force behind the development of long-distance trade
networks, other commodities played increasingly central roles, perhaps the most
important of which were trade porcelains. The porcelain trade is particularly rele-
vant to notions of globalization as we see how broad shifts in access to porcelain
from certain sources had major global effects on porcelain production in distant
places. As discussed by Liu, Ueda, and others in this volume, shifts of the ceramic
industry from China to Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Netherlands, each precipi-
tated by factors that impacted the availability of certain ceramics and the values
associated with them, illustrate the highly interconnected and interdependent world
that emerged through the development of maritime trade networks.
A final theme worth mentioning that relates directly to this topic of global
economic integration concerns the values of certain commodities. Skowronek, for
example, explicitly discusses the way in which perceived needs, desires, and
ubiquity and the attempts to imitate certain commodities all relate to the process of
generating value. His discussion of these factors with reference to porcelains and
mayolica “knockoffs” recalls the sort of value variability Sidney Mintz has dis-
cussed in the case of sugar in the Atlantic World and that can be observed in other
commodities as well. Furthermore, as Von der Porten discusses, the values of
porcelains that were obtained for the European market depended in large part on
issues of taste, which the merchants were only able to assess through a period of
experimentation, during which various grades of porcelains were evaluated
according to the profit margin they might generate for the merchants.
The papers all point out many more research questions that still need to be
addressed by future research, and the topics covered here merely scratch the surface
when it comes to breadth of the discipline. This collection is particularly valuable
because of the diversity of the scholars who have contributed. Bringing together
this group of perspectives is no easy task given the range of languages and research
orientations represented. Of course even more diversity could have extended the
Foreword ix

geographical scope of the collection. It is noteworthy that work specifically focused

on Japan or Vietnam is not present in the volume, but this simply highlights the
need to more comparative research in future discussions of this topic. The resulting
volume is multifaceted and complex like the archaeological contexts of shipwrecks
and trading centers that are studied, and it serves as a valuable contribution to the
globalized field of maritime archaeology.
Rowan Flad
Harvard University
Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Co-sponsoring Institutes—HYI and CMAXMU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii

1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period

and the Development of Regional Maritime Trade Network
in East Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
Chunming Wu
1.1 Investigation of Pre-contact Shipwrecks in Eastern Asia . . . . .. 2
1.2 The Origin and Sailing Routes of the Shipwrecks:
Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7
1.3 The “Four Oceans Navigation” System and Maritime Cultural
Interaction among Seas Surrounding China before European
Arrived in 16th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 20
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 24
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology
of Fifteenth Century CE Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 29
Bobby C. Orillaneda
2.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2 Historical Background of Fifteenth Century Southeast Asia . . . . 30
2.2.1 The Rise of Melaka and Ayutthaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.2.2 The Fall of Angkor, Majapahit and Champa . . . . . . . . 34
2.3 The Shipwreck Evidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.3.1 Rang Kwien (c. 1400–1430) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.3.2 Nanyang Shipwreck (c. 1425–1450) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.3.3 Ko Khram (c. 1450–1487) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.3.4 Pandanan Wreck (c. 1450–1487) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.3.5 Royal Nanhai (c. 1450–1487) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

xi
xii Contents

2.3.6 Lena Shoal Wreck (c. 1488–1505) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

2.3.7 Santa Cruz Shipwreck (1488–1505) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.4.1 The Shipwreck Evidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.4.2 The Emergence of a New Type of Trade Vessel . . . . . 49
2.4.3 The Cargo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila
Galleon Trade in the Creation of the World Economy. ......... 59
Russell K. Skowronek
3.1 The Manila Galleon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.2 “Need” and “Desire” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3 Ubiquity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.4 Market Preference and Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.5 Imitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.6 Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration
of the Pacific and the Establishment of the Manila Acapulco
Galleon Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 75
Brian Fahy and Veronica Walker Vadillo
4.1 Spanish Trading Patterns in Asia-Pacific: Merging History
and Archaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 77
4.2 Phases of Spanish Trade in Asia: From Confrontation
and Intervention to Passive Trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.3 Spanish Routes in Asia According to Historical Accounts . . . . . 79
4.3.1 The Route to the North. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.2 The Route to Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.3.3 Through the Straights of San Bernardino. . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.4 Drawing Archaeology into the History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.5 Final Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5 Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego a 1600 Spanish
Galleon in the Philippines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 91
Eusebio Z. Dizon
5.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.3 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.4 Underwater Archaeological Survey and Exploration . . . . . . . . . 95
5.5 Location of the Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.6 Diving Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5.7 The Excavation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Contents xiii

5.8 The Archaeological Materials Recovered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

5.9 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6 On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century:
A Nautical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Roberto Junco
6.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
6.2 The Archaeological Site at Baja California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
6.3 A New Route to Asia and the Early Manila Galleons . . . . . . . . 105
6.4 The Manila Galleons of the 16th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.5 Elements to Reconstruct the Manila Galleon
at Baja California. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6.6 Spanish Plans to Conquer China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6.7 Application of “Instrucción Náutica” to the Case Study . . . . . . 109
6.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American
West Coast and a Kraak Plate Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Edward Von der Porten
7.1 Three Manila Galleons and the Golden Hind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
7.2 The Late 1570s Galleon on the Coast of Baja California. . . . . . 116
7.3 The Golden Hind of 1579 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
7.4 The San Agustín of 1595 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7.5 Porcelain Chronology at Drakes Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
7.6 A Kraak Plate Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
7.7 A Revised Kraak Plate Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
7.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA . . . . . . . . 147
Scott S. Williams
8.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.2 Project Location and Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
8.3 Historical Accounts of the Wreck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.4 The Beeswax Wreck Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
8.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection,
Oregon, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
M.S. Jessica Lally
9.1 Study Sample and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
9.2 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
9.2.1 Sherd and Vessel Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
xiv Contents

9.2.2 Decoration Attributes and Ware Types . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

9.2.3 Marks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
9.2.4 Analysis and Date Range Determination . . . . . . . . . . . 184
9.3 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
9.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
10 Early Maritime Cultural Interaction Between East and West:
A Preliminary Study on the Shipwrecks of 16th–17th Century
Investigated in East Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Miao Liu
10.1 Shipwrecks of 16th–17th Century Investigated in East Asia. . . . 196
10.2 The Discovery of Spanish Colonial Coins in the Southeast
Coast of China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
10.3 The Decline of the Traditional Trading System of Eastern
Asia and the Emerge of Early Globalizing Trading System . . . . 201
10.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China During 16th–17th
Century: A Perspective of Maritime Ethno-Archaeology . . . . . . . . 209
Chunming Wu
11.1 Background: The Early Contact of the Portuguese
and Spanish with China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
11.2 Shipwrecks Content Reflecting the Early International
Maritime Trade in Eastern Asia During
16th and 17th Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
11.2.1 Nanao Shipwreck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
11.2.2 Donggu Shipwreck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
11.2.3 Other Shipwrecks of 16–17th Century Discovered
in Southeast China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
11.2.4 Private Maritime Merchants and the Smuggling
Situation During Ming Dynasty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
11.3 Maritime Cultural Heritages Resulted from Early
Maritime Globalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate
of Banten, Java, Indonesia from the Seventeenth to the Early
Nineteenth Century: Material Culture of Early Globalism . . . . . . . 225
Kaoru Ueda, Sonny C. Wibisono, Naniek Harkantiningsih
and Chen Sian Lim
12.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
12.2 History of Banten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
12.3 Archaeology in Banten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
12.4 Consumption Patterns of Chinese and European
Ceramics in Banten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Contents xv

12.4.1 Past Research of Imported Ceramics in Banten . . . . . . 231

12.4.2 Imported Porcelain and Stoneware Excavated
in Banten in 2009–2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
12.5 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
12.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I Shipwreck
Site of Qing Dynasty in East Sea of China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Qijiang Deng
13.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
13.1.1 The Discovery of the Remain of Shipwreck . . . . . . . . 241
13.1.2 The Collection of the Artifacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
13.1.3 Preliminary Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Introduction

Maritime archaeology is one facet of archaeology that has developed in important

ways in the Asia-Pacific region during the last few decades. Many historical
shipwrecks have been investigated and excavated by underwater archaeologists
including researchers from East Asia to North America. A huge amount of artefacts
have been recovered from shipwrecks, providing new perspectives on the maritime
history of this cross-cultural region. With this increasingly larger corpus of ship-
wreck data, archaeologists on the both sides of the Pacific have started to uncover
the life of past societies connected by the sea.
Among the underwater archaeological investigations in this vast region, dozens
of shipwrecks dated to the sixteenth–eighteenth centuries have been identified,
including both East Asian maritime vessels (Chinese junks, hybrid boats of the
South China Sea and others) and European exploration and trading vessels such as
Spanish Manila galleons. In East and South-east Asia, shipwrecks of local and
European origin have been investigated in southern China, Vietnam, Thailand, the
Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. In North America, a number of Spanish
shipwrecks have been discovered off the coasts of California, Oregon and
Washington, as well as Mexico. These interesting maritime archaeological materials
reveal early pan-Pacific trading navigation between East Asia and the Western
world via the trade centre of Acapulco, Mexico. The shipwrecks help to elucidate
the early international maritime trading history linking Asia and the West, early
European colonization in eastern Asia and resulting issues of expanding global-
ization. In addition to the sixteenth–seventeenth-century shipwrecks, there are also
dozens of shipwrecks predating the sixteenthth century that have been investigated
and excavated, revealing maritime cultural interaction between south-east coastal
China and South-east Asia, and the development of a local maritime cultural
community within the seas around China before the period of expansive European
contact.
From June 21 to 23, 2013, an international academic workshop on “Early
Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Maritime Archaeological Perspective”
was held at Harvard University, organized by the Harvard-Yenching Institute. The
meeting brought together two dozen scholars from China, Philippines, England,

xvii
xviii Introduction

Mexico and the United States. Roughly half of our group presented new research on
the archaeology and history of Manila galleon shipwrecks and related issues of
maritime archaeology. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for maritime
archaeologists from both sides of the Pacific to share their latest information and
new developments in maritime archaeological exploration. It also initiated a pro-
ductive discussion on nautical trade and maritime cultural history of the sixteenth–
eighteenth centuries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Introduction xix
xx Introduction

This book is the proceedings of the meeting. Although two authors,

Mr. Eusebio Z. Dizon and Ms. Jessica Lally, missed the meeting in Cambridge,
they kindly wrote papers for this publication. Together, the thirteen papers offer a
panoramic view of maritime cultural interaction between east and west, and they
contribute to the study of early globalization from archaeological and historical
perspectives. These papers focus on the history of early pan-Pacific navigation and
maritime globalization during the sixteenth–eighteenth centuries. The studies cover
the background and formation, conception and practice, results and influence of
early globalization and the world economy, emphasizing maritime archaeological
evidence for the Spanish contacts between Asia and North America
Section 1 consists of papers by Chunming Wu (Xiamen University, China, and
2013 Visiting Scholar at Harvard-Yenching Institute) and Mr. Bobby C. Orillaneda
(National Museum of the Philippines) on shipwrecks of ninth–sixteenth centuries
uncovered in East and South-east Asian oceans. These papers reconstruct the
pre-contact “native” maritime history and propose a model of maritime navigation
development and local trade, as background for understanding the coming
globalization.
Section 2 consists of two papers on the concept and theoretical understanding of
galleon navigation. Russell K. Skowronek (University of Texas-Pan American)
describes the archaeological understanding of the concept of early globalization and
how Manila galleons participated in the creation of a world economy. Brian Fahy
and Veronica Walker Vadillo (University of Oxford) present a review of Spanish
exploration and establishment of the pan-Pacific Manila–Acapulco galleon trade
route, through the analysis of both historical and archaeological material.
Introduction xxi

Section 3 comprises five cases studies on galleon shipwrecks. Edward Von der
Porten (former Director of the Treasure Island Navy and Marine Corps Museum),
Roberto Junco (National Museum of Mexico), Eusebio Z. Dizon (National Museum
of the Philippines), Scott S. Williams and Jessica Lally (Washington State
Department of Transportation) discuss and comment on the archaeological inves-
tigation of Manila galleon shipwrecks including the San Felipe (1576), the San
Agustin (1595), the Beeswax (possibly Santo Cristo de Burgos, 1693) and a
nameless galleon shipwreck (1578). They also present research on galleon cargo,
including the chronology of Kraak ceramics.
Section 4 consists of two papers by Miao Liu and Chunming Wu (Xiamen
University) summarizing social–cultural change resulting from east–west maritime
contact and interaction. Miao Liu studied sixteenth–seventeenth-century shipwreck
materials from south China and South-east Asia, especially the exported Kraak
ceramics and Spanish colonial coins. She discusses the decline of the traditional
eastern Asian trading system and the emergence of an early globalizing trading
system. Chunming Wu gives a general discussion on the maritime cultural influence
of early European navigation, and the Portuguese and Spanish colonization of
south-east China, from the perspective of tangible and intangible cultural heritages.
Section 5 presents two papers by Qijiang Deng (National Center for Underwater
Cultural Heritage Preservation of China) and Kay Ueda (Boston University) with
research on the nineteenth-century East China Sea Xiaobaijiao shipwreck and the
material culture heritage of the Sultanate of Banten in Java during the seventeenth–
nineteenth century. Both papers cover the history of maritime navigation, trade and
society in south China and South-east Asia after the Galleon period.
Our 2013 Harvard-Yenching Institute workshop was the first opportunity to
unite maritime archaeologists from both sides of Pacific working together on early
navigation of this region. I want to thank all of the presenters and authors who
joined to make this a challenging and interesting academic work. I hope this
publication will be a new start for us and other scholars to further develop inter-
national cooperation on the investigation of early pan-Pacific navigation, early
globalizing maritime trade and other broader issues of maritime archaeology.
All of us want to express our greatest appreciation to the Harvard-Yenching
Institute. On behalf of the meeting participants, I thank the Institute for its generous
financial sponsorship, which included travel and accommodation on the Harvard
campus. Many thanks to Elizabeth J. Perry, Director of the HYI, Ruohong Li,
Assistant Director for Academic Programs and Planning, Lindsay Strogatz,
Executive Assistant and Program Manager, Susan Scott and Elaine Witham,
Assistant Directors for Finance and Administration, for your sincere support and
help for our meeting, as well as my visiting work at HYI in 2012–2013. I also thank
my colleagues Ping Song (Xiamen University), Lifeng Li (Nanjing University),
Qingfan Yang (Sichuan University) Yangjin Pak (Chungham National University),
Yan Zheng (Central Academy of Fine Arts, China), Xiaoqin Zhu (Xiamen
University), Siyin Li (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Lin Bu (Shanxi
Normal University), Janis Calleja and Byran Averbach who helped our workshop
and joined the meeting and maritime museum field trip to Salem.
xxii Introduction

I am grateful, in particular, to Robert E. Murowchick (Boston University) and

Rowan Flad (Harvard University) who offered me valuable consultation and
guidance in planning the meeting, who helped with the application to the HYI, and
who joined the meeting as moderators. As my host and academic supervisor during
my year as a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Rowan offered selfless help and
support for my work and life in Boston—for this, I am forever grateful. Finally,
I wish to express my sincere thanks to Barry Rolett (University of Hawaii at
Manoa) and Lothar von Falkenhausen (University of California at Los Angeles) for
recommending me as a candidate for visiting scholar at Harvard campus and for
understanding and promoting my research efforts on the maritime archaeology of
south-east China and South-east Asia.

February 2016 Chunming Wu

Co-sponsoring Institutes—HYI and CMAXMU

The Harvard-Yenching Institute (HYI) is an independent foundation located on the

campus of Harvard University, which was founded in 1928 with funding provided
solely from the estate of Charles M. Hall, the inventor of a process for refining
aluminium and the founder of the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA).
Harvard-Yenching Institute’s mission is stated in its Articles of Incorporation, “to
conduct and provide research, instruction and publication in the culture of China
and/or elsewhere in Continental Asia and Japan and/or Turkey and the Balkan
States in Europe, by founding, developing, supporting, maintaining and/or con-
ducting one or more educational institutions and/or by supporting in whole or in
part, co-operating with or joining or affiliating with other institutions now in
existence or hereafter formed…”. The Institute currently enjoys partnerships with
more than fifty universities and research centres in East and South-east Asia,
supporting the doctoral scholarships, visiting fellowships, academic publications,
advanced training programs, conferences and other scholarly initiatives—in Asia, at
Harvard University, and elsewhere—intended to increase scholarly communication
and to promote graduate and post-graduate research in Asian studies.
The Center for Maritime Archaeology of Xiamen University (CMAXMU) is a
unique academic institute specializing on the archaeological research of maritime
cultural history of seas surrounding China. The centre was founded in July 2004 on
the campus of Xiamen University, inheriting the learning tradition of this university
focusing on maritime social culture of south-east China and South-east Asia since
1920s. The centre is an important platform uniting interdisciplinary approaches as
underwater archaeology and land archaeology, regional history, ethnology and
anthropology working together to investigate and understand the tangible and
intangible maritime cultural heritage in China and eastern Asia. The centre coop-
erated with Underwater Archaeology Research Center of National Museum
of China, National Underwater Cultural Heritage Preservation Center of China and
Maritime Museum of Quanzhou Fujian in the last 10 years to carry out a series of

xxiii
xxiv Co-sponsoring Institutes—HYI and CMAXMU

projects as “Investigation and Research on the Shipwreck Sites of Dinghai in

Lianjiang County, Fujian Province”, “Theoretical Approaches to the Maritime
Archaeology of China”, “Investigating Ancient Shipwrecks and Maritime Cultures
of Ancient China” and “Investigating Maritime Cultural Heritage In the Seas
Surrounding China”.
Chapter 1
A Summary on Shipwrecks
of the Pre-contact Period
and the Development of Regional
Maritime Trade Network in East Asia

Chunming Wu

Maritime culture has been the main driving force of globalization resulting from the
intercontinental cultural exchange over past 500 years. After the Portuguese navigator
Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498, Europeans ventured in increasing numbers into
East and Southeast Asia, gradually establishing colonies there. European contact and
the beginning of trade globalization in Eastern Asia since the 16th century opened the
gate to modernization of this region. Even before the European exploration, how-
ever, there had been a long and complex history of maritime trade in eastern Asian seas
for hundreds and even thousands of years. This pre-contact “native” maritime network
provided an important foundation for the early stages of globalization that would
follow.
Over the past twenty years, underwater archaeology has been broadly carried out
in the seas off China’s east and south coasts. More than 200 shipwrecks and
underwater cultural heritage sites have been investigated among which many
merchant shipwreck sites dated from the 9th to early 16th centuries (China’s Tang,
Song, Yuan and early Ming dynasties) reflect the development of maritime cultural
interaction between this region and East and Southeast Asia. This paper introduces
the main archaeological content of these shipwrecks, gives a synthetic analysis of
seafaring history of each case, and presents a regional overview of the history of
regional maritime cultural interaction prior to the period of European contact.

C. Wu (&)
The Center for Maritime Archaeology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
e-mail: wu_chunming@hotmail.com; wu-chunming@263.net
C. Wu
Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 1

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_1
2 C. Wu

1.1 Investigation of Pre-contact Shipwrecks in Eastern

Asia

The history of what has popularly been called the “maritime silk road” and “ce-
ramic road” of eastern Asia was studied by historians and archaeologists for dec-
ades before the expansion of underwater archaeology began in the 1970s.
However, scholars paid relatively little attention to the importance of materials and
information from underwater shipwrecks in this region. Since 1970s, maritime
archaeology has become more fully developed and a growing number of under-
water salvage project as well as full-fledged excavations have been carried out on
ancient shipwrecks. These works have revealed a large variety of cultural her-
itage sites including shipwrecks in the seas of east and southeast Asia and sheds
new light on the maritime history of Asia-Pacific region. These shipwrecks and
other underwater heritages dated to the pre-contact period are distributed across the
maritime areas off the coasts of China, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam,
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (Fig. 1.1). The brief description of selected wrecks
listed below will illustrate the richness of this important resource for understanding
maritime trade in this region.
The Shinan shipwreck, located west of Mokpo in South Jeolla province in the
southwestern most tip of the Koeasn peninsula, was dated to the middle of the 14th
century (Green 1983; Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea 2006). More than
23,000 pieces of artifacts were salvaged from the site, of which more than 20,000
were ceramics from China including celadon from the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang,
white glazed ceramics and light color celadon of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, black
glazed ceramic of the Jian kiln in Fujian, brown painted white glazed ware
from Cizhou kiln in Hebei. A great amount of fragrant wood and spices from
Southeast Asia and some 28 tons of coins of Tang, Song, Liao, Jing, Yuan
dynasties were also collected.
The Jindo shipwreck, also off South Jeolla province of Korea, was dated to
the early of 14th century (Yuan 1994). The hull structure remains fairly intact, and
Song dynasty bronze coins and celadon from China and Goryeo were collected.
The Mardo No. 1 and Mardo No. 2 shipwrecks in Taean county of Korea were
dated to the early 13th century, from which 300 and 400 pieces of Goryeo celadon
and other cargo including bronze, iron, wooden artifacts and various kinds of foods
were recovered (Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea 2010, 2011).
The Daeseom shipwreck in Taean county of Korea, dating to the 12th century,
yielded some 20,000 artifacts including primarily Goryeo celadon and porcelain,
iron pots, inscribed wood (Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea 2009).
The Sandaogang shipwreck in the western part of the gulf of Bohai off China’s
Liaoning province was dated to the 13th century (Zhang 2001). Thousands of
brown painted ceramics with white glaze from the Cizhou kiln in Hebei province
and iron artifacts were collected.
The Penglai No. 3 shipwrecks in Shandong’s Dengzhou shipyard site was
identified as an ancient Korean vessel dating to the 13th century (Shandong
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 3

Fig. 1.1 The distribution of shipwrecks investigated in Seas of East Asia (1 Shinan, 2 Daeseom, 3
Mardo no. 1 and 2, 4 Jindo, 5 Sandao gang, 6 Penglai no. 3, 7 Dongmenkou, 8 Baijiao no. 1, 9
Xinnan Yu, 10 Dalian Dao, 11 Fenliuwei Yu, 12 Houzhu, 13 Banyang Jiao, 14 Chuanshan Dao
(no. 1 shipwreck of south China Sea), 15 Huaguang Jiao no. 1, 16, 17 Beijao no. 4 and 5, 18 Shiyu
no. 2, 19 Song Doc, 20 PhaQuoc, 21 PrasaeRayong, 22 Rang Kwien, 23 KoKhram, 24 KoSichang
no. 2, 25 KoSichang no. 3, 26 Long Quan, 27 Royal Nanhai, 28 Nan Yang, 29 Turiang, 30
BatuHitam (Belitung), 31 Bakau, 32 Intan, 33 Cirebon, 34 Tanjung Simpang Mengayu, 35
Pandanan, 36 Lena, 37 San Antonio, 38, 39 Bolinao no.1 and 2, 40 Santa Cruz)

Provincial Institute of Cultural Relic and Archaeology, Yantai Municipal Museum

2006). Goryeo celadon, Cizhou kiln ceramics from Heibei, China and
Japanese coins were discovered.
The Dongmenkou shipwreck in Ningpo harbor, Zhejiang province, was dated to
the 13th century. A series of celadon, white porcelain, black glazed ceramics,
lacquer and coins of Yuan reign were collected from the site (Ningpo Municipal
Cultural Relics Administration 1981).
4 C. Wu

The Baijiao No. 1 shipwreck in Lianjiang county, Fujian province, China, was
dated to 12th century. The wreck yielded 2678 artifacts including black glaze and
celadon from local Fujian kilns (National Museum of China et al. 2010).
The Xinnan Yu shipwreck in Pingtan, Fujian province, was dated to the early
13th century, and celadon from the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang privince were
recovered (Zhou 2012).
The Dalian Dao shipwreck in Pingtan, Fujian province, was dated to the early
14th century and many celadon from the Longquan kilns were discovered (National
Museum of China et al. 2014).
The Fenliuwei Yu shipwreck in Pingtan, Fujian province, dated to the 10th
century, produced a series of celadon from the Yue kiln in Zhejiang province
(Zhou 2012).
The Houzhu shipwreck in Quanzhou harbor in Fujian was dated to 13th century
(Quanzhou Maritime Museun of Fujian 1987). Many celadon and black glaze
ceramics from Longquan and local Quanzhou kilns were discovered. Fragrant
woods and spices from Southeast Asia were also collected from the site.
The Banyang Jiao shipwreck in Longhai county, Fujian, was also dated to 13th
century. Many of ceramics masde of celadon and black glaze artifacts from local
Fujian kilns were salvaged, as well as some lacquer boxs and bronze artifacts (Yang
2012).
The Chuanshan Dao shipwreck off coastal Guangdong, which has been
famously referred as the “No. 1 shipwreck of the South China Sea”, dates from the
13th century. The excavation work at this wreck site is still ongoing, but so far
more than 10,000 artifacts have been discovered, most of which are white glaze
ceramics of the Dehua kiln, celadon from the Yi Kiln in Minqing, Fujian,
the Jingdezhen kiln in Jiangxi, and the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang and black glaze
artifacts from the Cizhao kiln of Fujian. Others interesting artifacts from the site
include objects of bronze, iron and gold (Zhang 1997, 2012).
The Huaguang Jiao No. 1 shipwreck in Xisha islands (Paracel Island) of
Hainan province, dated to 13–14th century, has yielded a series of ceramics
identified as celadon of Nanan kiln, Cizhao kiln of Fujian, white glaze ceramics of
Dehua kiln of Fujian and Jingdezhen Kiln of Jiangxi (National Museum of China
et al 2006, pp. 35–50, 66–138).
The Beijiao No. 4 and Beijiao No. 5 shipwrecks in Xisha island, Hainan pro-
vince, were dated to 12–13th century. Celadon and white glaze ceramic from Fujian
and Guangdong kilns were collected from these wrecks (National Museum of China
et al. 2006, pp. 195–196; Zhao 2012).
The Shiyu No. 2 shipwreck in Xisha island, Hainan province, was dated to 14th
century. Ceramics as blue and white from the Jingdezhen kiln, white glaze from
Dehua, and celadon from the Jingjiang kiln were discovered (Zhao 2012).
The San Antonio shipwreck southwest of Luzon in the Philippines, was dated to
13–14th century. Celadon from Fujian kiln in China was discovered (Clark et al.
1989).
The Bolinao No. 1 and Bolinao No. 2 shipwrecks just west of Luzon,
the Philippines, were dated to the 13–14th century. Celadon from south China kilns
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 5

and a stone anchor dating from the Song dynasty were collected (Paul Clark
et al.1989).
The Lena shipwreck north of Palawan island, the Philippines was dated to the late
15th century (Goddio 2002). More than 3000 pieces of ceramics including blue and
white from the Jingdezhen kiln, celadon from the Longquan kiln (China) and
Sawankhalok kiln in Thailand, and pottery from Vietnam were collected.
The Santa Cruz shipwreck lying just north of Luzon, the Philippines was dated
to the end of the 15th century. Some 15,000 artifacts were collected, most of which
were blue and white ceramics from the Jingdezhen kiln and celadon from Longquan
kiln in China, with a small portion being the products of kilns in Thailand and
Burma (Orillaneda 2012).
The Pandanan shipwreck, which situated between Pandanan island and Palawan
island in the Philippines was dated to the late of 15th century (Honasan 1996;
Dizon 1996; Diem 1996). More than 4700 ceramics were recovered at the site, of
which most are Vietnamese ware, while other are Sukhothai and Sawankhalok
ceramics from Thailand, and some blue and white porcelain from Vietnam and
China. A series of metal artifacts including bronze gong, mirror, box, iron knife,
cooking pot, and sword were also collect.
The Song Doc shipwreck located at the southern tip of Vietnam was dated to
the late 14th century. A large amount of ceramics from Vietnamese kilns,
the Sawankhalok kiln in Thailand, accompanying others from southern Chinese
kilns were collected (Brown 2009, pp. 38–39.).
The PhaQuoc shipwreck lying off Kien Giang province in southern Vietnam
was a Chinese boat of the late 15th century. Some 15,880 ceramics were recovered
from site, including celadon from Sawankhalok, Thailand, and Chinese Longquan
celadon and blue and white. Others finds included iron, bronze, ivory artifacts and
Chinese coins (Blake and Flecker 1994).
The Rang Kwien shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand was dated to the late 14th
century. About 50 % of its cargo is comprised of Thai earthenware from
Suphanburi, Sawankhalok, San Kamphaengkilns, 28 % are Vietnamese ceramics,
and 10 % are Chinese celadon and blue and white (Green and Harper 1983a).
The Prasae Rayong shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand was dated to the middle
of 15th century. The 5000 specimens of ceramics collected from the wreck are
primarily from Sawankhalok and Sukhothai kilns, with Vietnamese ceramics and
some Chinese wares also represented (Green and Harper 1983b; Prishanchit 1996).
The Ko Khram shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand was identified as southern
China boat dating from the mid 15th century. More than 5000 pieces of ceramics
were recovered, of which most are celadons from the Sawankhalok and Singburi
kilns, with some ceramics bearing a brown pattern decoration from Sukhothai kiln,
and a smaller portion being Vietnamese blue and white and Chinese monochrome
wares (Green and Harper 1983a; Prishanchit 1996).
The KoSichang No. 2 shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand was identified as
a Chinese vessel dating from the early 15th century. Celadon from China and
ceramics of the Sawankhalok, Sukhothai and Suphanburi kilns in Thailand were
recovered (Green and Harper 1983b; Atkinson et al. 1989).
6 C. Wu

The KoSichang No. 3 shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand was dated to the late
15th century. Some 300 pieces of intact ceramics were collected including Chinese
and Vietnamese blue and white, some brown glaze ware from Champa in Vietnam
and a Sukhothai bowl from Thailand (Green et al. 1987).
The Tanjung Simpang Mengayau shipwreck locate off the northwest coast of
Sabah, Malaysia, was dated to the 11th–12th century. Ceramics including celadon
and light blue celadon (yingqing) from southern China, pottery from Vietnam and
Malacca, a Bronze gong dating to Song Dynasty and copper ingots were salvaged
(Flecker 2012).
The Long Quan shipwreck lying off the Trengganu coast of the Malay peninsula
was dated to the middle of the 15th century (Brown and Sjostrand 2000, 2002).
More than 100,000 of ceramics were discovered, of which about 40 % are Chinese
Longquan celadon, 40 % are Sawanhalok celadon, and 20 % are Sukhothai brown
pattern under glaze decorate pottery from Thailand.
The Nan Yang shipwreck lying off the east coast of the Malay peninsula was
dated to the mid 15th century. Some 15,000 ceramics were collected, most of
which were Sawanhalok celadon and Sukhothai brown pattern underglaze deco-
rated ceramics from Thailand and some Chinese celadon (Brown and Sjostrand
2000, 2002).
The Royal Nanhai shipwreck in the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia, was dated to
the mid 15th century. The site yielded more than 30,000 of Sawanhalok celadons
from Thailand as well as twenty tons of iron ore and ingots. Others finds included
Chinese and Vietnamese blue and white ceramics and Chinese lacquer (Brown and
Sjostrand 2000, 2002).
The Turiang shipwreck located off the east coast of the Malay peninsula was
identified as a Chinese vessel dating to the early 15th century. Finds included 1200
ceramics, of which 57 % are Thai, 35 % are Chinese, and 8 % are Vietnamese
(Brown and Sten 2000, 2002).
The Batu Hitam shipwreck near Belitung island off southeast coast of Sumatra
was dated to 9th century (Krahl et al. 2010). This Tang dynasty wreck yiel-
ded 70,000 artifacts, of which 60,000 were ceramic products of Changsha kiln in
the middle reaches of Yangtze river, while others are identified as being products of
Ding, Xing and Gongxian kilns of northern China. A series of gold, silver and
bronze artifacts with excellent preservation were also recovered, and further reflect
the cargo’s cultural diversity.
The Intan shipwreck, found off the north coast of Java near
Jakarta, Indonesia, was dated to the 10th century (Flecker 2005). More than 8000
artifacts including celadon of the Yue kiln, white porcelain from Ding kiln, bronze
mirrors and iron artifacts were also salvaged.
The Cirebon shipwreck located off north of the Indoesian seaport of Cirebon in
the Java Sea, was dated to the late of 10th century. More than 100,000 of celadons
from China’s Yue kiln and white porcelain from Ding kiln were collected, along
with bronze mirror and coins dating from the Song Dynasty (Kwa 2012).
Finally, the Bakau shipwreck near Bakau island on the western side of
Indonesia’s Karimata Strait was a Chinese vessel dated to the early 15th century
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 7

(Flecker 2001). Celadons of the Sawankhalok kiln in Thailand and the Longquan
kiln in China were collected, as well as other ceramics and pottery from
Sukhothai and Suphanburi kilns in Thailand, and from Vietnam and China, were
collected. Additional finds included Chinese bronze gong and mirrors, and 60 coins
the latest dating from the reign of Ming emperor Yongle (1403–1424).
All of these shipwrecks and underwater cultural heritages sites date from
China’s medieval period (the 9th–15th centuries), the period of the Song, Yuan and
early Ming dynasties before the expansion of maritime globalization in the 16th
century. They reflect maritime cultural interaction among coastal China, East and
Southeast Asia, and the resulting local maritime cultural community in this region
prior to the period of European contact.

1.2 The Origin and Sailing Routes of the Shipwrecks:

Case Studies

According to the typological analysis of the contents from the shipwrecks listed
above, their origin and sailing routes could be reconstructed, which is important to
understand the inner maritime trade network in eastern Asia before the 16th cen-
tury. Except for a few case as Madao 1 and Madao 2, Daeseom shipwreck in Korea
and Dongmenkou in Zhejiang, China which might have transported their goods
only short distances inside a country, most of the shipwrecks listed above represent
international maritime transport between the mainland and island areas of eastern
Asia. These cases fall into three stages showing the development and changing
nature of nautical routes in this cross border maritime region.
1. Evidence from shipwrecks dating to 9th to mid 10th century come from the
Fenliuwei Yu, Batu Hitam and Intan. These early stage shipwrecks reveal the
history of maritime navigation from south China to southeast and west Asia
during the Tang dynasty.
The Batu Hitam shipwreck off the island of Belitung at the southeastern tip of
Sumatra, Indonesia, has been interpreted as an Arab vessel carrying Chinese cargo
from China to an Arab seaport in Persian Gulf (Wang 2010). The hull remains and
the construction technique of the boat have been thoroughly studied and show that
the boat was not a traditional Chinese Junk but rather an Arabian vessel, with a
fully stitched Arabian dhow of the present-day Omani baitlquarib type, with timber
made from African and Indian woods, filled with a square nail, which might have
been made in Africa and repaired in India and southeast Asia (Flecker 2010).
Some 70,000 artifacts from the vessel included varied ceramics from Changsha
kiln in the central reaches of the Yangtze river, the Yue kiln near the lower reaches
of the Yangtze, the Xing kiln, the Ding kiln and Gongxian kiln of northern China,
and some artifacts from kilns in Guangdong. Many of the Changsha ceramics have
been identified as taking western Asian stylistic forms and types as decoration
8 C. Wu

Fig. 1.2 The diversity of origin represented in the cargo of the Batu Hitam shipwreck

patterns, including Arabian male head figure or Arabic written characters, showing
that the cargo might have been specially made for maritime trade of the western
(Indian) Ocean. A series of gold, silver and bronze artifacts might have been made
in the lower reaches of the Yangtze river, and some of these also take the shape of
Arabian or other decorative patterns. This mixed content suggests that the Batu
Hitam boat probably set sail from Yangzhou which was the biggest harbor in
the lower reaches of Yangtze river during the Tang dynasty (Fig. 1.2). Details from
historical documents such as the Tang dynasty Guangzhou TonghaiYidao (The
Foreign Navigation Routes from Guangzhou, 广州通海夷道), suggest that the
large harbor at Guangzhou (Canton) might have served as the last stop ships
making this route before leaving China.
The Intan shipwreck of Indonesia originally was thought to be a local
Indonesian vessel, but its cargo of celadon from Yue kiln, light blue celadon
(yingqing 影青瓷, qingbai 青白瓷) from Jingdezhen kiln, and white glaze artifacts
from the Ding kiln show that the boat might have sailed from Chinese seaports as
Yangzhou or Hangzhou in eastern China and Canton in southern China. This is
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 9

further supported by the presence of many Chinese metal artifacts of gold and
bronze among the ship’s cargo.
The Fenliuwei Yu shipwreck in Fujian province so far provides the only clue of
Chinese boat sailing to Southeast Asia during the Tang dynasty. The main cargo
from the site is the celadon of the Yue kiln which had been identified as the product
of Silongkou kiln in Zhejiang province. The origin of the ship is therefore thought
to have been the seaports of Yangzhou or Hangzhou and it might have sailed by
a coastal route from north to south. Its destination was likely somewhere in
Southeast Asia.
In brief, these shipwrecks uncovered in the waters of Southeast Asia and
southern China dating from the 9th to mid 10th century all carried cargoes of
ceramics from China. They originated from China, Southeast Asia and the
Arab world. The navigation routes included the coast of China to the South China
Sea and then the Indian Ocean for Arabian seaports. The multiracial merchants
composed a maritime trade community centralized in south China and developed
a professional industry for the maritime trade of ceramics in China. This commu-
nity encouraged cross cultural exchange in both social and economic spheres, such
as is suggested by the incorporation of Arab decoration and inscriptions on
ceramics from the Changsha kiln, showing how China during the Tang dynasty
opening to the outside world (Wang 2015).
2. Shipwrecks dated from mid 10th to mid 14th century are the Shinan, Jindo,
Sandao gang, Penglai No. 3, Baijiao No. 1, Dalian Dao, Xinan Yu, Houzhu,
Banyang Jiao, Chuanshan Dao, Huaguang Jiao No. 1, Beijiao No. 4 and
Baijiao No. 5, San Antonio, Bolinao, Tanjung Simpang Mengayu, and
the Cirebon, revealing the flourishing maritime navigation among East and
Southeast Asia during the Song and Yuan dynasties.
The Shinan shipwreck off Korea revealed a structure typical of southern Chinese
junks with a sharp bottom, keel and the presence of baoshoukong (seven holes
inside of the keel, ensuring long life a folk custom among shipbuilders in
China’s Fujian), bulkhead and watertight structure, and overlapping planks, all of
which underscore the Chinese origin of boat. The cargo, however, varies in origin,
suggesting the complicated route of maritime trade. The main part of the cargo,
20,664 pieces of ceramics that could be identified as products of the Ding, Jun and
Cizhou kilns of northern China could have been loaded at Dengzhou harbor,
celadon of the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang and white ceramics of the Jingdezhen
kiln could have been loaded at Mingzhou or Wenzhou harbor, and black glazed
ceramic of the Jian kiln could have been loaded at Fuzhou harbor (Fig. 1.3). The
2,566 pieces of timber from the wreck was reconstructed as a traditional junk of
southern Fujian Type (Fig. 1.4). There are also a great amount of fragrant woods
and spices including sandalwood, medical herbs, cinnamon, and black pepper from
tropical Southeast Asia. Taken together, this information suggests that the boat had
originated in southern China or Southeast Asia and sailed along the shoreline of
China from south to north before across the Huanghai Strait by Dengzhou harbor to
10 C. Wu

Fig. 1.3 Diversity of the ceramic cargo of the Shinan shipwreck

the Korean peninsula. A piece of inscribed wood records the name of merchant
from the point where the boat would have been bound for Japanese archipelago.
The Jindo shipwreck off Korea was also identified as a typical southern Chinese
junk by the presence of features such as its three-part canoe with sharp bottom,
bulkhead and watertight compartments, baoshoukong structure just as is seen in the
Sinan shipwreck. The ship’s content of Song dynasty coins and Chinese and
Korean ceramics reveal the possible sailing route from southern China to Korea.
The content of the Sandaogang shipwreck from China’s Bohai Gulf are much
simpler than those of the Shinan, but the cargo from the former wreck and related
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 11

Fig. 1.4 The hull remains of the Shinan shipwreck and its reconstruction (from exhibition of
National Maritime Museum at Mokpo of Korea)

historical documents prove its international navigation from northern China to

Korea. The typical artifacts are fine and good quality ceramics including pots with
blue glaze, white glaze with brown decoration of dragon- phoenix type and
children-playing type, white glaze basin with brown decoration of fish-grass type,
12 C. Wu

Fig. 1.5 A comparison of ceramics from Sandaogang shipwreck with those from Goryeo sites of
Korea

bowl and disc with handwritten Chinese characters as decoration. These ceramics
were products of the Cizhou kiln in Heibei, some 800 km away from the shipwreck
site. Similar materials has been excavated from Goryeo sites and tombs in south
Korea, showing the possibility of the export of Cizhou ceramics to Korea during
the Yuan dynasty (Fig. 1.5). According to historical textual records such as the
“Biography of Merchants” in the text Shi Ji (Historical Records,《史记
货殖列
传》), and in the text WenxianTongkao (Documents Review, 《文献通考》卷三
二四), the region of the Sangdaogang wreck site could have been on the line of
international navigation route north China to Korea and Japan. Sangdaogang wreck
could be the result of this navigation history.
The harbour at Dengzhou, located at the eastern end of the Shandong peninsula
presents a key connection between the mainland China and islands of the Huanghai
(Yellow Sea) area during the early history of this region. Penglai No. 3 shipwreck at
Dengzhou shipyard has been taken as a Goryeo vessel with a structure of
typical Korean boat. The marine shell remains of dentalium (角贝) collected from
the bottom of the wreck was identified as the unique marine species in Japan Sea,
suggesting the origin of the boat in eastern region of Yellow sea. The mixed content
of the cargo as Goryeo celadon, Cizhou kiln ceramic uncovered from the wreck
prove again the Sino-Korea maritime transportation by ancient Dengzhou seaport.
The Baijiao No. 1 shipwreck is located at sea off the Dinghai town which had
been the coastal gateway of the Fuzhou harbor in the estuary of Minjiang river of
southeastern China. The main cargo of ceramics includes black glazed bowl
from the Nanyu kiln of Minhou county and celadon bowl from the Yi kiln of
Minqing county near to Fuzhou in which this boat might have originated. The same
ceramics as Bai Jiao No. 1 have been discovered from historical sites in Fukuoka
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 13

and Okinawa of Japan. So the boat could have been on the line of Sino-Japan
maritime route. According to ancient nautical guide books such as
ShunfengXiangsong (Sailing on the Road of Wind, 顺风相送) and ZhinanZhengfa
(The Right Way of Navigation, 指南正法), Dinghai had been an important stop on
the maritime route from Fujian to Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Ryuku, proofing
the possibility of Sino-Japan maritime route of Bai Jiao No. 1 shipwreck.
The Dalian Dao shipwreck is one of the group shipwrecks discovered in
the Pingtan region of Fujian, China. The wreck had been disturbed by private
salvager and the destroyed remains of the timbers can’t be reconstructed to get the
information of its origin. The main cargo has been identified as products of
the Longquan Kiln (龙泉窑) of Zhejiang. The possible sailing route taken by this
boat would be the coastal line from north to south of China and the boat would
have been bound for the Southeastern Asia.
The Houzhu shipwreck in Fujian of China revealed interesting hull remains
identified as typical structure of Fu Chuan (Fujian junk) specializing at the con-
struction techniques of keel and frame priority (Fig. 1.6). So the shipwreck should
be a local origin. The cargo includes celadon from the local Quanzhou kiln and
black glaze ceramics from the Jian kiln in Fujian, and 2,350 kg of fragrant woods
and spices from Southeastern Asia, suggesting that this boat might have come back
from Southeastern Asia archipelagoes. More than 2,000 pieces of marine shell
remain were collected from the timber of the wreck and have been identified as
bankia (lyrodobankia) carinata, and dicyathifer manni which have been investi-
gated as the unique marine species in the south China sea, Indian Ocean, Red
Ocean, Persian Gulf and the Japan Sea, proving the possible region to which the
boat had sailed to (Li 1984).
The excavation work at the Chuanshan Dao shipwreck in Guangdong of south
China is still ongoing and the diversity of its cargo has been brought to light. The
ceramics have been identified as the produtcs from the Dehua, Yi and Cizhao kilns
in Fujian, the Jingdezhen kiln in Jiangxi, the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang, sug-
gesting that the boat might have sailed along maritime route of coast line from
north to south of China (Fig. 1.7). There are also a series of interesting artifacts of
bronze, iron and gold with different cultural style of Arab and India, showing the
possible navigation of the boat to the Southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean.
According to the ancient nautical guide books as Shunfeng Xangsong and Zhinan
Zhengfa record, the Chuanshan Dao had been located on the maritime sailing route
from south China to Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia of the
Southeastern Asia.
The Huaguang Jiao No. 1 shipwreck off Xisha island of Southern China
Sea contains ceramics from the kilns of Fujian and Jiangxi, showing that this boat
might have originated in Fujian and have a stop in Guangdong. It is the proof of
maritime trade between the south China and the Southeast Asia during the Song
and Yuan dynasties.
The Cirebon shipwreck in the Java Sea of Indonesia was taken as the Southeast
Asian local vessel with fairly complete structure of lashed-lug or sewn-plank which
had been the typical feature of the Southeast seagoing boat. The content of the great
14 C. Wu

Fig. 1.6 The hull remains of

Houzhu shipwreck and its
ship line (The Ship line
was reconstructed by Green
and Burningham 1998)

amount of ceramics from the Yue kiln in Zhejiang, the Ding kiln in Hebei and other
things from Song Dynasty, prove the history of its’ maritime trade with China and
a long navigation from north to south along coast of China sea.
The Tanjung Simpang Mengayau shipwreck in Sabah of Malaysia was identified
as a Chinese junk by the evidence of the timber made of wood of pins sylvestris as
a tree species of temperate climate region of the Southern China. Its cargo includes
ceramics of white celadon (qingbai) mostly from the Guangdong and Fujian kilns
and some from the Jingdezhen kiln of Jiangxi, earthenwares from the Vietnam and
local Melaka kilns, bronze gone and mirror from south of China, and some ring
shaped copper ingots from Thailand. This is the representative of shipwrecks of
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 15

Fig. 1.7 Diversity of the ceramics from the Chuanshan Dao shipwreck

Song dynasty discovered in the Southeast Asia, revealing the early history of
international maritime trade of China junk to the Southeast Asia region.
The San Antonio, Bolinao No. 1 and Bolinao No. 2 shipwrecks off Philippines
certificate the maritime transportation between the South China and Philippine
archipelagoes. Though the information of these vessels is not so rich, the stone
anchor has been identified as the type of Song dynasty and the ceramics cargo as
Chinese origin.
In short, most of the shipwrecks dated from the mid 10th to the mid 14th
originated from China except for Penglai No. 3 in Shandong of China and Cirebon
in Indonesia which originated respectively in Korea and Indonesia. Multi routes of
navigation in this period also developed in the East and Southeast Asian seas.
16 C. Wu

Almost all of ceramics cargo of these China originated ships continued to be the
products of the kilns of China, such as the kilns in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi,
Guangdong, Hebei and etc. The Penglai No. 3 shipwreck carried some Gorgeo
celadon, and a few of the shipwrecks as the Daeseom, Mardo No.1 and Mardo
No. 2 in Korea carried mostly Gorgeo celadon. This situation showed that the
maritime culture had disseminated and developed from coastal mainland of the
Eastern Asia to island region in the East and Southeast Asia.
3. Shipwrecks dated from the mid 14th to the early 16th century are the Shiyu.
No. 2, Song Doc, PhaQuoc, Turiang, Maranei, Rang Kwien, KoSichang
No. 2 and 3, Royal Nanhai, LongQuan, Nan Yang, Santa Cruz, Pandanan, and
the Lena. They originated from the South China and Southeast Asia, revealing
the cultural change of maritime navigation and trade in the South China Sea
during ban of maritime trade period of early Ming dynasty.
The Shiyu No. 2 shipwreck off the Xisha island of China is the only one of
shipwreck of early Ming dynasty uncovered in China. The hull remain of this vessel
is lack, but the ceramics cargo as the blue and white from the kilns in Jingdezhen,
Dehua and Jingjiang of the south China is definite, revealing the continue of the
maritime transportation in the South China Sea when China fell into ban of mar-
itime trade in early of Ming dynasty.
The Song Doc shipwreck off southeast coast of Vietnam hasn’t got any infor-
mation about its hull structure and origin of the boat. The most of ceramics orig-
inates definitely from the local kilns in the Southeast Asia, such as celadon and blue
and white from the kilns in Vietnam, Thai celadon from the Sawankhalok kiln of
Thailand. Only a small portion of celadon might be from the Longquan kiln of
Zhejiang and the Cizhao kiln of Fujian in the Southern China (Fig. 1.8). The
composition of these ceramics cargo shows the decline of maritime trade between
the Southern China and the Southeast Asia and increase of maritime trade among
local states of the Southeast Asia in early of Ming dynasty.
The PhaQuoc shipwreck off the south of Vietnam was estimated as a traditional
Chinese vessel for its hull structure of sharp bottom, 15 bulkheads with 16
watertight compartments and three layers overlap planks. Some researchers augured
that PhaQuoc was not a Chinese junk but the South China Sea hybrid one for
its bulkheads were not watertight and the planks were both dowel edge-joining and
iron nail edge-joining. The mixed cargo from both China and Thailand revealed the
developing history of maritime trade among different states in the South China Sea.
This regional navigation might have been carried out by local merchant in the
Southeast Asia or oversea Chinese smuggling group during the early Ming
Dynasty.
The Turiang shipwreck off coast of Malay peninsula was also identified as
a Chinese vessel with hull made of temperate species wood of China, bulkheads,
iron nail edge-jointed shipbuilding technique of China and without wooden dowels
of the Southeast Asian type. The mixed cargo included 57% ceramics from
Thailand as celadon from the Sawankhalok kiln and ceramics with brown pattern
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 17

Fig. 1.8 Diversity of the ceramics from the Song Doc shipwreck (Artifacts of this figure, and
Figs. 1.9 and 1.10 are cited from Brown 2009)

decoration from the Sukhothai kiln, 35% ceramics from China as celadon from the
Longquan kiln of Zhejiang and black glaze from the Cizhao kiln of Fujian and 8%
ceramics as celadon and blue and white from Vietnam. Southeast Asia food-staff of
fish and egg, elephant tusks and metal artifacts were also discovered. These con-
tent revealed the development of maritime trade in this region during early Ming’s
ban of maritime trade. Most of Chinese ceramics were from Guangdong kiln with
low value, suggesting the origin of hinter land of smuggling seaports in the
Southern China coast.
The Bakau shipwreck off Indonesia is another Chinese vessel with hull structure
of flat bottom, keel and bulkheads and iron nail fastening. Most of the ceramic
cargo were from the mainland of the Southeast Asia including celadon from the
Sawankhalok kiln, brown pattern decoration ceramics from Sukhothai and pottery
18 C. Wu

Fig. 1.9 Different origin of the ceramics from the Turiang shipwreck

of Suphanburi of Thailand, and ceramic from Vietnam. About 20 % ceramics are

Chinese celadon and brown glaze. Other things included bronze artifact and coin from
China. This composition of varied cargo origin showed the maritime activity of
Chinese private smuggle merchant in the Southeast Asia during early Ming dynasty.
The Rang Kwien shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand presents one more case
revealing the change of navigation situation during early Ming dynasty. The vessel
lack of bulkheads and with wooden dowels joining plank is not a Chinese typical
junk but local one of the Southeast Asia. Thailand and Vietnam in the Southeast
Asia dominated the majority of the cargo, including the celadon and pottery from
the Sawankhalok, brown pattern decoration ceramics from Suphanburi, San
Kamphaeng kilns of Thailand, celadon and blue and white from Vietnam. China
hold only a small portion of ceramics. These materials showed the developed sit-
uation of maritime trade in the South China Sea carried out by local people or
oversea Chinese immigrated from the South of China to the Southeast Asia.
The KoSichang No. 2 and Kosichang No. 3 shipwrecks in the Gulf of Thailand
originally were taken as hybrid type of South China sea and then archaeologist
augured that it was a Chinese vessel. Both of the boat loaded cargo of ceramics,
including celadon from the kilns of China and Sawankhalok kiln of Thailand,
brown pattern decoration from the Sukhothai kiln of Thailand, blue and white from
the Suphanburi kiln of Thailand, and some other ceramics from Vietnam, revealing
the maritime trade among different states in the South China Sea during early
Ming dynasty.
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 19

The Royal Nanhai shipwreck off Malaysia was revealed as hybrid of the South
China Sea vessel combining bulkheads with wooden dowels, planks fastened to
frames with bolts and nails, which could be the result of exchange of shipbuilding
techniques between the South China and the Southeast Asia. The mixed ceramic
remain of 30,000 pieces of celadon from the Sawanhalk kiln of Thailand, some blue
and white from China and Vietnam, revealed the maritime trade in this region.
Similar situation happen with LongQuan and Nan Yang shipwrecks in this region.
Three shipwrecks in Philippines were identified as Chinese junk during early
Ming dynasty. The Lena shipwreck revealed structure typical of Chinese vessel
with iron nail and wooden dowels fastening. Both the Santa Cruz shipwreck and
Pandanan shipwreck revealed structure of bulkheads, watertight compartment and
keel. All of them contained varied origin cargo as the Lena and the Pandanan
including Cargo from China, Thailand and Vietnam (Fig. 1.10), the Santa Cruz
included ceramics from China, Thailand and Burma, revealing the multi-routes

Fig. 1.10 Ceramics composition of the Pandanan shipwreck

20 C. Wu

navigation and complicate maritime trade in the South China Sea during maritime
ban of Ming dynasty.
Anyhow, these shipwrecks dated to the early Ming dynasty showed us a quite
different situation of maritime navigation when the reign of Ming dynasty carried
out seafaring prohibition law. The decline situation of navigation in southern China
and the rise of that in the Southeast Asia must have resulted from the ban trade of
Ming dynasty. Most of shipwrecks distributed in the Southeast Asia region rather
than coast of China. They have been taken as boats of smuggler from southern
China or the overseas Chinese in the Southeast Asia. These Chinese navigators
revolted the seafaring prohibition law and fleed away from Ming reign to the
Southeast Asia. Some shipwrecks were identified as hybrid of the South China Sea
region which might be composition of varied shipbuilding techniques of southern
China and the Southeast Asia. The cargo from these sites verifies the changing
situation as the growing of ceramic from Thailand, Vietnam and the reducing of
ceramics from China.

1.3 The “Four Oceans Navigation” System and Maritime

Cultural Interaction among Seas Surrounding China
before European Arrived in 16th Century

The recovery and preliminary case analysis on nautical routes of listed 30 ship-
wrecks contributes a deep understand of the changing navigation in seas sur-
rounding China during the 9th–the early 16th century. The maritime trade and
cultural interaction had developed and flourished in this transnational region,
resulting to an international maritime community before European arrived. This
maritime community was characterized by the nautical route system as “Four
Oceans Navigation (四洋航路)” carried out by Chinese and oversea Chinese
maritime merchant during ancient period (Chen 1992; Wu 2003, pp. 179, 232).
The successive dynasties of ancient China had been one of the oldest ancient
civilizations in the world and the main center of the ancient Eastern Asian civi-
lization. The ancient civilization of China was a type of continental culture prior-
itizing on the inland agriculture which centrally developed in Zhongyuan (中原
central plain, central state, essentially “China”). Then the empires of ancient China
grew to a complicate social-cultural structure historically called zhongguo sifang
(“China—Four Peripheries Barbarians, 中国-四方”). According to the record of
historical documents, the maritime culture was taken as the barbarians in eastern
periphery (dongyi, 东夷) and southern periphery (nanman, 南蛮) (Wu 2011).
In fact, contrast to dominantly “China—Four Peripheries Barbarians” system of
ancient Chinese civilization prioritizing on inland agriculture and realizing and
centralizing its political reign on land, maritime social-culture developed system-
atically and implicitly by itself in the eastern and southern coast. This
non-governmental maritime cultural community originated, disseminated and
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 21

distributed in the transborder region of eastern Asia, including the coast of China,
Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia. This maritime
cultural rim was justly connected and united by the ancient navigation in seas
surrounding China.
This so called “Four Oceans Navigation” in ancient China reflects a different
social—cultural system centralizing at southeastern coast of China, contrast to
ancient Chinese civilization centralizing at Central Plain (essentially “China”). This
maritime community had been treated as opposite and negative group of country by
the successive empires of China and resulted the situation of spreading out to the
ocean world privately and usually illegally. The “Four Oceans” normalized nautical
routes system in seas surrounding China, definitely reflecting the developing and
changing of the maritime social-cultural community in the East and the Southeast
Asia. “Four Oceans Navigation” had been recorded in the folk nautical guide books
in Yuan and Ming Dynasties including ShunfengXiangsong, ZhinanZhengfa,
ZhengheHanghaitu (Nautical Chart of Zhenghe Fleet《郑和航海图》), refering to
different nautical regions setting sail from the southeast coast of China (Fujian and
Guangdong) which had been the center and main origin of this maritime commu-
nity up till the late of Qing Dynasty. Therefore, starting from the point of
the southeast shoreline of ancient China geographically, the navigation southern
bound to southeast Asia areas as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and western part of
Indonesia, was called nanyang (South Ocean, 南洋). The navigation western bound
to Indian Ocean was called xiyang (West Ocean, 西洋). In fact, xiyang navigation
continued the nanyang from the Southeast Asia to the Indian Ocean. So nanyang
navigation overlapped xiyang navigation in the South China sea. Navigation of
eastern bound to Taiwan, Philippines and eastern part of Indonesia, was called
dongyang (East Ocean, 东洋). Navigation of northern bound to the East China Sea,
Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, was called beiyang (North Ocean, 北洋) (Fig. 1.11). Since
the late of Qing Dynasty, the maritime cultural center of seas Surrounding China
shifted to estuary of Yangtze River as Shanghai, the sailing for Japan and Korea
were taken as part of dongyang navigation.
The Four Oceans means different nautical regions of diverse geographic orien-
tations rather than four sailing routes. According to ancient navigation guide books,
each ocean always includes a few or even dozens of maritime routes. For example,
ShunfengXiangsong recorded about 78 routes in the South Ocean and West Ocean,
20 routes in the East Ocean. Some 30 shipwrecks of 9th–15th century discussed in
this paper preliminary indicates the development and changing of these nautical
routes. Shipwrecks discovered in the South Ocean and West Ocean includes
the Fenliuwei Yu, Dalian Dao, Xinan Yu, Houzhu, Banyang Jiao, Chuanshan Dao,
Huaguang Jiao No. 1, Beijiao No. 4, Beijiao No. 5, Shiyu. No. 2, Song Doc,
PhaQuoc, Turiang, Maranei, Rang Kwien, KoSichang No. 2 , KoSichang No. 3,
Royal Nanhai, LongQuan, Nan Yang, Batu Hitam, Intan, Cirebon, and etc. These
shipwrecks distribute in the coast of the southeastern and southern China, eastern
coast of mainland of the Southeast Asia and the Gulf of Thailand, and the Java Sea,
representing exactly the trend of nautical route of South Ocean and West Ocean in
the South China Sea.
22 C. Wu

Fig. 1.11 “Four Ocean” navigation routes of the Eastern Asia during pre-contact period

The shipwrecks discovered in East Ocean includes the San Antonio, Bolinao,
Tanjung Simpang Mengayu, Santa Cruz, Pandanan and the Lena. They distribute
in the sea around Philippines island, eastern sea of Indonesia and the Malaysia,
showing the developing situation in the East Ocean navigation originating from
the southeastern China since Song dynasty. According to the historical record,
there might be many other maritime heritages need to be investigated in coming
future in Fujian and Taiwan which had been the important region on the line of East
Ocean nautical route.
The shipwrecks discovered in North Ocean region include the Shinan, Jindo,
Sandao Gang, Penglai No. 3, and the Baijiao No. 1. Refered to the historical
documents, the distribution of these sites reflects the development of different
branches of the North Ocean navigation to the Korea and Japan, including the
Bohai route (north route) along north & east coast of Bohai, Dengzhou route
(central route) by crossing the Yellow Strait, Mingzhou route (south route) by
crossing the East China Sea. The Sangdaogang shipwreck should be on the north
route, the Penglai No. 3, Jindo and the Shinan shipwrecks are mostly on the central
route, Baijiao No. 1 is possibly on central route or south route to Japan.
Anyway, the nautical route of some of these shipwrecks is not necessary an
exclusive possibility. The navigation experimentally connected different routes in
Four Ocean system with various seaport stops and divers origin of various cargo as
shown by series of shipwrecks. For example, the Shinan shipwreck on the North
1 A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period … 23

Ocean route had possibly sailed to South and West Ocean route for the reason of
fragrant wood and species cargo from southeast Asia. The same situation might
have happen with the Houzhu shipwreck. In a word, the nautical route of the Four
Ocean system was a complicate and mutil-lines network.
The transborder navigation in seas surrounding China brought to the historical
immigration and emigration of maritime people, a series of cultural interaction
including trade, exchange of ship building and navigation techniques, industrial
techniques as ceramic and metal appliances making. The immigration and emi-
gration of maritime ethnicities was an important result of navigation in this region,
as the Arabian and Indian merchants navigated to and resided in the Southeast Asia
and even in southeastern China (as the descendant of Islamic merchant reside at
famous seaport Quanzhou of Fujian). The Chinese navigator and merchant also
emigrated and lived in the Southeast Asia growing up to be the oversea Chinese of
this region. The mixing together of multiracial merchants and navigators in this
region played a key important role in the formation of maritime community com-
posing of divers ethnicities and religions.
The exchange of varied ship building techniques happened in seas surrounding
China during the 9th–early 16th century. According to the remains of shipwrecks,
boats with different origins of the Arab or India, the Southeast Asia (Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines), China and the Korea met in this region in pre-
contact period. For example, the Korean boat sailed to China (wrecked at
Dengzhou), the Arabian boat sailed to the Southeast Asia (wrecked at Batu Hitam),
the Indonesian vessels (wrecked at Intan, Cirebon) sailed to China, and many
Chinese junks appeared in different region in seas surrounding China. This situation
impelled the exchange and mutual-borrow of the shipbuilding techniques. In the
South China Sea region, a new hybrid type of boat resulted since the late of 14th
century, the so called “South China Sea tradition” (Manguin 1980, 1984), including
the Chinese boat techniques as V-sharp bottom, keel and rib structure, bulkheads
and (watertight) compartments, iron nail fastening plank, and southeast Asian boat
techniques as sewn plank or wooden dowels stitched plank, several masts and sails,
double rudders structure. The appearance of this hybrid type of boat in the
Southeast Asia could be the alternative of Chinese junk declined in the Southeast
Asia maritime network for the reason of ban maritime trade of Ming dynasty.
The change of the cargo content from the shipwrecks of the 9th–early 16th
century also suggests the development of maritime trade and transferring of
industrial techniques, especially the ceramics industry. Among the listed 40 ship-
wrecks investigated in seas surrounding China, almost all of ceramic cargo of early
and middle period (9th to early 14th century) were the products from China,
indicating that mainland China controlled the market of exported ceramics during
Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties. The situation changed after Ming dynasty, the
compound and divers ceramics cargo of late period (the mid 14th century to early
16th century) revealed the increase of ceramics from the kilns in the mainland
Southeast Asias and the sharp decrease of Chinese ceramics which had been cited
as “Ming Gap”. The situation indicated not only the change of ban of maritime
trade during the early Ming dynasty, but also the shift of ceramics industry from
24 C. Wu

China to the Southeast Asia. The growing of celadon kilns and blue and white kilns
in Thailand and Vietnam had been possibly the result of immigration of Chinese
ceramics technicians fleeing away the seafaring prohibition law of Ming reign. The
private merchants and their smuggling activity counteracting with governmental
policy of Ming dynasty definitely promoted the cultural interaction among these
maritime ethnicities in this transborder seas surrounding China.
In short, the seas surrounding China as a transborder maritime region had united
together as a maritime economical and cultural community as the “Asian
Mediterranean” gradually and played the role of cultural integration before
European arrived in the 16th century. This integration was constructed by Four
Oceans navigation and resulted from maritime trade, maritime immigration and
emmigrations, interaction and transferring of tangible and intangible maritime
culture. This maritime community became the important basis of early globaliza-
tion after European arrived the South China Sea in 16th century. When European
came to the Southeast Asia seaports as Manila, Malacca and Batavia in
the 16th/17th century, they quickly set up a wide and extensive maritime trade
network directly or indirectly with the Eastern Asian countries depending on the
advantage of the local original native trade system.

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Author Biography

Chunming Wu B.A. and M.A.

in archaeology and Ph.D. in
History in Xiamen University,
visiting scholarship of
American Council of Learned
Society and Luce Foundation
at University of Hawaii at
Manoa (2006–2007) and
Harvard Yenching Institute at
Harvard University (2012–
2014). Currently a researcher
and the Director of the Center
for Maritime Archaeology at
Xiamen University, focusing
on maritime archaeology, pre-
historic archaeology and early
aboriginal ethno-history of
southeast China and southeast
Asia.
Chapter 2
Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime
Archaeology of Fifteenth Century
CE Southeast Asia

Bobby C. Orillaneda

2.1 Introduction

The fifteenth century plays an important part in the history of the Southeast Asian
region particularly as a transitional period between the demise of the “Classical
Age” in Southeast Asia during thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and the advent of
the Europeans starting in the sixteenth century. Reid (1988, 1990, 1993) coined the
term ‘Age of Commerce’ to highlight the significance of the fifteenth to the sev-
enteenth centuries in the global economic history in which maritime trade played a
crucial role. He considered the fifteenth century as setting the platform for the ‘long
sixteenth century’ economic boom in Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, China,
Japan and perhaps India in which Southeast Asia played a critical part. The eco-
nomic take-off was initially stimulated by the demand for spices (pepper, cloves,
nutmeg) and other exotic marine and forest products. Merchants from far and wide
geographies converge in Southeast Asia to exchange their own trade items in
different ports and production areas (Reid 1988, 1993; Wade 2010). Whereas the
spice trade was the key commodity that drove maritime commerce, manufactured
trade goods such as textiles, glazed ceramics, glass and metals objects also show the
multi-faceted aspects of the regional economic exchange networks.
Despite the importance and significance of the period, archaeological research
into the maritime polities of fifteenth century Southeast Asia is glaringly deficient.
Previous studies focus either on the region’s prehistoric past or during the colonial
period starting in the sixteenth century with the arrival of the Europeans in the
Philippines and Melaka (e.g. Reid 1988, 1993, 1999; Higham 1989, 1996; Hall
1992, 2011; Miksic 2004; Wang 1998; Brown 2009; Glover and Bellwood 2004;
Manguin 2004; Flecker 2009; Wade 2010). Of all the major kingdoms and port

B.C. Orillaneda (&)

Linacre College, Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology,
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
e-mail: bobbyorillaneda@yahoo.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 29

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_2
30 B.C. Orillaneda

cities mentioned in historical texts, only Ayutthaya has been subjected to archae-
ological excavations that give information on the architecture, material objects and
religion of the period (Chirapravati 2005). Melaka, considered the period’s premier
polity, has surprisingly yielded scarce material evidence. Immediate post-Angkor
Cambodia has also seen very little archaeological work although burials with
ceramics dating from the late fifteenth century has been recently unearthed at
KrangKor (Sato 2013). There have been no archaeological investigations on the
fifteenth century Javanese trading ports of Tuban, Gresik and Demak.1
In the absence of material evidence from terrestrial sites, shipwrecks constitute
the best source for answering questions on fifteenth century Southeast Asia.
Maritime and shipwreck archaeology in the region has emerged as a discipline only
in the past few decades. Nevertheless, current scholarly outputs, albeit limited, have
given valuable data on the study of shipbuilding technology and ceramic tradewares
from China and ceramic-producing Southeast Asian countries. This paper aims to
contribute further information by reviewing the different vessel types including the
recently excavated ones and also looks at the ceramic as well as the non-ceramic
artefacts to enrich the maritime narrative of the period.

2.2 Historical Background of Fifteenth Century Southeast

Asia

Archaeological and historical sources mention a number of Southeast Asian port

cities such as Melaka, Ayutthaya, Majapahit, Samudra-Pasai, Champa and Angkor
(e.g. Reid 1988, 1993, 1999; Higham 1989, 1996; Hall 1992, 2011; Miksic 2004;
Wang 1998; Brown 2009; Glover and Bellwood 2004; Manguin 2004; Flecker
2009; Wade 2010). Some polities functioned as regional ports and centres of trade
between the Middle East, India and China and while facilitating Southeast Asian
intra-regional commercial exchange. Others are small trade centres from which the
spices and other local forest and marine products are sourced (Fig. 2.1).

2.2.1 The Rise of Melaka and Ayutthaya

At the turn of the fifteenth century, Melaka and Ayutthaya became dominant
trading centres of the Southeast Asian region. Melaka’s location in the Melaka
Straits was crucial; being located between two great markets India and the Middle
East in the west and China in the east (Thomaz 1993). Hall (2004: 250) described

1
This is according to Indonesian archaeologists who were interviewed during the recent
International Capacity Building on Underwater Cultural Heritage workshop in Makassar, South
Sulawesi in Indonesia on October 7–15, 2013.
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 31

Fig. 2.1 Southeast Asian map with fifteenth century maritime polities

Melaka: “In essence, it (Melaka) was appropriate that this central entrepôt was in
Southeast Asia, because Southeast Asia was then the pivotal center of Asian trade,
as the source of the most demanded commodities; the most important consumer
marketplace for imported textiles and ceramics; and the common center for the
exchange of the variety of commodities that derived from China and the Middle
East, as well as other secondary sources of supply (italics added).” Thomaz (1993)
called Melaka as a ‘mercantilist kingdom’ as the state was actively involved in
commercial affairs alongside private merchants; even the sultan himself participated
in trade and owned a fleet of trading ships.
Melaka served as a regional port-of-call, clearinghouse and collection point
where traders from the east and west meet and exchange a wide range of economic
commodities.2 In addition, it also functioned as a locus for the symbiotic flow of
cultural interactions between different ethnicities with their own religious systems,

2
Hall (2004: 51) summarized a comprehensive list of the variety of trade items based on some
historical documents: “India-based ships arrived regularly from the Gujarat, Malabar, and
Coromandel coasts, as well as from Bengal, and Myanmar. Goods included luxury items from the
Middle East, such as rosewater, incense, opium, and carpets, as well as seeds and grains. But the
bulk of the fifteenth-century cargoes were made up of cotton cloth from the Gujarat and
Coromandel coasts. Vessels from Bengal brought foodstuffs, rice, cane sugar, dried and salted
meat and fish, preserved vegetables and candied fruits, as well as the local white cloth fabrics.
Malabar merchants from India’s southwest coast brought pepper and Middle Eastern goods. The
Bago (Pegu) polity in lower Myanmar also supplied foodstuffs, rice and sugar, and ships. In return,
spices, gold, camphor, tin, sandalwood, alum, and pearls were sent from Melaka. Re-exports from
32 B.C. Orillaneda

beliefs, practices and norms, which was instrumental in shaping Southeast Asia as a
melting pot of cultures. When the Portuguese took Melaka in 1511, the population
was estimated to between one hundred to two hundred thousand persons (Thomaz
1993). Tomé Pires, the sixteenth century Portuguese chronicler who was stationed
in Melaka for a number of years, compiled a list of foreign traders who disembarked
at the capital’s harbour3 (Cortesao and Rodrigues 1944: 268). From December to
March, Indian Ocean as well as traders from mainland and eastern parts of insular
Southeast Asia and China reached Melaka ports, while traders from Java and
eastern Indonesia usually arrived in May. Pires also remarked on the diversity of
languages during his tenure at Melaka: “in the port of Malacca very often
eighty-four languages have been found, every one distinct” (Cortesao and
Rodrigues 1944: 269). Despite this wide linguistic variety, the Malay language was
used as the lingua franca for transactions related to trade. Scholars attributed
Melaka’s success as Southeast Asia’s premier trade centre during the fifteenth
century to a combination of factors: location and storage facility, an efficient legal
and administrative system, affiliation with China, the conversion of the population
to Islam, and the command of the Malay Orang Lauts4 (sea people).
In addition, Melaka’s success as the fifteenth century’s foremost regional
entrepôt was closely linked with its affiliation to China5 (Wang 1964, 1968; Taylor
1992; Shaffer 1996; Wade 2008). For the Melakan rulers, having strong ties with

(Footnote 2 continued)
China included porcelain, musk, silk, quicksilver, copper, and vermillion. Malabar and Sumatran
pepper was carried back to Bengal, with some opium from Middle Eastern countries”.
3
“Moors from Cairo, Mecca, Aden, Abyssinians, men of Kilwa, Malindi, Ormuz, Parsees, Rumes,
Turks, Turkomans, Christian Armenians, Gujaratees, men of Chaul, Dabhol, Goa, of the kingdom
of Deccan, Malabars and Klings, merchants from Orissa, Ceylon, Bengal, Arakan, Pegu, Siamese,
men of Kedah, Malays, men of Pahang, Patani, Cambodia, Champa, Cochin China, Chinese,
Lequeos, men of Brunei, Luções, men of Tamjompura, Laue, Banka, Linga (they have a thousand
other islands), Moluccas, Banda, Bima, Timor, Madura, Java, Sunda, Palembang, Jambi, Tongkal,
Indragiri, Kappata, Menangkabau, Siak, Arqua (Arcat?), Aru, Bata, country of the Tomjano, Pase,
Pedir, Maldives”.
4
Andaya and Andaya (2001) surmised that the sultan’s command over the Orang Lauts, or the sea
people was important as the Orang Lauts provided protection for trading ships destined for Melaka
and harassed ships en route to rival ports. The strategy is sound, as most of the Orang Lauts have
possibly engaged in ‘piratical’ activities in the Melaka Straits before the fifteenth century. Melaka
was reportedly a pirate haven with a marketplace that sold spoils from shipping plunder when
Parameśwara arrived. Merchants understandably go to ports where assurance of a safe passage is
given.
5
China first took notice of Melaka in 1403 from the reports of Indian Muslim merchants and sent
an envoy to visit the polity the next year (Groeneveldt 1877; Andaya and Andaya 2001).
Recognising its advantages, Parameśwara immediately placed Melaka under China’s sovereignty
as a vassal state (Taylor 1992). Tribute-bearing missions to China commenced in 1405 and then
again in 1407, 1408, 1413, and 1416 and thereafter about once every one or two years (Wake
1964). Melakan rulers even visited China in 1411, 1414, 1419 and 1424 (Coedès 1968). The
Zheng He voyages further set the platform for Melaka’s later achievement as it cleared the Melaka
Straits of pirates who have been preying on merchant shipping for centuries and conducted naval
patrols in the first two decades of the fifteenth century (Taylor 1992; Chenoweth 1996–1998).
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 33

China held numerous advantages: Chinese endorsement meant prestige and

respectability as a commercial centre (Andaya and Andaya 2001). The kingdom
also needed Chinese protection from Ayutthaya, Java, and Samudra-Pasai who
were trying to expand or maintain their status as regional powers (Wang 1964;
Coedès 1968). Melaka’s relationship with Ayutthaya could be described as strained
since prior to Melaka’s rise as a trading centre, Ayutthaya had placed much of the
Malay Peninsula under its sphere and considered Melaka as a vassal state (Wake
1964). In fact, the Melakan king reported to China of Ayutthaya’s punitive raids
and harassment tactics to put his kingdom under the Ayutthaya realm (Wang 1964).
Java had been controlling trade in the Melaka Straits for centuries and did not wish
an upcoming polity to take over the trade monopoly. To prevent further hostilities
between the competing kingdoms, Melaka also recognised Ayutthaya and Java’s
sovereignty but did not place itself directly under their domain. When China dis-
continued the tribute missions in 1435, Melaka was by this time impregnable in its
position and did not need China’s diplomatic support (Wang 1964; Andaya and
Andaya 2001).
The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya stated that Prince Uthong from northern
Thailand founded Ayutthaya in 1351 (Kasetsiri 1976; Taylor 1992; Dumarçay and
Smithies 1995; Chirapravati 2005). The kingdom is located in the central Menam
Basin and lies at the convergence of three rivers, the Chao Phraya from the south,
Pasak from the east and Lopburi from the north, making it an island-like kingdom
(Beek and Tettoni 1991). A succession of Ayutthaya kings created and improved
canals and drainage systems partly for defensive purposes and for ease of transport
for watercraft vessels to and from the capital. The Chao Phraya River served as the
main waterway as it can accommodate large boats and even small ocean-going
ships.
Foreign trade transformed Ayutthaya into a cosmopolitan commercial centre and
its success as a trade entrepôt can be primarily attributed to two factors: the pro-
duction of surplus rice and other crops that have been exported to neighbouring
states Melaka and Patani in the Malay Peninsula and the successful management of
trade activities (Kasetsiri 1991; Pombejra 2005). Ayutthaya was also a major source
of marine products as well as terrestrial flora and fauna.6 The kingdom’s most
important export during the fifteenth century from an archaeological perspective

6
Diplomatic documents, merchant lists and travellers accounts provides an idea of the various
items exchanged: animal skins (cow and buffalo hides and deerskins), stingray skins, dried fish,
wood (sapanwood, eagle wood, ironwood and teak timbers) ivory, horn, wax, benzoin (gum
benjamin), gumlac, namrack, metals (lead and tin) (Pombejra 2005). The Pires accounts also listed
the following Siam-Melaka exchanged merchandise: rice, dried salted fish, arak, vegetables, lac,
benzoin, brazil, lead, tin, silver, gold ivory, cassia fistula, copper and gold vessels, ruby, diamond
ring and cloth (Baker 2003). In addition, Ayutthaya sent tribute items to China that included
elephants, turtles, aromatics and exotics, textiles and slaves in exchange for Chinese luxury fabrics,
porcelain, medicine and currency.
34 B.C. Orillaneda

was the high-fired, glazed ceramic stonewares primarily produced in the kilns of
Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai, which were also powerful kingdoms. These Thai
ceramics were especially useful in determining Thailand’s participation in fifteenth
century maritime trade as they appear in most Southeast Asian archaeological
contexts during this period (Brown 1979).
When China’s new Ming Dynasty sent envoys to proclaim the ascension of the
Ming dynasty’s first emperor Hong-wu and to solicit tribute missions, Ayutthaya
was one of the most enthusiastic respondents (Grimm 1961; Wade 2000). Between
the years 1369 and 1439, Ayutthaya sent the most number of tribute missions with
68 (Reid 1995). Kasetsiri (1991) noted that the peak of these tribute missions
occurred during the early part of the fifteenth century coinciding with the founding
of Melaka and also with the Zheng He naval voyages (c. 1405–1433). Siamese
envoys to China from 1381–1438 also included a number of Chinese delegates as
translators (Reid 1995). Baker (2003: 53) summarised Ayutthaya’s role in the
Chinese trade: “First it was a supplier of the exotic goods (aromatics, animals,
ornaments) demanded in the Chinese luxury market. Second, it acted as an entrepôt
or distribution centre for China’s exports of silk, ceramics and other manufactures.”

2.2.2 The Fall of Angkor, Majapahit and Champa

2.2.2.1 Angkor

Angkor, an empire that developed in the lower Mekong River starting in the ninth
century, reached its peak in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries CE. At its height,
the Khmer empire encompassed a sphere of influence considerably larger than
present-day Cambodia, including parts of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand (Stark
2004). Grand and massive temples and other monuments were erected in the lands
between Tonle Sap River and Kulen Plateau that displayed the grandeur and
complexity of Cambodian culture. A key feature in the design of the Angkorian
complex was the establishment of a water management system (Fletcher et al. 2008;
Day et al. 2012). This system consisted of canals, dikes, moats, embankments,
reservoirs, and modified rivers intended to manipulate and control the flow and use
of water for various agricultural, economic and religious activities. The river
combined with an already extensive road network also had enabled Angkor to
access natural resources and developed an effective communication system from the
centre to the peripheral communities (Hendrickson 2011).
When the Mongols were defeated and China ushered in the new Ming Dynasty,
Angkor sent tribute missions to recognise emperor Hongwu’s ascension to the
throne and also conduct trade with Chinese merchants. Reid (1995) listed thirteen
tribute missions in the years 1369–1399, four missions in 1400–1409 and lastly,
three final missions in the period 1410–1419. Internal turmoil and territorial warfare
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 35

with the Siamese must have caused a significant disruption for the Cambodians to
terminate the China-Angkor link.
The disintegration of the Angkorian civilisation that began after the reign of
Jayavarman VII (r. 1181–1218) until its final collapse in 1431 had been attributed to
a number of reasons: warfare, ecology, religion, and economy (Higham 1989, 2004;
Stark 2004). What is clear however was that the disappearance of the Angkorian
phase in Cambodia’s history occurred during the middle part of the fifteenth cen-
tury. It is widely believed that the Angkor royalty relocated to an area near the
confluence of the Bassac River and the Tonle Sap near the present-day Phnom Penh
to have more direct access to maritime trade. However, no tangible evidence at the
new capital of fifteenth century sites that could illuminate the new state’s role and
extent in maritime trade participation.

2.2.2.2 Champa

Artefacts, historical texts and epigraphic inscriptions provided evidence for the
existence of Champa; a group of coastal polities that occupied what is now
present-day Central Vietnam (Southworth 2004; Hall 2011). Champa’s geograph-
ical proximity to China, the world’s greatest centre of trade during this period,
ensured that most tribute and commercial shipping passed by Champa’s coasts
(Hall 2011). A number of ports including Hoi An in the north, Vijaya’s Sri Banoi in
the centre and NhaTrang in the south developed during different periods as
important ports of call for inbound and outbound merchants serving the Srivijaya–Melaka
Straits to China route. For China-bound traders, the ports served as a final stop for shelter
and provisions before crossing the Gulf of Tonkin towards south China. For out-
bound traders from China, the ports served as the first leg of a long, return journey.
In both cases, significant exchange of economic products must have occurred
between foreign traders and local merchants.
The socio-political and economic growth of the Cham kingdom gradually
diminished owing to a multitude of factors. Foremost were the political crises and
the long standing armed conflicts within the allied principalities and beyond its
borders. Champa also defended its territorial lands against immediate neighbours
Vietnam and Cambodia as well as China and even Java. It was, however, the Viets,
Champa’s long-standing rivals, who ultimately pushed Champa to collapse. At the
turn of the fifteenth century, the Vietnamese army captured the Cham principality of
Amaravati and continued its relentless southward advance that was halted only
when Chinese forces invaded and occupied northern Vietnam from 1406–1424.
After Vietnam regained its independence, it again set its sights in Champa.
Hostilities resumed in 1445 that finally culminated in the capture of Vijaya, the
Cham capital, in 1471. It was recorded that Viet king Le Thanh Tong ordered the
beheading of more than 40,000 people and deported more than 30,000 that included
36 B.C. Orillaneda

the king and royalty to the north (Coedès 1968). The destruction of the capital
signalled the decline of the Champa civilization as their territorial area gradually
diminished in size until it finally disappeared in 1832 (Guillon 2001).

2.2.2.3 Majapahit

The Majapahit Empire was both a land-based and maritime empire whose territory
stretched from Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Moluccas and southern Philippines. The
empire’s success lies in the state’s ability to effectively manage both an agrarian and
maritime economy through political and economic strategies that enabled the
simultaneous development of both sectors. Majapahit’s central realm was located in
the Brantas Valley, an area with fertile plains and plenty of rainfall, an essential
ingredient for rice cultivation. Java became the main importer of rice in insular and
mainland Southeast Asia during the fourteenth century. A hierarchical market
network was established to facilitate the link between inland and the coast. Roads
were built as an alternate to river systems to enable the transport of hinterland goods
towards the coast and also as an avenue for political processions (Reid 2009).
Copper coins called pasis were also increasingly used as the medium of exchange
for commercial transactions (Wicks 1992; Hall 2011). The ruling house also
acquired foreign luxury goods such as ceramics, metals and textiles for distribution
to local hinterland and coastal rulers for political and ceremonial purposes.
Despite the paucity of available written sources for fifteenth century Majapahit,
historians theorised that the empire’s demise commenced after King Rajasanagara
died in 1389 as rival rulers competed for leadership. Further, Majapahit went to war
with Srivijaya, its vassal state, when it sent a separate tribute mission to China in
1373 to congratulate the ascension of the new Ming emperor (Slametmuljana
1976). Although Majapahit won the battle, it further depleted Majapahit’s resour-
ces, increasing the dissatisfaction of other polity leaders in northern Java. This
strained relationship between the centre and the northern Java ports carried over to
the next century. When the monarchy showed signs of weakening, the leaders of
Javanese northern ports Demak, Tuban, and Gresik, who had became powerful and
influential, demanded autonomy and further damaged the already tenuous
relationship. In the end, the Majapahit centre separated from its coastal enclaves
while maintaining commercial relations, as coastal ports needed the hinterland
produce and inland centres wanted foreign goods. The monarchy’s shift in the
revenue generation from the maritime coast to the agrarian sector however did not
sit well with inland leaders, resulting in the shift of alliances that further destabilised
Majapahit’s power. In 1528, the Majapahit capital was again attacked and finally
captured by coastal forces led by Muslim leaders who established Mataram, an
Islamic sultanate (Hall 2011). The royal centre was relocated from eastern Java to
central Java, what is now Jogjakarta (Shaffer 1996).
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 37

2.3 The Shipwreck Evidence

The proliferation of port cities meant new shipping routes and shipping destinations
thus it is also logical to assume a sharp rise in the number of ships. Below are some
of the shipwrecks that were excavated in Southeast Asian waters dated to the
fifteenth century (Fig. 2.2).

2.3.1 Rang Kwien (c. 1400–1430)

This shipwreck was found about 800 m from the Rang Kwien islet, approximately
five nautical miles southwest of Bangsare District, Chonburi Province, Thailand at a
depth of 21 m below sea surface level (Intakosi 1983). Rang Kwien is also known
as the Chinese Coin Wreck as it contained substantial amounts of Chinese coins
(Prishanchit 1996). The site was archaeologically excavated by the Thailand Fine
Arts Department during the years 1978–1981 (Fig. 2.3). In 2003, the Southeast
Asian of Education Organization Project in Archaeology and Fine Arts
(SEAMEO-SPAFA) sponsored another excavation that served as a training venue
for Southeast Asian maritime archaeologists under the supervision of the Thai

Fig. 2.2 Distribution of shipwrecks excavated in Southeast Asia dated to 15th century
38 B.C. Orillaneda

Fig. 2.3 The underwater survey of wooden remain of Rang Kwien shipwreck (Photo courtesy of
Sira Ploymukda, Thai Underwater Archaeology Division)

Underwater Archaeology Division (UAD) (Ploymukda 2013). Another excavation

was undertaken by the UAD in 2012 (Ploymukda 2013).
The wreck’s wooden remains included the keel (20 meters long), hull planks,
frames and a decorated stern castle (Prishanchit 1996; Ploymukda 2013). The vessel
was estimated to be 25 m long and was constructed using the even-edged-joined
technique and used roundhead wooden pegs to fasten planks to ribs (Ploymukda
2013). No bulkheads were observed and a waterway was cut into the keel (Green
and Harper 1987).
The large amounts of Chinese coins (200 kg were accessioned during the 1977–
81) were generally in good condition and dated from the Tang Dynasty (618–907
CE), Five Dynasties (907–960 CE), Sung Dynasty (960–1279 CE), and the
Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1403 CE) (Fig. 2.4). In addition, the
wreck contained elephant tusks and ceramics from China, Thailand and Vietnam
(Green and Harper 1987; Brown 2009). The Chinese ceramics comprised celadon
dishes, small bowls and jarlets dated to the Chinese Yuan Dynasty period (1271–
1368 CE) (Ploymukda 2013). The ceramics from Thailand included celadon dishes,
large and small stoneware jars, and bottles from the kilns of Sisatchanalai,
Maenam Noi and Suphanburi as well as earthenware pots, lids and kendi from still
unidentified kilns in Thailand. The Vietnamese ceramics were composed of blue
and white and celadon saucers, bowls, and boxes. Non-ceramic items included a
metal pot, a bronze gong, copper and lead ingots, and a pair of gold bracelets
embedded with precious stones. Life on board artifacts whetstones, bronze har-
poons, forceps, foodstuffs (betel nuts, salted crabs, fish bones), a string tuner,
copper hammer, and Chinese mirrors with bronze handles (Ploymukda 2013).
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 39

Fig. 2.4 Chinese coins from Rang Kwien shipwreck

2.3.2 Nanyang Shipwreck (c. 1425–1450)

The Nanyang was discovered in 1995 about 10 nautical miles from Pulau
Pemanggil at a depth of 54 m below sea surface level (Brown and Sjostrand 2002;
Sjostrand et.al 2006). Representative samples of glazed ceramics totaling 420
pieces were recovered during the initial investigations but an archaeological
excavation was not carried out. The ship was estimated to be 18 meters long and
five meters wide and built using the South China Sea shipbuilding tradition.
Wooden dowels were used to join the hull planks indicating a Southeast Asian
shipbuilding technique while transverse bulkheads, a Chinese shipbuilding tech-
nique, were used to compartmentalize the lower hulls and separate the cargo.
Approximately 10,000 ceramic pieces were found in the cargo holds (Sjostrand
et.al. 2006). A substantial number of the ceramics were speculated to be the earliest
examples of celadon plates, jars, small bowls and earthenware produced by the
Sisatchanalai kiln sites of Thailand (Figs. 2.5 and 2.6). This is evidenced by the
presence of spur marks in the central medallion of the dish caused by the feet of the
disc-shaped spacers used to stack the plates for firing, an early type of production
method thought to have been abandoned before the production of celadons (Brown
and Sjostrand 2002). In addition, there were large storage jars from the Suphanburi
kilns as well as large and small jars from the Maenam Noi kilns of Thailand.
Brown-glazed jars of different sizes complete the ceramic inventory.
40 B.C. Orillaneda

Fig. 2.5 Si Satchanalai kiln

bowl from the Nanyang
shipwreck (Photo courtesy of
Sten Sjostrand)

Fig. 2.6 Si Satchanalai plate

from the Nanyang shipwreck
(Photo courtesy of
Sten Sjostrand)

2.3.3 Ko Khram (c. 1450–1487)

Also known as the Sattahip site, this wreck was discovered in the Ko Khram
Channel that faces Sattahip Bay, Chonburi Province, Thailand at a depth of
38–43 m below sea surface level (Green and Harper 1987; Prishanchit 1996).
Systematic underwater archaeological surveys and excavations between 1975 and
1979 were carried out by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand in cooperation with
the Royal Thai Navy and assisted by underwater archaeologists from Denmark. The
site was investigated again in 1986 by the Thai underwater team and archaeologists
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 41

from Australia (Green and Harper 1987). In 1993, the site was again visited to
monitor its condition and assess the underwater environment surrounding the
shipwreck.
Structural remains included wood planks from the hull that contained thirteen
bulkheads and ribs. Prishanchit (1996: 279) remarked: “the vessel was built using an
even-edge-joined building technique with a double-planked hull. Wood pegs and
bolts were used to hold the planks together. The cargo walls were fastened to the
wooden floor planks with iron nails and split bamboo flooring lined the wooden
floor. Presumably, the Sattahip vessel is a flat junk and has no keel.” This ship also
belongs to the South China Sea shipbuilding tradition. Radiocarbon analysis yielded
two conflicting dates: 1520 ± 140 and 1680 ± 270 (Green and Harper 1987: 3).
Approximately 5000 ceramic pieces were recovered of which Thai ceramics
from Sukhothai and Sawankhalok kilns account for almost two-thirds. These
included celadon bottles, plates, bowls and jarlets from the Si Satchanalai kilns and
under painted fish-plates and bowls from the Sukhothai kilns among others
(Figs. 2.7 and 2.8). A smaller number of Vietnamese wares including a blue and
white jarlet and a saucer green-glazed bowl with an unglazed ring in the inside
center was identified by Roxanna Brown in 1975 as probable Cham (Green and
Harper 1987). Earthenware pots, lids and kendi were also present. The only
non-ceramic items were pieces of ivory (Prishanchit 1996).

2.3.4 Pandanan Wreck (c. 1450–1487)

This shipwreck was accidentally discovered below a pearl farm at a depth of 40 m

near Pandanan Island, southern Palawan (Dizon 1998, 1996; Diem 1996, 1997,
1999, 2001). Initial investigations were undertaken in 1993 followed by

Fig. 2.7 Si Satchanalai kiln

dish from the Ko Khram
shipwreck
42 B.C. Orillaneda

Fig. 2.8 Sukhothai kiln dish

from the Ko Khram
shipwreck

archaeological excavations between February and May in 1995. The entire

archaeological project was realized through a joint effort between the National
Museum of the Philippines and the Ecofarm Systems, Incorporated (Fig. 2.9).
More than 4700 archaeological materials were recovered from the Pandanan
shipwreck. Majority of the cargo were ceramics from Vietnam, Thailand and China
(Fig. 2.10). Vietnamese export wares in the form of bowls, plates, dishes, cups,
saucers and jars comprised more than 70 % of the ceramic inventory. Most of these
were manufactured in the Binh Dinh region, central Vietnam while a lesser number

Fig. 2.9 Pandanan Wreck

excavated underwater (Photo
courtesy of Gilbert Fournier)
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 43

Fig. 2.10 Ceramics collected from the Pandanan shipwreck (Photo courtesy of Gilbert Fournier)

were produced in southern Vietnam (Diem 2001, 1999, 1997, 1996). Majority of
the blue and white porcelain pieces were identified by Filipino ceramic scholar Rita
Tan as belonging to the Early Ming, specifically to the so-called Interregnum Period
(1436–64) (Tan 1998/99: 73). The Thai wares were from the Si Satchanalai and
Sukhothai kilns. Other archaeological materials included glass beads, earthenware
pots and stove, metal artifacts such as bronze gongs, iron cauldrons and small
cannons, and sharpening or grinding stones.
On the basis of a Chinese copper coin dated to the Yong-Le period (1403–24)
and the analysed ceramic wares, the Pandanan can be firmly dated to the fifteenth
century. The ship construction type of the Pandanan wreck suggests it is a Southeast
Asian trading ship (Probably Indo-Chinese) approximately 25–30 m long and about
six to eight meters wide.

2.3.5 Royal Nanhai (c. 1450–1487)

Discovered in 1995, the Royal Nanhai lies 40 nautical miles off eastern Malaysia at
a depth of 46 m (Brown and Sjostrand 2002; Sjostrand et.al 2006). The ship,
measuring 28 m long and 8 m wide, was built in the South China Sea shipbuilding
tradition as evidenced by the presence of transverse bulkheads and the use of
wooden dowels to edge-join the planks. The vessel was named after the Nanhai
Ocean, the old name of the South China Sea. High-quality, glazed Sisatchanalai
celadon in the form of bottles, dishes and jars comprised the bulk of approximately
44 B.C. Orillaneda

Fig. 2.11 Celadon bottle

from the Nanhai shipwreck
(Photo courtesy of
Sten Sjostrand)

21,000 ceramics, along with lesser quantities of brown-glazed Chinese bowls,

jarlets and black-glazed storage jars from the Maenam Noi kilns of central Thailand
(Brown and Sjostrand 2002, Sjostrand et.al. 2006). Some large storage jars con-
tained fish bones of the mackerel variety that may have been traded or consumed by
the crew and passengers (Fig. 2.11).
A hidden compartment in a section near the keel below the main cargo contained
Chinese blue and white porcelain bowls, a green-glazed Chinese bowl, two
Vietnamese blue and white covered boxes, as well as a red and black lacquer box,
an ivory sword handle and a bronze seal with an elephant seal (Fig. 2.12). The five
Chinese blue and white bowls were conclusively dated to the reigns of Chinese
emperors Jingtai and Tiensun of the Interregnum period (1450–1464 CE) and may
have been intended as a gift to foster alliance for political and economic reasons
(Brown and Sjostrand 2002; Sjostrand et al. 2006).

2.3.6 Lena Shoal Wreck (c. 1488–1505)

This wreck was discovered by a group of fishermen from Marinduque Island,

southern Luzon, Philippines during the course of spear fishing (Conese 1997: 1).
Located on the northwestern side of Busuanga Island, northern Palawan, the wreck
along with its cultural deposits lies 48 m below sea surface level. Using the local
hookah system, the fishermen looted the site, retrieving porcelain blue and white
wares and stoneware jars and sold to antique dealers in Manila. After preventing
further looting activities and reconnaissance dives at the site, archaeological
excavation activities commenced with the National Museum as the lead proponent
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 45

Fig. 2.12 Nanhai royal seal

(Photo courtesy of
Sten Sjostrand)

in collaboration with the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology (IEASM)

(Goddio 2002: 13).
The site yielded 6958 archaeological specimens including a significant portion
of ceramic cargo dated to the Chinese Hongzhi Dynasty period (1488–1505 CE).
Blue and white porcelain, celadon and stoneware jars of different shapes and styles
comprise the export trade ceramics. Also recovered were earthenware, bracelets,
bronze gongs, elephant tusks, lead and iron ingots among others (Goddio 2002: 18).
The hull, measuring 18.3 m long and five (5) meters wide, was remarkably intact
due to the accumulation of iron ingots and the sand overburden that protected the
wood from further deterioration (Goddio 2002: 22). Examination of the ship
building technology revealed the Lena Shoal wreck to be a trading vessel that was
constructed using the edge-pegged plank measuring approximately 24 m long with
a 100-ton tonnage.

2.3.7 Santa Cruz Shipwreck (1488–1505)

A fisherman accidentally discovered the Santa Cruz shipwreck approximately 10

nautical miles from the Santa Cruz municipality in northern Zambales, northwest
Luzon in the Philippines (Orillaneda 2008). The site was actively looted before the
National Museum of the Philippines in collaboration with the Far Eastern
Foundation for Nautical Archaeology (FEFNA) carried out archaeological inves-
tigations from July to September 2001.
46 B.C. Orillaneda

Fig. 2.13 Preserved hull and cargo underwater of Santa Cruz shipwreck (Photo courtesy of
Christoph Gerick, copyright Franck Goddio/HILTI foundation)

The vessel itself was found to be in a remarkable state of preservation. The

structure and the cargo were largely in place (Figs. 2.13 and 2.14). Based on the
80 % preserved hull, the shipwreck is approximately 25 m long and six meters
wide with 16 transverse bulkheads on its cargo hold containing various ceramics
and iron cauldrons still in its original packing position (Orillaneda 2008). Based on

Fig. 2.14 Santa Cruz shipwreck remains (Photo courtesy of Christoph Gerick, copyright Franck
Goddio/HILTI foundation)
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 47

the noted features, the Santa Cruz was identified to belong to the South China Sea
Shipbuilding Tradition.
The site yielded close to 15,000 ceramics of which more than 8000 pieces are
intact (Orillaneda 2008). Stylistic and morphologic analysis of the predominantly
Chinese ceramics revealed that the wares were produced at the kilns of Jingdezhen,
Guangdong and Longquan during the Hongzhi period (1488–1505). The Thai
wares were made in the Si Satchanalai and Maenam Noi kilns, the Vietnamese
wares in the Chu Dau kilns and the Burmese wares in the Twante kilns (Orillaneda
2008).Other cargo items included metal wares made of iron (cauldrons and ingots)
and bronze such as armament (small cannons, guns) gongs, bracelets, handles, oil
lamps and coins as well as tin ingots. Glassware (beads, bracelets), wood and stone
implements (carnelian beads, sharpener, and grinding roller) also appeared in lesser
numbers alongside other unidentified organic and inorganic remains.

2.4 Summary

The Southeast Asian maritime world during the fifteenth century was a region in
flux due to diverging political and economic trajectories mainly dictated by the
development of international maritime trade. On the one hand, powerful empires
Angkor, Majapahit as well as the port polities of Champa ceased to be important
states. On the other hand, Melaka and Ayutthaya became dominant trading centres
that controlled the flow of international seaborne trade in the region.
The regional maritime trade network in fifteenth century Southeast Asia
appeared to be confined intra-regionally as new trade patterns emerged during the
fourteenth to early sixteenth century. Hall (2004, 2011) noted that maritime trade
during this period is segmented and that merchants from the Indian Ocean7 did not
make the direct, long-distance voyage to China anymore. The Indian Ocean

7
The Southeast Asia–Indian Ocean maritime trading network is also a significant subject. Melaka,
as the foremost trading centre of the period, housed a substantial population of people with
different ethnicities. Among these are the chatis, a group of merchants from the Indian Ocean
states according to Ma Huan’s description (Mills 1970). These merchants represent the vibrant
maritime trade relationship between the Bay of Bengal and the Melaka straits in the fifteenth
century. Besides Melaka, Wade (2010) notes that the chatis resides and operates also in port cities
such as Pegu, Ava, Tenasserim, Bantam and the Moluccas. Some of the traders even occupy
important political positions such as the case of Tamil merchant TunMutahir who became
Bendahara with the title Bendahara Seri Maharaja (Wade 2010). In the realm of maritime econ-
omy, their participation is mostly confined to trading activities with major Southeast Asian port
cities as a collection and transit point for trade goods to be transported back to the Indian Ocean
sphere. There are however, a number of publications that emphasize the significant role and
influence of the Indian Ocean traders in matters of politics, religion, economy and culture but are
currently outside of the purview of this chapter.
48 B.C. Orillaneda

merchants deemed it uneconomical, time-consuming and riskier, and instead

stopped at the ports of Melaka, Ayutthaya or northern Java to unload their goods
(Lieberman 2009). One possible reason was the closure of China to private com-
mercial trade as the Ming emperors focused on the diplomatic tribute missions. This
meant that only a trickle of Chinese goods was available and non-Southeast Asians
had no choice but to acquire in-demand merchandise in Southeast Asian ports.
Another possible reason was that Southeast Asian markets were already well
organised, efficient and had all the merchandise needed by Indian Ocean traders,
thereby negating the requirement for the extra voyage to China. Reid (1996: 34)
noted that “It appears that the majority of the shipping between the Malay world
and China around 1500 was not China-based but in Southeast Asian junks, owned
by Melaka merchants.”
The Southeast Asian region not only exports commodities, the region itself is
also a huge market. The vibrant intra-regional economy gave rise to multiple port
cities and market places that served as centres of trade and exchange. Hall (2004:
237) cited an example: “The Southeast Asian marketplace was important enough
that Indian textiles were manufactured to Southeast Asian specifications, as for
example the long pieces of ritual cloth that Gujarat weavers produced to the
specifications (size and design) of the Toraja society of the eastern Indonesian
archipelago.” Specific types of ceramic assemblages found in Southeast Asian
shipwrecks are suggested to be for Southeast Asian markets (Brown 2009).
Southeast Asia’s political and economic relationship with China through tribute
missions generated considerable profit for its rulers and merchants as evidenced by
the torrent of diplomatic visits early in the fifteenth century until the imperial
government regulated it to every three years during the mid-fifteenth century (Reid
2009). T’ien (1981) noted that the deluge of Southeast Asian products, especially
pepper and sappanwood, filled Chinese warehouses and became items of mass
consumption for the first time. Surplus items were even used as part payment for
government officials and soldiers. Reid (1993, 1996) stated that the Zheng He
voyages also stimulated the large-scale production of pepper, clove, nutmeg, and
sappanwood in agricultural areas in Sumatra, Java and the Moluccas. What is
equally important, and perhaps more substantial, is the intra-regional commercial
activities between inland production and local market networks as well as
ports-of-trade and other coastal trading centres within the region (Hall 2011).

2.4.1 The Shipwreck Evidence

The current shipwreck evidence, albeit incomplete, revealed various types of ves-
sels involved in long distance trade as well as the range, diversity and amounts of
trade cargo that were distributed throughout the region.
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 49

2.4.2 The Emergence of a New Type of Trade Vessel

Prior to the fifteenth century, two types of trade ships dominate the Southeast Asian
seascape: the ‘Chinese’ and ‘Southeast Asian’ ships.
Manguin (1998, 1984) characterized the Chinese ships as having flat or round
bottom hulls with no keels and transom stern for vessels north of Fujian while three
additional characteristics were shared with southern vessels in Guangdong, Hainan
or northern Vietnam such as the fastening of strakes and frames with iron nails
and/or clamps, structurally essential bulkheads dividing the hold into watertight
compartments and single, axial rudders. The coastal and riverine environment of
north China has been influential in the flat or rounded hull of the vessels.
The Southeast Asian ships on the other hand are large, stitched-planked vessels
with “(1) V-shaped hulls with a keel; (2) pointed, more or less symmetrical stems
and sterns; (3) strakes and frames joined exclusively by wooden dowels (actually
not a single piece of metal is said to have been used on the whole vessel); (4) no
bulkheads with waterways (limber holes); and (5) double, quarter rudders.”
(Manguin 1984: 198).
The most distinguishing feature of this tradition is the use of “lashed-lug and
stitched plank method.” Manguin (1998: 4) added:
Their hulls were built by raising planks on each side of a keel-piece that shows clear signs
of having evolved from a dugout base (thus pointing to a development from an earlier
simple dug-out canoe). Moreover, all or part of their components were held together by
vegetal stiches or lashings (the fibre of the sugar palm Arengapinnata)…Vessels assembled
in such a way are conventionally described as belonging to the stitched-plank type when the
planks with which their hulls are built up are held together by way of stitches of vegetal
fibre passed through holes frilled near the edges…The lashed-lug technique that is also
associated with most of these vessels has protruding cleats or lugs carved out on the inner
side of the planks, with holes hollowed out in them, so as to be able to lash them, and the
planks they are part of, to sets of more or less flexible ribs and/or transverse thwarts.

However, as the quantity of excavated shipwrecks grew, naval architecture

specialists (Green and Harper 1987; Manguin 2003; Flecker 2005) observed a new
shipbuilding tradition that incorporated the Chinese and Southeast Asian ship-
building tradition. Manguin (1984) proposed the term ‘South China Sea Tradition’
for these hybrid ships that possess both the Chinese and the Southeast Asian
shipbuilding techniques. He observed:
Their planks are always fastened by iron nails to the frames and are commonly dowelled
together by wooden pegs; some have a single, axial rudder while others have quarter
rudders; their holds are separated by bulkheads, but these are not structurally essential and
kept water tight as in the Chinese tradition (all have waterways with limber [small drain
holes hollowed out of bulkheads); all their hulls are V-shaped and have a keel that plays as
essential structure role, a striking difference from the traditional flat-bottomed, keelless
(Northern) Chinese build (Manguin 2003:39).

Flecker (2005) remarked that this type of ships may have originated in Thailand
as export of Thai ceramics flourished with the decline of Chinese ceramic export
from the 14th to 16th centuries C.E. They are usually made of teak, a type of
50 B.C. Orillaneda

hardwood that is resistant to teredo worm or shipworm attack, accounting for the
preserved shipwreck hulls for most South China Sea Tradition ships. The Bukit
Jakas (c. 1450–1487 C.E.) in Indonesia (Manguin 1984); Longquan (c.1424–1440
C.E.), Nanyang (c. 1425–1450 C.E.) and Royal Nanhai (1450–1487 C.E.) in
Malaysia (Brown 2002, 2004); the KoKhram (c. 1450–1487 C.E), Ko Si Chang III
(c. 1450–1487 C.E.) and Pattaya (c. 1488–1505 C.E.) in the Gulf of Thailand
(Green 1987); the Hoi An (c. 1488–1505 C.E.) in Vietnam and the Lena Shoal and
the Santa Cruz shipwrecks (c. 1488–1505 C.E.) in the Philippines (Goddio 2002)
are all examples of the South China Sea Tradition of shipbuilding.

2.4.3 The Cargo

2.4.3.1 Ceramics

Brown’s (2004, 2009) thesis on the ‘Ming Gap and Shipwreck Ceramics in
Southeast Asia’ examined quantitatively the Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese
ceramics that were found in 20 shipwrecks dated to the late fourteenth and the
fifteenth century and proposed a chronology of the various Thai trade wares based
on the shipwreck ceramic evidence. This research came about due to the obser-
vation of terrestrial archaeologists on the dearth of early Ming ceramics in various
archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. This prompted the term “Ming gap”8 to
explain this phenomenon (Brown 1998). Her studies showed that during the late
fourteenth to the early fifteenth centuries, Chinese ceramics account for about 40 %
when mixed with Southeast Asian wares as shown by the Turiang, Maranei and
Rang Kwien shipwrecks. Middle 15th century shipwrecks like Nanyang,
Belanakan, Ko Khram and Ko Si Chang III reveal that Chinese ceramic wares
plunged to less than five percent (5 %) for the period between c. 1424 and 1487
C.E. (Brown 2004, 2009).
The appearance of Thai and Vietnamese ceramics as export trade items provided
by the Rang Kwien and the Song Doc wrecks (c. 1380–1400 C.E.) seemed to
coincide with the decline of the quantity of Chinese ceramics (Brown 2004, 2009).
This is contrary to pre-Ming Dynasty shipwrecks such as the thirteenth century Java
Sea and the Breaker Reef shipwrecks that contained homogenously Chinese
high-fired ceramic wares (Dupoizat 2001; Flecker 2003). This continued downfall
of Chinese wares vis-à-vis the Thai and Vietnamese wares beginning in the middle
fifteenth century possibly due to Ming restrictions prompted scholars to raise the
possibility of the Southeast Asian wares replacing Chinese wares in the Southeast
Asian market. It seemed that Thai and Vietnamese wares and Burmese wares

8
Ming Gap is used by archaeologists and ceramic specialists to explain the general absence of
Chinese blue and white porcelain in the region and also the coincidental rise of exported ceramic
wares from other ceramic-producing Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and
Burma (present day Myanmar).
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 51

increased their production and export to compensate for the decline of Chinese
ceramic exports especially during the late fourteenth century towards the middle
15th century when the trade prohibition was strictly enforced.
Conversely, the reappearance of Chinese ceramic wares on board the Santa Cruz
and Lena Shoal and Brunei shipwrecks dated to the reign of emperor Hongzhi
(1488–1505 C.E.) provide tangible evidence of China’s resumption of maritime
trade. It also coincided with the decline of Southeast Asian wares. There are at least
two plausible reasons to explain this event: First, private or illicit trading. There
have been a number of historical records detailing the proliferation of illegal trading
(e.g. Tan 2001; Lam 2002). Its emergence has been attributed to the collapse of the
tributary missions from various Southeast Asian trade polities (e.g. Brunei, Sulu,
Magindanao, Malacca,Ayutthaya) to China in the mid-fifteenth century coupled
with the Chinese coastal merchants’ disobedience of the anti-mercantilism actions
of the Ming emperors (Guy 1986, Lam 2002). This very profitable trade was even
participated in by corrupt government officials, eunuchs, tribute mission people and
pirates (Tan 2001). Ts’ao (1962 as cited by Junker 2001) reported that illegal trade
so flourished that its scale even surpassed the free trade practices during the Sung
Dynasty period, and noted that this type of trade was the primary means of trade
with the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia. The repeated issuance of
imperial decrees over the duration of the Ming ban period highlights the uncon-
trolled illegal activities and the government’s inability to stop this very lucrative
trade especially during the late fifteenth century (Tan 2001). Second, there is a
reference in the Chinese chronicles (Ming shilu or the Veritable Records of the
Ming) for January 1521 regarding the investigation of a maritime official who had
been allowing foreign ships to trade in China despite the trade ban (Wade 1994).

2.4.3.2 Other Cargo

Non-ceramic items found in the above-mentioned shipwrecks included a wide

assortment of raw and manufactured metals, glass and stone objects that were either
used for trade or utility.
The Rang Kwien carried an exceptional amount of Chinese coins in its holds.
The early excavation activities recovered more than 200 kg and additional coins
were collected on the succeeding excavations. The earliest coins dated back to the
fourth century CE but the majority belong to the Hongwu reign (1368–1398 CE) of
the Ming Dynasty. The Pandanan shipwreck revealed a Chinese coin dated to the
Yongle reign and was instrumental in ascribing a relative date for the ship. The
Lena Shoal and the Santa Cruz yielded a few Chinese coins; three Lena Shoal coins
were identified as being made during the Hongwu reign while the Santa Cruz coins
were too corroded for definite identification. Southeast Asian polities have been
known to use money in its different forms including coinage since the third century
BC (Wicks 1992).
52 B.C. Orillaneda

Bronze gongs were found in the Pandanan, Lena Shoal and Santa Cruz ship-
wrecks in limited quantities except for the Santa Cruz (12) that rule them out from
being trade items and may have been used as musical instruments or signalling
devices. Weapons in the form of small cannons or lantakas were recovered in the
Pandanan, Lena Shoal, Santa Cruz shipwrecks as a form of protection. However,
typological and provenance studies of the gongs and lantakas have yet to be studied
in detail. A number of metal spiral bracelets (brass and copper) were found in the
Lena Shoal and Santa Cruz shipwrecks. These have been found in fifteenth
century-dated terrestrial contexts in the Philippines (e.g. Calatagan, Batangas in the
Philippines) as part of burial furniture and are suggested to reflect status of the
buried individual (Fox 1959; Barretto-Tesoro 2008).
The Pandanan, Lena Shoal and Santa Cruz shipwrecks contained iron cooking
cauldrons or woks. In the case of the Santa Cruz, the cauldrons were still found in
their original position in the bulkheads. These are thought to have been produced in
China, probably loaded in one of the still undetermined maritime ports in the
Zhejiang province and may have been destined for Southeast Asian markets.
Copper ingots were recovered from the Rang Kwien while tin ingots in truncated
forms numbering more than a hundred were present in the Lena Shoal and Santa
Cruz shipwrecks. In addition, lead and iron ingots were present in the Santa Cruz
shipwreck. These metals are clearly intended for trade. Tins are important com-
ponents in the making of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin and may have been
sourced in the Malaya Peninsula or to eastern Sumatra (Goddio 2002).
Green-coloured glass bracelets were also found in the Lena Shoal and Santa
Cruz shipwrecks. Similar bracelets were found in a shipwreck in Brunei and
analysed as containing aluminium and sodium that is common with Asian glass.
The green colour is derived from the iron content of the glass (L’Hour 2001). The
fifteenth century burial sites at Calatagan, Batangas, used green-coloured glass
bracelets as status markers (Fox 1959, Barretto-Tesoro 2008). There have been a
wide variety of monochrome and polychrome glass and stone beads in most of the
shipwrecks. The beads are mostly round in shape with different colours (yellow,
red, black, dark blue, and brown). Provenance studies have yet to be carried out but
beads generally come from India, China, and parts of Southeast Asia at different
periods. The beads have been amply documented in terrestrial sites around
Southeast Asia and used for religious, social and economic purposes.
Different types and forms of earthenware were recovered in all of the shipwrecks
as part of crew and passenger use but do not reach proportions that would suggest
they are cargo items. To date, analysis into the earthenwares suggest that they are of
local origin, depending on the location of the ship. The stones recovered were
mostly grinding stones.
The Nanyang and Royal Nanhai shipwrecks were unfortunately investigated
mainly for their ceramic content thus no information on non-ceramic items can be
gleaned.
2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 53

2.5 Conclusion

This paper has laid out the historical narrative of fifteenth century Southeast Asia
with emphasis on major maritime ports and polities as background for the ship-
wreck analysis. Southeast Asian texts describe the intra-regional maritime trading
as a multi-layered and complex historical phenomenon that seems to be supported
by the shipwreck evidence.
Wooden remains of the investigated hulls show the appearance of a new type of
trading vessel, the South China Sea Shipbuilding Tradition that dominated the
Southeast Asian maritime routes during the fifteenth century. The hybrid charac-
teristics of the ship indicate the cross-influence of the Southeast Asian and Chinese
shipbuilders.
From the cargo perspective, the trade ware ceramics tells an interesting story of
the interplay between the Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics. It indicates that
during the early and middle fifteenth century, there was a marked decline of
Chinese trade wares that coincided with the rise of Southeast Asian ceramics.
However, the late fifteenth century shows the reappearance of the Chinese ceramics
in great numbers and the decline of Southeast Asian wares. Metals in the form of
ingots, woks, and possibly gongs were also trade items along with glass bracelets
and glass and stone beads. It is logical to assume that organic materials such as
spices, textiles among others constitute a substantial part of the trade cargo but these
do not survive the archaeological record.

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2 Of Ships and Shipping: The Maritime Archaeology … 57

Author Biography

Bobby C. Orillaneda Did

his MA in Archaeology at the
University of the Philippines.
He is currently a DPhil candi-
date at the Oxford Centre for
Maritime Archaeology (OCMA)
at the University of Oxford in the
United Kingdom. He is also
a Museum Researcher at the
Underwater Archaeology Section,
National Museum of the
Philippines. His research interests
include shipwreck archaeology,
maritime trade, Chinese and
Southeast Asian ceramics and the
protection and preservation of the
Underwater Cultural Heritage
(UCH).
Chapter 3
Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking
the Manila Galleon Trade in the Creation
of the World Economy

Russell K. Skowronek

We live in a global society connected by satellites, telephones and computers. In an

instant a retailer in Europe can contact a manufacturer in Asia with specifications
and the fabrication of the item will begin. Within weeks or months the completed
item will move overland by truck or train and then by sea to consumers across the
globe. Today’s hot new exotic trends are embraced by the world’s elites. In time
what was once rare will become common-place and will be supplanted by
knock-offs or facsimiles which will be accessible to all. In a world where Moore’s
Law has made rapid change the accepted norm for students of archaeology and
history are confronted with how these changes played out in the creation of the
modern world economy. We can begin to grasp the tangible aspects of this trans-
formation by using the lens formed by the maritime perspective to examine early
modern navigation from Asia to the Americas and Europe.
Forty years ago economic historian Immanuel Wallerstein (1974) observed that
in the not so distant past “the” world economy did not exist. Rather there were
several “world” economies operating regionally around the globe. Although some
would argue that one or another of these “world economies” should be privileged as
being the most significant (e.g., Frank 1995) that is a spurious argument when it is
recognized that with few exceptions most geographic areas interacted regionally
(Wolf 1982). We might argue that it was Columbus in the late fifteenth century who
first sought to connect Europe and Asia by taking a westerly route. The presence of
the New World delayed the first true east to west contact for nearly thirty years to
the arrival of Magellan in 1521. Then more than four decades would elapse until a
Spanish foothold in Asia was established first on Cebu in 1565 and then on Luzon
in Manila (1571) and Vigan (1573) in what would thenceforth be called the
Philippines. In the sixteenth century Asia would also witness the establishment of

R.K. Skowronek (&)

Anthropology and History, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley,
Rio Grande, USA
e-mail: russell.skowronek@utrgv.edu

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 59

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_3
60 R.K. Skowronek

Portuguese outposts in Malacca (1511) and Macao (1537) and Dutch (1599) ones in
what is now Indonesia. All arrived for commercial reasons into a region where,
since the middle of the fifteenth century following the Ming dynasty Zheng He
expeditions, there was a maritime power vacuum. European entrepreneurs could
either go to China or Chinese merchants could sail to the European outposts. China
was neither going to regulate nor protect such commercial activities but it would
benefit from them. This meant that European entrepreneurs faced a number of
problems such as pirates, European naval raiders, sometimes localized discontent,
and poor weather and navigational charts but, no major military threats. All of the
former exigencies were met with a minimal military and civil presence, the arming
of vessels, and improvements in nautical technology. It was the “Manila Galleon”
route which, with few exceptions, successfully met these challenges for two and a
half (1565–1815) centuries (Schurz 1939).

3.1 The Manila Galleon

The Chinese-Filipino connection began during the Song Dynasty (A.D. 950–1279)
and continued for half a millennium until the arrival of the Spanish. The archae-
ological record testifies to the volume of this trade, as massive quantities of
imported porcelains and other trade commodities have been recovered from both
burial and habitation contexts throughout the of the Far East (Cushner 1971: 128,
187; Lyon 1990: 13–14). These goods included: cloth and rope (hemp), cotton and
silk goods, precious jewels (pearls, diamonds, topazes, rubies, sapphires, jades), and
metals (copper, silver, and gold), spices (cloves, cinnamon, pepper) and medicinal
items (e.g., Aga-Oglu 1946, 1948; Junker 1990: 167). Under Spanish control, the
volume of silks and porcelains increased (Guerrero and Quirino 1977: 1009;
Legarda y Fernandez 1967: 3; Mudge 1986: 39; Tubangui et al. 1982: 51). The
ships that sailed from Manila to Acapulco carried cinnamon, pepper, camphor, and
other exotic items (carved ivory, dyewoods, sandalwood, hides, and coconut
products). These items originated in the Philippines, China, Japan, India, Ceylon
and, the Spice Islands, later known as the Dutch East Indies and today as Indonesia.
Tax and port records indicate that the majority of the goods borne on the galleon
originated in China and were carried to Manila on Chinese ships (Chaunu, 1960:
148–149). All told between 1 and 2 million pesos in goods annually moved
between the Philippines and Mexico (Cushner 1971: 134, 136). Archaeologists and
historians have studied the origin of these commodities and the containers in which
they were shipped (e.g., Grave et al. 2005) to understand how the world economy
was becoming interconnected. Others have considered how these exotica would
first transform American and European elites and eventually the world economy.
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila Galleon … 61

3.2 “Need” and “Desire”

In a commodity driven economy that which is “exotic” is valued is desired. At the

source where the commodity is ubiquitous value is low. Scarcity linked with desire
changes this. The more desire the more valued the commodity. Those who control
the flow of these commodities from their source where they are ubiquitous to where
their scarcity can be an attribute become fabulously wealthy if they can create
demand or “desire” for them (López 2007; Schurz 1939). Through time “desires”
maybe transformed into “needs.” “Need” is a slippery term and is very different
from “desire.” When the exotic items carried by the Manila Galleon are considered
in this manner we can see “desires” becoming “needs” with time. Thus, are
porcelains inherently “better” than lead- or salt-glazed ceramics? Do silk and cotton
cloths cover the body better than wool or linen? Are foods inherently more
palatable with exotic spices? The answer to all of this is, of course, no. As Braudel
(1973: 123) put it, “Man is a creature of desire and not of need.” Yet, in a world
market economy there will be conspicuous consumption of exotica to demonstrate
one’s position in society and sometimes to mark their ethnicity or identity as an
elite. For example, ex-patriots, living in the hinterlands of a colonial system do not
“go native,” rather they will transform their environment into a facsimile of their
homeland (Skowronek 2009).

3.3 Ubiquity

Over time what was once “exotic” may become ubiquitous. This may be a result of
over supply. Machuca (2012) details how Asian porcelains, textiles, and household
items transformed Colima in Mexico during the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies. By the eighteenth century Schurz (1939: 362) observed that in 1720 in
Mexico “…from the Indians of the towns…to the pampered creoles of the capital
[all] went dressed in the fabrics of the Far East, the cottons of Luzon or India, and
the silks of China. The Chinese goods form the ordinary dress of the natives of New
Spain.” In 1735 royal commissioners Jorge Juan y Santacilla and Antonio de Ulloa
visited South America and noted that Chinese porcelain was widely sold and
Chinese silks were seen in everything from the priests’ vestments to stockings and
shawls (Schurz 1939: 369–370).
In addition to cottons and silks, for nearly two centuries porcelains made up a
portion of the east-bound cargoes of the Manila Galleon. Porcelain has been
recovered from the San Felipe 1574), San Agustín (1595) and San Diego (1600)
Manila Galleon wrecks dating from the sixteenth century and also in wrecks dating
from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, lost in August of 1638 in the northern Marianas
62 R.K. Skowronek

Islands, was returning to Acapulco from the Philippines with a cargo of porcelains
and other exotica (Mathers et al. 1990; Rinaldi 1990). Another vessel by the same
name was heading to Seville from Vera Cruz when it was lost off of Hispaniola in
1641. It too carried porcelain (Marken 1994: 31, 32). In the eighteenth century the
1715 and 1733 fleets were sailing for Spain from Vera Cruz by way of Havana
when they sank along the Atlantic coast of Florida. Both fleets carried cargoes
which included porcelain and other ceramics made in New Spain (Logan 1977;
Marken 1994: 33–34, 37–38; Skowronek 1984, 1992). A few decades later neither
the convoy of 1750 nor El Nuevo Constante lost in 1768, both originating in Vera
Cruz carried any porcelain but they did carry ceramics made in Mexico (Lewis
2009: 9; Pearson and Hoffman 1995). Why did Asian-made porcelain cease to be
marketed, when Europeans did not possess the technology to make porcelain until
the nineteenth century Industrial Revolution? The answer lies in how entrepreneurs
answer the needs of the marketplace.

3.4 Market Preference and Status

Shangraw and von der Porten’s work on porcelains from Manila Galleon wrecks
demonstrates Braudel’s point regarding the creation of “desire” within the world
economy (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981, 1997; Von der Porten 2005, 2011,
2012a, b). The opening years of the Manila Galleon trade were a period of
experimentation. It was uncertain what would sell. Mexican representatives of the
Manila merchants reported the “desires” of their clients to the Philippines and this
was then communicated to the producers in China and elsewhere. He notes that the
San Felipe, lost in 1574 on the shore of Baja California, carried a “sampler” cargo
of varied vessel forms and designs. By the end of the same century the San Agustín
(1595) and San Diego (1600) had standardized porcelain cargos.
Archaeological investigations in the Americas provide insights into the position
of porcelain in the earliest years of Spain’s New World venture. For example
Tristan de Luna’s abortive 1559 colony on Pensacola Bay was destroyed before the
community could be established. The Emanuel Point ship, a vessel associated with
this settlement, was excavated in the 1990s by the State of Florida (Smith et al.
1995, 1999) and others. Not surprisingly given the early date of the site the
researchers recovered Old and New World ceramics but found not a single piece of
porcelain. Yet, when communities dating to the last third of the same century and
after the 1565 initiation of the Manila Galleon trade are studied on the island of
Hispaniola (Puerto Real) and La Florida (St. Augustine, Santa Elena) there is
evidence that porcelains were associated with the homes of elites (Deagan 1995;
Ewen 1990; South et al. 1988; Skowronek 1989) (Fig. 3.1).
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila Galleon … 63

Fig. 3.1 Porcelain from the

site of Santa Elena
(1566–1587) in La Florida

3.5 Imitation

Today a Rolex watch or a Louis Vuitton handbag may cost hundreds or thousands
of dollars from shops along Fifth Avenue in New York City. A few blocks away in
Times Square you can own a “Rolex” or a “Vuitton” knock-off for just a few
dollars. They are clearly not the same but they “look” similar and function
(hopefully) in the intended manner. They therefore merge the “need” for a watch or
a bag with the “desire” to own a commodity which is out of economic reach for
most people. The fabrication and sale of these copies provide jobs and sometimes
will turn the exotic into the cheap and tawdry. Porcelain is one commodity through
which this phenomenon may be traced.
Those who have studied the ceramics of fifteenth and sixteenth century Spain
have noted their forms as largely medieval and lacking in decoration (Deagan 1987;
Deagan and Cruxent 2004; South et al. 1988). (Fig. 3.2) When tin lead-glazed
64 R.K. Skowronek

Fig. 3.2 Columbia Plain

mayólica cup or taza or
escudilla from Santa Elena

tablewares were decorated they derived their designs from Islam (Fig. 3.3). An
exception to this generalization was found in the ceramic workshops of Italy.
Archaeologists who have viewed Montelupo Polychrome and Blue-on-white or
Ligurian Blue on Blue sherds will recall finely made ceramics with intricate dec-
orations (Fig. 3.4). The inspiration for these vessels seems to have been derived
from those imported from Asia by Italian merchants.
In some of the earliest work on the significance of ceramics, Fairbanks (1972)
noted that Spanish-made or Spanish Empire-produced ceramic table, utilitarian and
storage wares served as markers of ethnicity and social status in Spanish New
World culture. Porcelains and other Asian-made ceramics were, because they
arrived from the Spanish Philippines, Spanish Empire-produced. The hypothesis
was tested by Deagan (1983: 237–244; 1985: 23–28) and others (e.g., Skowronek
1984) with collections from eighteenth century St. Augustine and materials from
the 1733 convoy. This research suggested that, in the Spanish Empire, imported
tablewares and all forms of tin-glazed earthenwares (known as mayólica) correlated
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila Galleon … 65

Fig. 3.3 Isabela Polychrome

mayólica cup from Santa
Elena with pseudo Islamic
script

Fig. 3.4 Montelupo

Polychrome (left), Montelupo
Blue on White (right), and
Ligurian Blue-on-Blue
mayólica designs from Santa
Elena

favorably with the ethnicity and social status of its users. These observations may
have been too simplistic correlates which did not consider how the growing world
economy changed identities while not necessarily changing economic status.
During the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries exotic Asian
porcelains entered America and Europe by way of the Indian and Pacific Oceans in
the holds of Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, and later French and British ships. Its
presence set off a revolution which we know today as Chinoiserie. That is
66 R.K. Skowronek

“Chinese-esque” imitations that copied Asian style and form while capturing some
of the market share. While some things could not be imitated the form and deco-
ration of pottery could. Blue on white painted designs based on the patterns
observed by Shangraw and Von der Porten (1997, 2011/2012a, b) came to domi-
nate the decorations of the tin lead-glazed low fired ceramics known as delft,
faience, or mayólica. Forms changed to include brimmed plates and bowls and
small cups for the consumption of the foods of the new world economy (Fig. 3.5).
Through time these knock-offs would be made in Puebla and elsewhere in Mexico
and would share precious cargo space with porcelains in the ships bound for Spain
(Skowronek 1984, 1992). When porcelains cease to be imported it suggests that
what once marked one’s status as elite now marked one’s identity as an acculturated
full member of the Spanish empire.
Gasco’s work (1992b: 69–71; 1997a) in Soconusco, Chiapas located today in the
south of modern Mexico and historically in the Audiencia de Guatemala shows that
even in remote corners of the empire colonial communities had access to porcelains,
mayólicas, and the content of olive jars suggesting that imported goods were not
beyond the means of even those on the lowest economic rungs. Documentary evi-
dence that perishable items of textile, leather and wood were widely available in this
region (Gasco 1997b: 61). Interestingly non-Indian merchants traded directly with the
people of this cacao producing region (Gasco 1992a: 67). Her work with eighteenth
century inventories showed that of the items listed in the inventories, ceramics were
among the lower-priced items. She also found that mayólica and Chinese porcelain
were valued about the same as locally produced pottery (Gasco 1992b: 85, 1993).
Gasco’s observations are amplified in a study focusing on imported goods in
Alta California. There, on sites which are contemporaneous with those in Chiapas,
Voss (2012) found that whether mayólica or porcelain, ceramics were often the

Fig. 3.5 Ichtucknee Blue on White mayólica plate and Santa Elena Mottled Blue-on-white
mayólica cup from St. Catherine’s Island, George @ 1590
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila Galleon … 67

least expensive materials imported into that province. Yet, while that province was
producing plain and lead-glazed pottery for everyday use (Skowronek et al. 2009) it
was the “desire” to mark one’s identity as a “Spaniard” which created an on-going
“need” for mayólica and porcelain.
Diana Loren took an interesting approach in her study of material culture by
examining eighteenth century casta paintings (1999: 150–155) which depict both
mayólica and Chinese porcelain in both high-status and low-status portraits. In the
high-status portraits, mayólica and Chinese porcelain are displayed in the back-
ground of the triad of figures whole and intact. In lower status casta portraits,
mayólica and porcelain tablewares are shown in a chipped or broken state to further
signify the lower position of these castas in the social hierarchy. Loren’s analysis
suggested that it was not ware type per se, but rather the context of use that imbued
ceramics with ethnic or status connotations in colonial New Spain. It is also clear
that while sumptuary rules were in-place in the eighteenth century regarding who
would or would not be allowed to wear silks and brocades it clearly was rarely if
ever enforced (Loren 2007: 29).
While the examples from Chiapas and California are telling some of the best
evidence for this phenomenon can be found in eighteenth century Spanish colonial
presidio and mission sites in Texas. These settlements were located at the north-
eastern fringes of the vast territory of New Spain. Without precious metals or other
commodities and separated from Mexico City by more than a thousand miles of
overland trail meant, poverty was the norm. It has long been presumed that the
presence of porcelain on those sites is an anomaly.
Longoria (2007) studied the Chinese export porcelain found in two missions and
four presidio sites in Spanish Texas. She considered world trade by exploring the
source of the porcelain, how it was made, for whom it was made, how it came to the
Americas, and how it arrived on the frontier. From a social perspective, she
examined the social stratification and racial realities inherent in the Spanish system
as they related to the frontier in an effort to understand why porcelain is found in
eighteenth century Spanish Texas and what it meant to its owners.
She found that the inhabitants of the northern frontier were Spanish-born
Franciscan priests, governors, some military officers, and creole and mestizo sol-
diers, and settlers many of whom were retired soldiers. No matter your background
on the frontier it was important to live in a Hispanic manner by sharing Hispanic
cultural values. In this way one would be referred to as gente de razón, or a person
of reason who lived and acted like a Spaniard, regardless of one’s parentage.
Frontier society was not classless, but differences in wealth, status, and race were
often not very significant.
Nonetheless we know that elites would carry their luxury items with them when
assigned to the frontier, For example, Hoffman (1935: 85) notes that Governor
Alarcon, used rafts to cross the rain swollen Trinity River. … the first raft launched
held the silver service, the kitchen, the clothing, and the cook, and the whole thing
was sunk.
68 R.K. Skowronek

Owning porcelain served as a marker of a family’s identity as a member of

Spanish colonial society and only secondarily of its socioeconomic status. While
the social system was more fluid on the frontier, the societal norms of the metropole
still operated. There governors, captains, and priests were of elite European or
creole background and so, represented the superordinated class. On the frontier they
would not have the opportunity to outwardly demonstrate their position with
elaborate housing, but they could display their high position by wearing
European-style clothing made of fine fabrics, eating and drinking “Spanish” foods,
and by presenting these often expensive and exotic foods on acceptable ceramic
tablewares made specifically for Spaniards.
Gente de razón who were elites seized any opportunity to demonstrate their
social position. An example of this is found in the diary of Fray Gasper de Solís, the
head of the Zacatecan Franciscans, who made a tour of inspection in 1767 to the
missions of the Province of Texas. He wrote that he went to eat at the presidio of La
Bahía (Goliad) by the invitation of its captain. Solís wrote, “The captain received us
with great honor and ceremony, with a military salute of the company, four cannon
shot on arriving and in the evening three on leaving. The table was bountiful and
generous and he conducted himself in everything with the magnificence and opu-
lence of a prince” (Kress 1931: 38–39).
Most of the soldiers and settlers on the Texas frontier were mestizos who had
never been to Mexico City to witness the wealth and ostentatious lifestyle of the
elite Criollos and Peninsulares. They mostly were recruited from the mining “boom
towns” of Zacatecas and other communities in the north of what is today modern
Mexico. Nonetheless these poorer soldier-recruits who moved to Texas would see a
degree of upward social mobility by taking their chances on the frontier. They
would mark their new higher social position by imitating the Spanish colonial
elites. Ewen (1991: 104) phrases it very concisely: “In the colonies, one’s relative
status was closely related with how well one could maintain the Spanish life-style.”
Texas was supplied with goods originating in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
These goods were packed on mules in Mexico City and carried over uneven trails to
the missions and presidios in Spanish Texas. Carried this way, it seems miraculous
that the porcelain or any other ceramics arrived intact.
Most of the porcelain that has been unearthed is of the blue and white variety
and is mostly small cups, bowls, and saucers. Not surprisingly, the finest porcelain
has been found in the area where the governors lived in the presidio of Los Adaes
near the border of French Louisiana. For the poorer colonists cheaper porcelain
made in the Dehua province of China has been identified and found in all the
presidio and mission sites of Spanish Texas and at other sites in Spanish Florida,
and British New York and Nova Scotia.
So porcelain was ubiquitous and available to rich and poor alike by the eigh-
teenth century. It and the mayólica “knock-offs” were not only consumed in the
Americas but in Europe. They served as markers of one’s identity. But identity was
not solely based on these ceramics but on how they were used.
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila Galleon … 69

3.6 Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Sugar

Chocolate, not tea or coffee, was the drink of the Americas and Europe through the
eighteenth century. Tea was not carried on the Manila Galleon.
When first encountered by the Spanish in Mesoamerica in the sixteenth century
chocolate was a bitter drink used by the upper class as a stimulant or for medicinal
purposes. Doctors used it for stomach aches and fever. It was also known as the elixir
of life when Cortez wrote to King Carlos I of Spain that chocolate was a “drink that
builds up resistance and fights fatigue.” Some enjoyed the bitter concoction while
others liked it sweetened and mixed with cinnamon and milk. Making the drink
required the four or five ingredients sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, water, and some-
times milk. The concoction now in a chocolatera or cocoa pot was brought to a boil
over a brazier. Then, once whisked or aerated or frothed with a molinillo is poured
into small cups for serving (Fig. 3.6). By the eighteenth century what was once the
drink of the elites was enjoyed by individuals of all economic classes.
There is evidence of the popularity of chocolate, rather than tea or coffee, as the
beverage of choice in Alta California during the Spanish and Mexican Regimes
(Graham and Skowronek 2013). Many grades were imported to the province.
Documentary evidence dating from 1776 to 1810 at Mission Santa Clara de Asís
shows that nearly 7500 lb of chocolate was brought to the site (Skowronek et al.
n.d.). Five times that amount was sent to the Santa Barbara Presidio where 37,725 lb
of chocolate was imported between 1779 and 1810 (Perissinotto 1998). Cinnamon

Fig. 3.6 A chocolatera, a molinillo, and the three key ingredients—sugar, cinnamon, and cacao—
for hot chocolate
70 R.K. Skowronek

and sugar were also imported in large amounts. For example, 442 lb of cinnamon
were imported to Mission Santa Clara between 1783 and 1810 (Skowronek et al.
n.d.). At Santa Barbara Presidio 108 lb of cinnamon were imported (Perissinotto
1998). Sugar also arrived in great quantities as there were 45,345 lb of brown sugar
in the accounts for Santa Barbara during this period (Perissinotto 1998). While the
chocolate and sugar were grown and processed in the Americas the cinnamon was
carried via the Manila Galleon to Acapulco and from there across the empire and to
Europe. Milk, of course, was provided by cattle originally imported from Europe. To
this day Mexico is the largest importer of cinnamon in the world.
Archaeologists ought to give consideration to the cups used to consume the
beverage. Europeans preferred to drink their chocolate from ornate dishes made out
of precious materials and crafted by artisans. These vessels were more than serving
pieces they were also symbols of identity and status. Porcelain cups were common
in cargoes carried to Mexico and on to Spain into the first half of the eighteenth
century (Logan 1977; Skowronek 1984) (Fig. 3.7).
Beginning in the seventeenth century mayólica cups or pocillos were made in
imitation of Chinese-made porcelain cups (Fig. 3.8). Today many archaeologists
refer to these as “tea” cups but the reality is they were primarily used for drinking
chocolate (Lister and Lister 1976: 73; Marken 1994: 236–238). As was earlier
noted there is ample evidence of this from even remote corners of New Spain such
as Texas. There it is porcelain cups, bowls, and saucers which are found, not plates
(Longoria 2007).
For two and one half centuries from 1565 to 1815 the Manila Galleons navigated
the vast expanses of the Pacific laden with the highly desired exotica of Asia—spices,
fine textiles, and glistening porcelains. Acapulco, while the terminal port for the
eastward-bound vessels was in reality the starting point for the distribution of their
cargoes to the Iberian motherland and to the farthest corners of their colonial New
World empire. These commodities not only captivated the imagination of Spain’s
elites through conspicuous consumption but they also would share in the transfor-
mation of peoples of all social standings into participants in the nascent global
economy. Asian cloth would be made into Roman Catholic vestments and the
European clothing of Spanish and colonial commoners and elites. Cinnamon would

Fig. 3.7 Porcelain cup

recovered from the 1733 flota
bound for Spain
3 Cinnamon, Ceramics, and Silks: Tracking the Manila Galleon … 71

Fig. 3.8 Puebla Blue on White mayólica pocillos and profile of same recovered from the 1733
flota bound for Spain

take its place as a prominent solo spice or as part of a new concoction combining it
with chocolate and sugar and thus create a new beverage. The creation and service of
this new beverage required specialized vessels for brewing and cups for its presen-
tation. Initially, made of exotic Asian-made porcelain the cups lost their significance
when the markets were saturated with these ceramics or low-cost locally-made
imitations. Taken together the archaeological and documentary evidence illustrate
how quickly the nascent world economy formed and rapidly transformed the globe.

Acknowledgments I wish to thank Dr. Chunming Wu for inviting me to be part of the

Harvard-Yenching Institute Academic Workshop on “Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region:
A Maritime Archaeological Perspective” at Harvard University in June of 2013. The lively dis-
cussions and presentations by a global cast of colleagues provided great insights into the place of
seaborne trade into the creation of the modern world economy. I am indebted to the late Dr.
Stanley South for permission to use some of the photographs of ceramics which appeared in our
1988 publication cited herein. Thanks also are due to Elizabeth Olga Skowronek and Gregory
Grant for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

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Author Biography

Dr. Russell K. Skowronek

Professor of Anthropology and
History at the University of
Texas Rio Grande Valley,
director of the Community
Historical Archaeology Project
with Schools Program.
A Research Associate of the
Department of Anthropology,
National Museum of Natural
History, Smithsonian
Institution, his research interests
lie in archaeology and ethno-
history of the Spanish Empire.
He has conducted research on
prehistoric and historic, terres-
trial and underwater sites in the
United States, Mexico, and the Philippines. These include work on the Manila Galleon San Felipe, the
1554, 1622, and 1733 New Spain flotas and on Spanish colonial terrestrial sites dating from the
sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. He has co-authored or edited ten books and monographs,
along with dozens of articles and reports on a number of topics in archaeology.
Chapter 4
From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early
Spanish Exploration of the Pacific
and the Establishment of the Manila
Acapulco Galleon Trade

Brian Fahy and Veronica Walker Vadillo

The Manila Galleon trade has attracted a great deal of interest from the public and the
academic community alike; As Roberto Junco wrote: they are the stuff of legends
(Junco 2011, p. 877). Unfortunately, their fame could lead to their demise if treasure
hunting activities are not controlled and academic research is not encouraged. If not
kept in check, countries are likely to pass laws that will allow salvage companies to
exploit underwater cultural heritage for profit. We hope that with further workshops
like the one organized by Dr. Chunming Wu we will be able to encourage scientific
studies of Manila galleons, especially regarding their nautical characteristics, since
very little is known about their construction (Sales Colín 2000, pp. 82–83).
In this paper we hope to present a theoretical approach to the study of the
archaeology of the Manila Galleons that will hopefully provide researchers with the
necessary tools to identify traces of Spanish maritime activities in the Asia-Pacific
world. The focus of our research is the establishment of the Manila Galleon trade
route in its early stages. We will start by summarizing the historical background of
Spain and theorize on the exploration and economic activities of Spain in the region
based on historical records. We will then discuss the archaeological material that
presently pertains to the Manila Galleon trade route and, using this cohesion of
material, interpret how it could affect the future study of the Manila-Acapulco
voyage.
In order to understand the Spanish presence in the Pacific, it is necessary to
understand Spanish history and the idiosyncrasies that governed its expeditions.
Spain in the 16th century was far from being a unified polity under a single name.
Spain or Hispania was a geopolitical concept inherited from Roman times that was
shared by multiple kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (Rubies 2003, p. 432). In

B. Fahy (&)
V.W. Vadillo (&)

Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
e-mail: brian.fahy@arch.ox.ac.uk
V.W. Vadillo
e-mail: v.walker.vadillo@gmail.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 75

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_4
76 B. Fahy and V.W. Vadillo

the late 1400s, the Catholic kings, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of
Aragon, married, but their marriage did not mean the unification of their kingdoms,
which were subjected to their own laws and parliaments (for further information on
Spanish history see for example Villar 1999; Floristán 2004). The parliament of
Aragón held more political power than that of Castile; hence the power of the kings
in Castile was stronger. When Columbus presented his project of reaching the
Indies through the west, it was the Castilian parliament who granted the funds.
From this moment onward, the Castilians were the main participants in the
exploration and discovery of the New World.
One of the key issues of their reign was their ability to marry their sons and
daughters to heirs to other thrones of Europe. Through this system of strategic
marriages they managed to place their descendants at the forefront of one of the
largest empires in history. This culminated in 1580, when Philip II, great grandson
of the Catholic kings, inherited the crown of Portugal. The union, which lasted until
1640, did not imply the disappearance of Portugal as a state, and although there was
a sense of cultural union defined under the term Spain, during the sixty years that
both kingdoms shared the same king there were nationalistic tensions that affected
their settlements in Asia as we will see further on. Historical events lead Castile to
appropriate the term Spain, which is now associated with said country.1 The con-
flicts that surfaced between Spain and Portugal affected the fate of their missions in
Asia, as we will see in the following pages.
In 1519 the first expedition to find the Spice Islands using the westward route
was launched by King Charles I of Spain. The leader of the journey was Ferdinand
Magellan, a Portuguese seaman who had fallen out of grace with the king of
Portugal. In 1520 Magellan successfully navigated around the south tip of South
America, and into the Pacific Ocean. By 1521 he finally reached the Philippine
archipelago, where he was killed; Juan Sebastián Elcano, his second-in-command,
continued the journey onward to become the first person to circumnavigate the
Earth. In 1525 an expedition of seven ships with 450 men was launched to make the
trip a second time, commanded by García Jofre de Loaysa (or Loaísa). When the
expedition finally arrived in Southeast Asia, only one ship reached its destination in
the Spice Islands.
One of the few survivors of this expedition was Andrés de Urdaneta, a young
sailor from the Basque country in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. He remained
stranded in the Spice Islands for ten years, during such time he used to gather
information that was later presented to the king of Spain. In 1527 and 1537 Álvaro
de Saavedra and Hernando de Grijalva lead further expeditions to the Pacific, this
time via Mexico, but unbeknownst to the Spanish, the currents of the Pacific were
pushing them back westward. At this stage there was a great concern from the
Spanish court to find the way back without having to travel through Portuguese

1
In the following paper, we will maintain the term Spain to refer to the kingdom of Castile after the
Catholic Kings. Although historical texts name this sense of cultural union of the Iberian Peninsula
as Spain and Spanish, we will use the term Iberian to refer to it in order to avoid confusion, as
suggested by Rubies (p. 433).
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 77

Fig. 4.1 Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) and Zaragoza (1529)

territory. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) and the Treaty of Zaragoza (1529)
(Fig. 4.1) had divided the world in two, defining the spheres of shipping influence
between Spain and Portugal. The Spice Islands, India and Africa were controlled by
the Portuguese, while the Americas and the Pacific were dominated by the
Castilians. In 1560 king Philip II of Spain pressed the issue with the viceroy of New
Spain, to whom he wrote: “because our chief concern of this journey is to find a
way back, since the outbound journey is known to take a short time” (Armendariz
2011: p. 870).
In 1564 the Capitana, the San Pablo and the San Pedro left the port of
Acapulco. On board the Capitana were Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who was sent to
take over the Philippines, and Andrés de Urdaneta, who was in charge of finding a
way back. They arrived in Cebu on the 13 of February 1565, and just a few months
later he departed to Acapulco (for further details see Armendariz 2011). After
navigating north, he found the Pacific current that was to take him to Acapulco,
establishing the Manila Galleon trade route from then onward.

4.1 Spanish Trading Patterns in Asia-Pacific: Merging

History and Archaeology

By the time the Spanish started settling in the Philippines, they had been in the
Americas for over half a century. This provided a degree of experience in colo-
nization that would determine the fate of the Spanish colonies in Asia. For once, the
Crown was weary of the brutality of exploitation suffered during the conquest of the
Americas by the indigenous population and sought to reduce contact between the
Spanish lay men and Philippine Indians (Rubies 2003, p. 422). The missionaries
78 B. Fahy and V.W. Vadillo

learned the languages of the different communities in the Philippines and became
the intermediaries between them and the Crown (Ibid.). Manila became a crucial
entrepôt from where to launch missionary and commercial expeditions toward the
late 16th century. In 1580 king Philip II inherited the Portuguese crown, but he had
sworn to the Portuguese parliament that he would respect Portuguese possessions
overseas and that he would not allow the Castilians to occupy their territory.
Nevertheless, when the Dutch attacked the Portuguese and took over the Maluku
islands, soldiers were sent from Manila to take back the islands and hand them over
to the Portuguese. This did not lead to permanent cooperation between the two
Iberian kin. The difficulty of establishing a firm Iberian alliance benefited the Dutch
and the English activities in the region.

4.2 Phases of Spanish Trade in Asia: From Confrontation

and Intervention to Passive Trade

The trade and contact pattern of the Spanish in the last decades of the 16th century
is one of confrontation and active participation in the politics of Asia without
success. In Cambodia, adventurers Diogo Velloso (Portuguese), and Blas Ruiz
(Spanish) tried to influence politics, but the affair was a fiasco due to growing
rivalries between the newcomers and the well-established Chinese merchants. In
1596 and 1598 violence erupted, first against the Chinese merchants, then against
the Malays. The motives of the initial outbreak of violence in both cases appear to
have developed through petty brawls and vows of revenge (de Ramos 1955). The
Spanish soldiers were always outnumbered. In 1596 the Chinese numbered in the
thousands (though this number should be reviewed), while the Spanish expedition
was made up of 60 Spanish, 70 Japanese and 20 Filipinos (de Ramos 1955). In
Manila there were no men to be spared. In the early 1600s, the city had around 600
households with a maximum of two thousand Spanish men, many of whom died
soon of diseases (Rubiés 2003, p. 421). The Chinese settlement outnumbered them
ten to one, and a growing community of hispanized indigenous population reached
around 300,000 (Ibid.). It should also be noted that the Southeast Asians had
thousands of years of established maritime trade contacts and had learned to
accommodate foreign merchants like the Indians and the Chinese in their trade
network. The Spanish arrived in a region that had an already well-developed trade
network, and savvy local merchants who were natural brokers. The role of the
hispanized and mestizo communities as brokers should also be studied, since they
could have been key to obtain the products sought after by the Spanish. These
communities could have access to harbours that were closed to the Spanish (i.e.
Portuguese or Dutch controlled areas) and knew how to interact with local mer-
chants. The difficulties of exerting power in the area must have taken a toll on the
Spanish; it appears that they retreated to Manila in the mid 1600s, obtaining their
goods mostly from Chinese merchants and other ships calling at Manila.
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 79

4.3 Spanish Routes in Asia According to Historical

Accounts

4.3.1 The Route to the North

During the first phase of colonization, in the late 1500s, there are accounts sug-
gesting that the Spanish used the west coast of Luzon and the port of Bolinao
(de Ramos 1955). It would be reasonable to suggest that the Spanish used this route
for their early expeditions to China and Japan, although Japan could have been
reached using the south east straights and then navigating north on the east coast of
Luzon. Recent excavations in Taiwan have uncovered a Spanish fort in the island of
Hoping Dao with the earliest material dating from the 17th century (http://www.
cchs.csic.es/en/node/287412), so it seems plausible that the Spanish would have
used a north route via west Luzon to reach this settlement.

4.3.2 The Route to Southeast Asia

The Spanish appeared to have been mostly interested in Indian and Chinese
products, paying little attention to Southeast Asian products apart from clove,
pepper and other spices. As mentioned earlier, they had little success in their
attempts to establish themselves as actors of power in the region. Taking into
account the campaigns in Cambodia, the Spanish sailed the South China Sea. Their
ships, however, were not necessarily Spanish ships, since it has been documented
that they were using local vessels (de Ramos 1955; Sales Colín 2000). Tracing
Spanish wrecks is a difficult endeavour, and further research needs to be conducted
to theorize on the type of material that could identify such ships. After Spain
retreated to Manila, it appears that the traditional patterns of commerce resumed.
The products exchanged in Manila were detailed by Antonio de Morga, and an
exhaustive research was conducted by Legarda y Fernández (2009, pp. 605–618).
Ships from Southeast Asia arrived in Manila, but many carried goods to trade with
the local population, not luxury goods for New Spain. The majority of the vessels
arriving to Manila with goods for New Spain and Europe were actually coming
from China in very large vessels, while the ones arriving from Southeast Asia were
smaller (Ibid.).

4.3.3 Through the Straights of San Bernardino

The Manila galleons to and from the Americas commonly arrived through the San
Bernardino straits, stopping in Guam to replenish the ship on their outward journey.
This is probably the best documented passage used by the Spanish to travel to
80 B. Fahy and V.W. Vadillo

Acapulco, and the one where the majority of the known Spanish wrecks are located.
Ships loaded with American silver arrived and departed mainly from Acapulco, and
large galleons often built in Asia and loaded with silks, porcelains and spices
departed to New Mexico through this route. Other ports in New Spain were also
used, for example in California, San Blas (Nayarit), Navidad (Jalisco), Manzanillo
(Colima), and Zihuatanejo (Guerrero) (Pinzon Rios 2008; Ibid., 2011).
There are accounts that indicate that some of the ships navigating the Manila
trade route called at Nagasaki harbour in Japan (Sola 2005), but it is confusing
whether this ship travelled back and forth from Manila, or if the ship simply called
in Japan prior to its journey across the Pacific2 until the expulsion of the Spanish in
1610. By the mid-17th century the route was well established, and had several ports
of call before leaving the Philippine islands. However, already in the 18th century
there were some endemic problems with the trade routes to Spain. In 1732,
economist Miguel de Zabala y Auñón postulated that problems such as lack of
industry, lack of control over European entrepots overseas, the passivity of the
Spanish traders, and the common practice of illegal trade and smuggling were
undermining the profits of the trade routes (Luque Talaván 2008). The illegal trade
is often difficult to document; however, current researches point to the existence of
illegal trade routes not only limited to Asia (see Junco in this volume), but also to
South American ports in the Pacific (Pinzon Rios 2008), where trade between the
Viceroy of Peru and New Spain was forbidden around 1640 (Ibid., p. 159). The
Manila Galleon trade route is a complex issue that requires a holistic approach if we
are to understand every aspect of it, including peripheral activities such as illegal
trade. Hence it is necessary to complement archival research with detailed studies of
archaeological remains.

4.4 Drawing Archaeology into the History

The initial goal of this application of study was to assess the archaeological
information we have on the Manila-Acapulco trade route to see if the wreck
assemblages corroborate or conflict historical accounts. A larger question to be
answered was what else we could deduce using this corpus of evidence. The initial
phase of research involved locating the appropriate wrecks that have been identified
and/or excavated. The definitive wrecks noted here are listed by vessels moving
from West to East, and not in a temporal fashion.

2
The account of Rodrigo Vivero described by Sola states that he wrecked in Japan en route to New
Mexico on the San Francisco galleon. The ship was one of three of the 1609 Manila galleon
expedition. The San Antonio reached the Americas, but the Santa Ana stopped at Nagasaki. In
Vivero’s words: los envié a vuestramajestad en la nao Santa Ana que en aquella sazón se estaba a
prestando de dichoreino de Japón para seguir su viaje a la Nueva España (trans: I sent it to Your
Highness in the nao Santa Ana, which was replenishing in Japan to continue its travel to New
Spain) (Sola 2005).
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 81

Over the last fifteen years, the Underwater Archaeology Division at the National
Museum in Manila has been recording wreck sites of supposed Manila Galleons
throughout the Philippines. They have identified four such sites: one near Verde
Island, two in Albay gulf near Santo Domingo, and one in Lagonoy gulf, near San Jose
(Jago-On, personal communication, May 25th, 2013: Brown 2009, p. 178) (Fig. 4.2).
The material found at the Albay gulf sites were ocean bottom surface finds and
shore finds. Similar materials were found at both sites: anchor marks, pottery sherds
of blue-and-white, and some hull fragments (Brown 2009, p. 178; Dizon 1991). The
Verde Island wreck is noted as possibly being the Nuestra Señora de la Vida,
leaving Manila in 1621 (Fish 2012, p. 496). The site had been extensively salvaged
during colonial times and privately salvaged by professional divers, yet archaeol-
ogists located blue-and-white and earthenware sherds, musket shot, cannonballs
and mercury. A large portion of the keel was still intact which was subsequently
salvaged and conserved (Clark et al. 1989, pp. 255–262). The excavation in the
Lagonoy Gulf is of an unnamed Manila Galleon. Material found from this wreck is
similar to the material found at the Verde Island site (Cuevas et al. 1997).
Moving eastward along the trade route, the shipwrecks of two Manila Galleons
have been located off the Mariana Islands. The Nuestra Señora de la Concepción
sailed from Cavite in 1638, encountered a severe storm, and subsequently wrecked
off the coast of Saipan (Fish 2012, p. 497). Of all the Manila Galleon wrecks in this
case study, this wreck was the most systematically excavated. Pacific Sea
Resources coordinated the yearlong excavation of this vessel in 1987–1988. The
salvage operation produced some highly unique finds; gold filigree items and
jewellery, sherds of blue-and-white, kraak ware, celadon and ding ware, as well as
over 150 Martaban jars from peninsular Southeast Asia (Mathers et al. 1990).

Fig. 4.2 Suspected Galleon wreck sites along the Embocadero

82 B. Fahy and V.W. Vadillo

The wreck near Rota Island has been identified as the Santa Margarita. Little of
the assemblage has been recovered; due to legal problems surrounding the salvage
corporation’s method of excavation put this project on indefinite hold. Isolated
artefacts of ivory, ceramics and gems represent the commodities carried on the
vessel (Junco 2011, pp. 878–9; Shen 2007).
As the trade route of these ships cross the Pacific, three wrecks have been found
on the Western Coast of the North America, and are posited to be Galleon wrecks:
One was found off the coast of Oregon (Williams 2007), one in Drakes Bay in
California (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981), and One located near the Baja
Peninsula (Junco 2011, pp 881–2; Nolte 2011). The Galleon in Oregon has most
likely been identified as either the Santo Cristo de Burgos which disappeared in
1693, or the San Francisco Xavier, which left the Philippines in 1704 (Williams
2007, p. 5; Fish 2012, p. 501). It was registered as carrying 75 tons of beeswax,
which is one of the defining characteristics highlighting the Oregon galleon at pre-
sent. Sherds of Asian ceramics, wooden maritime artefacts have also been recovered.
Somewhere in Drakes Bay, California lays the wreck of the San Augustin. The
vessel left Manila in July of 1595 and arrived off the coast of California only four
months later (Junco 2011, p. 877). Upon reaching Drakes Bay, stormy weather
caused the San Augustinto wreck in the area. While the wreck itself has not been
identified at present, some of its cargo has been washing up on the shores of the Bay
over the centuries, and several artefacts have been excavated from local Native
American sites and burials (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981, pp. 3–4).
The galleon that wrecked off the Baja Peninsula, assumed to be the San Filipe,
beach finds and shallow surveys in the area recovered Chinese porcelain, beeswax, as
well as some lead and bronze objects (Junco 2011, pp. 881–2; Von der Porten 2010)
(Fig. 4.3).

Fig. 4.3 Galleon wrecks in the Marianas and the West Coast of the North America
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 83

This corroborates the typical historical accounts of the eastward sailing routes of
the Manila Galleon. Vessels travel south from Manila, navigate the Verde Island
Passage and skirt Marinduque Island. They cross the Sibuyan Sea and sail through
the San Bernadino Strait, where they hole up in a nearby gulf and wait for
favourable winds. They could wait as long almost two months sometimes (Mathers
et al. 1990, p. 41). The vessels then head East toward the Marianas (Ladrones)
Islands, hoping to catch the favourable currents that slingshot them North past
Japan, then East across the Pacific Ocean. Ideally, after a few months, land is
sighted and these boats follow West Coast of North America south towards the port
of Acapulco. Numerous chroniclers have highlighted the route, and at its base level
the shipwreck data corroborates the larger pattern.
When we look at the many surveyed galleon wreck sites in the Philippines, as
well as those on Rota Island and in coastal North America, we see a practice of
running the ship aground near land where available. This obviously has a dual
benefit. It offers an increased chance to save passengers and crew, as well as allow
for ease of recovery and savage of cargo Horner (1999, pp. 180–184) documented
the efficacy of salvage operations by the crown during this time.
The Nuestra Señora de lasMaravillas ran aground off the coast of the Bahamas in
1656. Survivors, salvagers and scavengers were officially recorded over the next
three decades recovering portions of the cargo from the ship. Official diving expe-
ditions were conducted by the Crown in 1656, 1657 and 1658. But various traders
and parties (both legal and illegal) obtained some of the goods from the Nuestra
Señora de lasMaravillas.Records also indicate that these boats were carrying much
more cargo than they were registered to carry. Over thirty years, salvage accounts of
the Maravillas showed that 1068 bars of silver were recovered, as opposed to the 506
bars on the registered cargo. Over 150 thousand pieces-of-eight were also recovered;
a stark difference to the nearly 73 thousand pieces-of-eight registered as laded in
official accounts.
State salvage operations were conducted on the Nuestra Señora de la
Concepción and chronicled in 1674 (Mathers et al. 1990, p. 75; Junco 2011,
pp. 878–879). Salvage operations like these could very well have been standard
practice and a commercially viable option to recoup potential losses. This may be
why it has been difficult to effectively mount proper excavation of wrecks like
these, and also might be another reason why there is a proportional lack of rep-
resented Southeast Asian goods on certain Manila Galleon wreck sites.
The wrecks off the coasts of the Americas are certainly important, and they
continue to yield information about trade and materiality during this time. We chose
to focus our attention, however, on the beginning months of the Manila-Acapulco
trade route. Little work has been done on this leg of the journey, and we feel that
highlighting this region may promote discussion and scholarship of this area.
Water currents and wind patterns of the Pacific Ocean during this time dictated
that ships navigate northward past Japan and cross the Pacific at around the 38th
Parallel. The route chosen for the beginning months of the voyage is quite dan-
gerous. Navigating the centre of the archipelago, also known as the “Embocadero,”
is a risky and difficult venture. Several attempts were made to sail up the Western
84 B. Fahy and V.W. Vadillo

coast of Luzon past the Bojeador and Engaño capes, but no consistency in taking
the route was ever established. This was initially proposed by veteran navigator
Hernando de los Ríos Coronel at the beginning of the 17th century, and during the
18th century was explored several times. Estimates revealed that sailing up the
West coast to the 20th Parallel (near the Bataan Islands and the Balintang Channel)
could take two to three days, instead of the two-anda-half months required to reach
the same latitude by the Embocadero (Borao Mateo 2007, pp. 17–37) (Fig. 4.4).
As long as the galleon sailed by Mid-June to take advantage of the favourable
monsoon winds this route could cut over two months off the trip. This course would

Fig. 4.4 Northern and

Eastern Routes from Manila
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 85

not be officially considered until 1734, when King Philip V called for a new study
on this route. Governor Francisco Jose Obando (1746–1754) ordered that galleons
should sail this route. It was only in 1762 that a movement led by prestigious
members of the Spanish community and pilots approved the new route. The
Galleon San Pedro was the first to finally sail it in 1782, and it promptly sank. Any
notions of using that route abruptly sank with it (Fish 2012, pp. 355–356).
The reasons for pilots and Captains for not using this route were unclear in all of
the texts referring to it. This has allowed us to postulate an interesting hypothesis.
Fish (2012, p. 356) and Borao Mateo (2007) cite complacency and an unwillingness
to change the status quo as reasons for not using a route that offers a myriad of
benefits… It could cut travel time to New Spain by approximately two months,
therefore it could save lives and it could increase the marketability and profitability
of the Manila-Acapulco trade network. While seemingly a safer route, it did have
hazard and limitations. The route was dependent upon monsoon wind currents of
the South China Sea. Boats planning on using this route would need to do so from
June until November. Also, depending upon Spain’s relations of other European
and Asian nations, this route might possibly have given them too much exposure to
their enemies, which increases the risks of nautical warfare, along with the possible
capture or the possible sinking of these vessels.
This compulsion to use the Central route through the San Bernadino strait may
have another use than force of habit. The route is pockmarked with small bays,
inlets, islands and other nautical havens. We know that the Crown is aware of
rampant smuggling occurring on the Manila-Seville trade network. We suggest that
the two month trip through the Embocadero could have been exaggerated by crews
as a means to stop at a secondary port to load additional contraband.
The Spanish community was small in Manila. Certain nefarious activities would
be difficult to keep secret in the community. If large-scale contraband activities were
occurring in the entrepôt, then most, if not all of the community would either know
about it, and/or be a part of it. If any smuggling activities are occurring in Manila, it
is on a smaller scale. A secondary port along the Embocadero would provide the
bulk of the smuggling operations. This theory also converges with Junco’s (2011,
p. 882) thesis on a smuggling port in Costa Grande de Guerrero. It is conceivable to
suggest that a galleon picked up additional cargo somewhere in the central portion of
the Philippine archipelago after it left Manila, and deposited the unregistered cargo
in a port north of Acapulco, possibly in the port of Navidad (Rodriguez-Sala 2013:
14–24). Archival research seems to agree with this theory (see Rodriguez-Sala 2013:
14–24). Similar activities have been recorded in the illegal trade between the
Viceroys of Peru and New Mexico, where ships with illegal cargo often docked in
areas without proper permits claiming that they had been affected by bad weather or
because they had been attacked by enemy vessels, and using this cover to load or
unload illegal cargo (Pinzon Rios 2008, pp. 159–169).
86 B. Fahy and V.W. Vadillo

A Southeast Asian ship laden with Chinese porcelain was found off Gaspar
Island in the Embocadero (Green and Harper 1987). Surveys of the boat show that it
was a smaller trading vessel (7 m long × 4 m wide) (Brown 2009, p. 176). This
could either suggest either local trading patterns in the central and southern portion
of the Philippine archipelago, or a supply trade to local smuggling ports.
This also could lead into new theories of cargo loading and transport of said
contraband. Most of the assemblages of these wrecks have very few ceramics intact.
If additional material was loaded with less regard for fragility, it could suggest a
reason for this.
Also, many of these materials were labelled with characters. The Oregon
Beeswax wreck assemblage consists of blocks of wax with various icons on them
(Williams 2007). Several dozen different characters were on the ceramics of the
Nuestra Señora de la Concepcion (Mathers 1990) (Fig. 4.5). While these characters
denote shipping companies or individuals, they could also signify cargo that needs
to come off before the ultimate destination is reached, in this case, Acapulco.

Fig. 4.5 Several markings found on artefacts from the Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion (Mathers
et al. 1990)
4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 87

4.5 Final Remarks

The establishment of the Spanish commercial activities in Asia appears to have

suffered two phases according to historical accounts that appear to be corroborated
by archaeological remains. From the late 16th to the early 17th centuries there is a
confrontational phase in which they actively seek to intervene in regional politics
and participate in commerce. The absence of an Iberian cooperation, difficulties in
communicating effectively with Spain, lack of man power, clashes with local
powers and the strong character of the Southeast Asian indigenous population
seems to have forced the Spanish to retreat to Manila toward the mid-17th century.
The archaeology of these vessels proves the dangerous passage of the
Embocadero, and offers up an interesting theory on how and why most of these
galleons were overloaded. The lack of enthusiasm to cut a six-month voyage by
one-third overtly highlights a lessened concern for personal safety. What factors
could cause this? If a second smuggling entrepôt is the reason, did the desire for
gold outweigh the value of human life?
This body of work barely scratches the surface of the motivations surrounding
the Manila Galleon trade route. Continued survey work and excavation of the
Embocadero and the Western Coast of Luzon is needed. Hopefully, more Galleon
wrecks will be located in the area, to fill in the archaeological gaps of the region and
shed light on a particularly rich, yet underrepresented time period in Spanish and
Philippine history.

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AA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economia.unam.mx%2Famhe%2Fmemoria%2Fsimposio14
%2FMiguel%2520LUQUE.pdf&ei=5Ty8UczGFK3Y0QW5t4DACw&usg=AFQjCNEbZ-uM
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4 From Magellan to Urdaneta: The Early Spanish Exploration … 89

Shen, M. (2007). It’s hard for me to believe, In Katu News, Oct 18th 2007. Online resource
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Cevicon, capitan y maestre del galeon San Francisco. Online resource accessed on the 15th of
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vivero-y-velasco-la-alaba-frente-a-juan-cevicos-capitan-y-maestredel-galeon-san-francisco/

Author Biographies

Brian Fahy B.A. in

Anthropology from San
Francisco State University; M.A.
and Ph.D. in Archaeology at the
University of Oxford, focusing
on shipwreck research and the
maritime trade history of the
Asia-Pacific Region. He is a
member of the Oxford University
Underwater Explorers Group.

Veronica Walker Vadillo B.A. in History from Universidad de Alcala; M.A. in Maritime
Archaeology from University College London; Ph.D. in Archaeology at the Oxford Centre for
Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford, focusing in maritime archaeology in Southeast Asia.
Chapter 5
Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego
a 1600 Spanish Galleon in the Philippines

Eusebio Z. Dizon

5.1 Introduction

The discovery and underwater archaeological excavation, conducted jointly by the

National Museum of the Philippines and a French outfit World Wide First
(WWF) from 1991–93, on the Spanish Galleon San Diego, which sunk on 14
December 1600, offshore Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines, has
brought to light some of possible historical mistakes which were committed in the
past and for the first time gave archaeologists to look at the volume of material
cultural remains it contained. The trade ceramics particularly have been interesting
since most of the recovery of these items were mainly complete pieces of “kraak”
and “swatow” wares of the Wanli period (1573–1619) of the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644). A number of trade jars from Burma, China, Thailand and Spain were
also recovered. Earthenware materials both from the New World and also those that
were produced locally were quite unusual. The San Diego wrecksite was like a time
capsule with all the artifacts from the Philippines, China, Southeast Asia, Japan,
Spain, Peru and Mexico put together in one underwater site.

5.2 History

The San Diego was originally named San Antonio de Cebu. However, after meeting
Mr. Patrick LIZE, the true archival researcher of the San Diego, in Paris last
October 1994, I learned that San Diego was its original name. It was a typical
merchant ship called navio or nao, which is bigger than a caravel but a smaller than
a galleon, probably built in Cebu under the supervisions of European boat-builders.

E.Z. Dizon (&)

Archaeology Division, National Museum of Philippine, Manila, Philippines
e-mail: drbongdizon@yahoo.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 91

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_5
92 E.Z. Dizon

Reports vary that the San Diego weighed from 200 to 300 tons. Archaeologically, it
has an approximate length of 35 m and a width of 20 m. It was docked sometime in
1599 at the port of Cavite for its reconditioning and repair. While it was about to be
finished it was commissioned by Dr. ANTONIO DE MORGA to be converted into
a warship at the end of October 1600.
DON ANTONIO DE MORGA was a Judge of the Royal Audiencia (Supreme
Court), and the Vice Governor General of the Philippines at that time. He wrote the
famous “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas” or Historical Events of the Philippine
Islands, and published it in Mexico in 1609. DE MORGA wrote this book in
response or as an apology to VAN NOORT’s memoir on his famous travel around
the globe, entitled “My Arduous Journey Around the World”.
DE MORGA’s immediate supervisor was DON FRANCISCO TELLO, the
Governor General of the Philippines. As early as the last week of October 1600,
both men had already heard of the two vessels that entered Albay Gulf. Hence, they
must have prepared to get the intruders by then. However, officially, it was only on
1 December 1600, that TELLO gave the order to DE MORGA to fit out armed
ships and pursue the enemy. Their enemies were actually the Dutch whom TELLO
thought were the English as recorded. The Spaniards were getting their intelligence
reports from their own foot soldiers.
TELLO and DE MORGA ordered DON JOAN RONQUILLO, commander of
the Naval Forces, to collect all the available cannons and ammunitions for the battle
against the enemy. RONQUILLO was the commander in the conquest of
Mindanao, who had won many victories until he received orders from TELLO and
DE MORGA to dismantle the fortifications in the islands and tear down the forts
held there. He followed the order and collected all their best weaponry and men.
After turning these over to TELLO and DE MORGA, the two men realized their
errors and attempted to exonerate themselves by ordering the arrest of
RONQUILLO, and charging him with having taken away the protection of the
Philippine Islands. According to most historical accounts, there were 10 or 11
cannons on each vessels.
DE MORGA was able to actually fit two battleships, the San Diego, a newly
reconditioned vessel as his flagship (capitana), and the San Bartolome a newly built
200-ton vessel, a galizabra (warship), as the admiral’s ship (almiranta) under the
command of CAPTAIN JUAN DE ALCEGA, a close associate of RONQUILLO,
and an experienced naval officer. In addition, there were two small service vessels
(caracoas) and one barangay boat in the company of DE MORGA.
The Dutch flagship the Mauritius was under ADMIRAL OLIVER VAN
NOORT (of North), their enemy, whom the Spaniards called corsair or pirate.
VAN NOORT was actually a leader of a free trade enterprise, although, he had a
formal commission from COUNT MAURICE of Nassau, Governor of the United
Provinces (Holland) in 1584 and became the Prince of Orange in 1618.
VAN NOORT left Rotterdam, Holland on 2 July 1598 with four vessels named the
Mauritius, his flagship (capitana) and the other was the Concord or Eendrachs
(almiranta). The two others were yachts named the Hendrick Frederick and the
5 Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego … 93

Hope, together with 248 men. Their mission was to trade with the other countries
around the world.
Because VAN NOORT expedition was a free enterprise, he was able to employ
the services of not only Dutch but also those coming from different nationalities,
including the English, Portuguese, and Spanish. In their long voyage, the Frederick
and the Hope were lost. By the time VAN NOORT reached the Philippines on 16
October 1600, he had only the Mauritius and the Concord with a crew of 158 men.
VAN NOORT appointed LAMBERT BIESMAN as the captain of the Concord
then. It was an Englishman named JOHN GALLEWAY, a musician and native of
London, who jumped off the Dutch vessels and was seized by the natives, that some
Spaniards thought that he came from the English ships.
It should be noted that the Concord already carried three barrels full of gold that
were looted by the Dutch from the Spanish merchant boats named Buen Jesus and
Los Picos in 1599 before coming to the Philippines. In fact, VAN NOORT even
employed the Spanish pilot of Buen Jesus, named JUAN DE SANT AVAL. “They
said that there were fifty-two small cases, containing each four arrobas, full of gold,
and besides, five hundred bars of gold, weighing eight, ten, and twelve pounds, so
that altogether there was 10,200 lb. of gold;…” (Stanley 1868: 177).
The presence of gold in the Concord were most probably known to both TELLO
and DE MORGA because in one of the instructions of TELLO to DE MORGA was
the division and distribution of the loot in the manner customary to the victors.
“Item, any booty taken on board such ships shall, as is the custom on such occasions,
be shared out among the victors.” (Cummins 1971: 173). This is could be the main
reason why DE MORGA had to be in charge of this naval operation, when in fact,
there were certainly more qualified naval officers who had had more experience than
DE MORGA himself to chase the Dutch. In fact, letters of complaint to the King of
Spain, PHILIP III against DE MORGA were sent, by Fiscal GERONIMO DE
SALAZAR Y SALCEDO on 16 July 1601, and by the Cabildo Secular or Court of
Manila on 20 July 1601 (Blair and Robertson 1973: Vol II: 228–250).

5.3 Discussion

The underwater archaeology of the San Diego has certainly posed more problems
and questions rather than answers regarding the affairs of DE MORGA and the
sinking of the ship. Questions like if the San Diego was really fitted as a battleship
that will chase the Dutch ships, then why did it contained so much cargoes which
seemed to be more geared for trade rather than for war. As it will be noted in the
archaeology portion of this report, there were certainly more trade items found in
the ships rather war materials.
If the San Diego was really out to chase the Dutch, why is it that there were
noblemen aboard the ship as it was also mentioned in the historical account. During
the underwater archaeological excavation, there were also some indications that
94 E.Z. Dizon

women may have been aboard the ship. This may lead us to think that the San
Diego may go directly either to Mexico or Spain and some of the people aboard
who had nothing to do for the military operations may have been there to get a free
ride.
The next question is, since the San Diego was loaded with noblemen and offi-
cials, how come there were very few gold items and other personal belonging
recovered during the two (2) seasons of underwater excavation. There are also
questions on whether or not there were gold bars aboard the San Diego or any of the
Dutch vessel that may have been thrown at the site where the San Diego sunk.
The San Diego, which went down off the Philippine waters in December 1600, is
currently the only evidence we have of the Spanish shipbuilding tradition in Asia In
this context, the testimony of the men who sailed on the San Diego were very
important information regarding its construction. There were controversies
regarding the size of the Galleon San Diego as testified by De Morga as a “modest
nao of two hundred toneladas” when compared to the testimony of Van Noort, to be
“six hundred tons dead weight…” When comparing testimonies, De Morga’s figure
was on the very low side which he may have used it to minimize the loss for the
fraudulent declaration of the ship’s owner insurance, however, this was also con-
tradicted unanimously by the rest of the Spanish witnesses. The Augustinian friar
Juan de Gutierrez said that “it was more than three hundred toneladas…”
Confronted with this dilemma—was the Galleon San Diego two hundred, three
hundred or six hundred tons?—only the underwater archaeological study on the
remains of the San Diego shipwreck can tell which of them was telling the truth.
From the archaeological investigation, the Galleon San Diego is ascribed to have a
cargo capacity of between 700 and 800 tons! What a surprise then, how can we ever
trust the historical records? Even the place of construction, whether it was actually
made in Cebu or Cavite is questionable especially with the two names like San
Antonio and San Diego were applied to it. It can be conjectured that the San Diego
was built between 1590 and 1600 and De Morga says nothing on this subject, but
insists only that the ship had to be refitted, and that work had to start at once.
Whatever shape it was in, the installation of artillery on this merchant vessel
required major modifications.
There were many testimonies regarding the faulty construction of the San Diego
Galleon when it was requisitioned. The ship was very crowded with cabins above
and below decks from the mainmast to the stern. For technical reasons, Pedro Pinto
de Almeida even complained in person to De Morga that under the circumstances,
he found it “unpardonable to build six or eight cabins which take up a lot of space,
interfere with the crew’s quarters and the (requirements) of battle, to point where if
we took a hit near the bottom, we could not even see it, let alone repair it, because
these cabins are only so much more ballast” (L’ Hour 1996: 125). The San Diego
has been over loaded with crates also. The presence of gun battery located below
the first deck, i.e below the top deck, means that there were at least two decks below
the galleon. This addition in construction of the San Diego would have defeated the
ratio and proportion of the ship. It became top heavy and leaning on its side when it
left the port of Cavite, it was poor ballasted and full of jars. Luis de Belver, the
5 Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego … 95

owner of the San Diego even intervened with De Morga to tell him that “it would
not right itself unless he added a great deal of ballast, and suggested that he
removed the crates and the cabins and leave them on shore” (ibid.). But De Morga
ignored all of these suggestions. The rest is history in the sinking of the San Diego.
This situation only suggests that there were really no shipwrights, naval archi-
tects and naval engineers in the Philippines, when the San Diego was being refitted
and requisitioned by Antonio De Morga.

5.4 Underwater Archaeological Survey and Exploration

The initial actual survey and exploration activity for the search for the San Diego
was undertaken in April 1991 with state-of-the-art surveying equipment employed
from the onset of operations (Nicolas and Conese 1991). A three-point positioning
system using beacons to aid in navigation was adopted in order to determine the
coverage of the survey area. Sophisticated survey equipment such as a magne-
tometer and a sub-bottom profiler were used to determine the presence of anomalies
and identify features in the seabed.
Prior to the actual survey of the area off Fortune Island, three beacons were
mounted at three different positions on the island. This included the assembly of the
solar power source, poles, brackets, electrical wiring, and antennae. Signal tests
were likewise done to make sure all beacons were working properly.
The WWF catamaran, the Kaimiloa, was used in the initial survey and explo-
ration activities. This entailed the systematically criss-crossing of the target zone
using deep search sonar. The exact location of the wrecksite was established after a
series of bounce dives by WWF divers to check anomalies detected by the
magnetometer.

5.5 Location of the Site

The San Diego site is located about a kilometer northeast of Fortune Island. The
shipwreck is situated at a depth of approximately fifty meters below the sea surface
on a small sand valley. The wreck formed a mound about three meters high,
covering an area which is around forty by twenty meters or a total of eight hundred
square meters.
The site is approximately twelve kilometers southwest of Nasugbu Point.
Fortune Island is a partially wooded and steep island with its highest elevation at
one hundred nineteen meters. There is a short stretch of white sand beach on the
southeast side of the island. On the highest elevation of the island is the Fortune
Island Light one hundred twenty six meters high at the top of a white concrete
tower. This white light flashes every four seconds and is visible over a distance of
fourteen kilometers.
96 E.Z. Dizon

5.6 Diving Activities

The main excavation work at the San Diego site was undertaken by French com-
mercial divers. Throughout the entire operation of the project a minimum of two
National Museum representatives were always present at the site to confer with
Franck Goddio as to the acceptable archaeological procedure by which excavation
of the site would proceed. Actual observation of the activities by National Museum
supervisors were done through daily monitoring via the use of the two-man sub-
marine. The anchor of the wreck was at a depth of fifty one (51) meters, and the
wreck itself was on a gentle slope with the rudder at fifty four meters. The Osam
Service was anchored on four mooring points around the San Diego, allowing the
divers easy access onto the wreck.
National Museum supervisors utilized a two-man submarine to appraise activi-
ties at the site during the first phase of the archaeological excavation. Museum
Researchers and Technicians accessioned, catalogued, inventoried, recorded, and
labeled the archaeological materials recovered. Museum personnel, likewise,
supervised the packaging and storage of specimens in designated containers as well
as accompanied the periodic transfer of the recovered archaeological materials from
the work boat to storage facilities in Manila. Throughout the entire San Diego
Underwater Archaeological Project the National Museum personnel maintained a
project logbook wherein daily entries of activities and finds were recorded.
Due to the depth of the shipwreck, care had to be taken to ensure the safety of
the divers. Except for a few days of twenty-four hour test dives at the start of the
operations, diving activities were restricted to daytime, from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
Each diver would descend to the wreck for a thirty-minute working dive, followed
by a forty five minute decompression procedure ranging from fifteen meters to three
meters in three-meter increments. At the final two decompression stops, the divers
would switch from air to oxygen, to further increase their decompression rate. All
the dives were planned according to the dive tables of the French Ministre du
Travail.
Under this diving schedule, four divers could work simultaneously at the site.
Initially, two of the divers would use scuba equipment and two would use a hookah
rig. The hookah system employed a long air hose from the Osam Service allowing
the diver unlimited air time underwater. However, the system proved to be less
efficient than scuba, which allowed the second diving team to enter the water while
the first team was decompressing (the hookah rig had to be passed to the second
team only after the decompression was over). Eventually, the hookah rigs were not
used in order to gain more diving time.
Divers with underwater photographic equipment made daily video and photo
documentation of the activities and the finds. As the excavation progressed,
observation of the activities was done from a two-man submarine and near the end
of the excavation in 1993 National Museum supervisors were diving at the site. The
details of the site plan were derived from these observation dives and from con-
sultations with the French divers.
5 Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego … 97

5.7 The Excavation

A control grid to systematically excavate the area by squares was set-up prior to the
retrieval of archaeological materials. Two electric water pumps were used for
dredging.
The recovered artifacts were lifted to the work boat by a pulley system of ropes.
Smaller objects brought to the surface were immersed in sea water in different
containers to maintain stability. Large jars and concretions were placed in mesh
ropes and brought to the surface by lift bags. The soil contents of jars were sieved in
mesh screens. Animal bones and teeth as well as botanical seeds were recovered.
The larger jars were placed in carton boxes for shipment to Manila where they were
immersed in water vats.
Fourteen bronze cannons, the largest weighing almost two and a half tons were
successively lifted to the surface using a crane on board a separate barge. All these
were accomplished before the end of the 1992 excavation activities.
The positions of all the recovered objects were plotted in a working map at the
work boat. This data formed part of the Inventory Record Forms of the National
Museum in addition to entries for the individual archaeological materials retrieved.
The working map and the daily log book of the National Museum personnel
supplemented the documentation process.

5.8 The Archaeological Materials Recovered

More than 34,000 archaeological items including shards and broken objects have
been recovered from the San Diego site during the entire period of the project. The
general situation at the site, as shown by the archaeological excavation records, is
that the bronze cannons were on top of the large stoneware jars. The jars were
resting on piles of ballast stones which were in turn resting on the ribs and planks of
the warship. The large jars were often encountered stacked in layers while smaller
artifacts, such as porcelain pieces, were found under and around them.
The archaeological materials recovered from the San Diego wreck site include
more than five hundred blue-and-white Chinese ceramics in the form of plates,
dishes, bottles, kendis, and boxes which may be ascribed to the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644), specifically to the Wanli Period (Fig. 5.1, 5.2, 5.3); (1573–1619)
more than seven hundred and fifty Chinese, Thai, Burmese, and Spanish or
Mexican stoneware jars (Fig. 5.4, 5.5); over seventy Philippine-made earthenware
potteries influenced by European stylistic forms and types; parts of Japanese
samurai swords; fourteen bronze cannons of different types and sizes; parts of
European muskets; stone and lead cannon balls; metal navigational instruments and
implements; silver coins; two iron anchors; animal bones and teeth (pig and
chicken); and seed and shell remains (prunes, chestnut and coconut). A majority of
the ceramic wares recovered were intact and many pieces are restorable.
98 E.Z. Dizon

Fig. 5.1 Chinese blue plates

from San Diego site

Fig. 5.2 Chinese white

plates from San Diego site

Worthy of note among the metal finds are a navigational compass and a maritime
astrolabe. Also retrieved from the site is a block of hardened resin that was noted in
historical accounts to have been used for caulking and for making fire in stoves.
Most of the archaeological materials recovered were covered by coral encrus-
tation’s when first brought to the surface. Only after thorough cleaning, during the
conservation phase of the project, could they be appropriately identified and
described.
5 Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego … 99

Fig. 5.3 Chinese blue and

white kendy from San Diego
site

Fig. 5.4 Pottery Jar from San

Diego wreck
100 E.Z. Dizon

Fig. 5.5 Marking pattern on the pottery jar of San Diego wreck

5.9 Concluding Remarks

Although the San Diego was declared to be a warship of the Spaniards in the late
1600, its cargoes remained to be that of a merchant ship. The ceramic cargoes it
carried speak for itself. These are of very fine to medium quality ceramic products
from China, mainland Southeast Asia including Thailand, Burma or Myanmar,
Vietnam and those coming from the Philippines, including European wares from
Spain, as well as those from the New World like Peru and Mexico. Certainly, we
generated a tremendous amount of archaeological and historical data in the
underwater recovery of the remains of the San Diego shipwreck. The volume and
quantity of cultural materials that the San Diego contained is exorbitant for a
warship whose mission is only to chase two small Dutch ships inside Philippine
territorial waters.
Finally, it should be acknowledged that Mr. Franck Goddio organized all the
works of the San Diego Project. It was Mr. Patrick Lize who did the archival
research of the San Diego in Spain, Holland, Rome and Paris. It was Mr. Gilbert
Fournier who actually dove first to verify the actual existence of the San Diego at
the site off Fortune Island, Batangas. Mr. Goddio’s role was actually to coordinate
the project with the National Museum of the Philippines. The technical work of the
San Diego Project was done by the group of Frank Goddio (WWF) and the staff of
the Underwater Archaeology Section, Archaeology Division, National Museum of
the Philippines.
5 Underwater Archaeology of the San Diego … 101

References

Alba, L. A. (1993) A preliminary survey of the storage jars. In Saga of the San Diego (A.D. 1600).
Concerned Citizens of the National Museum, Inc. Vera-Reyes, Inc. Philippines. pp. 43–44.
Alba, L., Conese E. T., & Secuya V. (1993) Fortune Island underwater archaeological excavations:
A 2nd preliminary report; unpublished paper at the record section of the archaeology division,
National Museum.
Beyer, H. O. (1946) Manila ware. Museum and Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology,
University of the Philippines Bulletin No. 1. Manila, Philippines: Bureau of Printing.
Beyer, H. O., & De Veyra, J. C. (1947). Philippine saga: A pictorial history of the Archipelago
since tie began. Manila, Philippines: The Philippine Evening News.
Blair, E. H., & Robertson J. A. (1903–1909) The Philippine islands, 1493–1898. vol. 11, 13 and
15. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark Company.
Chirino, P. (S. J.) (1969) Relacion de las Islas Filipinas. The Philippines in 1600. Manila:
Historical Conservation Society XV.
Cummins, J. S. (Editor and Translator) (1971) Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas by Antonio de Morga,
1559–1636. London: Hakluyt Society at the University Press, Second Series No. 140.
De la Torre, A. A. (1993) Potteries of the period. In Saga of the San Diego (A.D. 1600) (pp. 31–
37). Philippines: Concerned Citizens of the National Museum, Inc. Vera-Reyes, Inc.
Dizon, E. Z. (1992) Report on the underwater archaeological activities in the philippines from
1991 to mid-1992; unpublished paper presented at the SPAFA Consultative Workshop on
Underwater Archaeological Research (S-W 141) held in Jakarta, Carita, and Serang, Indonesia
from 29 June to 5 July 1992.
Dizon, E. Z. (1993) War at sea: Piecing together the San Diego puzzle. In Saga of the San Diego
(A.D. 1600) (pp. 21–26). Philippines: Concerned Citizens of the National Museum, Inc.
Vera-Reyes, Inc.
Ehrich, R. W. (1965) Ceramics and man: A cultural perspective. In F. R. Matson (Ed.) Ceramics
and Man. USA: Viking Fund Publication in Anthropology No. 41.
Goddio, F., & Kristof, E. (1994). The tale of the San Diego. National Geographic, 186(1), 34–57.
L’ Hour, M. (1996). Naval construction: A makeshift galleon. In J.-P. Desroches et al. (Eds.)
Treasures of the San Diego. New York: Association Française d’Action Aristique and
Fondation Elf, Paris, and Elf Aquitaine International Foundation, Inc.
Main, D., & Fox R. B. (1982) The Calatagan earthenwares: A description of pottery complexes
excavated in Batangas Province, Philippines. Philippines: National Museum (Monograph
No. 5. Manila).
Nicolas, N. C., & Conese, E. T. (1991). A report on the archaeological survey off Fortune Island.
National Museum: Unpublished paper at the Record Section of the Archaeology Division.
Rizal, J. (1990) Historical events of the Philippine Islands by Dr. Antonio De Morga, published in
Mexico in 1609 recently brought to light and annotated by Dr. Jose Rizal. Writings of Jose
Rizal, vol. VI. Manila: National Historical Institute.
Ronquillo, W. P. (1993) The archaeology of the San Diego; A summary of the activities from
1991–1993. In Saga of the San Diego (A.D. 1600) (pp. 13–20). Philippines: Concerned
Citizens of the National Museum, Inc. Vera-Reyes, Inc.
Salcedo, C. G. (1993) The ceramic cargo. In Saga of the San Diego (A.D. 1600) (pp. 29–30).
Philippines: Concerned Citizens of the National Museum, Inc. Vera-Reyes, Inc.
Stanley, H. E. J. (Editor and Translator) (1868) The Philippine Islands, Moluccas, Siam,
Cambodia, Japan, and China, at the close of the sixteenth century. New York: Burt Franklin.
Zaide, G. F. (1990). Documentary sources of Philippine history (Vol. 3). Manila: National Book
Store.
102 E.Z. Dizon

Author Biography

DR. Eusebio “Bong” Z. Dizon

B.A. in Philosophy and minor
Sociology at University of Santo
Tomas, Manila, Philippines,
M.Sc. and Ph.D. in
Anthropology major in
Archaeology at University of
Pennsylvania. of. U.S.A.
Scientist III and Curator I in
the Archaeology Division,
National Museum of
Philippines. Former Head of
the Underwater Archaeology
Section Extensive fieldwork in
both land and underwater
archaeological explorations and
excavations in the Philippines,
United States, India. and
Southeast Asia. Founding
Director of Archaeological Studies Program and professorial Lecturer of University of the
Philippines. Dizon publishes a series of archaeological and anthropological works on maritime
culture, aboriginal culture and cultural interaction of Philippine and southeast Asia.
Chapter 6
On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century:
A Nautical Perspective

Roberto Junco

6.1 Introduction

As part of the ongoing research on the site of a Manila Galleon wreck that is
believed to have sunk in 1576 on its way back from Asia en route to New Spain by
the project “Galeón de Manila, Baja California” SAS/INAH (Subdirección de
Arqueología Subacuática/Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia), attention
has shifted from the study of the cargo to the nautical characteristics of the ship
itself, that is, what kind of ship are we dealing with, what characteristics did the
ship have, and how and where it might have been built. The project started in 1999
and has continued since, along 12 field seasons both on the coast and at sea. The
preliminary results thus far are quite interesting as the collection of artifacts recu-
perated gives us interesting clues as to the nature of the cargo on early Manila
Galleons previously thought to be the 400 tons galleon “San Felipe” lost in 1576
(Von der Porten 2010). Given the dispersion of artifacts and the characteristics of
the site, the wrecking process has been proposed with a good degree of certainty.
Even though, some artifacts pertaining to the ship itself have been documented,
little is known on the characteristics of this vessel yet (Junco 2010). To help in
better approaching the study of the ship, I propose a Spanish nautical treatise in
particular, as the best possible source for information on the ship. The treatise in
question, “Instrucción Náutica” printed in Mexico City in 1584, is not only relevant
because of the proximity in time to the construction and wrecking of the ship, but
also because the author Diego Garcia de Palacio (DGP) is intimately linked to the
topic as a constructor of Manila Galleons, a commercial entrepreneur of the route
and his ambitions to build ships to undertake the impossible conquest of China in
the 16th century. Although, potentially other treatises exist that could be used in this
process, it is the best source of information on what the Baja California, Manila

R. Junco (&)
SAS/National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico City, Mexico
e-mail: robjunco@mac.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 103

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_6
104 R. Junco

Galleon could have been like, for several reasons I will develop in this paper.
Further research on the galleon should depart from the information contained on
this treatise to study the iron works of the ship and the creation of a possible model.

6.2 The Archaeological Site at Baja California

The archaeological site of the Manila Galleon extends through 11.5 km along the
Pacific coast in the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, between large sand dunes
and the sea. Given the sea currents in the area, great debris comes ashore, and it is
no wonder that the shipwreck occurred, as its is most likely that all hands on board
were dead long before the ship hit the coast carried by the sea. The dunes have in
between, sand shallows, where many objects appear each year as the sand gently
shift. Extensive land surveys are undertaken every field season identifying objects
deposited on the surface of the sand, and documenting their position and general
characteristics. Excavation units in areas of great concentration of surface materials
have also yielded artifacts under the sand. Surveys with magnetometer both on the
water and in the lower beach at low tide have been carried out and several magnetic
anomalies have been documented. These magnetic signatures clearly reflect cultural
materials buried deep in the sand and attempts to get at them have been futile
because of the depth at which they are situated below the sea level (more than 5 m),
which prompts water to fill immediately the excavation units. Excavation of these
anomalies has also been attempted underwater, however the conditions have made
it impossible to get to the targets.
The site has yielded a rich collection of documented objects pertaining to the
galleon and its cargo. Most commonly found are shards of Chinese Porcelain from
the Ming Dynasty, Wanli period (Kuwayama 1997: 57). They comprise, large and
small plates, bowls, cups as well as other forms both in the traditional blue and
white and colorful overglazed porcelain, as well as a mix of both decorative
techniques. The porcelains make an extraordinary collection of more than 1800
sherds that exemplify the types being exported across the Pacific in the early
Galleon trade. Less common but well represented are the oriental stonewares from
South East Asia and China, similar to the array found in the San Diego shipwreck
of 1600 and that can be seen at the National Museum in Manila and the “Museo
Naval” in Madrid (Goddio 1994). It is assumed that these ceramics were used to
store the food and water supplies for the long voyage rather than being commercial
goods.
Among other debris from the wreck, several large blocks of bees wax have been
located, European navigation instruments such as: compass gimbals, a small
sounding lead, a fine Chinese bronze figure likely to be an incense cover depicting a
male Fu dog, two bronze Chinese mirrors, pieces of different Chinese plates
fashioned in the cloisonné technique that still hold colors, and several Spanish
silver coins with the arms of Philip the second as well as a Chinese coin. It is curios
that the site, first discovered in 1746 by the Jesuit Father Consag (who explored the
6 On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century: A Nautical Perspective 105

northern territories of Baja California in his evangelical tour), described the

archaeological site quite similar to what we have found and wrote it as follows: “…
at midmorning those who went to record the spit of sand came back: they brought a
bowl, a cup, a vase of Chinese porcelain and a good portion of white wax paste.
They reported that all contours are filled with pieces from china of all sorts, of
ceramic jars, large plates, and other similar things…” he follows: “All these things
here clearly indicate that in the spit of sand beached, or in its whereabouts wrecked
a ship” (de Ortega 1887: 524).
In regard to the remains of the galleon itself, the wreck process has been
established by Ed Von der Porten, basically, the ship came to rest in the sand
shallows in front of the beach for at least a year, and a storm broke it pushing parts
of the ship and cargo into the beach (Von der Porten 2010). Part of this hypothesis
is based on the wholes in the wax blocks tunneled by the Taredo Navalis worm,
which suggests that the blocks were underwater for some time. Surface surveys
each season let us see part of the fan distribution along the beach. However, the site
has difficult conditions for the preservation of the ship remains as was already stated
by Father Consag in the 18th century: “nails and pieces of iron, but that at contact
dissolve into dust even the nails are still tucked into their broken wood” (de Ortega
1887: 524). As part of the elements of the ship, we have documented: iron nails,
iron tacks, iron bolts and several lead sheaths from the hull of the ship also doc-
umented by father Consag. Unfortunately to this point, the archaeological infor-
mation is not substantial to the reconstruction of the ship.

6.3 A New Route to Asia and the Early Manila Galleons

In 1453 with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, the ancient caravan routes
through which European consumers stocked with Eastern products were closed to
trade. This important event coincided with the rise of the Portuguese maritime
expansion, driven by Henry the Navigator. And thus, Bartolomeu Dias crossed the
Cape of Good Hope in 1486, and in 1498 Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut, India,
opening direct trade between Europe and Asia. Then began the flow of Eastern
goods in large quantities to Europe once more. Spain following the Portuguese
example also set out to search for a way to Asia with the original project of
Christopher Columbus who sailed west to reach the “Far East”. The Admiral’s
world was geographically Ptolemaic so that America was an accident that crossed
his path on the way to the riches of India, Cathay and Cipangu (Díaz-Trechuelo
2001: 34).
Although the Spaniards in America were expanding throughout the continent,
they never stopped looking for Asia. In 1513 Nunez de Balboa sighted the Pacific
Ocean from Darien, Panama, and several attempts were carried out to find the
straight to cross America, after all, Cathay, the mighty China of Marco Polo, was
still waiting. Spanish and Portuguese divide amongst themselves the world with the
1493 Inter caetera line and the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, establishing a
106 R. Junco

meridian that guaranteed the sovereignty of both nations: to the east, Africa to
Portugal and to the west America for Spain, meridian which incidentally later allow
the Portuguese to claim Brazil discovered in 1500 by Alvares Cabral. It still
remained to reach the territories across the world to the Spice Islands at the
anti-meridian, which made possible Magellan’s project; Portuguese who sailed for
the Spanish king Charles V. After a feat of epic proportions in 1521, the expedition
concluded the first circumnavigation of the globe, finding the narrow straight that
allowed for the trip to Asia (ibid.: 37). Although Magellan died in the voyage,
Elcano with a handful of sailors finished the voyage (Fernández 1997: 18).
That same year the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan fell at the hands of Cortes, who
shortly after, exposed a project to the king to send an expedition to the Moluccas
Islands from the newly conquered territory of New Spain. Several attempts were
made to reach Asia, both from America and from the old continent. In 1525, Jofre
de Loaysa’s expedition, with the veteran Elcano, took as part of the crew a young
man, Andrés de Urdaneta, who would later devise the route of return to America
from Asia, the famous “Tornaviaje”. They reached the Philippine archipelago but
could not return across the Pacific. Other expeditions had the same experience such
as that of Alvaro de Saavedra while others ended in tragedy such as the one of
Lopez de Villalobos (Rahn 1997: 8). In 1565 the expedition of Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi made permanent the Spanish presence in the Philippines and joined the
Philippines with New Spain skillfully using the Kuroshivo current along the
northern Pacific Ocean (Martinez 1992: 87).
The solution of the “Tornaviaje” allowed the colonization of several points of
the Philippine archipelago, however the few earthly riches disappointed the settlers.
For the crown, the Philippines meant a considerable financial deficit to the point
that in 1580 its abandonment was seriously considered. The early years of the
colony in Asia were not profitable, but in 1572 the “Spanish finally had the chance
to acquire part of the cargo of Chinese junks that arrived in Manila Bay: a few
hundred rolls of silk and a few thousand pieces of porcelain” (Perez 2004: 155).
The Spanish colony in Asia began to live off of trade. Incidentally, that same year
Acapulco is designated the official port of call for the manila Galleon in America.

6.4 The Manila Galleons of the 16th Century

From a nautical perspective, in regard to the size of the Manila Galleons, as can be
seen in Table 6.1, a picture emerges on the increase in tonnage throughout the 16th
century and by 1614 there were 1000 tons ships (Shurtz 1992: 188). This increase
in size and cargo capacity was a concern to the merchants in Seville, Spain, who
actively pushed for a limit on the amount of goods transported to New Spain. Thus,
in 1593 by Royal decree restrictions were placed on the Manila Galleons limiting
the number of ships that could make the voyage each year to two, with a cargo
capacity of 300 tons each, a third vessels was mandated to stay in Acapulco to be
used in case of need (Castellanos 1996: 90). This law was reinforced in 1720,
6 On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century: A Nautical Perspective 107

Table 6.1 Manila Galleons Ship Year Tonnage

of the XVI century with
known tonnage San Lucas 1564 40
San Juan 1564 80
San Pablo 1564 400
San Pedro 1564 500
San Geronimo 1566 300–400
Espiritu Santo 1572 200–300
San Felipe 1575 400–500
Santa Ana 1587 600
Santiago 1588 600
San Pedro 1588 400
San Felipe 1589 700
Pintados 1591 600
San Agustin 1594 200

however the practice was that usually only one galleon made the trip each year and
its size was over the limit permitted, for instance, by 1762 there were ships like the
“Santisima Trinidad” of 2000 tons.
In the early part of the transpacific route, there was competition between the
shipyards of Acapulco (Mexico), Realejo (Nicaragua) and the Philippines to build
these vessels as a profitable business. Each of these ports, claimed to have the best
conditions to undertake this enterprise. This brief competition period was won by
the shipyards of the Philippines specially Cavite in the 1580s, at first, due to the
total price of ship construction but also to the quality of the wood, teak. Further
proposals and ships were built in Cambodia, Sumatra, Japan and India, but these
were exceptional cases (Shurtz 1992: 189). Although none had good iron for
anchors, Realejo had excellent ropes and pine pitch for caulking (Radell and
Parsons 1971: 302), while Acapulco had supplies from old ships in Veracruz, Gulf
of Mexico. In a letter dated 1576 to the King of Spain, the Governor of the
Philippines, Sande, mentions about the construction of galleons: “There is in this
islands an abundance of wood and of men, so that a large fleet of boats and galleys
may be built…. There is good timber also; to my way of thinking, therefore the ship
that would cost 10,000 ducats in Guatemala, and 30,000 in New Spain, can be made
here for two or three thousand” (Retana 1895: 56). Furthermore, in 1585 Alonso
Sanchez observes that construction of ships at Realejo and other ports of New Spain
was inefficient and expensive. Excellent wood, low priced iron and workforce,
made construction times and expenses be better for 500–600 ton ships if built in the
Philippines (Radell and Parsons 1971: 306). This is important as the author of the
treatise in question “Instrucción Náutica” was himself a builder of at least two
galleons at the port of Realejo.
108 R. Junco

6.5 Elements to Reconstruct the Manila Galleon at Baja

California

Among the sources to reconstruct and understand the characteristics of the Manila
Galleon at Baja California—that could be the lost San Felipe of 1576—, are both
archaeological data and historical documents. Spanish shipwrecks of the 16th century
such as the Emmanuelle Point and Molasses Reef shipwrecks (Delgado 1997: 140, 279)
are particularly valuable to our research. However, nautical treatises serve as larger
blueprints to the construction of these ships. From our experience in the project so far,
archaeological data has been significant in pairing evidence from parts of the ship and
cargo among archaeological sites. Nautical treatises on the other hand give us the big
picture on the size and form of the ship itself. Among these, the book written by DGP
“Instrucción Náutica” fits perfect, not only because of the date or the quality of the book
itself but because of who was DGP, and his ambitious plans. A native of the northern
coast of Spain, form a well to do family of navigators, DGP started his career as Crown
attorney of Guatemala in 1573 and held the post till 1580. As part of his duties, he sent
a famous letter to the King dated 1576, in which he mentions his discovery of the
Mayan ruins of Copan (Honduras), and his descriptions of the Central American
Indians and their customs, which are widely read today by anthropologist for their
insightful observations. The following year, he oversees the construction of two Manila
Galleons in Realejo, Nicaragua. He experiments with local woods such as cedar, orders
the knitting of cotton sails and pioneers henequen for the rigging. In 1578 he sends a
project of conquest and pacification of the Philippines and China. By 1580, he is Crown
attorney of New Spain and the following year director of the University of Mexico. In
the year 1587 the Viceroy puts him in charge of a maritime expedition to attack the
English pirate Cavendish who had caused havoc in the Pacific coast of New Spain
months earlier, without any success. He finally died penniless in Mexico City in 1595.

6.6 Spanish Plans to Conquer China

During the early colonization of the Philippine Islands there were several proposals
to replicate a conquest of territories as had happened in America, that is, the
discovery and settlement of the Islands and then the conquest of the continent.
Many proposals were sent to the King of Spain to conquer China, the first by the
Governor and Conqueror of the Philippines, Legazpi who in 1567 asked permission
to build 6 galleys to go to China. Next came an energetic Augustinian monk, Martin
de Rada that in 1569 proposed the conquest of China. In 1572 King Phillip II sends
an expedition by Juan de la Isla to “Discover the coast of China”, however, the
galleons of that year were sent back to America. In 1574 the authorities in Manila
received the embassy of Wang Waggao, who presented a deal form the kingdom to
exchange a piece of land in the continent (much like Macao) for the Spaniards if the
pirate Lin Feng was captured. Further proposal such as Riquel and Lavazares in the
6 On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century: A Nautical Perspective 109

same year, were put forth to undertake the conquest of the celestial kingdom (Ollé
2002: 232). Again King Phillip II asks the Viceroy of New Spain, Enriquez, to look
for a privateer to put together an expedition to “Discover China”. In 1577, DGP
built two ships to serve the route, the “San Martin” along with the “Santa Ana” at
Realejo, the “San Martin” was captained by his brother Lope de Palacio and was
shipwrecked off Macau in 1591, after visiting the city of Zhangzhou in the coast of
Fukien (Shurtz 1992: 145). The next year, DGP sends his proposal to the King, to
conquer China with 6 galleys and 4000 men. As can be seen form the biography of
DGP, his interest in the Pacific trade and ambitions to undertake a conquest of
China for which he needed ships, and also his abilities reflect in his work exactly
the kind of ship that sailed the Pacific at the time. As Historian Trejo has pointed
out, his treatises were a demonstration to the King of Spain of his abilities and skills
to receive the royal favor (Trejo 2009: 203).

6.7 Application of “Instrucción Náutica” to the Case

Study

Spanish ships from mid the mid XVI century were built on a system of proportions
in which the keel was the principal measurement from which the width and height
were calculated to build the hull of the ship up to the main deck (Loewen 2007:
307). The width of the ship was roughly half the length of the keel and the height
was roughly one-third the length of the keel respectively. Upon the changes in this
basic rule the different constructors made variation to make their ideal ship. From
these proportions, it was possible to apply an equation to measure the volume of
cargo capacity or tonnage of the ship, in casks or “toneles” in Spanish, from where
the word ton comes. Each cask or “tonel” was also a weight measurement of 22.5
“quintales” equivalent to 1035 kilograms or two “pipas” (wine barrels). This
measurement of volume and weight was limited to the hull of the ship, and dictated
the navigability and possible uses for the ships. DGP writes about the measure-
ments for 400 and 150 tons ships, destined both for commerce and war to be used in
the islands of the west (Philippines) and the East Indies. He gives the following
measurements for the 400 tons vessel: 34 “codos” (cubits) or 19 meters approxi-
mately of keel length, a breadth of half the length of the keel, 16 “codos” or 9
meters approximately, a height that is two-thirds the size of the breadth (measured
at the first deck) of 11.5 “codos” or 6.40 meters approximately (Lanela 2008: 84;
Trejo 2009: 182) (see Table 6.2). Other measurements are presented in the
“Instrucción Náutica” that help define other aspects such as the stern and bow post,
the height of the decks, dead rising (see Fig. 6.1). However, the measurements
mentioned before give us a clear picture of the size of the ship in Baja California.
Also, it is clear, its rather chubby characteristic, compensated with high castles in
the bow and stern, something that will change in the XVIII century when the
Spanish ships become elongated and leaner as those of other European nations. All
110 R. Junco

Fig. 6.1 The image comes from the book “Instrucción Náutica” by DGP representing a 400 tons
Nao. Taken from: (Lanela 2008) with annotation from Lanela

Table 6.2 Different dimensions of Manila Galleons throughout time

Author/Ship San Juan San Felipe Garcia de Palacio Gaztañeta Cabrera Bueno
Year 1565 1574 1587 1720 1734
Tonnage 200 400–500 400 990 919
Keel 25.5 54.7 34 63–8 62
Overall length 38.25 62.91 46 76 74
Breath 13 16.4 16 21–3 20.16
Height 7 8.75 11.5 10–3 10

this was fruit of the relationship between cargo capacity and sailing ability as well
as the possibility of building evermore-larger ships.
The first are the measurements from the San Juan of 1565, the second a
hypothetical reconstruction by Raymond Aker of the Baja California Galleon
previously thought to be the San Felipe of 1576, The third are the ones proposed by
DGP, fourth, those proposed in the treatise by Gaztañeta and Gonzalez Cabrera
Bueno in the XVIII century.
6 On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century: A Nautical Perspective 111

Table 6.3 Different kinds of Name Translation Approx.

iron nail and bolts described
by DGP in his book Pernos de punta Pointed drift bolts 50 cm
“Instrucción Náutica” Pernos de chaveta Forelock bolts ?
Clavos de barrote Scantling nails 8 cm
Clavos de escora Bottom nails 17 cm
Media escora Medium bottom nails 15 cm
Clavos de costado Tacks 7 cm

Among the cultural remains of the Manila Galleon are over a dozen pieces of
iron that belong to the assembly of the ship and are parts of diverse kinds of bolts,
nails and tackles. Garcia de Palacio wrote that the fasteners used to build ships were
classified in six different categories (see Table 6.3), four different kind of nails and
two kinds of bolts for different purposes. One of the main goals of the next field
season at Baja California will be to classify the iron using that category. Already
two of the mentioned nails and a bolt have been identified.
Another aspect of the ship that has been documented by the archaeological project,
are some 50 pieces of lead sheaths that have a length of up to 45 centimetres by a
width of 25 centimetres approximately, with a thickness of between 1 and 3 mm. All
have square nail incisions, and some have negative impressions of textile on one side,
probably part of the caulking of the hull. The use of lead to cover the hull has been
documented on several archaeological sites pertaining to Spanish ships of the XVI and
early XVII centuries such as the Molasses Reef wreck from the mid XVI century, the
Padre Island wrecks of 1554, San Martin of 1616, and the Santa Margarita of 1622.
The nails tacks for the lead sheets have a head of 2.4–5.5 cm Spacing is every 3–7 cm.
Given the amount found to date in the site of the San Felipe, probably the practice of
covering the hull with lead sheaths was not extensive to the whole of the hull but only
those parts that needed repair on the voyage. In the “Instrucción Náutica”, DGP does
not mention explicitly the use of lead sheaths to cover the hull, however he does
mention that in the ship there has to be lead and nails to repair the ship and also, in
case of battle referring to the use of lead shot (Lanela 2008: 119).

6.8 Conclusion

At this early stage of research on the naval architecture of the Manila Galleon of
Baja California, as it has been shown, the book “Instrucción Náutica” by the
Captain Diego Garcia de Palacio is a precise source to understand and reconstruct
the ship. Given that the author of the book was a man of the renaissance, builder of
Manila Galleons in Central America, that he controlled the trade of the galleons for
a few years, that his interest was to reach China and conquer it with the use of
well-constructed ships from Central America, his knowledge and skills, and sailing
background makes possible that his treatise published in Mexico in 1587, contains
the closest possible information to our purpose given that the materials place our
112 R. Junco

wreck roughly a decade earlier to the printing year of his treatise. It also opens the
door to understand the building materials employed in the construction of the ship,
such as: nails, bolts, and even the size and shape of the sails. Undoubted it will be
possible to understand with more detail the dimensions of the Galleon at Baja
California. The archaeological project will direct efforts to look at the iron on site
and build a sufficient collection to understand in greater depth the fastenings on the
ship using the classification of DGP. Much has to be studied about Manila
Galleons. Specific information from other archaeological sites coupled with further
research on archives will advance the study of these magnificent ships that main-
tained through 250 years, a deep relationship between Mexico and the Philippines,
not only on a commercial basis but more importantly, in flux of people, cultural
exchanges and shared traditions. Mexico owes greatly to these ships and much of
the culture transported is still present in the food, dress styles, handcrafts and many
other cultural expressions common to Mexicans today, the same can be said for the
Philippine people.

References

Castellanos, A. (1996) Los Ultimos Años del Galeón de Manila. Revista de Historia Naval
(No. 52). Madird.
Perez de Tudela, J. (coordinador) (2004) En Memoria de Miguel López de Legazpi. Madrid: Real
Academia de la Historia.
Delgado, J. P. (Ed.). (1997). Encyclopedia of underwater and maritime archaeology. New Haven:
Yale University Press.
Díaz-Trechuelo, L. (2001) Filipinas. La gran desconocida (1565–1898). Navarra: Eunsa.
Fernández, M. A. (1997). The China Galleon. Mexico: Grupo Vitro.
Trejo, F. (2009) El Libro Y los Saberes Practicos: Instrucción Náutica de Diego Garcia de
Palacio (1587). Masters Thesis, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.
Goddio, F. (1994). Le Mystere du San Diego. Paris: Robert Laffont.
Junco, R. (2010) Arqueología del Galeón de Manila. In L. Chen (Ed.), La Nueva Nao, de Formosa
a America Latina. Taipei: Universidad de Tamkang.
Kuwayama, G. (1997). Chinese ceramics in colonial Mexico. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.
Lanela, E. E. (2008) Instrucción Náutica (1587) by Diego Garcia de Palacio, an early nautical
handbook from Mexico. Masters Thesis, Texas A&M, College Station.
Loewen, B. (2007) The tonnage of the Red Bay vessel and ship tonnage in the 16th-century Spain.
In R. Grenier, M.-A. Bernier & W. Stevens (Eds.), The underwater archaeology of Red Bay.
Manitoba: Parks Canada.
Martinez, J. L. (1992). In: C. Gonzáles (Ed.), El Galeón del Pacífico. Instituto Guerrerense de
Cultura, México.
Ollé, M. (2002). La Empresa de China. Barcelona: Acantilado.
de Ortega, J. (1887). Historia de Nayarit, Sonora, Sinaloa y ambas Californias. Mexico:
Tipografia de E. Abadiano.
Radell, D. R. & Parsons, J. J. (1971) A forgotten colonial port and shipbuilding center in
Nicaragua. In The Hispanic American historical review (Vol. 51, No. 2).
Rahn, C. (1997) Spain and the Pacific, voyaging into vastness. Spain’s legacy in the Pacific.
Mains’l Haul (Vol. 41, No. 4 & Vol. 42, No. 1). San Diego Maritime Museum.
Retana, W. E. (1895) Carta-Relación de Filipinas, por el Dr. Francisco de Sande. Archivo del
Bibliófilo Filipino. Madrid: Casa de la Viuda de M. Minuesa.
6 On a Manila Galleon of the 16th Century: A Nautical Perspective 113

Shurtz, W. (1992) El Galeón de Manila. Madrid: Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica.

Von der Porten, E. (2010) Treasures from the lost Galleon San Felipe 1573–1576. Mains’l Haul
(Vol. 46, No. 1 & 2). Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Author Biography

Dr. Roberto Junco Archaeological researcher. Underwater

archaeologist graduated from the National School of
Anthropology and History in Mexico city with a Masters
Degree and a PhD. He also received a Diploma on Historical
Archaeology from Leicester University. He works since 2004
at the Office in charge of Underwater Archaeology of the
National Institute of Anthropology and History. He has
worked in projects in Veracruz, Campeche and Guerrero and
Surveyed in the Gulf of Mexico for the lost galleons of the
1631 fleet. He has written on diverse topics such as historical
archaeology, Chinese porcelain in Mexico, and the prehis-
panic rituality of Mexico. He is currently excavating at
Acapulco port of the Manila Galleon.
Chapter 7
Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos
on the American West Coast and a Kraak
Plate Chronology

Edward Von der Porten

7.1 Three Manila Galleons and the Golden Hind

The eastbound Manila galleons sailed far to the north-northeast after leaving the
Philippines. They crossed the Pacific Ocean at a high latitude with the westerly
winds, then turned to a south-southeast course when they came close to the Alta
California coast for an extended longshore run toward their port of Acapulco in
southern New Spain. During the two-and-a-half centuries of the trade, three gal-
leons are known to have been wrecked on the shores of North America: a ship of
late 1570s on the Baja California peninsula, the San Agustín of 1595 at Drakes Bay
in Alta California, and the Santo Cristo de Burgos of 1693 at Nehalem, northern
Oregon.1 In addition, Francis Drake in his Golden Hind visited Drakes Bay in 1579
before sailing west across the Pacific Ocean. Beginning in 1940, all of these sites
have been investigated by archaeologists. The fortuitous circumstance that three of
these events occurred within twenty years of each other in the late sixteenth century
made it possible to do comparative studies of the materials these voyagers left

Note: The name of the ship found on the shore of Baja California appeared to be the San Felipe
of 1576, based on the evidence available at the time of the conference a few years ago. Newly
uncovered documentation shows that the San Felipe was not wrecked in the New World but in
an attempt to return to the Philippines after storm damage in the North Pacific, so a search for
missing-without-trace ships is under way, with the San Juanillo of 1578 a possible but not
certain identification. Some of the monographs in this bibliography give the name San Felipe.
The information in them is valid. The ship's name and date need to be changed.

1
The Santo Cristo de Burgos is not dealt with in this study because of its late date, which is beyond
the main period of Kraak porcelain production.

E. Von der Porten (&)

143 Springfield Drive, San Francisco, CA 94132-1456, USA
e-mail: edandsaryl@aol.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 115

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_7
116 E. Von der Porten

behind. Particular emphasis was placed on the Chinese porcelains which constitute
a large part of each surviving cargo.
Four shipwrecks from the early seventeenth century filled out the story of the
development of the Chinese cargos from this early period of European trade with
Asia. They are the Spanish San Diego sunk off Manila in 1600, the Portuguese
Nossa Senhora dos Mártires wrecked off Lisbon in 1606, the Dutch Witte Leeuw
sunk off St. Helena in 1613, and an unidentified Chinese junk lost in the South
China Sea in the mid-1640s. The information from these cargos contributed to the
creation of the chronology of late-sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century Kraak
porcelain types presented here.

7.2 The Late 1570s Galleon on the Coast of Baja

California

The earliest eastbound Manila galleon wrecked in the Americas was a ship lost
in the late 1570s, a few years after the first successful voyage of galleons carrying
cargos of Chinese merchandise from Manila to Acapulco in 1573 (Von der Porten
2011a, pp. 21–45).2
This ship may be the San Juanillo, lost without trace in 1578. She sailed from
Manila in the summer, safely cleared the Philippine Archipelago via San
Bernardino Strait, and disappeared (Morga 1971, p. 62). Late that year, or early the
following year, the ship was sailing south along the coast of Baja California. She
was losing men in large numbers, presumably from scurvy, the dietary-deficiency
disease that slowly disables its victims long before it kills them. At some point,
there were no longer enough able men to manage the galleon. She drifted before the
wind, which carried her onto the gently shoaling sands off a desert beach. There she
struck, and there she remained. Her few survivors did not get a small boat over the
side to attempt an escape to Spanish settlements along the Mexican coast. If some
went ashore, they found no water or food. In time, all perished, and the ship lay in
her sandy entrapment for a year or more. Eventually, a storm struck her from the
west, shattered her hull, and drove the fragments ashore on the storm surge, scat-
tering her remains along a line in the dunes that stretches for 11 km. There, in the
sands, our expeditions’ scholars from Mexico and the United States have found the
traces of her history (Von der Porten 2011a, pp. 43–45; 2011b, pp. 8–9).
The recovered cargo contains sixteen hundred porcelains: two intact bowls, all the
others broken (Von der Porten 2011b, 2012). The wreck was dated by comparing

2
This monograph, and several others mentioned in these notes, is leading toward the publication of
a comprehensive book edited by Edward Von der Porten and Roberto Junco and tentatively titled
The Discovery of a Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Shipwreck in Baja California. The
monographs and forthcoming book contain extensive bibliographies. The general history of the
Manila galleons is William Lytle Schurz, The Manila Galleon. Rodrigue Lévesque’s
twenty-volume History of Micronesia provides translated copies of many relevant documents. His
Volume Two covers the period of the ships mentioned in this study.
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 117

these porcelains with those from the Golden Hind that had been abandoned by
Francis Drake at his Alta California harbor in 1579 (Shangraw and Von der Porten
1981). The Drake porcelains are contemporary with or just later than the Baja
California Galleon’s wares, as described in the Kraak porcelain chronology below
(Von der Porten 2008, pp. 6–10). Thus, they date to between 1573, the year of the
first Manila galleon cargos with large quantities of Chinese trade goods, and 1578,
the year the Golden Hind cargo left Manila. The eastbound galleons of 1573 are
known to have arrived safely; therefore, the shipwreck could not have occured in that
year (Von der Porten 2008, p. 11). A peso (piece of eight or ochoreales) found in the
Baja California wreckage appears to be from Potosí in Upper Peru, an example of the
second coinage of Spain’s King Philip II. Production of this coinage began in Potosí
in 1574 (de Grau 1970, vol. I, pp. 288, 292, 294–295).3 This coin could not have
traveled from Potosí through Lima, Callao, Acapulco, and Manila and returned
across the Pacific within one year, so the earliest possible date of this galleon must be
1575. The only known missing-without-trace eastbound galleon from 1575 through
1578 is the San Juanillo of 1578 (Morga 1971, p. 62).
The cargo was identified as a “sampler” cargo by the late Clarence Shangraw,
former senior curator of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. The cargo
showed that neither the Chinese suppliers nor the Spanish merchants in Manila
were yet certain what merchandise would be most suitable for sale in the New
World and in Spain (Von der Porten 2011b, p. 10). Before these porcelains and
bronzes were sent to the Philippines to test which of them would fit into the new
Spanish trade, they would have been designated for sale to many other customers,
including Southeast Asian tribal societies, royalty and nobility throughout the
region, overseas Chinese, and wealthy Japanese. As such, this collection of
porcelains—the only trade goods surviving from the wreck in large quantities—is a
very mixed group, numbering 110 distinct types (Fig. 7.1). There are simple rice
bowls with diverse painted designs, soup bowls in several sizes and designs,
high-quality bowls, low- and high-quality plates, wine and tea cups, large and small
low bowls, jars, covered bowls, and bottles—all from the inland porcelain center of
Jindezhen and its vicinity. There also are relatively crude dishes and jars from
South-Chinese coastal kilns called Zhangzhou wares. The decoration of the
porcelains is characteristically East Asian iconography, with dragons, phoenixes,
water buffalos, fantastic animals, Buddhist guardian lions, monkeys, various birds,
calligraphy, flames, waves, stylized mountains, flowering plant groups, magic
fungi, gentlemen’s purses, pearl strings with Buddhist pendants, holy landscapes,
pond scenes, and a happy family of a scholar with his women and boys—a mix of
motifs that was certainly exotic to the Spaniards, but often enigmatic.
Some of the designs were pleasing to Spanish eyes, so they often were reordered
for later cargos. These include garden plants with birds on branches, dragons
similar to European dragons, elaborate naturalistic mountain-and-lake landscapes,

3
The coin is unpublished. Publication in Edward Von der Porten and Roberto Junco, eds.,
forthcoming.
118 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.1 Early Wanli porcelains from the late 1570s Manila galleon

and duck ponds surrounded by lush foliage. Many others were not likely to be
welcome in Spanish markets over the long term, particularly the strongly Asiatic
designs such as the phoenixes, calligraphy, highly stylized plants and landscapes,
Buddhist symbols, and human figures in Chinese garb. Some of the porcelains’
shapes were not desirable in the new trade, notably the small cups which had no
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 119

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

function in Spanish lifeways, and the straight-rim bowls which did not appeal to the
Spaniards as much as the flaring-rim bowls. Other types, such as the numerous
overglaze polychrome bowls and plates, while very colorful and attractive, appar-
ently were too expensive to command a large enough profit at the fair in Acapulco.
The less-desirable types quickly disappeared from the trade, as shown by their
scarcity or absence in cargos only a few years later than this one.
Some of the porcelains are heavily potted, casually painted, and under fired
low-quality wares, such as the phoenix plates which constitute 27 % of the cargo,
suggesting dumping of surpluses by Chinese merchants. The Zhangzhou dishes and
jars in this cargo would have been recognized by the Spaniards as colorful, if
low-value, provincial pieces. All the Zhangzhou wares exhibit early,
loosely-painted floral designs. The Zhangzhou wares from this cargo are the earliest
fully-identified and firmly-dated Zhangzhou wares in the world. A chronology of
these types can be created by comparing these Zhangzhou wares with those from
the San Agustín shipwreck of 1595 and later cargos.
Many of these porcelains are mid-value bowls and cups with often-perfunctory
painting of a wide range of simple designs. Some of the plates with gentlemen’s
purses and pearl strings with Buddhist pendants are better-made but, from the
Spanish viewpoint, would have been mere exotics in their decoration.
120 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

Other porcelains are high-value cabinet pieces, such as the numerous bowls with
Daoist Paradise landscapes and those with flying phoenixes—the latter echoing
Jiajing Reign (1522–1566) court wares. A bowl depicting the folk tale of monkeys
stealing the peaches of immortality from the formal garden of the Queen Mother of
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 121

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

the Western Paradise has no known parallel in existing collections. Although it

would have been seen as decorative in Spanish eyes, it is unlikely that the Spaniards
would have known about its story or attached meaning to the tale if they had.
Notably, 10 % of the porcelains are of such high quality and painting style that
they normally would have been sent to wealthy and discriminating Japanese
122 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 123

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

customers. These are mostly over-glaze polychrome bowls and plates in a wide
range of designs from formal to naturalistic. Most feature plants and flowers,
although colorful birds, a dragon, and a squirrel on a melon vine are included in the
repertoire. A few blue-on-white wares also were originally made for the Japanese
124 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

market, including an exquisite small dish with an asymmetrical bamboo motif and a
large dish with a fishpond design filled in with a fishnet background.
One porcelain group that is very sparsely represented is Kraak ware, the sig-
nature ware of the late-sixteenth to early-seventeenth-centuries’ trades. There are a
few white-cavetto plates with early-Kraak characteristics and a few single- and
double-line Kraak bowls—nothing more. However, the double-line Kraak bowl
type is the earliest firmly-dated and fully-developed Kraak in the world. It was a
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 125

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

key discovery for dating the introduction of Kraak ware (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3; Von der
Porten 2011b, pp. 17–93; 2012; Von der Porten and Junco, forthcoming).
In addition to the porcelains, there are a few small metal trade objects, including
two cloisonné plate fragments, a bronze mirror, and a bronze Buddhist guardian
male lion atop an incense-burner lid.
This cargo provides a remarkable insight into the earliest experimental years of
the Manila galleon trade which completed the dream of Columbus by establishing a
viable route across the Pacific Ocean to exchange the silver of the Americas for the
luxuries of Asia. It also provides much closely dated information about the
development of Chinese porcelain designs in the Jindezhen and Zhangzou kiln
regions.
126 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 127

Fig. 7.1 (continued)

7.3 The Golden Hind of 1579

English privateer Francis Drake’s Golden Hind entered the Pacific Ocean through
the Straits of Magellan in September 1578, then raided Spanish shipping and set-
tlements from Chile to southern Mexico. One of Drake’s captures on his way north
was a small ship that had sailed from Acapulco, where the cargo of the 1578 Manila
galleon had been sold, toward Peru. Among other prize, Drake had taken four chests
of porcelains from a gentleman, Don Francisco de Zarate, who was sailing aboard
this ship. These chests were not aboard the Golden Hind when she returned to
England in September 1580, although Drake may well have retained a few porce-
lains as special gifts (Aker and Von der Porten 2000, 2010, pp. 16, 57, 64–66).4

4
The Walsingham Bowl may have derived from Drake’s circumnavigation. Now in the Burghley
House Collection, it carries the tradition of having been given by Queen Elizabeth to her godson
128 E. Von der Porten

From Guatulco, New Spain, Drake sailed far out to sea to gain an offing, then
turned toward the northeast to regain the coast of North America and seek a strait
through the continent that he hoped would lead him back to England. Finding no
strait in what is now southern Oregon, he sailed southward to find a harbor to repair
and reprovision his ship before sailing westward to circumnavigate the world. He
found a safe anchorage and a small harbor at Drakes Bay, California, 50 km north
of San Francisco. There he stayed for thirty-six days and claimed the land he named
Nova Albion for his Queen Elizabeth. His men repaired his Golden Hind and
restocked her food and water barrels. When he left, chests of Chinese porcelains
were abandoned on the shore, where they were taken and used by the local Coast
Miwok People.5
Some of the porcelain fragments found in Native American village sites along
the shores of Drakes Bay have been identified as deriving from the landed and
abandoned cargo from the Drake visit (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981,
pp. 73–74). Why Drake abandoned these porcelains is not known, but overloading
of his ship, which was heavily burdened with captured silver bars and stocked with
food and water for the trans-Pacific voyage, is the likely reason. This collection
does not provide a complete overview of porcelains from the 1578 galleon’s cargo,
but rather a random sampling created by Don Francisco de Zarate’s purchases at the
Acapulco Fair. It represents fewer than one hundred original plates, bowls, cups,
and bottles. However, upon comparison, the Golden Hind’s porcelains form a
contrast to the Baja California Galleon’s porcelains. All are blue-on-white wares,
and most are of good middle-range quality, suggesting that Don Francisco may
have purchased the porcelains selectively, choosing from a wide range of types and
ignoring the more exotic ones.
A few of the porcelains in the Drake collection are not Kraak types. They consist
of rice bowls with casual garden-plants designs, a Jiajing-style bowl with a
flying-phoenix design, and a small cup. All the bowls are identical to ones found in
the Baja California cargo.
Most of the porcelains, however, fall into the early-Kraak categories. A plate
design with a white cavetto separating the decorated rim strip from the interior
roundel is a simple, early-Kraak or proto-Kraak pattern. Other plates have
single-line, double-line, and beaded-pendant-divider rims and cavettos (Figs. 7.2
and 7.3). Most of these plates have landscapes with deer in their interior roundels,
but a few have birds in landscapes or pond scenes. Some bowl exteriors have single
lines dividing panels with deer and plant motifs; others have upper exteriors divided

(Footnote 4 continued)
Thomas Walsingham (1568–1630). It is a 1570s-style, 21.5-cm-diameter bowl from Jingdezhen
with elements identical to those on some of the Golden Hind sherds at Drakes Bay. The bowl’s
designs include flying horses over waves, floral sprigs, birds, Daoist landscapes, and Buddhist
wheels, and it is mounted in a gilt-silver rim and base with straps connecting them. Munroe and
Richard (1986), pp. 36, 38, 46, 80–81.
5
This story is summarized in Aker and Von der Porten (2000, 2010). The site of Drake’s harbor
and encampment was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2012.
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 129

Fig. 7.2 Kraak plate designs from seven cargos: 1578–1643. Kraak plates from seven cargos
define the development and evolution of Kraak porcelains from early in their development in the
late Longqing (1567–1572) and early Wanli (1573-1619) reigns to nearly the end of sequence at
the time of the Ming-Ching transition in 1643–1644 (derived from Shangraw and Von der Porten
1997, 2007)
130 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.2 (continued)

into panels containing flying horses over waves. There is a very finely-painted low
bowl with double-line-divider panels around a large vase in a garden. The few
molded bottles have necks with pearl strings (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981,
pp. 7–63).
In this Golden Hind cargo, mid-range blue-on-white porcelains predominate, and
early Kraak wares are already well represented.
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 131

Fig. 7.2 (continued)

7.4 The San Agustín of 1595

Sebastian Rodrigues Cermeño received a commission from Viceroy of Mexico Luís

de Velásco to go to the Philippines, then take the small galleon San Agustín from
Manila to Acapulco. His mission was to find a harbor on the Alta California coast,
assemble a small prefabricated boat there, and use the boat as an inshore scouting
132 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.2 (continued)

craft for mapping the Alta California and Baja California coasts on his way south.
The hope was to find a suitable harbor for future eastbound galleons to use as a
refuge and resupply point during the later part of the six- to eight-month-long
trans-Pacific voyage when scurvy and shortage of water and provisions threatened
to lead crewmen and ships to disaster. Cermeño reached Drakes Bay in early
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 133

Fig. 7.2 (continued)

November 1595 and anchored in the shelter of the white cliffs. He sent most of his
men ashore with the prefabricated boat parts, and they began assembling the boat.
Late in November, a winter storm struck from the unprotected southern quarter,
driving the San Agustín onto the shoals, where she sank in shallow water. The few
crewmen aboard were killed as the ship’s upper works broke up and washed ashore.
On the beach, the remaining crew watched helplessly. After the storm ended, they
134 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.2 (continued)

enlarged the small craft using planks and timbers that had tumbled ashore from the
wreck and, abandoning the cargo, they sailed to safety in Mexico (Aker 1965).
From the time of the catastrophe to the present day, fragments of cargo washed
out of the offshore wreck, tumbled in the surf zone, and swept on to the beaches
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 135

Fig. 7.2 (continued)

below the white cliffs and along the sand spits that border the bay. Native
Americans collected porcelain fragments and used some of them to create scrapers,
pendants, and beads—the latter unsuccessfully as they could not be drilled with
chert drill bits. These porcelains were uncovered in the Native-American villages
by archaeologists and are still found in the sands by beachcombers.
136 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.3 Kraak plate design sequence and chronology (derived from Shangraw and Von der
Porten 1997, 2007). Underlining separates date groups. IV–XI “Diapers” refers to diaper patterns
within a border around the central roundel. Dates on the drawings indicates that specific dated
examples are illustrated. The Ardebil Shrine collection dates from the 14th century to 1611,
including small quantities of types II, III, V, XA and XB. Designs I and XIII dates are not based on
closely dated find groups
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 137

Fig. 7.3 (continued)

138 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 7.3 (continued)

7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 139

The San Agustín cargo is well-codified for the European luxury trade. The
recovered porcelains are more diverse than the 1579 porcelains because they are a
random sampling of the entire cargo and there are more than twice as many sur-
viving examples than from the Golden Hind cargo.
The non-Kraak porcelains in the San Agustin cargo include five rice-bowl
types—far fewer than the exuberant variety of the Baja California Galleon’s
twenty-six rice-bowl types and eight soup-bowl types. As in both earlier cargos, the
bulk of the bowls carry simple garden-plants motifs. The dragon bowls appealed to
the Europeans who also had dragons in their mythology. The others are a lion-dog
design which is not present in the earlier cargos, a white-exterior bowl, and a Daoist
landscape which is a badly degraded version of ones seen in quantity and fine
quality in the Baja California cargo. Large, low dishes come in fishpond and
landscape patterns.
Kraak designs are prominent in the San Agustín collection. Plates with white
cavettos appear in quantity, and double line and beaded pendant rims and cavettos
are present. A rare design that is transitional between the simple divided rims of the
late-sixteenth century and the complex rim patterns of the early-seventeenth century
is well represented: the I-wedge panel separator. Most of these plates have deer in
landscapes in their central roundels, a favorite motif of the European customers
(Figs. 7.2 and 7.3). The paneled deer bowls seen in the Golden Hind cargo continue
to appear in this San Agustín cargo, although the quality of the painting has
declined, as do bowls with decorated panels below the rim exteriors. Paneled low
bowls also continue to appear in this cargo.
The numerous coastal Zhangzhou wares include massive forty-centimeter-
diameter low bowls with medallions amid diaper patterns on the flattened rim and
deer in landscapes in the interior roundels. Three varieties of smaller dishes,
including some with standing phoenixes, round out the group. This Zhangzhou
assemblage is notable for its outline-and-wash painting technique which was copied
from the products of the main inland kilns—a distinct contrast to the freely-painted
floral painting seen in the Baja California cargo, which illustrates a change in
painting style in the two decades between the cargos (Shangraw and Von der Porten
1981, pp. 7–63).
This San Agustín cargo illustrates a well-established trade pattern that is firmly
adapted to European tastes, with mid-range blue-on-white porcelains from
Jindezhen predominating. Many of these porcelains are Kraak wares. In addition,
very large and showy Zhangzhou wares are well represented.

7.5 Porcelain Chronology at Drakes Bay

In the early years of the research at Drakes Bay, the porcelains presented a chal-
lenge: was it possible to determine the dates of the porcelains and to identify which
expedition or expeditions had deposited them? The two expeditions that might have
been their source—that of Francis Drake in 1579 and of Sebastian Rodriguez
140 E. Von der Porten

Cermeño in 1595—had come there four hundred years earlier, but only sixteen
years separated them.
The porcelains at Drakes Bay were recovered from Native American village sites
and beach sands. Whether these porcelains derived from the Drake visit or the
Cermeño expedition’s shipwreck was not clear to the early archaeologists of the
region, although the assumption was made that they likely were from the ship-
wreck. A series of studies in 1979 and 1980 by Clarence Shangraw, then the senior
curator of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the present writer, an
historian and archaeologist working on the Drakes Bay sites, enabled us to use two
different methods of analysis on more than eight hundred sherds and to compare the
results after their completion.
Shangraw’s studies concentrated on the Kraak wares, and particularly on the
numerous plates with various rim-divider patterns. He identified five rim patterns in
the assemblage: white cavetto, single line divider rim and cavetto, double line
divider, beaded pendant between lines divider, and I-wedge divider (Fig. 7.2). He
recognized that the first four had developed early in the Kraak series and that the
rare I-wedge had developed later, becoming a transitional type between the simple
forms and the complex early-seventeenth-century decorative patterns. Some of the
early designs persisted for greater or lesser periods of time, but with time their
painting changed to slightly simplified, and more casually painted, versions of the
same designs. Sometimes the designs in the interior roundels changed while the rim
patterns remained the same. Aiding the process of distinguishing between the two
cargos was the known phenomenon of a change in quality of the blue paint itself.
Near-purple blue of the late Jiajing Era (1522–1566) carried through to some extent
into the 1570s; bold dark blues dominated in the 1570s and 1580s, while light
silvery blue is characteristic of the 1590s because of raw-materials shortages. Rapid
change of styles during the last quarter of the sixteenth century also helped clarify
distinctions between the cargos. Shangraw’s conclusion was that approximately
one-third of the Drakes Bay porcelains derived from a deposit of the late 1570s,
while two-thirds could be dated to the 1590s (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981,
pp. 13–30, 65–66).
Parallel to Shangraw’s work, the present writer had been annotating each sherd
or sherd group to determine if it showed evidence of surf and sand tumbling.
Approximately one-third of the sherds showed no evidence of a rough transition
from sea to shore, while two-thirds showed surf wear in varying degrees depending
on how long they had been in the surf zone before being driven onto the beach.
When Shangraw’s art-historical results were compared with the physical-condition
studies, they matched more than 95 % of the time. Clarence Shangraw concluded that
the surf-tumbled 1590s porcelains could be ascribed to the San Agustín shipwreck,
while “The rest of the collections … dating from the earliest part of the reign of Wan-li,
that is, the beginning of the fourth quarter of the sixteenth century, must fairly be
attributed to Francis Drake’s Golden Hind visit of 1579.” (Shangraw and Von der
Porten 1981, pp. 65–67, 73–74).
Recently, San Jose State University Professor Marco Meniketti tested samples of
the Baja California Galleon, Golden Hind, and San Agustín porcelains with a
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 141

portable X-ray fluorescence machine. The assumption had been that there would be
no significant chemical elemental differences among porcelains produced at the
same kilns within two decades of each other. The results were clear and surprising:
the late 1570s Baja California Galleon and 1578 Golden Hind porcelains from
Jingdezhen, the main Chinese porcelain-producing center, were identical, as
expected. The 1595 San Agustín porcelains’ trace elements, however, showed
distinctive and consistent differences from the porcelains of the other two cargos.6
Shangraw’s separation of Drake’s and Cermeño’s porcelains was again confirmed.

7.6 A Kraak Plate Chronology

The chronological work with the Drakes Bay porcelains suggested that it might be
possible to create a tight chronological system for the Wanli (1573–1619), Tianqi
(1621–1627), and Chongzhen (1628–1643) Chinese trade porcelains. We chose the
20-cm-diameter Kraak plates for our study because they appear in quantity in all the
cargos and seemed to exhibit significant design changes over short periods of time.
In addition to the information about the two Drakes Bay porcelain deposits, there
were excellent to adequate publications about other researchers’ work with porce-
lains in three other shipwrecks in the Kraak-porcelain time period: the San Diego, the
Witte Leeuw, and an unidentified Chinese junk carrying dated porcelains.
The partly-loaded Manila galleon San Diego was pressed into service as a
warship as part of a small fleet sent to attack Dutch ships off Manila in 1600. The
San Diego was sunk in the battle. Her cargo, including twelve hundred porcelains,
was recovered in expeditions undertaken from 1991 through 1993. Her numerous
Kraak wares illustrate the rapid changes occurring in Chinese trade wares at the
time. She carried small quantities of early Kraak forms with white cavettos,
double-line dividers, and beaded-pendant dividers, and a few plates with transi-
tional I-wedge-dividers. However, the bulk of her plates have more complex
designs, with beaded-pendant dividers separating medallions in the rims and
cavettos, and the flat interior roundel often surrounded by a diaper-filled element
which separates the roundel from the cavetto (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3; Desroches et al.
1996).
The Dutch East Indiaman Witte Leeuw was part of the homeward bound fleet of
1613 which encountered Portuguese carracks at the anchorage off St. Helena in the
South Atlantic. In the ensuing battle, the powder magazine of the Witte Leeuw blew
up, sinking the ship. She was found and salvaged in 1976. Among the recoveries
were 400 kg of porcelain sherds, representing several thousand original plates,
bowls, and other shapes. Her many Kraak wares show that they belonged to a
well-established trade with ready markets in northern Europe. They consist almost

6
The work is so new that only a preliminary announcement has been published: Dr. Meniketti
(2013).
142 E. Von der Porten

entirely of the well-developed complex forms, with medallions in the rims and
cavettos and diaper-filled surrounds (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3; van der Pijl-Ketel 1982).
An unidentified ship carrying many late Kraak wares was a Chinese junk from
approximately 1643–1646 which was salvaged in 1983 in the South China Sea. It
yielded twenty-three thousand porcelains. The Kraak wares are superficially similar
to the Witte Leeuw‘s complex forms but show degraded workmanship and, in some
cases, simplified designs (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3; Christie’s Amsterdam B.V. 1984;
Sheaf and Kilburn 1988).
Comparisons of the two Drakes Bay cargos with these three later cargos enabled
us to prepare a chart of plate rim development over time, with the period before the
Drake cargo left vague, and to produce a monograph about the dating system
(Shangraw and Von der Porten 1997, 2007). The chart illustrates the beginning of
each type’s production and the period of its production by the principal kilns in
Jindezhen. Later, low-quality production of some of the rim types by secondary
kilns continued, sometimes for many decades, but these products usually are readily
identifiable and were not included in the study.

7.7 A Revised Kraak Plate Chronology

The archaeological work at Drakes Bay began in 1940 and continued intermittently
through the 1970s. It has been analyzed by various researchers for more than half a
century (Shangraw and Von der Porten 1981). The Baja California wreck site was
not identified until 1999. After the first field work in that year, the Kraak wares
among the two hundred porcelains found in the field work and another two hundred
turned in by beachcombers were compared with the plate chronology chart, and the
non-Kraak wares were compared with those in the Drake and Cermeño cargos.
It was immediately apparent that the new cargo appeared to be earlier than the
Drake cargo, which had derived from the Manila galleon cargo of 1578 (Fig. 7.1).
Among the most distinctive porcelains were Jiajing-Era (1522–1566) derivative
wares such as the numerous flying-phoenix bowls. Other important dating elements
were the blue-on-white designs suited to Asian customers rather than the Spaniards,
the over-glaze porcelains created for the Japanese market, and the early designs on
the Zhangzhou wares.
A very large proportion of the porcelains carries a wide range of reign marks and
shop marks, indicating that they were originally intended for Asian purchasers who
valued the marks rather than for Spaniards who did not. The reign marks include the
early honorific marks of the Xuande (1426–1435) and Zhengde (1506–1521)
Emperors and those of the then-recent Jiajing (1522–1566) and Lonqing (1567–1572)
Reigns, the latter rarely seen on porcelains, but no Wanli (1573–1619) marks (Keppel,
forthcoming). Only the Lonqing marks should be considered “of the period,” as the
use of earlier reign marks was common at the time.
Most importantly, there were very few proto-Kraak and Kraak wares, and those
that existed exhibited very early characteristics. The only plates with proto-Kraak
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 143

features have white cavettos, and they are extraordinarily well-painted. They have
very finely drawn pond scenes, sparsely but meticulously decorated rim strips, and
very well detailed backs (Figs. 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3). One fairly large bowl type has
rather heavy potting, indistinct molding on half of the examples and none on the
others, and single-line-divider exterior painting—all indicative of a very early stage
of molded ware with paneled decoration. Only one type, a bowl with thin potting,
clear molding, and double-line paneling on the exterior, can be identified as a
completely developed Kraak type. It has four distinct dating characteristics: the
double lines are made up of many, apparently hesitant, short strokes which is
unique in our experience; the molding emphasizes the lines rather than the panels
between them; there are no interior dividing lines as were common in later wares,
and the stems and leaves within the panels are of Jiajing (1522–1566) form (Von
der Porten 2011b, pp. 11–14, 33–34, 62–65; 2012).
Once the cargo had been dated to the period 1575 to approximately 1577, it was
possible to revise the chronology chart. This was aided by a small group of
porcelains from the Portuguese East Indiaman Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, which
was wrecked at the mouth of the Tagus River inbound toward Lisbon in 1606 and
excavated from 1997 to 2000. These porcelains include plates with beaded pendant,
I-wedge, and beaded-pendant- and-medallion designs which helped clarify the date
ranges of some of the early-seventeenth-century Kraak wares (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3; de
Castro 2005, pp. 4, 82–83, 100, 102, 104).
The Baja California porcelains tightened the beginning period of the Kraak
porcelains chronology. The most significant realization was that Kraak ware
developed very quickly in the last years of the Lonqing Reign or the first years of
the Wanli Reign; it had no predecessors in the Jiajing Period. Thus, the Kraak
period proper can be dated from right around 1570 to the Ming collapse and the
temporary closing of the kilns in 1644–1645.7
Design development went through three phases. First came a fairly rapid cre-
ation from white-cavetto through simple paneled wares in the 1570s and to a lesser
extent in the 1580s. Second, there was a period of very rapid change toward more
complex rim designs in the 1590s led by the I-wedge design in the early years of the
decade. Third came a period of slow change after the introduction of the iconic
complex designs just before 1600 which satisfied the overseas markets and lasted
with slow degradation of painting and design until the end of the Kraak style in the
main production center of Jingdezhen in the mid-1640s (Figs. 7.2 and 7.3). Crude
copies of some Kraak patterns continued to be made by various lesser kilns until the
end of the seventeenth century and sometimes beyond.
In addition to Chinese wares, Japanese and Dutch derivative wares can be given
more accurate dates based on these shipwreck studies, although time lag for such
derivatives to develop, and a tendency to copy older Chinese wares, must be
factored into the dating.

7
Revised chronology chart, 2007, to accompany Shangraw and Von der Porten (1997, 2007).
144 E. Von der Porten

7.8 Conclusion

The Manila galleon cargos on the American West Coast have provided opportu-
nities for detailed views of some of the Chinese luxury goods which moved east-
ward from China through the Philippines in the earliest years of the trade, and
permitted reconstructions of some of the dynamics of this new trans-Pacific
relationship.
The detailed classification of the Kraak porcelains, which form major parts of all
but the Baja California cargo, led to the creation of a tight chronology of the Kraak
plate designs which can be used to date the many anonymous shipwreck finds now
being excavated in the western Pacific Ocean and land sites which contain Chinese
porcelains around the world.

References

Aker, R. (1965). The cermeno expedition at drakes bay, 1595. Drake Navigators Guild.
Aker, R., & Von der Porten, E. (2000, 2010). Discovering francis drake's california harbor. Palo
Alto and San Francisco, California: Drake Navigators Guild.
Christie’s Amsterdam B.V. (1984). Fine and important late ming and transitional porcelain,
Recently recovered from an Asian Vessel in the South China Sea. Amsterdam: Christie’s
Amsterdam B.V.
de Castro, F. V. (2005). The Pepper Wreck. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press.
de Grau, G. C. (1970). Compendio de las Piezas de Ocho Reales (Vol. I). San Juan, Puerto Rico:
Ediciones Juan Ponce de Leon.
Desroches, J.-P., Casal, Fr. G., & Goddio, F. (Eds.). (1996). Treasures of the San Diego.
Foundation Elf and National Museum of the Philippines.
Keppel, S. (forthcoming). The Marks on the Porcelains. In E. Von der Porten & R. Junco (Eds.),
The Discovery of a sixteenth-century Manila Galleon Shipwreck in Baja California.
Lévesque, R. (1992). History of Micronesia, A collection of source documents (Vol. II). Gatineau,
Québec: Lévesque Publications.
Meniketti, M. (2013). Preliminary results of pXRF testing of porcelains from sixteenth-century
ship cargos on the West Coast. Society for California Archaeology Newsletter, 47: 2
(June 2013), 17–18.
Morga, A.. In J.S. Cummins (Ed.). (1971). Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. Cambridge: Published
for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press
Munroe, A., & Richard, N. N. (Eds.). (1986). The Burghley Porcelains. New York: The Japan
Society.
Schurz, W. L. (1939), The Manila Galleon. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc.
Shangraw, C., & Von der Porten, E. (1981). The Drake and Cermeño Expeditions’ Chinese
Porcelains at Drakes Bay, California, 1579 and 1595. Santa Rosa and Palo Alto, California:
Santa Rosa Junior College and Drake Navigators Guild.
Shangraw, C., & Von der Porten, E. (1997). Kraak plate design sequence 1550–1655. San
Francisco: Drake Navigators Guild.
Shangraw, C., & Von der Porten, E. (2007). Kraak plate design sequence 1550-1655, updated
chronology chart.
Sheaf, C., & Kilburn, R. (1988). The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes. Oxford: Phaidon-Christie’s.
van der Pijl-Ketel, C. L. (Ed.). (1982). The ceramic load of the Witte Leeuw. Amsterdam:
Rijksmuseum.
7 Sixteenth-Century Manila Galleon Cargos on the American West … 145

Von der Porten, E. (2008). Identifying the sixteenth-century ship on a beach in Baja California.
San Francisco.
Von der Porten, E. (2011a). Ghost Galleon: The early Manila Galleons and the tragic history of
the San Felipe. San Francisco.
Von der Porten, E. (2011b). The early Wanli Ming Porcelains from the Baja California Shipwreck
identified as the 1576 Manila Galleon San Felipe. San Francisco.
Von der Porten, E. (2012). The Early Wanli Ming Porcelains from the Baja California Shipwreck
Identified as the 1576 Manila Galleon San Felipe, A Supplement, San Francisco.
Von der Porten, E., & Junco, R. (Eds.). (forthcoming). The discovery of a sixteenth-century Manila
Galleon Shipwreck in Baja California, Mexico City.

Author Biography

Edward Von der Porten

B.A. and M.A. in history
from San Francisco State
University. Researcher of
maritime subjects including
pre-Viking through 18th cen-
tury shipbuilding, Henry
VIII’s Mary Rose and the
development of the big-gun
warship, Francis Drake’s
California encampment, early
Manila galleon wrecks, early
Chinese trade porcelains, and
the World War II German
Navy. Organizer and director
of archaeological projects in
California and Mexico.
Consultant to the National Geographic Society on nautical archaeology. Director of the Treasure
Island Museum (Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard), San Francisco 1985–1992.
Chapter 8
The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon
in Oregon, USA

Scott S. Williams

8.1 Introduction

Before settlement of the Oregon Territory by Euro-Americans at the turn of the 19th
century, a ship constructed of teak and carrying a large cargo of beeswax and
Chinese porcelain wrecked along the sand spit of Nehalem Bay in what is now
northwest Oregon, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The unidentified wreck
was referred to as the “Beeswax Wreck” due to the tons of beeswax cargo scattered
for miles over the spit and shores of Nehalem Bay, as well as beaches to the north
and south. The vessel and its cargo were the topic of much scientific and secular
speculation throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, as their origin and identity were
a mystery. The local American Indian tribes told the American settlers that the
beeswax and scattered timbers were from a large ship that had wrecked “many
years ago” (Coues 1897: 768) before the whites settled the area. Although the origin
of the ship was a mystery, as early as 1813 the fur trader Alexander Henry referred
to the wreck as that of “the Spanish ship… cast away some years ago” (Coues 1897:
841). Despite the Indian tradition, some observers thought the wax must be a
natural deposit of mineral wax, rather than a lost cargo, because there was so much
of it. This belief persisted for a number of years despite the presence of letters and
numbers carved on the wax blocks, finds of candles with wicks, and even preserved
bees in the beeswax blocks.
Since 2006, a volunteer group of archaeologists, historians, and coastal geo-
morphologists have participated in a multi-disciplinary research project to inves-
tigate the origin and identity of the Beeswax Wreck (Williams 2007). The goal of
the project is to locate wreck remains and confirm the identity of the vessel. While
no definitive evidence as to the identity of the vessel has been found, nor have

S.S. Williams (&)

Washington State Department of Transportation,
2214RW Johnson Boulevard. SW, Tumwater, WA 98512, USA
e-mail: beeswax.wreck@gmail.com; willias@wsdot.wa.gov

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 147

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_8
148 S.S. Williams

in situ wreck deposits been located, much wreck material was collected by 19th and
20th century residents of the area. Enough of this material has been preserved in
museums and by local collectors to provide solid evidence to the nationality and
origin of the vessel that wrecked. This material clearly shows that the vessel was a
Spanish galleon sailing from Manila to Acapulco (Gibbs 1971; Marshall 1984;
Stafford 1908; Williams 2008). Changing sand dispersal and movement patterns
since the mid-20th century have apparently buried what wreck debris might remain
(Peterson et al. 2011). However, we are confident that wreck deposits likely remain
intact offshore and may include ballast and heavy cargo such as cannons and
anchors. If such material does remain and can be located, it should provide data to
confirm the identity of the ship.
Even without hull deposits, we are confident of the likely identity of the ship
(Peterson et al. 2011). Detailed Spanish records of galleon sailings and losses
during the period of trade between Manila and Acapulco are available in various
archives and have been documented by earlier researchers (Blair and Robertson
1909; Dahlgren 1916; Lévesque 2002; Schurz 1939). Ceramic sherds from
porcelain and earthenware vessels known to be associated with the wreck have been
analyzed (Lally 2008). Based on stylistic analysis of design motifs of the porcelain
wares, the ship carrying the cargo was lost sometime between A.D. 1670 and 1700
and probably after 1690 (Lally 2008, this volume). Geo-archaeological investiga-
tions of the known distribution and depositional history of wreck materials indicate
the vessel wrecked prior to a large earthquake-generated tsunami that struck the
Oregon coast in AD 1700 (Peterson et al. 2011). Only one eastbound Manila
galleon was lost in the years between 1670 and 1700: the galleon Santo Cristo de
Burgos, which left the Philippines short of crew in 1693 after trying and failing to
complete the voyage to Acapulco in 1692. According to contemporary accounts in
Spanish archives, after leaving the port of Quipaya in 1693 the vessel was never
seen again, nor were wreckage or survivors ever found (Archivo de Indias 1699).1
This paper summarizes the historical and archaeological data supporting the
identification of the Beeswax Wreck as an eastbound Manila galleon lost between
1670 and 1700, and specifically as the Santo Cristo de Burgos lost in 1693. The
concurrence between the dating of shipwreck artifacts and the last Cascadia
Subduction Zone mega-quake and tsunami in 1700 is proposed to account for the
historically documented dispersal of beeswax, porcelain, and ship timbers, and the
subsequent disappearance of beach wreck debris by the early 20th century (Peterson
et al. 2011). The deposition of wreck debris and particularly the large amount of
beeswax cargo by the tsunami onto the active dune field of the Nehalem spit is the
primary reason the wreck was known to later settlers. Once deposited on the spit out
of reach of storm waves and tides, in an area of shifting sand with no obscuring
vegetation, the beeswax remained accessible for discovery and collection. The
amount of beeswax was so great that two centuries of collection, first by local

1
Schurz’s (1939) erroneous claim that the Santo Cristo de Burgos burned and sank near the
Marianas Islands is addressed later in this paper.
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 149

Indians and then by American settlers, did not deplete the supply and ensured that
the beeswax was known and written about extensively as the Northwest coast was
settled.

8.2 Project Location and Environment

Nehalem Bay is located in Tillamook County, on the northwest Oregon coast

(Fig. 8.1). The bay is separated from the ocean by a 5–6 km long sand spit that
extends south from Neahkanie Mountain and varies in width from 0.5 to 1.0 km
(Fig. 8.2). Neahkanie Mountain is a large headland rising 497 m in elevation. It
forms the north limit of the Nehalem River watershed, the Manzanita dune field,
and the Nehalem littoral cell (Peterson et al. 2011). The seaward side of Neahkanie
Mountain presents sheer cliffs, broken by a large sandy cove known as Short Sands
Beach along with other, smaller coves and natural rock arches (Fig. 8.3).
Prior to the mid-20th century, the Nehalem Spit was an active dune field with
little to no vegetation and dune heights of less than 8 m (Fig. 8.4; Cooper 1958:
Plate 2). Describing the spit in 1869 for the US Coast Survey, Davidson (1869:
140) writes “between the river and the sea lies a long, narrow strip of sand dunes,
having a breadth of four hundred yards and a general elevation of 25 ft.” He notes
that the tongue of the spit was three miles long, but at low tide the sand extended
another mile to the south. In 1918 the US Army Corps of Engineers completed rock
jetties at the deepest part of the channel, cutting off and isolating the southern mile
exposed at low tides (Fig. 8.2). This area gradually built up and became dry land,
where the town of Rockaway, Oregon now stands.
Starting in the 1950s, Oregon State Parks undertook an intensive program of
planting non-native beach grass to stabilize the dunes for park development. Today,
the Nehalem spit is vegetated with introduced non-native beach grass, shrubs and
trees and the fore dune along the beach reaches 10–15 m in elevation (Fig. 8.2).
The beach has also expanded to the west, as sand has widened the beach due to
changes brought about by the non-native vegetation and the construction of the
jetties at the river mouth (Fig. 8.5). Between the fore dune and the bay lies a low
deflation basin, separated from the bay by a wooded sand ridge known as Cronin’s
Point. This area was graded and leveled for construction of the Nehalem Airstrip
and the infrastructure and campgrounds of Nehalem State Park. Prior to the
revegetation and facility construction, this deflation basin often became a lake in
winter, and low portions of it still pond water. Much of the wreck debris and
beeswax historically was found in this basin area as windblown dunes migrated
over the spit, alternately exposing and covering wreck materials. The introduced
beach grass and other non-native vegetation have since stabilized the dunes and
prevented dune migration across the spit. Today, wreck materials are found only
rarely, usually in excavations associated with development in the area (Peterson
et al. 2011).
150 S.S. Williams

Fig. 8.1 Nehalem Bay on the northwest Oregon coast. USGS 7.5 min quad map showing the
Beeswax Wreck Project Area. The Nehalem sand spit extends from the town of Manzanita to the
river mouth, west of and adjacent to Nehalem Bay. Short Sands Beach is the large cove northwest
of Neahkanie Mountain, marked “Smuggler Cove” on the map
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 151

Fig. 8.2 An overlook of

Nehalem Bay. Aerial view of
the Nehalem spit from the
Nehalem River mouth to
Neahkanie Mountain, looking
to the north. Note the
vegetation cover on the spit.
Nehalem Airstrip shows as a
linear clearing in the wooded
area just north of the river
bend

8.3 Historical Accounts of the Wreck

The Lewis and Clark expedition noted that the Clatsop Indians brought beeswax to
trade with the explorers when they were camped on the Columbia River in the
winter of 1805–1806 (Moulton 2003: 276). The wreck itself was first recorded in
1813 by the fur trader Alexander Henry, who noted that local Indians said the
wreckage and beeswax were from a large ship wrecked many years before the fur
traders settled the area in 1811 (Coues 1897: 768). After establishment of Astoria in
1811, there was little to no settlement of the Oregon coast until the 1840s, and
settlement remained very sparse from the 1840s until the 1880s. In spite of this,
nearly every written account of early settlers on both the Oregon and southern
Washington coasts mentions the beeswax (Fig. 8.6) and its association with a
wrecked ship (cf. Lee and Frost 1844; Swan 1857).
Samples of the beeswax were collected in 1839 by Captain Edward Belcher
during his exploration of the coast (Stafford 1908: 26; Overland Monthly 1872:
356). Writing before 1900, John Hobson tells of finding the beeswax in 1843 when
he lived in the area (Hobson 1900) and the Reverend Lee and Frost (1844: 107)
writes of the beeswax in 1844, noting:
152 S.S. Williams

Fig. 8.3 The seaward side of Neahkanie Mountain. Shoreline cliffs and offshore pinnacles at the
base of Neahkanie Mountain. Short Sands Beach is the large sandy beach in the left background;
Neahkanie Mountain rises out of the picture to the right. View to northeast

About thirty or forty miles to the south of the Columbia are the remains of a vessel which
was sunk in the sand near shore, probably from the coast of Asia, laden, at least in part, with
bees-wax. Great quantities of this wax have been purchased by the Hudson’s Bay Company
and individuals; the writer also obtained a number of pounds of the same article from them
while there, and was informed by them, that whenever the south-west storms prevail, it is
driven onshore.

James Swan, living north of the Columbia River at Willapa Bay in 1852–1855,
wrote of the beeswax and that the Indians said it was from a wrecked vessel and he
also describes it washing ashore after “great storms” (Swan 1857). Davidson found
beeswax on the coast in 1851, and likewise noted the Indian legend of the wreck
and that “there are, occasionally, after great storms, pieces of this wax thrown
ashore” (Davidson 1869: 144). He goes on to say that by 1869, “formerly a great
deal was found, but now it is rarely met with” although he notes that many people
on the Columbia River possessed pieces of the beeswax and that he himself had
seen several pieces. In the next edition of the Coast Pilot, Davidson (1889: 453)
added that the beeswax was found on the spit of the Nehalem River near its mouth
after strong winds uncover it, and that the settlers “assert that part of the wreck has
been pointed out by the Indians at extreme low tides.”
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 153

Fig. 8.4 The contour map of Nehalem Spit. Map of Nehalem River and bay, 1891. From the
Archives of the Historical Map and Chart Collection, NOAA

Historical accounts report finding more than just beeswax and timbers associated
with the wreck. A large wooden tackle block was removed from the offshore wreck
at an extreme low tide in 1896 or 1899 (Fig. 8.7; Erlandson et al. 2001), as was a
small silver oil jar in 1898 (Giesecke 2007). A second wood tackle block was found
by a beachcomber on Nehalem beach in 1992 (Fig. 8.8). It is of a style typical of
17th century Spanish rigging blocks and was radiocarbon dated to the 17th century
(Erlandson et al. 2001: 48). Several 19th century accounts mention finds of gold or
154 S.S. Williams

Fig. 8.5 The situation of Nehalem river mouth. Modern bathymetric chart NOAA 18556 overlain
on the USCGS map of 1875, showing expansion of the Nehalem beach to the west after the jetties
were constructed at the river mouth in 1918

silver coins from Clatsop and Nehalem beaches, or recovered from Indian burial
sites, and even the recovery of Spanish gold bars (Gibbs 1971: 41). Many accounts
mention Chinese porcelain commonly being found on beaches in the area.
Archaeological excavations in Indian house-pits and middens around Nehalem have
recovered beeswax, iron, and copper artifacts, as well as earthenware and porcelain
sherds, some of which have been flaked into projectile points and scrapers (Scheans
et al. 1990; Woodward 1986, 1990). Hobson reported finding a copper chain on the
wreck (Hobson 1900). A short news article from 1881 mentions the finding of a
“brass figure of the Siamese elephant” from the wreck (Daily Astorian 1881). Local
fishermen reported dredging up intact blue-on-white porcelain jars and vases from
deep water off Nehalem in the 1970s.
The origin of the ship was a mystery, although Henry referred to the wreck as
that of “the Spanish ship… cast away some years ago, and the crew all murdered by
the natives” (Coues 1897: 841). Henry may have referred to the ship as a Spanish
vessel because of his knowledge of the trade between Manila and Acapulco, which
continued until 1815. He may also have been aware of the shipping marks on the
beeswax blocks which included “IHS”, indicating they were destined for the
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 155

Fig. 8.6 The beeswax mentioned in written account. Beeswax block from Nehalem with shipping
symbol carved into it. From Cotton (1915). This beeswax block is currently housed at the
Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, Tillamook, Oregon

Fig. 8.7 Wooden tackle block removed from the offshore wreck in 1896 or 1899. Courtesy of the
Benton County Museum, Philomath, Oregon
156 S.S. Williams

Fig. 8.8 Wooden pulley block found on Nehalem beach in 1992. Courtesy of the Columbia River
Maritime Museum, Astoria, Oregon

Catholic Church. It is also possible that one of the Clatsop Indians may have shown
Henry some artifact of Spanish origin from the wreck, although this is not recorded
in Henry’s journal. Henry likely was also aware of Soto, an “old half-breed Indian”
who lived up the Columbia River from Astoria and who told the fur traders in 1811
that he was the son of a shipwrecked Spanish sailor (Franchere 1854). It may have
been that to Henry the Beeswax Wreck was so obviously a Spanish ship, due to the
ongoing and regular trade between Acapulco and Manila and the beeswax and teak
timbers scattered over the beach, that its origin was obvious and needed no further
explanation. That Henry mentioned the crew was “all murdered by the natives”
corresponds with stories told by Indian informants later in the 19th century (Smith
1899: 448). Henry was surely told the same tale, indicating it is likely there were
survivors of the wreck (Clarke 1899: 245; Erlandson et al. 2001: 49–50).
The wreck and the mystery of its beeswax cargo were written about extensively
in newspapers and regional journals as settlement of the region increased toward the
end of the 19th century (cf. Cotton 1915; Giesecke 2007; Stafford 1908; Williams
2007, 2008). Popular novels and stories were written describing the supposed
adventures of the wreck survivors (cf. Rogers 1898, 1929). When conditions were
right and wreckage was exposed or beeswax was found, newspapers in Oregon and
across the country carried stories about the wreck. Writers speculated on whether
the beeswax was truly the cargo of a ship, and if so what its origin was, or if it was
the result of a natural deposit of mineral wax (Giesecke 2007; Stafford 1908;
Williams 2007).
Stafford (1908: 26) notes that from the period of 1813, when the beeswax and
wreck were first recorded, to 1893 “no one seems to have questioned that the
deposit of wax was due to any other cause than the thing traditionally accepted as
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 157

its origins—a wrecked vessel.” However, as settlement of the region increased and
stories of the beeswax and wreck became more common, questions were raised
about how and why an ancient ship could possibly carry so much wax.
A sample of Nehalem wax taken to the Columbian Exposition of 1893 was
pronounced to be ozokerite, a mineral wax, and not beeswax. This raised the
possibility that the material was of natural rather than cultural origin. This was
followed by a series of articles in the journal Science in 1893, where the primary
argument for the material being natural mineral wax was that it was inconceivable
that a single vessel could account for such a large cargo (Stafford 1908: 26). Such
was the interest in the origin of the wax that the United States Geological Survey
sent a geologist, Dr. J.S. Diller, to Nehalem in 1895 to determine the origin of the
wax deposits. Dr. Diller concluded that the material was definitely beeswax, and not
petroleum wax, and that it was from a vessel wrecked at Nehalem (Stafford 1908:
29–31). Despite his findings, claims were made again in the first decade of the 20th
century that the material must be petroleum wax for no other reason than there was
too much of it at Nehalem to be cargo from an ancient wrecked ship (Stafford 1908:
31). Oregon newspapers of the period carried notices advertising the sale of shares
in petroleum companies planning to drill for the oil they thought was present in the
Nehalem area (cf. Sunday Oregonian 1909: 8). Failure to find any oil, and the fact
that the material was clearly beeswax to anyone who examined it, quietly ended the
oil speculation. To Stafford (1908: 38), the beeswax was clearly from the wreck of a
Manila galleon.
In the latter half of the 20th century archaeologists and historians became
interested in the wreck (Gibbs 1971; Giesecke 2007; Marshall 1984), with Marshall
(1984: 178) identifying it as likely the wreck of the galleon San Francisco Xavier.
The wreck’s origin and identity were the focus of several archaeological investi-
gations (Woodward 1986; Scheans et al. 1990). Some investigators suggested the
vessel may have been an Asian junk, a Portuguese merchant, or a Dutch or English
pirate rather than a Manila galleon (Stenger 2005; Woodward 1986). There is no
historical or archaeological evidence for these claims, which are based primarily on
misidentification of porcelain sherds recovered from Indian habitation sites in the
area, or incomplete analysis of the archival and historical records. While much of
the accessible wreck material was collected by local residents and souvenir hunters
in the 19th and early 20th centuries, small pieces of beeswax and sherds of late 17th
century Chinese export porcelain and earthen wares are occasionally collected by
beachcombers in the area today (Fig. 8.9).

8.4 The Beeswax Wreck Project

The Beeswax Wreck Project is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization bringing

together various professionals and community members interested in the Beeswax
Wreck. The project began in 2006 with the preparation of a research design that
synthesized known historical and archaeological information pertaining to the
158 S.S. Williams

Fig. 8.9 Sample of porcelain sherds collected by beachcombers in the Nehalem area

wreck (Williams 2007). Field work has been conducted every year since then, and
has included terrestrial and marine remote sensing surveys, geomorphological
studies, and archival research (Williams 2014). All work has been done in coop-
eration with and under permit or approval of Oregon State Parks and the Oregon
State Archaeologist. However, with limited funds and an all-volunteer crew, the
scope and results of each season of field work have varied widely. Results of the
various studies have been reported by Lally (2008, this volume), Peterson et al.
(2011), Williams (2008), and summarized by Williams (2014).
Available information on the wreck includes 19th and 20th century newspaper
and journal articles, and physical remains such as beeswax blocks and candles,
ceramic sherds, and wooden artifacts in museums and private collections. Reports
of previous archaeological and geotechnical investigations in the area also contain
information important to understanding the wreck, such as descriptions of wreck
artifacts recovered from nearby archaeological sites and studies on the effects of
paleo-tsunamis on coastal landforms. Materials known or believed to be associated
with the wreck show that the vessel carried goods typically transported by east-
bound Manila galleons, including Chinese export porcelain, earthenware dragon
jars, and Philippine beeswax candles and large blocks marked with Spanish ship-
ping symbols (Fig. 8.10). The quantity, form, and country of origin of the beeswax
are perhaps the most significant clues, ones that were recognized early on by
various commentators (cf. Stafford 1908). Historic accounts indicate that during the
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 159

Fig. 8.10 Shipping symbols found on blocks of Nehalem beeswax. Source Marshall (1984: 182)

19th century anywhere from 5 to 12 or more tons of beeswax were shipped from
Nehalem to markets in Oregon, California, and Hawaii, and the totals were prob-
ably much higher (Giesecke 2007; Stafford 1908). The beeswax was found as both
candles and large, formed rectangular blocks. Many of the blocks are reported to
bear shipping symbols or the letters “I H S”, the Latin abbreviation for “Jesus” used
by the Catholic Church. Modern pollen studies confirm the beeswax originates in
the Philippines (Erlandson et al. 2001).
Radiocarbon dating of samples of Nehalem beeswax was first undertaken in
1961 and then several times between the 1980s and 2000 (Erlandson et al. 2001).
The dated beeswax provided the first direct evidence that the vessel sailed sometime
during the mid to late 17th century. Dating of diagnostic Chinese porcelain from
archaeological sites and beach and tsunami deposits, starting in the 1980s
(Woodward 1986), narrowed this period to the late 17th century, specifically A.D.
1670–1700 (Lally 2008, this volume). In the comprehensive and detailed Spanish
records of galleon sailings and losses, only two Acapulco-bound galleons went
missing during that time: the Santo Cristo de Burgos, which disappeared in 1693,
and the San Francisco Xavier, lost in 1705 (Blair and Robertson 1909; Dahlgren
1917; Lévesque 2002; Schurz 1939). The San Francisco Xavier has been identified
as the likely candidate for the Beeswax Wreck by previous researchers (Cook 1973;
Gibbs 1971; Giesecke 2007; Marshall 1984), although Erlandson et al. (2001)
160 S.S. Williams

hypothesized an earlier galleon based on their more detailed analysis of radiocarbon

dates and beeswax distribution.
Our initial research focused on the galleon San Francisco Xavier as the most
likely vessel for the Beeswax Wreck for two reasons. First, there is Schurz’s (1939)
statement, citing Hill (1928), that the Santo Cristo de Burgos burned and wrecked
near the Marianas Islands. Second, a large tsunami is known to have struck the
Oregon coast around 1700 (Atwater et al. 2005), and we expected such an event
would have obliterated all evidence of a vessel that wrecked prior to that year. It
seemed more likely that the galleon of 1705 wrecked on a beach eroded by the
tsunami, allowing the wreck materials to be washed onto the spit where they were
historically reported.
Fieldwork began in 2007 with approval of the research design by Oregon State
Parks. A terrestrial magnetometer survey of the Nehalem spit from the town of
Manzanita to the river mouth was conducted during the lowest tide of the year
(Fig. 8.11). The purpose of the survey was to determine if any large ferrous targets
such as cannons or anchors were buried in the beach, based on the hypothesis that a
ship wrecked on the tsunami-eroded beach would now be inland and covered by
sand redeposited on the spit since the tsunami event. No cannons or anchors have
ever been confirmed as being found at Nehalem, yet a Manila galleon would have
carried numerous cannons and several anchors. Additional survey was done in the
deflation basin near the Nehalem Airstrip, in areas reported to have contained
wreckage into the 20th century (Giesecke 2007). No large magnetic anomalies were
detected along the spit shore or in the deflation basin. A limited magnetometer
survey was conducted with a small boat just offshore and parallel to the spit.
Several potential anomalies were located, but deteriorating weather and ocean
conditions prevented accurately locating the targets. Ground penetrating radar
surveys were also conducted in 2007 to characterize the geomorphology of the spit
and the effects of the tsunami on the landscape (Peterson et al. 2011).
Also in 2007 analysis was started on a large collection of porcelain sherds
collected over the previous fifteen years by a resident beachcomber (Lally 2008).
The sherds were found in the surf zone, primarily in the winter, and the beach-
comber recognized the sherds as potentially associated with the wreck and kept
records of where each sherd was recovered. The distribution of sherds recovered
from tidal and terrestrial deposits indicates an offshore source is “feeding” a beach
deposit at Neahkanie Mountain, as sand moves offshore and onshore in winter and
summer. Ceramic sherds also appear to be incorporated into tsunami deposits on the
spit (Peterson et al. 2011), which limits the date of their arrival in the bay to prior to
the tsunami. Confirming that ceramics are incorporated into the tsunami deposit
provides a terminus post quem date for the wreck, as the tsunami deposit has been
dated to the last large tsunami event in 1700 (Peterson et al. 2011).
Based on the lack of terrestrial magnetic anomalies as potential targets and the
indications of an off-shore source of ceramics, the focus of the research shifted to
the possibility of a pre-tsunami (pre-1700) wreck, as originally hypothesized by
Erlandson et al. (2001). A pre-tsunami wreck would likely have lower hull deposits
offshore, with the historically described distribution of terrestrial wreck materials
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 161

Fig. 8.11 Remote sensing survey areas since 2007. USGS 7.5 min quad map showing the
Beeswax Wreck Project areas of remote sensing surveys by type

being the result of tsunami dispersion and deposition. In 2008, an additional

magnetometer survey was conducted, from the Nehalem River mouth to Arch Cape
north of Neahkanie Mountain (Fig. 8.11). Results were mixed due to equipment
162 S.S. Williams

issues, but additional targets were identified. Weather and ocean conditions pre-
vented diving on the magnetic anomalies located that year or the ones located in
2007.
Analysis of the porcelain sherds collected by the resident beachcomber was
completed in 2008 (Lally 2008). This research confirmed that the cargo represented
Chinese export ware intended for the markets in New Spain, as indicated by the
presence of lidded coffee and chocolate cups and other items crafted for European
tastes. Stylistic motifs narrowed the period of manufacture of the porcelain cargo to
the period between 1670–1700, with A.D. 1690 as the mean manufacturing date
(Lally 2008; this volume).
Geotechnical surveys continued through the summers of 2008 and 2009 (Peterson
et al. 2011). A terrestrial magnetometer survey was conducted at Short Sands Beach
in 2010 to determine if anchors or other large metallic artifacts might be present there;
none were found (Fig. 8.11). Continued mapping of porcelain finds resulted in the
identification of a likely search area for the offshore source. In late 2011 a multi-beam
sonar survey identified two potential wreck sites in the area (Fig. 8.11). Dive surveys
to examine the two sites were undertaken in the summer of 2012, but were limited due
to adverse weather conditions and no wreck materials were found. Additional
magnetometer and side scan sonar surveys were undertaken on the offshore
anomalies in the summer of 2013. The surveys produced promising targets, but poor
visibility, rough ocean conditions, and equipment issues limited our ability to finish
the systematic survey and dive on the sites. No offshore wreck deposits were located
before bad weather forced an end to the dive season. Dive surveys in 2014 and 2015
confirmed that one of the targets is a rock outcrop and not a wreck site; weather and
ocean conditions prevented dives to the other anomaly which remains unidentified.

8.5 Conclusion

Based on the geomorphological studies of the paleo-tsunami effects on the area

landform, combined with the historic accounts of artifact distribution and the
porcelain analysis, we believe that the Beeswax Wreck is the remains of the galleon
Santo Cristo de Burgos, lost in 1693, rather than the San Francisco Xavier of 1705.
Our focus shifted from the San Francisco Xavier to the Santo Cristo de Burgos as it
became clear from the historic descriptions of wreck debris dispersal and the
locations where debris was historically found that normal ocean processes could not
account for the distribution of ship timbers and beeswax into inland deposits. The
geo-morphological study on the paleo-tsunami history and formation processes of
the spit conducted by Peterson et al. (2011) provided data indicating that the
tsunami of 1700 did not erode Nehalem Spit low enough to allow winter storm
waves to wash a post-tsunami wreck over the spit and into Nehalem Bay, nor were
there relict channels that wreckage could drift through.
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 163

The presence of wreck ceramics in the tsunami deposit capping the spit and
historic descriptions of beeswax being found on a “thin stratum of earth, like the
sediment of a river freshet” (Hobson 1900: 223), under the roots of centuries-old
spruce trees (Boston Evening Transcript 1890), “miles up the Nehalem River”
(Stafford 1908: 30), and hundreds of yards inland are indicative of tsunami depo-
sition. In describing the distribution of beeswax and other wreck debris, Hobson,
who settled in Oregon in 1843, wrote that he believed that “some time after the
wreck there was a very high freshet in the river, which spread the wax, logs and
timbers all over the peninsula” (Hobson 1900: 223). Hobson could not have known
about paleo-tsunamis in the area, which were not recognized until the late 20th
century, and so instead concluded that a large river flood best explained the dis-
tribution of wreck materials that he witnessed.
If the Beeswax Wreck is the remains of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, then what
explains Schurz’s statement that the vessel burned near the Marianas Islands as
reported by two survivors found “years later” in the Philippines (Schurz 1939:
259)? Schurz does not cite the source of this information, which is not reported in
his original study (Schurz 1915), or by Blair and Robertson (1909) or Dahlgren
(1917). Dahlgren wrote regarding the Santo Cristo de Burgos that:
…it not only failed to reach port, but was wrecked, without our gaining the least knowledge
of the place where that occurred. There were some suspicions that it was destroyed by fire,
for at one of the Mariannes [sp.] were found fragments of burned wood, which were
recognized to be woods that are found in the Philippines only. Careful search was made for
many years along the coasts of South America, and in other regions; but not the least news
of this ship was obtained (Bl. & Rob. [Blair and Robertson 1903–09] XLII, p. 309).

Dahlgren’s “suspicions that it was destroyed by fire” due to the finding of

“fragments of burned wood” in 1917 became Schurz’s definitive statement in 1939;
by 1984, Marshall is even more definitive, stating that the Santo Cristo de Burgos’
“charred timbers were found” on the island of Saipan (Marshall 1984: 174, 176).
Schurz’s account of survivors is based on a story reported by Hill (1925, 1928),
who claims to have found the account in archives in the Philippines. However, as
late as 1699, Mexican officials reported in a letter to Spain that there was still no
information about the fate of the vessel (Archivo de Indies 1699).
Percy Hill, an American expatriate living in the Philippines in the early part of the
20th century, was a prolific writer of tales of adventure and romance. His account of
the Santo Cristo de Burgos burning and two men resorting to cannibalism to survive
the voyage back to the Philippines is the opening to a tale that satirizes the Catholic
Church. If survivors had been found and tried by the Church in Manila, as Hill
claimed, it seems impossible that officials in New Spain would not have been aware
of such an event or that Blair and Robertson would not find records of the trial in
their extensive research. Instead, it seems more likely that the story is fiction, as the
other stories in Hill’s volume appear to be, and that Hill made up the story as a plot
device for his satire and that Schurz accepted the story without question.
164 S.S. Williams

Having confirmed through archival research that the Santo Cristo de Burgos
disappeared and was never found, and is therefore a viable candidate for the wreck
at Nehalem, we propose that the following sequence of events distributed, and then
buried, debris from a single galleon wrecked on pinnacle rocks or in shallow water
offshore of Neahkanie Mountain prior to the tsunami of 1700. As the galleon broke
up, superstructure and lighter materials such as timbers and beeswax floated south
onto Nehalem Spit and north to Short Sands Beach and Clatsop Beach, and heavy
materials such as ballast, cannons and anchors are still offshore where the galleon
sank. The Cascadia earthquake of 1700 produced a large tsunami that swept beach
wreck debris onto the spit and into Nehalem Bay and the river channel, depositing
material on inflow strandlines. The returning tsunami waters deposited more
material on the spit on outflow strandlines. One section of superstructure, histori-
cally described as the offshore river-mouth wreck, washed down the river and
lodged in the bar at the river mouth. Following inter-seismic rebound and uplift, the
beach began to recover and sand washed into the ocean by the tsunami was
redeposited on the beach, eventually burying wreck debris by the mid-1900s. Once
deposited onto the active dune field of the Nehalem Spit, wreck debris was above
the reach of storm waves and tides, and was continually buried and exposed by the
migrating dunes. This made the beeswax visible and accessible to later Native
Americans and settlers, as the material on the spit was not overgrown by vegetation
and hidden from view until the late 20th century.
In conclusion, the multi-year, multi-disciplinary research conducted on the
Beeswax Wreck has resulted in the development of a working hypothesis on the
identity of the vessel and potential locations where underwater wreck deposits are
likely to be found. Archival research for the project has confirmed the total loss of
the Santo Cristo de Burgos in 1693, and refutes the claim by Hill (1925, 1928) and
Schurz (1939) that the Santo Cristo de Burgos burned in the western Pacific. The
research also revealed a number of sources that can be used to correlate future finds
with archival records, including 998 pages of documents detailing the crew, con-
struction of the ship, and accounts of the 1692 aborted voyage and the refitting for
the 1693 voyage. In the near future, as weather and funding allow, we plan to
expand the survey area and conduct additional surveys on the offshore targets
identified in 2013. If we can locate and identify the Beeswax Wreck, we may
confirm the fate of the Santo Cristo de Burgos as well.

Acknowledgments The Beeswax Wreck Project has been possible through the generous financial
and technical support of David Chaffee of Naga Research, Richard Rogers, Mitch Marken,
Christopher Dewey, Jeff Groth, and the Nehalem Valley Historical Society. This research has
benefitted from the insight and research of Mitch Marken, Curt Peterson, Richard Rogers,
Christopher Dewey, and numerous others, although any errors or omissions are the sole respon-
sibility of the author. The paper has greatly benefited by review of earlier drafts from Lance
Wollwage and Craig Holstine.
8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 165

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Boston Evening Transcript. (1890). Issue of November 5, 1890.
Clarke, S. (1899). Wrecked beeswax and buried treasure. Oregon Native Son, 1(5), 245–249
(September 1899).
Cook, W. (1973). Flood tide of empire: Spain and the Pacific Northwest, 1543–1819. New Haven
and London: Yale University Press.
Cooper, W. (1958). Coastal sand dunes of Oregon and Washington. Memoir Series of the
Geological Society of America 72, (Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO.).
Cotton, S. (1915). Stories of Nehalem. Chicago, IL: M.A. Donohue and Company.
Coues, E. (1897). New light on the early history of the greater Northwest: The manuscript journals
of Alexander Henry fur trader of the Northwest Company and of David Thompson official
geographer and explorer of the same company 1799–1814 (Vol. II). New York, NY:
Francis P. Harper.
Dahlgren, E. (1917). Were the Hawaiian Islands visited by the Spaniards before their discovery by
Captain Cook In 1778?: A contribution to the geographical history of the North Pacific Ocean
especially of the relations between America and Asia in the Spanish Period. New York, NY:
AMS Press.
Daily Astorian. (1881). The city, page 3. January 22, 1881.
Davidson, G. (1869). Coast pilot of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory. Washington,
DC: Government Printing Office.
Davidson, G. (1889). Coast pilot of California, Oregon, and Washington (4th ed.). Washington,
DC: Government Printing Office.
Erlandson, J., Losey, R., Peterson, N. (2001). Early maritime contact on the northern Oregon
coast: Some notes on the 17th century Nehalem Beeswax Ship. In M. A. Tveskov & D.
G. Lewis (Eds.), Changing landscapes: “Telling our stories,” proceedings of the fourth annual
coquille cultural preservation conference, Jason Younker. North Bend: Coquille Indian Tribe.
Franchere, G. (1854). Narrative of a voyage to the northwest coast of America in the Years 1811,
1812, 1813, and 1814, or the first American settlement on the Pacific (J. V. Huntington,
Trans.). New York, NY: Redfield.
Gibbs, J. (1971). Disaster log of ships. Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing Company.
Giesecke, E. (2007). Beeswax, Teak and Castaways: Searching for Oregon’s Lost Protohistoric
Asian Ship. Manzanita, OR: Nehalem Valley Historical Society.
Hill, P. (1925). Romantic episodes in old Manila: Church and state in the hands of a merry jester
—Time. Manila, PI: Sugar News Press.
Hill, P. (1928). Romance and adventure in old Manila. Manila, PI: Philippine Education Co.
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Son Publishing Co., Portland, OR).
Lally, J. (2008). Analysis of the Chinese blue and white porcelain associated with the “beeswax
wreck,” Nehalem, Oregon. Unpublished thesis, Department of Anthropology, Central
Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.
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Lévesque, R. (2002). History of Micronesia (Vol. 20). Québec, Canada: Lévesque Publications.
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Moulton, G. (Ed.). (2003). The definitive journals of Lewis & Clark Vol. 9, John Ordway and
Charles Floyd. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
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(*A.D. 1700), Oregon, USA. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 26(2), 219–244.
Rogers, T. (1898). Nehalem, a story of the Pacific, A.D. 1700. McMinnville, OR: H.L. Heath.
Rogers, T. (1929). Beeswax and gold: A story of the Pacific, A.D. 1700. Portland, OR: J.K. Gill.
Scheans, D., Churchill, T., Stenger, A., & Hajda, Y. (1990). Summary Report on the 1989
Excavations at the Cronin Point Site (35-YI-4B) Nehalem State Park, Oregon. Salem, OR: Ms.
on file at Oregon State Parks and Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.
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Smith, S. (1899). Tales of early wrecks on the Oregon coast, and how the bees-wax got there.
Oregon Native Son, 1, 443–446.
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IX, 24–41 (State Printer, Salem, OR).
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The Sunday Oregonian. (1909). Page 8, September 12, 1909.
Williams, S. (2007). A research design to conduct archaeological investigations at the site of the
“beeswax wreck” of Nehalem Bay, Tillamook County, Oregon. Salem, OR: Ms. on file at
Oregon State Parks and Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.
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Tillamook County, Oregon. Salem, OR: Ms. on file at Oregon State Parks and Oregon State
Historic Preservation Office.
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Project. In Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural
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8 The Beeswax Wreck, A Manila Galleon in Oregon, USA 167

Author Biography

Scott S. Williams Bachelor and

Master of Arts, Anthropology,
University of Hawaii at Manoa
and Washington State
University. Now he is the
Cultural Resources Program
Manager of Washington State
Department of Transportation,
after serving as the Assistant
State Archaeologist at
the Department of Archaeology
and Historic Preservation for
Washington State. He has pub-
lished research works on Pacific
native culture and the Beeswax
galleon wreck debris of Oregon.
Chapter 9
Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck
Porcelain Collection, Oregon, USA

M.S. Jessica Lally

An assemblage of 1577 porcelain sherds collected within the geographic vicinity of

a historically recorded but unidentified shipwreck on the north Oregon coast has
been analyzed to determine the age and intended destination of the ship and its
cargo. Current research indicates that the porcelain sherds are likely some of the
few tangible artifacts discovered to date that are associated with the wreck
(Williams 2007, this volume). The shipwreck itself, known as the Beeswax Wreck,
has been well documented through both historic sources (Franchere 1967; Gibbs
1993; Hult 1968; Lee and Frost 1968; Marshall 1984) as well as continuing
research (Williams 2007, this volume). Although several theories exist regarding
the shipwreck’s age and nationality, archaeological material associated with the
wreck is consistent with a Spanish Manila galleon bound for Acapulco.
The primary objective of this study was to analyze the Beeswax Wreck porcelain
sherds in order to determine a date of manufacture and the likely age of the wreck.
Previous to this study, there have been only a limited number of studies available
regarding seventeenth-century export porcelain from Asia to the New World, and
even fewer studies of the porcelain’s occurrence in the Pacific Northwest (Beals and
Steele 1981; Scheans and Stenger 1990). This research provides new information in
these areas; provides additional data to help define longstanding ambiguities of
previous studies; and provides significant information as to the cargo, nationality,
and destination of the Beeswax Wreck.

M.S. Jessica Lally (&)

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington, USA
e-mail: jessica@yakama.com; lally.js@gmail.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 169

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_9
170 M.S. Jessica Lally

9.1 Study Sample and Methodology

The Beeswax Wreck porcelain collection analyzed for this study consisted of 1577
porcelain sherds. Of these, 1442 of the sherds were recovered through the beach-
combing efforts of one individual over a period of more than 15 years, from five
separate locations near Manzanita, Oregon. The majority of the sherds are from
Oswald West State Park (OWSP) and Nehalem Bay, with a small number of sherds
collected from Tillamook Head, Tillamook Bay, and Nehalem Falls. Also within
the collection are 127 porcelain sherds collected from two archaeological sites,
35-TI-1 and 35-TI-4, curated at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and
Cultural History and Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, respectively. A total of
eight sherds housed at the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum were collected
within the same geographic provenience and donated by other collectors (see
Table 9.1). The sherds have been analyzed here as a single collection as the sherds:
(1) were recovered in the same geographical area from active beach or fluvial
deposits (2) were located in areas without Euro-American occupation or disposal
sites and (3) have an overall similarity in appearance.
Study of the collection was based upon a chronological and stylistic analysis of
decoration style, motif type, and marks. Sherds in the collection were measured and
identified as to the vessel element (base, rim, body) and vessel type (open-form,
closed-form, cups, vases, etc.). Descriptions of the degree of erosion, glaze, and

Table 9.1 Number of sherds in the Beeswax collection by provenience

Provenience Current location Sherds
(n)
Oswald West State Park Private Collection 981
Nehalem Bay Private Collection 456
Tillamook Head Private Collection 2
Tillamook Bay Private Collection 1
Nehalem Falls Private Collection 1
Nehalem River Private Collection 1
Site 35-TI-1 University of Oregon 115
Site 35-TI-4 Tillamook County Pioneer 12
Museum
Wilson River Site Tillamook County Pioneer 1
Museum
Nehalem Spit (private donation) Tillamook County Pioneer 2
Museum
Nehalem Bay State Park Tillamook County Pioneer 1
Museum
Similar geographic location (private Tillamook County Pioneer 4
donation) Museum
Total 1577
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 171

cobalt tone were noted along with detailed observation of motif attributes for each
sherd.
Motif is a key attribute used to determine dates of manufacture for Chinese
porcelain (Frank 1969; Mudge 1986). For the purposes of this study, identification
of motif was a systematic process of observation and photography, combined with
research and comparison of porcelain styles and motifs. While many previous
studies have relied a great deal on sources which discuss trends among Imperial
Chinese porcelain (Curtis 1995; Lion-Goldschmidt 1978), an effort was made here
to include both Imperial porcelain sources and shipwreck cargo resources. The
intent in doing so was to strike a balance in research between the trend-setting
Imperial factories and the less restricted world of export porcelain production.
Data from the analysis was used to establish a date range for the porcelain’s
manufacture. In order to do so, a total of 15 attributes and porcelain types were used
to suggest a date range using South’s (2002) model of visual interpretation.
Additionally, 13 attributes and types were used to establish a mean ceramic date for
the collection using South’s (2002) equation. Those attributes and types excluded
from the visual interpretation and mean ceramic date calculation were later com-
pared to both methods in order to confirm or refine the date generated. The
information generated by the analysis provided data regarding the destination and
nationality of the Beeswax Wreck, as well as to suggest which of the two shipwreck
identities proposed by Williams (2007, this volume) is most likely to be the source
of the porcelain deposition.

9.2 Results

Numerous porcelain attributes including sherd type, vessel type, cobalt tone, glaze
characteristics, marks, decoration, and motif, provide manufacture date evidence.
Examined independently, attributes suggested a wide date range, being indicative of
porcelain manufacture from both the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911).
Dynasties; however, in many instances this apparently wide date range is due to the
continued use of traditional Chinese motifs through time. Considered together,
though, these attributes strongly suggest a date of manufacture for the collection
between the later portion of the Transitional Period (Transitional Period dating
between 1620 and 1683) and Kangxi Reign (1662–1722). The calculated mean
ceramic date for the collection, discussed in detail below, is 1690.

9.2.1 Sherd and Vessel Type

Sherd type was identifiable on 84 % of the collection. Body sherds were the most
common, comprising 52 % of the identifiable population, followed by bases at
29 %, and rim sherds at 17 %. Vessels were identified as being open form (19 % of
172 M.S. Jessica Lally

Fig. 9.1 Grooved footrim,

sherd NH269

the collection), or closed form (1 %). Analysis of sherd type identified six attributes
for which a date could be assigned: the grooved-footrim, beveled footrim, the
klapmutsen rim, lidded cups, globular boxes and Dehua monochrome porcelain.
Grooved-footrims were observed exclusively on monochrome white porcelain,
recovered both from OWSP and Nehalem Bay (see Fig. 9.1). This feature is par-
ticularly important in regard to the porcelain’s date of manufacture as the grooved
footrim was only produced between 1644 (Butler 2002; Butler and Curtis 2002;
Curtis 2002; Donnelly 1967; Harrisson 1995; Mudge 1986) and 1690 (Harrisson
1995). The majority of grooved-footrim sherds in the collection appear to have a
narrow or embryonic groove that could indicate a Shunzhi Reign (1644–1661) date;
however, the narrow appearance may also be a result of erosion. Resources are
contradictory regarding classification of the embryonic and fully developed double
footrim, some providing examples of embryonic footrims (Butler and Curtis 2002:
163) that others indicate are fully developed (Harrisson 1995). Because of this
contradiction, the grooved footrims of the collection were given a wide date range
of 1644–1690, encompassing both the Shunzhi Reign and the first portion of the
Kangxi Reign up until 1690, after which the grooved footrim was no longer pro-
duced (Harrisson 1995).
A beveled footrim was observed on a single sherd (number 8692) (see Fig. 9.2).
The footrim was slightly apricot in color, suggesting a lack of glaze and resulting
exposure to heat inside the kiln when fired. It is thought that the bevel, or undercut
footrim, was to allow the vessel to be placed upon a wooden stand for display and
was a unique feature of the Kangxi reign (1662–1722) (Vermeer 2005). In addition
to the beveled footrim, six sherds were identified as klapmutsen, or wide flat rims,
which is generally attributed to production between 1620 and 1680 (Fischell 1987),
but may have been seen as early as 1613 (van der Pijl-Ketel 1982).
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 173

Fig. 9.2 Beveled footrim,

sherd number 8692. Sherd is
decorated with
underglaze-blue tiger lily
motif

Lidded vessels, lidded cups, and lids were identified amongst the collection.
These sherds are similar in measurement, potting, and decoration indicating that the
lids were likely intended for the lidded cups. All were decorated with a nearly
identical tiger lily motif (the motif will discussed in the following sections), and
were recovered from OWSP, Nehalem Bay, 35-TI-1, and 35-TI-4. Similar lidded
cups were observed among the Vung Tau cargo of 1690 (Jorg and Flecker 2001).
A total of 19 sherds were identified as compressed globular boxes (or lids). The
compressed globular boxes and globular box lids are monochrome white, have no
decoration other than a single molded ring on the lids, and measure only a few
centimeters in diameter. Several of these sherds have unglazed interiors, and lack
glaze on both the rim portions of the vessel body and the lids. Two of the com-
pressed globular box sherds have unglazed bases, which are discolored slightly
from exposure to kiln heat and curdled. Donnelly (1967) noted that during the
post-Transitional Period and height of the Dehua kiln production, similar small
globular boxes with unglazed, curdled bases were being produced. These unique
unglazed, curdled bases are indicative of the boxes origin at the Dehua kilns
between 1675 and 1725 (Donnelly), when unglazed bases were out of fashion for
other porcelain vessels (Butler 2002).
Four monochrome white sherds represent a variety of more unusual vessel types
typical of manufacture at the Dehua kilns between 1675 and 1725. Sherd number
NH386 bears a striking resemblance to the Marco Polo Censer pictured by
Donnelly (1967), who dated a similar Marco Polo Censer vessel between 1675 and
1725. Sherd NH388 is a molded figurative sherd depicting a human European face
with a protrusion from the back of the sherd indicating that it may have been
applied to the side of a vessel, or otherwise attached to a larger piece. Features of
the face do not appear to have Asian qualities, but rather appear very European in
nature, as does the hair style. In addition, molded Sherd NH657 is possibly a petal
from the base of a figure such as a Quan Yin figure.
174 M.S. Jessica Lally

9.2.2 Decoration Attributes and Ware Types

Blue underglaze decoration is by far the most common decorative type comprising
nearly 73 % of the collection, followed by monochrome-white porcelain, which
accounts for 26 %. Only 9 sherds in the collection displayed decorative elements in
combination with red-overglaze. Overall, the decorative types of the collection
suggest a date range of mid-seventeenth century to mid-eighteenth century.
Underglaze-blue decoration was painted in an outline-and-wash technique with
most sherds having blue-violet toned cobalt (55 % of underglaze-blue sherds), and
violet cobalt (8 %). Smaller numbers of violet-gray, blue-gray, blue-black, and
bright blue cobalt were also observed. Lighter application of various tones was
observed on 5 % of underglaze sherds, and heavy application on 3 %. The majority
of sherds in the collection display a thinly applied, non-obstructive, subtle green
glaze, with fewer examples of white-toned glaze appearing on monochrome-white
porcelain sherds.
Attributes of underglaze-blue decoration and glaze are highly indicative of a
Transitional Period (1620–1683) or Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) date of manufac-
ture. Violet cobalt tones are particularly associated with Transitional Period man-
ufacture (Macintosh 1977), and heavy-application cobalt being specifically
indicative of the Shunzhi Reign (1644–1661) (Curtis 2002: 42). Smaller numbers of
cobalt tones within the collection can be associated with both the Ming (1368–
1644) and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties. However, manufacture during the Ming
Dynasty is unlikely as collection sherds lack classic Ming Dynasty cobalt attributes
such as the “heaped and piled” cobalt application, which Frank (1969) noted as
being indicative of Ming manufacture.
Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) glaze attributes are also absent. Glaze elements
typical of Ming manufacture include textural attributes, which at times can appear
obstructive to the underglaze decoration (Frank 1969). Green glaze in the collection
appears subtle, thinly applied, and non-obstructive, all features Macintosh (1977)
and Frank (1969) consider indicative of Transitional Period (1620–1683) or Kangxi
Reign (1662–1722) manufacture. White glaze on collection sherds may also be
indicative of the same time period, as Kerr (1986) notes that white glaze on Kangxi
export porcelain was common. The Dehua kilns in particular were using a cold white
glaze on monochrome porcelain during the eighteenth century (Donnelly 1967).
Due to erosion, it was difficult to determine if any of the red-overglaze sherds
discovered at OSWP or Nehalem Bay were true Imari. Two sherds in the collection
recovered from archaeological site 35-TI-1 (artifact number L2/18/43), however,
were better preserved and clearly appear to be Chinese Imari, displaying gold gilt
pine branches with red overglaze and underglaze-blue (see Fig. 9.3). Red-overglaze
first appeared in the fourteenth century at the Jingdezhen kilns (Kerr 1986). Used in
a number of polychrome combinations throughout porcelain production, it was
particularly associated with Imari porcelain, which was a combination of
underglaze-blue, overglaze iron-red and, at times, gilt (Mudge 1986: 246). Chinese
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 175

Fig. 9.3 Chinese Imari

porcelain sherds. Artifact
number L2/18/43 Motif
Attributes

Fig. 9.4 Batavian ware,

interior view. Sherd NH359

Imari remained popular from the late-1600s to the mid-1700s, and in general, red
overglaze on Chinese porcelain was imported to Mexico in quantity during the late
1600s (Mudge 1986).
Two sherds in the collection were identified as Batavian ware, having brown slip
applied to the exterior of the sherds, and interiors decorated with underglaze-blue
motifs (see Figs. 9.4 and 9.5). Batavian ware was only produced during the Kangxi
Reign, specifically the late-seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century
(Donnelly 1967; Fuchus and Howard 2005; Mudge 1986; Sheaf and Kilburn 1988),
and was observed among the shipwreck cargo of the Ca Mau (1723–1735) (Chiến
2002). The Beeswax Wreck porcelain collection also contained monochrome white
176 M.S. Jessica Lally

Fig. 9.5 Exterior view.

Sherd NH359

sherds with molded ribbing, strikingly similar to Donnelly’s (1967) examples of

wine cups and Rhinoceros Horn Cups made at Dehua kilns, for which he provided a
date range of 1650–1750.
Floral Motifs and Scroll. Collection motifs include floral themes, floral scroll,
scroll, landscapes, Auspicious Symbols, Eight Happy Omens, Eight Precious
Objects, paneled motifs, figures, borders, and rim dressing, as well as others. Floral
themes are the most common motif and account for 13 % of the collection. Floral
motif elements identified include Prunus plant motifs, bamboo, broad locust, peach,
peony, camellia flowers, Lake Tai rocks, banana leaves, cattails, and trees. Many of
the floral motifs identified in the collection were used throughout porcelain pro-
duction and were common in both the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911)
Dynasties (Bai 2002; Butler and Curtis 2002; Lion-Goldschmidt 1978). However,
several motifs strongly suggest a more specific time period.
The manner in which motif elements are executed can be indicative of the
manufacturing period. Several of the floral sherds, especially those decorated with
Prunus motifs, bamboo, and brown rim dressing display a great use of white space,
a decorative technique commonly associated with the Transitional Period (1620–
1683) (Frank 1969; Sheaf and Kilburn 1988).
Prunus decorations within the collection suggest production during the Kangxi
Reign (1662–1722). A total of 39 Prunus blossom or Prunus plant motifs were
identified among the collection, and were depicted in blue underglaze, incised
motif, and applied decoration. The Prunus blossom motif has been used for cen-
turies in Chinese porcelain production and was used in the Ming Dynasty (1368–
1644) as well as through the Transitional Period (1620–1683) and into the Kangxi
Reign (1662–1722) (Beals and Steele 1981). Prunus motifs saw a peak in popu-
larity during the Kangxi Reign with the production of Hawthorn Jars, which were
generally decorated with Prunus blossoms depicted in white on a blue cracked-ice
background (Frank 1969; Kerr 1986). Two sherds, NH029 and NH334, fit this
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 177

Fig. 9.6 Prunus blossoms

depicted in white on a blue
cracked-ice background,
sherd NH29

description, having a distinct reverse white-on-blue, Prunus blossom motif (see

Fig. 9.6).
Among the Prunus motifs are several monochrome sherds that, when compared
to examples provided by Donnelly (1967), Mudge (1986), and Bass (2005), appear
very similar to those dating 1675–1725, 1690–1710, and 1692 respectively. Sherd
NH392 is decorated with high-relief, molded and applied Prunus plant blossom,
stem, and leaves. The body of the sherd is bright white to bluish in tone; the glaze is
white, pearly, and closely adhered to the biscuit. Donnelly provided several
examples of nearly identical motifs used on Dehua monochrome or Blanc de Chine
teacups, vases, and jars. The teacups Donnelly dated from 1675 to 1725. Other
sources note similar Blanc de Chine cups dating between 1690 and 1700 (Mudge
1986), many vessels being discovered in excavations of Port Royal, Jamaica, which
was destroyed by earthquake in 1692 (Bass 2005).
The possible date range for Sherd NH392 (see Fig. 9.7) was further confirmed
by a chronology of applied Prunus motif provided by Donnelly (1967). He noted
that post 1725, the Prunus blossom had more rounded short petals, and the center
was surrounded by tiny beads and several radiating lines. Prior to 1725, Prunus
blossoms had a plain dot for a center, surrounded by petals that either had one or
two veins radiating the length of the petal. Sherd NH392 has a plain-centered flower
with long petals, and a single vein running the length of the petal. Donnelly dated
this style from 1675 to 1725.
The peach and peony blossoms were used throughout the production of Chinese
porcelain, having periods of popularity through the centuries. The presence of both
motifs in the collection may support a date of manufacture during the Shunzhi
Reign (1644–1661) due to their political symbolism. The peach blossom was a
plant sacred to the Daosits (Frank 1969; Macintosh 1977), representing immortality
and marriage (van der Pijl-Ketel 1982), and its periods of extreme popularity often
coincided with the reigns of Daoist emperors. (Frank 1969; Macintosh 1977). It was
not restricted to Daoist-oriented time periods, however, and was continued in later
178 M.S. Jessica Lally

Fig. 9.7 Sherd NH392,

applied Prunus motif dating
between 1675 and 1725

periods as well. During the Shunzhi Reign (1644–1661) and the Transitional Period
(1620–1683), poems with peach blossom symbolism, written on porcelain or
alluded to in motifs, were used to comment on political turmoil of the transition
from Ming to Qing Dynasties (Bai 2002; Finlay 2010).
The peony blossom is a traditional motif and the most popular floral motif used
in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). The peony has many symbolic meanings
including a wish for wealth (Butler and Curtis 2002: 123), love, spring, feminine
beauty, masculinity, and an omen of good fortune (van der Pijl-Ketel 1982). The
motif became particularly important during the Shunzhi (1644–1661) and Kangxi
reigns (1662–1722) of the Qing Dynasty, as the flower was associated with a wish
for rank in the civil service of the emperor—an institution associated with
scholastics that became highly important during these reigns (Butler and Curtis
2002).
In addition to floral motifs, the collection contains 158 underglaze-blue
floral-scroll sherds. More than any other motif in the collection, the floral scroll
displays the least amount of variation. It is noteworthy that nearly 10 % of the
collection, found in separate locations, is so similarly decorated. All but 15 sherds
out of the total 158 appear to be tiger lily scroll (Fig. 9.2; see Fig. 9.8), and 10
sherds include the distinct tiger lily four-petal flower. The flower has a single, plain
dot for a center, with four petals radiating out from it. The tiger lily scroll is unique
to Kangxi Reign export porcelain and often is associated with the small four-petal
flower (Frank 1969; Valenstein 1989: 244) observed on collection sherds. The tiger
lily motif was also seen among the Vung Tau shipwreck (1690) cargo (Jorg and
Flecker 2001: 72, Fig. 65) and the Ca Mau shipwreck (dated 1723–1735) cargo
(Chiến 2002: Fig. 156).
A variation of floral scroll was observed on six sherds. As opposed to the tiger
lily motif, the floral scroll on these sherds is more rounded. At times the leaves even
appear “blobby”, contrasting more greatly than the lines which represent stems. In
addition, single dots are placed randomly throughout the scroll where white space
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 179

Fig. 9.8 Sherd NH949,

example of Beeswax
Shipwreck porcelain tiger lily
motif

allows. This more rounded floral scroll is very similar to an example provided by
Butler (2002: 18, Fig. 9.3) of a lidded jar with a “lion and plant design” which
dated to 1650–1660 and corresponded to the Shunzhi (1644–1661) Reign of the
Qing Dynasty. An additional example of the same scroll was provided by Harrisson
(1995: 45, Fig. 58a), dated between 1660 and 1670, corresponding to the end of the
Shunzhi and the first years of the Kangxi Reign.
The boneless floral scroll motif was identified on two sherds, NH218 and
NH351. Boneless cobalt painting was a technique in which no outline was used,
only wash, giving a watercolor affect. This style of porcelain decoration was
popular during the Ming Dynasty Reign of Chenghua (1464–1487), but was also
common on Kangxi imitations of Chenghua porcelain (Frank 1969).
Two variations of non-floral scroll were identified on 38 sherds in the collection.
The first is a classic scroll similar to what Lion-Goldschmidt (1978: 40) identifies as
middle-14th-century classic scroll. The second variation is a more rounded scroll
seen during the Wanli Reign (1572–1620) (Lion-Goldschmidt 1978: 40) of the
Ming Dynasty. These decorative scroll elements can be associated earlier
Dynasties, and were utilized as traditional motifs throughout porcelain manufacture.
Landscape, Figures, Symbols, and Paneled Motifs. Only 25 sherds in the col-
lection were identified as landscape motifs. Sherds NH020 and NH482 are painted
with dark washes, dark cobalt outline, use of contrast, and very little use of shading.
This method of landscape painting was the prevailing mode of landscape decoration
on vessels between 1690 and the 1720s (Curtis 2002). It was observed on porcelain
in the Transitional Period (1620–1683) Hatcher Junk cargo (1643) (Curtis 1995,
2002: 42; Sheaf and Kilburn 1988), and was typical of the Shunzhi Reign in general
(Curtis 2002). Foliage elements on sherds NH148, NH153, and NH311 lack the
typical High-Transitional Period v-shaped technique in which foliage in landscapes
was created by small v-shaped (Mathers et al. 1990) or u-shaped lines (Butler 2002:
21). This indicates that the landscape sherds in the collection either predate or
postdate the High-Transitional Period (1634–1643).
180 M.S. Jessica Lally

Fig. 9.9 Hundred boys motif

or scholars motif, Sherd
NH438

Sherds with figure motifs indicate a date of late-Transitional, Shunzhi Reign

(1644–1661) or Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) manufacture. A total of 13 sherds were
identified as having figurative motifs, six of which (sherds NH022, NH483, NH661,
NH660, LL2/18/39a and LL2/18/39b) appear to be the hundred boys motif or the
scholars motif (see Fig. 9.9). Children (boys) were a motif used during the Ming
Dynasty (1368–1644), typically painted in heavy outline (Lion-Goldschmidt 1978).
Sherds in the collection, however, are decorated with fine outline and violet-blue
cobalt resembling that of the Transitional Period at the earliest. The hundred boys
motif observed in the collection greatly resemble examples of the hundred boys
motif provided by Butler and Curtis (2002: Figs. 82 and 83), which depict boys
playing together or playing with objects associated with scholars. These motifs,
especially the scholars motif, were of immense importance during the Reign of
Shunzhi and continuing into the Kangxi Reign (Curtis 2002: 50).
Seven sherds in the collection are figurative, but not necessarily associated with
the hundred boys motif or scholars motifs. Sherds NH599 and NH600 each display
a three-quarter profile of a face very delicately painted; NH599 has a lattice fence
behind the figure. Sherd NH462 also displays a figure’s face in full profile as well as
the upper body, overlooking a landscape scene. The figurative motif sherds appear
to be painted in a Transitional Period (1620–1683), Shunzhi Reign (1644–1661) or
Kangxi Reign style (1662–1722), with light lines and graceful characters.
Figurative scenes were particularly popular during the Transitional Period (Frank
1969; Mathers et al. 1990), Shunzhi Reign (Curtis 2002), Kangxi Reign (Frank
1969), and the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) (Lion-Goldschmidt 1978). However,
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 181

much as in the case of the hundred boys motif sherds, figurate sherds in the
collection lack the heavy outline execution of Ming Dynasty figurative motifs.
The collection contains 11 sherds that have the auspicious symbols, Eight Happy
Omens, or the Eight Precious Objects as motif elements. The vase of the Eight
Happy Omens was identified on two sherds. Although fragmented, and therefore
difficult to determine with absolute certainty, other sherds in the collections appeared
to contain partial depictions of the vase, conch shell, and canopy Omens. The Eight
Happy Omens and the Eight Precious Objects have been used in Chinese porcelain
decoration for centuries, both in the Ming (1368–1644) (Lion-Goldschmidt 1978)
and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties (Mudge 1986). However, they were a particularly
common motif on porcelain of the 1680s to the early 1700s (Curtis 1995), with the
conch shell being particularly commonplace on Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) porce-
lain (Mudge 1986).
The auspicious symbol of the lingzhi fungus, symbol of immortality (Mudge
1986) appears on four sherds. Used in Chinese porcelain decoration for centuries,
this fungus was particularly common on early Kangxi Reign porcelain vessels
(Harrisson 1995). NH034 displays a lingzhi painted with concentric and hashed
lines, a fill technique Chiến (2002) and Frank (1969) note as common on some
Kangxi Reign porcelain. This fill technique was also commonly utilized as a
Kangxi Reign symbol (Mudge 1986: 233).
Paneled motifs were observed on 12 sherds. In general, paneled motifs were
particularly popular among export porcelain motifs and were often considered
indicators of porcelain for the European market (Kerr 1986: 65). They have also
been commonly associated with kraak porcelain, a specific style of export ware
famous for its paneled motifs, coarse body, and sandy base (Mathers et al. 1990;
McElney 2006).
Seven paneled sherds do not resemble kraak porcelain. These sherds resemble
the later paneled motifs of the Vung Tau (1690) (Jorg and Flecker 2001), the Ca
Mau (1723–1735) (Chiến 2002) and the Geldermalsen (1752) (Sheaf and Kilburn
1988) wrecks.
Five sherds in the collection, however, appear kraak-like. These sherds display
obvious paneled pendent, lozenge, or medallion decoration, and the v-shaped,
inward-sloping footrim typical of kraak porcelain (van der Pijl-Ketel 1982). Two of
the sherds display “moth-eaten” edges (areas where the glaze is receded from the
rims), and apricot colored footrims. All five sherds, however, lack chatter marks
(radiating gouges made when the pieces were formed, usually seen on the base or
footrim), which are generally considered indicative of true kraak porcelain (Mathers
et al. 1990; van der Pijl-Ketel 1982). The quickly executed manner of decoration on
these sherds may be indicative that the vessels were made during the height of
porcelain production, post-1600. After 1600, large orders were placed for kraak
porcelain, and as a result of increasing demand, quality of painting declined
(Harrisson 1995).
There is general agreement that kraak porcelain began being produced and
exported mid-16th century or 1573, coinciding with the Reign of Wanli (1572–
1620) (Harrisson 1995; Mudge 1986). However, there is relatively little agreement
182 M.S. Jessica Lally

on when production ended, or kraak’s true definition (Frank 1969; McElney 2006;
van der Pijl-Ketel 1982). Some researchers place an end to kraak production around
1640–1650 (Mudge 1986; McElney 2006; Harrisson 1995), while some acknowl-
edge other interpretations that allow for later dates (van der Pijl-Ketel 1982). Kraak-
style motifs have been seen on later porcelain as well, notably among the Ca Mau
cargo, which dated between 1723 and 1735 (Chiến 2002), indicating the continued
popularity of the design.
Border Motifs and Rim Dressing. Border motifs identified in the collection,
including the juxtaposed lozenge/trellis, imbricated triangle, trefoils, and key fret
motifs, represent traditional border motifs used since the Song and Yuan Dynasties
in China (Lion-Goldschmidt 1978). However, a few borders, specifically the s-
tonewall or cracked-ice border and the zigzag border, indicate dates ranging from
the 1640s to approximately 1675, during the early Kangxi Reign (1662–1722)
(Butler 2002: 23).
The zigzag border was observed on three sherds. The motif is very similar in
appearance to imbricated triangles, but instead of the hashed lines forming trian-
gular sections they run parallel to one another throughout the motif. This, according
to Butler (2002: 23), was a border pattern of the 1640s or 1650s but was largely out
of fashion by 1675. A single sherd, NH235, with stonewall border motif, was
identified in the collection (see Fig. 9.10). Similar to the zigzag border, Butler
(2002) identified the stonewall border pattern as dating from the 1640s to 1650s and
ending by 1675. Sheaf and Kilburn (1988), referring to the same pattern as a
cracked-ice border, suggested an even narrower time frame, anywhere from 1660
to 1670. Butler and Curtis (2002) provided many examples of the stonewall or
cracked-ice border in their work on the Shunzhi Reign porcelain (1644–1661), and

Fig. 9.10 Sherd NH235,

stonewall or cracked ice
boarder
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 183

many of the vessels were decorated with figurative or narrative scenes as well as the
hundred boys motif (Butler and Curtis 2002: Figs. 64, 68, 70, 77, 72 and 83).
Blobby dots, cobalt splotched onto the white background with no outline, were
identified on three sherds. This motif was used from 1645–1660, and were also seen on
rims or as a border pattern in the early Kangxi Reign (Butler 2002; Curtis 2002: 44).
The presence of brown dressing on 47 rim sherds in the collection may also be
indicative of manufacture date. Brown dressing was applied to the rims to prevent
chipping (Honey 1927) or to disguise areas where the glaze had receded from the
rim. The use of brown-rim dressing began in the Chongzhen Reign (1628–1643)
and was used on polychromatic porcelain made for the Japanese market. It did not
appear within the Chinese domestic or export market until the 1640s–1660s, and
was eventually discontinued in early Kangxi and remained out of fashion until the
eighteenth century when it was used again on export wares (Butler 2002: 23).

9.2.3 Marks

Marks in the collection strongly suggest a Transitional Period (1620–1683) or

Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) date of manufacture. In total, 32 sherds were identified
as having marks, some of which were hallmarks and others symbol marks.
Identifiable symbol marks include sherd NH400, displaying a fully intact Artemisia
leaf mark and sherds NH510, NH568, and NH517, having partial swastika marks.
Both symbols, the Artemisia and swastika, were symbols of good fortune used
during the Kangxi Reign in place of the nein-hao, or reign mark (Macintosh 1977;
Mudge 1986).
The collection also contained sherds with Chinese character marks translated as
follows: Sherd 82.176, “guang zhu tang zhi” or “Made by the Guangzhu Hall”;
Sherd NH463, “Juyou Tang zhi,” or “made by the Juyou Compnay” (Wang, per-
sonal communication April 17, 2008); Sherd NH742, “made by the Anji House,
and; Sherd NH777, “made by the Zhengfa Company” (Wang, personal commu-
nication August 14, 2013).
Several partial marks were also identified amongst the collection (see Table 9.2),
one of which is particularly noteworthy. The partial mark on sherd NH482 reads
“zhi me yu” or “of (the) beautiful jade” (Wang, personal communication April 17,
2008). The mark was utilized during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) (Butler and
Curtis 2002: 108), and is observed among shipwreck cargos of that era (Mudge
1986: 223). However, the mark Beautiful Vessel of the Jade Hall was particularly
fashionable during the Shunzhi Reign (1644–1661) (Curtis 1995, 2002: 42) as it
was a reference to an elite bureau of scholars from the Hanlin Academy who held
very high degrees. Because of the increased importance on civil service exams that
occurred during the Shunzhi Reign, references to scholarly achievement, such as
the Hanlin Academy, were of particular popularity (Curtis 2002). Marks referring to
the Jade Hall were out of fashion and rarely used during the Kangxi Reign (Butler
and Curtis 2002: 108).
184 M.S. Jessica Lally

Table 9.2 Translation of partial marks within the Beeswax Collection

Sherd number Partial mark (translation)a
NH020 “de” (virtue), “ai” (love)
NH022 “zhi” (to make, or made by)
NH399 “cheng” (accomplish)
NH432 “qing” (clear or Qing, referring to the Qing Dynasty)
NH482 “zhi me yu” (of the beautiful jade)
a
Translations provided by Penglin Wang (personal communication April 17, 2008)

A partial mark was also identified on one of the sherds recovered from Site
35-TI-1 (artifact number LL2/18/35). Translation provided by Dr. Penglin Wang,
Professor of Anthropology at Central Washington University, indicate that the mark
reads “made in the year (reign) of the Great Ming” (personal communication
August 14, 2013).

9.2.4 Analysis and Date Range Determination

Attributes and porcelain ware types identified among the collection tend to suggest
a Transitional Period (1620–1683), Shunzhi (1644–1661), or Kangxi Reign date
(1662–1722), with only a few motifs suggesting earlier dates. In order to determine
a narrower date range, analysis of attributes and porcelain types was conducted in
the following manner. First, a simple visual interpretation of attributes and porce-
lain types associated with specific date ranges was conducted. This followed the
model provided by South (2002), which he used to determine an occupation period
for several archaeological sites based on the presence and absence of various
ceramic types. With the Beeswax Wreck collection South’s same principles were
used to establish a possible date range for the manufacture of the ceramics.
Second, a specific set of attributes and types was selected to be included in a
determination of the mean ceramic date, again following South’s model (2002).
This model was designed to examine occupation periods among sites, and unlike
the visual interpretation method, took into account the frequency of attributes by
using a weighted average. Ware types in South’s model were based on known time
frames of certain wares among British American sites and, therefore, his definitions
and dates could not be used for this study. Rather, time frames, attributes, and types
were adapted for the purposes of this study to reflect Chinese porcelain attribute
dates, as well as features observed among the collection sherds.
Lastly, the collection mean ceramic date and visually interpreted date range were
compared to known historic dates concerning the Chinese porcelain trade, as well
as the dates of the two shipwrecks which Williams (2007) suggested are likely to be
the source of the porcelain. In addition, the mean ceramic date and visually inter-
preted date range were considered in context of the collection attributes and
porcelain types that were not included in the aforementioned calculations, but were
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 185

used to refine, narrow, or invalidate the dates suggested. Not all attributes and types
identified were suitable for inclusion in the visual interpretation of attributes and
mean ceramic date, and were omitted either for a lack of definitive information or
for a lack of consensus among existing porcelain literature.
Often, existing Chinese porcelain literature referred to dates loosely by non-
specific periods such as “late-seventeenth century” or “early-eighteenth century.” In
order to produce a mean ceramic date as well as a visual interpretation of attribute
date ranges, more precise dates were needed. Therefore, for the purposes of this
study, the most commonly agreed upon attribute date among existing research was
used. When porcelain attributes and types were given a date range of “late,”
“middle,” or “early” in the century, they were defined in this study as follows: early
century—turn of the century through the 30s, middle century—40s through the 60s,
and late century—70s to the end of the century. A total of 15 dateable attributes and
porcelain ware types identified among the collection sherds were determined to
have enough documentation among resources to be included in determining a date
range (see Table 9.3).

Table 9.3 Attributes used for visual interpretation of date range

Attribute Attribute References
date
Kraak porcelain 1573–1650 Frank (1969), Harrisson (1995), McElney
(2006), Mudge (1986), van der Pijl-Ketel (1982)
Brown-rim dressing 1620–1660, Butler (2002)
Post-1700
Zigzag border motif 1640–1675 Butler (2002)
Stonewall border motif 1640–1675 Butler (2002)
Grooved footrim 1644–1690 Butler (2002), Butler and Curtis (2002), Curtis
(1995), Donnelly (1967), Harrisson (1995),
Mudge (1986)
Blobby dots 1645–1660 Butler (2002)
Ribbed monochrome-white 1650–1750 Donnelly (1967), Gordon (1977)
porcelain
Glazed bases Post-1661 Butler (2002)
Beveled footrim 1662–1722 Vermeer (2005)
Batavian porcelain 1670–1730 Donnelly (1967), Fuchus and Howard (2005),
Mudge (1986), Sheaf and Kilburn (1988)
Dehua monochrome-white 1670–1700 Donnelly (1967), Gordon (1977)
compressed globular boxes
Molded monochrome-white 1675–1725 Donnelly (1967), Gordon (1977)
porcelain
Tiger lily motif 1662–1722 Frank (1969), Valenstein (1989), Jorg and
Flecker (2001), Chiến (2002)
Applied Prunus style 1675–1725 Donnelly (1967)
Chinese Imari 1670-1740 Mudge (1986)
186 M.S. Jessica Lally

The attributes and porcelain ware types were graphed on the timeline in
Fig. 9.11. In order to determine the date range of the attributes, South (2002)
suggested that at least half of the attributes must coincide with the earliest time
period marker. Similarly, at least half must coincide with the latest time period
marker; however, the latest period marker must at least touch the beginning of the
latest attribute observed. Thus, given 15 attributes and types, it was necessary that
7.5 (rounded to 8 attributes for the purposes of this study) of them corresponded
with each date range marker. As shown by Fig. 9.11, this provided a date range for
the collection between 1670 and 1700, indicated by the solid vertical lines. The later
portion of this date range comes close to both shipwrecks that Williams (2007)
proposed are likely to be the source of the porcelain: the Santo Cristo de Burgos
(1693) and the San Francisco Xavier (1705). However, the calculated date range
more strongly indicates the Santo Cristo de Burgos, as the San Francisco Xavier is
outside the date range.
The above method and the date range suggested by it do not take into account
the frequency with which the attributes occur. For example, many of the attributes
responsible for the earlier portion of the date range occur with relatively lower
frequency than did many of the attributes responsible for the later portion of the
visually interpreted date range. Therefore, it was also important to examine the
attributes in light of which were the most commonly occurring: a weighted average
was needed. This was accomplished by way of calculating a mean ceramic date.
The mean ceramic date was calculated using the following equation (South
2002: 217):
Pn
i¼1 Xi  fi
P
Y¼ n ;
i¼1 fi

where n = the number of attributes identified, Xi = the median date for each
attribute, and fi = the frequency at which it occurred in the collection.
A date range was determined for each attribute, and from each date range a
median date was calculated. The median date was multiplied by the number of
times the attribute occurred within the collection. The total sum of the frequency
column was then divided into the total sum of the product column, resulting in a
mean ceramic date. A total of 13 attributes and types were used, resulting in a mean
ceramic date of 1690 (see Table 9.4). That date falls closer to the later portion of the
visually interpreted date range (1670–1700), and supports the shipwreck identities
proposed by Williams (2007). The indication is that the majority of features
identified in the collection correspond to the later portion of the date range sug-
gested by the visual interpretation model.
Attributes and types that were not included in the mean ceramic date calculation,
or the visually interpreted date range, support the dates generated by the two
models. These include klapmutsen-style or wide flat rims (1620–1680) (Fischell
1987), the large areas of white space common during the Transitional Period
(1620–1683), evidence of Dehua kiln production (1675–1725) (Donnelly 1967;
Gordon 1977), and ribbed monochrome porcelain (1650–1725) (Donnelly 1967). In
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 187

Fig. 9.11 Visually interpreted date range for the collection porcelain attributes
188 M.S. Jessica Lally

Table 9.4 Attributes Attribute or porcelain type Date range

selected for mean ceramic
date Beveled foot 1662–1722
Grooved foot 1644–1690
Globular box 1670–1700
Ribbed 1650–1750
Molded Dehua 1675–1725
Kraak 1573–1650
Zigzag 1640–1675
Stonewall 1640–1675
Blobby dots 1645–1660
Batavian 1670–1730
Tiger lily motif 1662–1722
Applied Prunus style 1675–1725
Chinese Imari 1670–1740

addition, figurative elements identified within the collection are indicative of the
Shunzhi Reign (1644–1661) and Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) as are the manner in
which some of the landscapes were painted. Curtis (1995, 2002: 42) attributes
similar landscape motifs to the Shunzhi Reign and a period between 1690 and 1720,
when contrasting shades were seen as the primary mode of landscape painting.
Additional attributes also supported the visually interpreted date range and the
mean ceramic date and include the Prunus blossoms with cracked-ice motif popular
on Hawthorn jars and other vessels during the Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) (Frank
1969), the Eight Happy Omens and Eight Precious Objects common from 1680 to
the early eighteenth century (Curtis 1995), and the identification of lidded cups also
observed among the Vung Tau cargo (1690) (Jorg and Flecker 2001), which likely
coincided with the increased popularity of chocolate and coffee drinking post 1690.
Likewise, the repeated use of hallmarks observed among the collection was popular
during the Kangxi after 1677 (Mudge 1986), especially the Artemisia leaf mark,
identified on Sherd NH400. Macintosh (1977) stated that the Artemisia leaf mark
was typical of the early Kangxi Reign (1662–1683), as was the lingzhi fungus filled
with hashed lines (Kerr 1986) identified on Sherd NH034.
Non-kraak panel motifs identified among the collection resemble the continued
popularity of paneled motifs in European export (Kerr 1986: 65), and were
observed on the Vung Tau (1690) (Jorg and Flecker 2001), Ca Mau (1723–1735)
(Chiến 2002), and Geldermalsen (1752) (Sheaf and Kilburn 1988) cargoes. Also
indicative of a Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) date was the tiger lily scroll. Frank
(1969) stated that tiger lily motif was an innovation of the Kangxi Reign and was
restricted to export wares during that time. Several resources provided examples of
the motif (Jorg and Flecker 2001; Mudge 1986; Valenstein 1989). The example
most similar to the collection tiger lily scroll was a hookah base provided by
Valenstein (1989) dated from the late-seventeenth to the early-eighteenth century.
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 189

The above-mentioned attributes and types fall within the visually interpreted
date range, and very strongly support the mean ceramic date of 1690. This is the
time period for both shipwrecks proposed by Williams (2007, this volume) as the
source of the porcelain deposition: the Santo Cristo de Burgos (1693) and the San
Francisco Xavier (1705). These attributes as well as those utilized in the calculation
of the mean ceramic date and visually interpreted date range are all heavily
indicative of a date of manufacture during the Kangxi Reign (1662–1722).
Several attributes among the collection sherds are associated with dates earlier
than the visually interpreted date range (1670–1700). The presence of earlier
attributes, however, is a relatively minor issue as motifs were reused and older
styles imitated in later reigns, especially in the case of classic scrolls. In addition, as
noted by Lion-Goldschmidt (1978), cobalt varied greatly due to firing methods as
well as other factors, and should not be considered overly indicative of date. Also, it
would not be unlikely to see Ming Dynasty, particularly Chenghua Reign (1464–
1487) attributes on porcelain manufactured between 1650 and 1700 as
Chenghua-Reign porcelain was often imitated during later times (Frank 1969).
Furthermore, such finds are not uncommon among shipwrecks. Often during the
excavation and analysis of shipwreck porcelain cargoes, porcelain has been dis-
covered that does not fit the time period of the shipwreck, or the time period
suggested by the bulk of the porcelain cargo (Sheaf and Kilburn 1988). They have,
in large part, simply been considered anomalies. It is possible that a Kangxi Reign
ship would have been transporting a few earlier period wares, possibly purchased as
antiques or perhaps belonging to one of the passengers.
There is another possible explanation for the discovery of earlier attributes
among the collection: the appearance of a few “earlier” porcelain sherds among a
collection of later sherds may simply reflect a lack of information regarding export
porcelain during the late-Transitional Period and early Kangxi Reign (1662–1683).
It is tempting when studying Chinese export porcelain to define ware types and
motifs with exact dates; however, the dates for only a few specific attributes are
known for certain, or agreed upon among the existing literature. Many unknowns
remain, and it is quite possible that many of the attributes considered to be early
attributes in this study may have coexisted with the later attributes. This is the value
of studying shipwreck cargos, which represent a single event, rather than art col-
lections or collections from occupation sites that might span decades, or centuries.
Glaze and cobalt tone were left out of the mean ceramic date and date range
determinations due to conflicting information and the subjective nature of color
determination. It can be said, however, that both glaze and cobalt decoration lacked
classic Ming Dynasty characteristics such as obstructive glaze qualities or
“heaped-and-piled” cobalt application.
After consideration of the data generated by the analyses, it is apparent that the
majority of porcelain sherds strongly indicate a Kangxi Reign date (1662–1722),
roughly between the early Kangxi and the 1690s. It is unlikely that the shipwreck
responsible for the deposition of the porcelain dated later than the 1690s, as many
attributes present in the collection, such as grooved footrims and the use of symbols
and hallmarks, did not extend beyond that period. Furthermore, many later-Kangxi
190 M.S. Jessica Lally

attributes are absent, such as hashed lines in place of wash, and more complicated
border motifs. This strongly suggests that the 1693 wreck of the Santo Cristo de
Burgos is indeed the likely candidate for the Beeswax Wreck and the offshore
source responsible for the porcelain deposition.

9.3 Discussion

Much speculation has been made regarding the nationality of the Beeswax Wreck.
Scheans and Stenger (1990) suggested that the porcelain cargo was intended for two
separate markets, one Asian and one European, based on the presence of brown
rims. This is incorrect, and the collection is consistent with porcelain manufactured
for European export in the Manila trade. Monochrome porcelain, likely from the
Dehua kilns, included ribbed and molded porcelain, Marco Polo Censers, Batavian
ware, kraak porcelain, and a sherd with a European face—all strong indicators of
European export. In addition, the wide flat rims, or klapmutsen-style rims identified
among the collection are indicative of European markets, as large, wide rims were
designed for condiment use in the formal dining atmosphere of European culture,
and were never seen in wares made for Chinese or Japanese use (Honey 1927).
Woodward’s (1986) study proposed that the porcelain is Chinese in origin and
possibly bound for export to Japan. He proposed that the majority of evidence
pointed to a Portuguese East Indiaman enroute to Japan, drifting in ocean currents
and wrecking off the Oregon Coast between 1630 and 1680. While he focused on
historic accounts as well as porcelain analysis, his argument for Japanese import
was largely based on the presence of brown-rim dressing within the collection.
However, Butler (2002: 23) determined that brown-rim dressing on Chinese export
porcelain for Japanese markets was limited to the Chongzhen Reign (1628–1644)
on polychrome porcelain. This is inconsistent with the majority of Woodward’s
suggested date range of 1630–1680.
There are other, significant problems with Woodward’s (1986) Portuguese
theory. He proposed a date for the ware between 1630 and 1680, but the majority of
the features that led Woodward to conclude a Japanese market connection occurred
before his suggested date range: he noted Shonzui porcelain (1628–1661), red
overglaze with gold foil exported to Japan (1522–1619), and Chenghua marks on
Japanese import (1628–1643) (Woodward 1986).
In addition, during the majority of Woodward’s (1986) suggested time frame of
1630–1680, kilns at Jingdezhen were no longer producing export porcelain, having
suspended production in 1657 (Harrisson 1995). In fact, Chinese exports during this
period declined to such a great degree that, from 1662 to 1682, Japanese exports
were only 1.2 % of the total exported between 1602 and 1644 (Rawski 2002: 34).
While Chinese exports declined from 1602 to 1682, the opposite was true for
Japanese exports—the Japanese wares of Artia actually replaced Chinese wares on
the export markets (Harrisson 1995) and were exported to China as well (Rawski
2002). Furthermore, McElney (2006) noted that after 1650, import of Chinese
9 Analysis of the Beeswax Shipwreck Porcelain Collection … 191

porcelain to Japan ceased. Given Woodward’s 1630–1680 date range, and com-
paring it to the export information provided above, this allows only 27 years (from
Woodward’s early date of 1630 to 1657 when the Jingdezhen kilns closed) at the
beginning of that range, and two years (Woodward’s late date of 1680–1682 when
Jingdezhen reopened) at the end of the date range, where it would have been likely
to have seen a heavily loaded vessel exporting Chinese goods to Japan—and even
then, Chinese export had so declined it may not have been possible. While some
Chinese wares were being produced by local kilns for export, it was more likely
during this time period to have seen more porcelain leaving Japan than entering it.
Williams (2007, this volume) proposes that the shipwreck, known to be the
source of the Oregon Coast porcelain, was a Spanish Manila galleon, carrying cargo
to Acapulco. Findings among the collection support this. Monochrome-white
porcelain was exceptionally popular among Spanish exports and has been docu-
mented in great quantity in Mexican excavation sites (Mudge 1986), as well as Port
Royal, Jamaica (Bass 2005). Lidded cups identified among the collection sherds
were commonly used for coffee and chocolate drinking among Europeans, and this
did not become popular in Europe until after 1700. However, for the Spanish of
New Spain, coffee drinking was enjoyed much earlier and was well established by
1690, therefore the inclusion of lidded cups on a pre-1700 shipwreck is highly
indicative of the Manila trade to the New Spain market. Among the Spanish,
Middle-Eastern-influenced porcelain motifs were also popular (Mudge 1986). This
was observed among the collection as well, in the form of foliated rims and irregular
peony scroll motifs similar to that found on the Sadana Island wreck (Bass 2005),
including kraak porcelain, which is believed to have resonated with the Spanish
because of its busy, Middle-Eastern-like motifs (Mudge 1986).
Furthermore, the date of the collection coincides with a period of peak Manila
galleon export during the late-seventeenth century, having recovered from a
depression in the Spanish economy originating from the 1620s (Mudge 1986).
Williams (2007) noted a silver oil jar associated with the Beeswax Wreck that was
discovered offshore near Nehalem. The jar was identified as a specific vessel style
used in Catholic ceremonies during the seventeenth century, and would have likely
been aboard a Spanish ship of that period. This evidence, coupled with the presence
of Philippine beeswax with Spanish shipping symbols throughout the geographic
region in which the porcelain was found, provides a direct indication of a Spanish
vessel, as the Spanish were importing large quantities of beeswax and Asian goods
from the Philippines into New Spain (Williams 2007).

9.4 Conclusion

The collection indicates that porcelain attributes and types were typical of export
types common to the markets in New Spain. The presence of monochrome
porcelain, likely from the Dehua kilns, including ribbed and molded porcelain,
Marco Polo censers, Batavian ware, and a sherd with a European face, are all
192 M.S. Jessica Lally

indicators of European export. More specifically, large quantities of

monochrome-white porcelain, as well as the identification of lidded cups and
Middle-Eastern influences among the collection sherds, indicate that the ship was a
Spanish vessel involved in the Manila trade. This supports the finding of Williams’
(2007, this volume) research which indicates that the Beeswax Wreck was a Manila
galleon carrying quantities of porcelain, beeswax, and other goods from Manila to
Acapulco.
After consideration of attributes and porcelain types among the collection sherds,
the visually interpreted date range (1670–1700), and the mean ceramic date (1690),
it is apparent that the majority of evidence strongly indicates that the porcelain
found on the Nehalem-Manzanita coast is from a Spanish Manila galleon that
wrecked during the Kangxi Reign, more specifically between the 1670s and 1700.
The date of the collection is not likely later as many late-Kangxi porcelain attri-
butes, such as hashed lines in place of wash and intricate borders, are absent.
Therefore, the identity of the shipwreck responsible for the porcelain deposition is
not likely the 1705 wreck of the San Francisco Xavier. Rather, analyses conducted
in this study strongly indicate that the missing Spanish galleon, the Santo Cristo de
Burgos, lost in 1693, is the source of the porcelain deposition on the Oregon Coast.

References

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Museum of East Asian Art.
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report on file at Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Salem, OR.
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Alexandria, VA: Art Services International. pp 24–34.
Sheaf, C., & Kilburn, R. (1988). The Hatcher porcelain cargoes: The complete record. Oxford,
England: Phiadon.
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of Art.
van der Pijl-Ketel, C. L. (Ed.). (1982). The ceramic load of the Witte Leeuw: (1613). Amsterdam:
Jijks Museum.
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glossary/glossaryindex.htm
Wang, P. (2008, April 17). Personal communication.
Wang, P. (2013, August 14). Personal communication.
Williams, S. (2007). A research design to conduct archaeological investigations at the site of the
Beeswax wreck of Nehalem Bay, Tillamook County, Oregon. Unpublished report on file at
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Unpublished report on file at Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Salem, OR.
194 M.S. Jessica Lally

Author Biography

Jessica Lally, M.S Archaeologist for the Confederated

Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington State
since 2008 after a year fieldwork on the analysis of the
Beeswax Porcelain Collection as a portion of her graduate
research project. Her professional interests are varied
including proto-historic and prehistoric archaeology of the
Pacific Northwest. She specializes in regulatory compliance,
documentation of Traditional Cultural Properties, and study
of the traditional lifeways of indigenous peoples.
Chapter 10
Early Maritime Cultural Interaction
Between East and West: A Preliminary
Study on the Shipwrecks of 16th–17th
Century Investigated in East Asia

Miao Liu

In the 16–17th centuries, world trade patterns greatly changed. In the East world,
the traditional Asian maritime trade network–which mainly relied on maritime
merchants in Southeast China, was gradually restored. Around 1500, the Western
world entered into the Age of Sail. The Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch came to
the East Asian Seas one after another, intervening in the traditional trade network of
Asia. They integrated this traditional network into global trade system by
transcontinental and transoceanic remote trade. After the discovery of the American
continent in 1492 by the Spanish kingdom of Castille, and the establishment of the
Eastward sailing route to India by the kingdom of Portugal in the late 1400s, both
Spanish and Portuguese arrived at the Asia-Pacific region in the 1500s and inter-
acted with local cultures in Eastern Asia. Their navigation between west and
east set up the early globalization. The silk and porcelains from China, spices from
Southeast Asia, textiles from India, and coins from Mexico and Japan, were all
important commodities and media in the global trade market of this period. Dozens
of shipwrecks dated to this period have been found along the seas of Chinese
Southeast coast, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The were identified
as both East Asian maritime vessels (including Chinese junks) and European
exploration and trading vessels. Chinese porcelains were the main cargoes of these
ships. Besides, a lot of silver coins from European colonies of this period were also
collected from the land sites and shipwrecks in Southeast China. These interesting
maritime archaeological materials show early pan-Pacific trading navigation
between East Asia and the West, and also the early stage of global trade.

M. Liu (&)
The Center for Maritime Archaeology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
e-mail: liumiao@xmu.edu.cn

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 195

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_10
196 M. Liu

10.1 Shipwrecks of 16th–17th Century Investigated

in East Asia

A series of shipwrecks of this era have been investigated in southern China, Vietnam,
the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Chinese blue-and-white porcelains were the
main cargoes collected from these sites. A preliminary analysis on these shipwrecks
revealed a sequence with 5 successive developing groups of maritime culture.
From the end of the 15th century to the early 16th century, just before the arrival
of Europeans, the pattern of trade in East Asia had changed. Lena Shoal wreck
(Goddio et al. 2000) and Brunei wreck (Lin 2010) are shipwrecks representing that
time. Lena Shoal wreck was discovered on Lena Shoal, off Northeast Philippines.
The cargo consist of 800 blue-and-white Jingdezhen wares, a few Longquan celadon
wares, products of kilns in Guangdong and more than 400 pieces of Thai celadon
porcelain. Brunei wreck was found during an offshore oil drilling in Brunei sea area.
It was loaded with porcelain of similar types and similar age with Lena. The
porcelains from these wrecks are mainly provincial wares of Jingdezhen, most of
which can be dated back to Hongzhi period (1488–1505) of the Ming dynasty. They
are often decorated with lotuses and other floral designs as well as classic scrolls.
The bowls and dishes are large, and many of their shapes, such as pen boxes, covered
boxes and the angular ewers, were hinting at the Islamic market. Many of these
vessels have been found in the Middle East and even in East Africa. Wares of this
type have also been found all over Southeast Asia (Carswell 2000: 131).
The next group of shipwrecks include Laoniujiao shipwreck (Fujian) (Li 2012),
Panshiyu shipwreck (Xisha Archipelago) (Zhao 2012), San Isidro shipwreck (Luzon,
Philippines) (Dizon and Orillaneda 2002), Xuande shipwreck and Singtai shipwreck
(Malaysia) (Brown 2009: 153–158). They include Chinese junks, vessels of Southeast
Asia and also Portuguese ships. Laoniujiao wreck site is located at northwest of Haitan
island, Pingtan region, near the port of Fuzhou. Most of the remains were Jingdezhen
ceramics dated to the late 15th century or early 16th century, including blue-and-white
wares (accounting for the majority of the ceramics), white glazed porcelain, blue
glazed porcelain and polychrome porcelain. Xuande shipwreck site is located at the
northern Tioman Island of Malaysia. More than 170 pieces of blue-and-white Chinese
porcelain, 30 pieces of Sukhothai kiln in Thailand and 2 Portuguese-style bronze
cannons were discovered. Excavation of San Isidro shipwreck in San Isidro village,
north of Manila, revealed cargo of early 16th-century blue-and-white daily wares with
simple decoration produced in South China. Obviously, the main cargoes of this group
of shipwrecks are provincial blue and white wares from Jingdezhen and the dense
patterning in sub-Yuan style which hints to the Islamic market begins to diverge. We
can also find the early products of Zhangzhou wares. Wares similar to those from the
San Isidro Wreck also have been found in Southeast Asia, such as in the Philippines
(Aga-oglu 1963) and Indonesia (Sumarah 1999). These shipwrecks can be approxi-
mately dated back to the period between 1520s and 1550s.
The third group include Nan’ao No. 1 Shipwreck (Guangdong) (Sun 2012), Bei
Jiao No. 3 Shipwreck (Xisha Archipelago) (The Center for Underwater Archaeology
10 Early Maritime Cultural Interaction Between East and West … 197

of National Museum of China 2006: 150–185) and Wreck 2 of the Royal Captain
Shoal (Philippines) (Goddio 1988). Nan Ao is located off east coast of Guangdong
province. The site was excavated in 2010–2012 and identified as shipwreck of
private maritime merchant of Ming Dynasty. The wreck remains was 27 m long with
23 separated compartments for different cargoes, showing the typical traits of
Chinese Junk of Ming Dynasty. 95 % artifacts from the site are ceramics and the
remaining are bronzes, iron and tin wares, dried fruits and etc. Bei Jiao No. 3
shipwreck is one of the series of shipwrecks found around Xisha Islands. The
remains of ceramics cargo of late Ming Dynasty were collected. The site of Wreck 2
of the Royal Captain Shoal is located to the west region of Palawan Island of the
Philippines. It was investigated by World Wide First in 1985. More than 3700 pieces
of ceramics from southeast China and different kinds of bronze, iron and glass
artifacts were collected. Blue and white porcelains were also the main cargoes of this
group of wrecks. They included the thinly potted wares made of hard, white
porcelain with exquisitely drawn traditional Chinese motifs of happy propitious
implications, which were produced between the late Jiajing period (1522–1566) and
the early Wanli period (1573–1620) (Fig. 10.1). The style of the porcelains had
already changed greatly. Certain types were already being created for export to
European market. A very popular kind of plate had a central naturalistic motif with
decorated rim, usually flat, with an undecorated cavetto. Another noteworthy phe-
nomenon of this time was the abundant emergence of Zhangzhou ware (Figs. 10.2,
10.3). They were the main cargoes of Nan’ao No. 1 Shipwreck and Wreck 2 of the
Royal Captain Shoal. They are mainly the products of Er Long kilns of Zhangzhou
(Fujian Museum 1997: 69–91). This type of wares were also excavated from sites of
Philippines and Indonesia. A few similar wares were found in the Manila galleon of
San Felipe (von der Porten 2001). The typical Kraak panels were very scarce and

Fig. 10.1 Jingdezhen

Porcelain from Nan’ao No. 1
Shipwreck (Guangdong)
198 M. Liu

Fig. 10.2 Zhanzhou wares

from Nan’ao No. 1 Shipwreck
(Guangdong)

Fig. 10.3 Zhanzhou wares

from Nan’ao No. 1 Shipwreck
(Guangdong)

only a few were designated as early Kraak or proto-Kraak. This group can be
roughly dated back to the period between the 1560s and the 1580s.
The fourth group include the vessel San Diego (Philippines, 1600) (Valdes and
Diem 1993), the Binh Thuan Shipwreck (Vietnam, 1608) (Flecker 2004) and the
Wanli Shipwreck (±1625) (Sten and Idrus 2007). The San Diego vessel was a
Manila galleon that sank off the coast of Nasugbu in the province of Batangas. One
of the major items she carried on board was fine China, Kraak ware (Fig. 10.4), and
10 Early Maritime Cultural Interaction Between East and West … 199

Fig. 10.4 Kraak Porcelain

from the vessel San Diego
(Philippines, 1600)

also large quantities of blue-and-white porcelains and Zhangzhou wares, which

were exported particularly to Southeast Asia. The majority of the entire remaining
cargo of the Binh Thuan shipwreck, which had a Chinese shipbuilding features,
consisted of blue-and-white and overglazed enamel-decorated Zhangzhou ceramics.
The excavation of The Wanli Shipwreck in Malaysia’s territorial waters revealed
the largest quantity of Chinese kraak porcelains, including a major cargo of some
37,000 pieces (Fig. 10.5). Kraak porcelain became extremely popular in the
European markets. These data indicate that the distinctive and paneled type of kraak
porcelain emerged abundantly in 1600 or so and swiftly became very popular in the
first part of the 17th century. Zhangzhou wares were also produced and exported
abundantly at this time and many of them imitated the paneled decoration of kraak
porcelain of Jingdezhen. This group should be dated back to the period between the
1590s and the 1620s.

Fig. 10.5 Kraak Porcelain

from the Wanli Shipwreck
(Malaysia)
200 M. Liu

The representative shipwrecks of the fifth group include Jiuliang I shipwreck

(The survey team of underwater archaeological in Fujian 2010) and Hatcher Junk
found in South China Sea (Colin and Richard 1988). The site of Jiuliang I ship-
wreck is located near the Xiaolian island of Pingtan region, Fujian province, and
was investigated in 2006 and 2008. Wreck timber remains was surveyed and a
group of ceramics with features of Chongzhen Period (1628–1644) were collected,
such as white glazed jars of Fujian production, kraak wares of Jingdezhen, other
blue-and-white wares and a few blue-glaze wares etc. Hatcher Junk is a Chinese
junk that was salvaged at the place 12 nautical miles off Bintan Island of
Indonesian. More than 25000 porcelains were excavated and most of them were
fine products of Jingdezhen. These fine porcelains included 2600 paneled type of
kraak porcelains and abundant of transitional period style porcelains. They also
included a few white-glaze wares of Dehua kiln, low-quality celadons of Zhejiang,
and a small amount of products of Zhangzhou. In addition, a few European artifacts
such as Dutch tin cans and mustard pot were recovered as well. According to the
style of these excavated wares and Kuiwei (癸未) reign mark on the ware, these
wares can be dated back to 1643–1646. According to the two shipwrecks we can
find that blue and white porcelains were the main cargoes as before, the kraak style
was still produced abundantly and at the same time, another kind of transitional
period style porcelains emerged and became more and more popular. The date of
this group should be the 1630s to the 1650s.

10.2 The Discovery of Spanish Colonial Coins

in the Southeast Coast of China

Since the Spanish conquered and colonized America, European settlers mined and
transported silver abundantly into Asia for trade. In the last 50 years, archaeologists
of southeast China have discovered hundreds of historical coins, originally from
Spain and Spanish colonial settlements in the Americas, indicating the early
pan-pacific maritime trade carried out by the Spanish navigators.
A total of four hundred and twenty eight silver coins were recovered from the
San Diego. Those cleaned were recognized as coins of Philip II (1556–1598),
minted in Lima and Philip III (1598–1621), in Mexico City. Most of them are
irregularly shaped. It is asserted that this irregularity can mostly be attributed to the
last stage of their manufacture wherein the excess weight of the coins was clipped
off by the assayer to maintain their standard value.
Spanish colonial coins from the 16th–18th centuries were also discovered suc-
cessively since the 1970s in Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai, although
most of them were from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen, in Fujian province
(Liu 2015). They had always been stored in ceramic pots which had been buried
under old houses. The Spanish colonial coins excavated from China mainly include
three types: cob coins (Fig. 10.6), milled pillar coins and milled bust coins.
10 Early Maritime Cultural Interaction Between East and West … 201

Fig. 10.6 Silver coin found in the site of South Fujian

The input of large amounts of Spanish Colonial coins into the Southeast Coast of
China influenced people’s life deeply. They were brought into China and were the
normal currency for private economic activities, such as private transaction and
business accounting (Wang and Lu 2005). The cob coins were cut into pieces to fit
the needs of daily life, something that can be also observed in the traces of use, and
the surface of the coins often present stamp marks, usually Chinese characters that
represent Chinese ancient banks.
With the prosperity of overseas trade and ports along the coast of China, a series
of handicraft and planting industries emerged and developed rapidly. The silk of
Zhejiang, porcelains of Jingdezhen and Fujian, and even sugar and fruits were all
exported abundantly. We should look at the late Ming Dynasty with the vision of
globalization. At that time, China was involved in the process of economic glob-
alization. Many European and American countries far away have been involved
into the long-distance trade with China. With Chinese commodities, mainly silk and
porcelain, sold throughout the world, 1/3 or 1/4 of the world silver output swarmed
into China as the means of payment.

10.3 The Decline of the Traditional Trading System

of Eastern Asia and the Emerge of Early Globalizing
Trading System

In the late 15th century and early 16th century, just before the advent of the
Portuguese, the trade network had been dominated by the Islam in the Southern
Seas for a long period. With the Islamic culture spreading widely in Southeast Asia,
some important Islamic regimes were established successively, such as Malacca,
Saltanah Sulu, Borneo, etc. The ancient China was also included in this trade
202 M. Liu

system. As the decline of Chinese official maritime trade in Middle Ming Dynasty,
the private merchant rose and developed. The site of Penny’s Bay (Hong Kong)
(Lam 1989–1992) was an import private trade port of that time. As the represen-
tative of the Islamic culture, the fine porcelains of Jingdezhen in the middle Ming
Dynasty were widely found in the sites and shipwrecks spread from East Africa to
Southeast Asia. With the coming of the Portuguese and Spanish who pillaged and
controlled the important trade of Southeast Asia at that time, the traditional trade
system in the South Seas gradually declined. Macao, Manila (Philippines), Batavia
and Taiwan became the important trade centers of this period.
In the beginning of 16th century, the Portuguese conquered and took the port Goa
in India and Malacca in Southeast Asia to establish presence for trade affairs. They
gradually entered into the trade network in Asia. For a long time before 1557 they
also took contraband trade with Chinese private maritime merchants on the islands
near the coast of southeast China, in the ports of Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang
(Padre Manuel Teixeira 1994). Chinese archaeologists discovered the site of
Shangchuan Island, Guangdong (Huang and Huang 2007). Quite massive quantities
of 16th century export ceramics were found, including some specially ordered wares
for Portuguese. This verified that Shangchuan Island played an extraordinarily
important role in the early Sino-Portuguese trade history during the 16th century,
while the Xuande Wreck is thought to be the direct evidence of the Portuguese
smuggling activities in the seas of the East Asia before they settled in Macao in
1557. From the middle 16th century to the early 17th century, Portuguese almost
monopolized the trade routes of the Far East. After they settled in Macao in 1557 and
Nagasaki in Japan in 1571, the Portuguese began their long distance and massive
global trade. They took Macao as the base to carry out a triangle trade in the East
Asian seas, in which China was the center. Macao rose in prosperity as it became the
most important and largest commodity market of Asia. Recently, a large quantity of
Chinese export porcelains were excavated in Macao. Most of them are Kraak
porcelain shards, including dishes and bowls with round and oval mouths, with
reserved panels and protruding rims. A small number of red and green shards of
bowls and boxes dating from the Zhengde (1506–1521) and Jiajing periods, are
similar to those of the samples found in Shangchuan Island. They showed the
important position of Macao in the cultural exchange between East and West (Liu
2010). There is also a large quantity of archaeological evidence along the India
ocean route from Goa to Europe (Sila Tripati 2011; Liu and Qin 2011; Castro 2005).
In 1571 the Spainish founded Manila City to establish rule in the Philippines and
partake in Asian trade. They quickly established the trade with private merchants of
Southeast China. And the Manila Galleon trade route developed and connected the
Asian world with the American Continent until the early 19th century. Many car-
goes from the East Asia such as silks and porcelains were exported to America and
Europe by the Spanish galleons. On the other hand, varied trading goods from New
World, including Mexican silver, were brought to the Asian world. Except those
from the shipwrecks of San Felipe and San Diego, the same style of blue-and-white
porcelain products from the Jingdezhen and Zhangzhou kilns was also found in the
shell mounds of Indian Village sites at Drakes Bay, California (Shangraw and Von
10 Early Maritime Cultural Interaction Between East and West … 203

der Porten 1981). Recently, more and more Chinese ceramics of this time were
excavated from the archaeological sites of Mexico, Peru and other Latin American
countries (Kuwayama 2002). Those Chinese ceramics imported into Latin America
included high quality products from Jingdezhen. A large part of them were also
pieces from Southern Chinese kilns, especially Zhangzhou ware. Chinese vessels
returned from Manila always took back silver. This was clearly written in Chinese
historical documents (Zhang 2000). The profitable trade to Manila was almost
dominated by the maritime merchants of South Fujian. Innumerable Mexican silver
cargoes were brought into China, especially to the south of Fujian and east of
Guangdong. They were once used as currency in people’s daily life in those places.
Dutch East India Company also arrived at the East Asia seas in this period. With
stronger weapons, Dutch competed fiercely with Spanish and Portuguese for
maritime supremacy in late Ming dynasty. In late 16th to early 17th centuries,
Dutch East India Company built a series of trading post at Bantam, Hirado of Japan,
Pattani and many ports off Indian coast, establishing a thorough commercial system
step by step. Portuguese were gradually expelled from Asian market. After the
VOC monopolized the Asian trade, Chinese porcelains began to be exported
abundantly. The rise of Dutch power was also reflected by numerous Dutch ship-
wrecks found under the sea lane of Indian Ocean.
Chinese ancient junk wrecks spread over the southeast coast of China and
Southeast Asia. It implied the further development of the power of Chinese mar-
itime merchants and they were very active in maritime trade.
With the opening of the Moon Port, Chinese maritime merchants could trade
abroad legally. With the arrival of the Europeans, they took large-scale intermediary
trade with Malacca, Macao, Japan, Manila, and Batavia, and were involved into the
global trade network. They were active along Chinese waters from north of Japan to
the south into Southeast Asian, playing an important role in the early global trade of
the Westerners. They gradually became strong enough and changed into private
armed groups. Guns and cannons are usually discovered on Chinese shipwrecks of
this time, showing the conflict between private merchant groups and the govern-
ment of Ming Empire. It also shows the relationship of cooperation and competition
between the Chinese merchants and the Westerners in 16th–17th centuries. At that
time, the main way of trade the western colonists took was to establish bases at
those ports where Chinese merchants often go and then transport the goods they
shipped to the world elsewhere for profit. In that case, Portugal, Spain and Dutch
all had taken active measures to attract Chinese merchants to trade.
The early smuggling activities of Portugal along the coast of southeast China
were carried out with the private merchants of Southeast China. During this pro-
cess, Portuguese and private merchants of Southeast China, especially those of
Fujian, associated more and more closely. They gradually took the place of Ryukyu
and Malacca, to become the major trading powers in Asia (Ptak 2003). After the
Portuguese settled in Macao in 1557, more and more merchants from Fujian and
Guangdong came and were enmeshed in the global trade.
After the Spanish set up colonial rule in the Philippines, the Philippines had few
goods to trade. They mainly relied on Chinese businessmen to get their supply. So
204 M. Liu

the Spanish soon established commercial relationship with Chinese merchants,

actively encouraging Chinese merchants to trade in Manila, and the number of
Chinese ships sailing to Philippines grew every year. The expanding trade in
Manila based on the traditional Chinese and Philippines’ commercial trade, became
the real foundation of the Spanish Galleon trade.
Chinese merchants had been hand in glove with VOC. Chinese junks shuttled
between Chines southeast sea and Batavia, Bantam, Pattani, to transport supplies
and goods for VOC. Hatcher Junk was such one.

10.4 Conclusions

In 16th–17th centuries, with the arrival of Europeans and their large-scale inter-
mediary maritime trade practices they brought, the East Asia was entangled into the
global trade network. The silk and porcelains from China, the spices from
the Southeast Asian, the textile from the Indian, the silver coin from Mexico and
Japan, were the important goods and medias of this global trade at that time. During
this progress, the style of the fine porcelains from Jingdezhen, as luxury goods,
changed greatly to accommodate the need of international market. Originally the
exported ceramics from Jingdezhen kiln used to be representative of material
manufactured for the Islamic culture, but now changed to be products special for the
European market, such as Kraak ware. On the other hand, according to evidence
from shipwrecks and other sites in East Asia, for instance the lower quality prod-
ucts of Zhangzhou, shows they were produced mainly for the Asian market. The
varied situation of exported ceramics industry of this period implied the estab-
lishment of a new trade system in East Asia dominated by the Europeans.
With the coming of the Western navigator, the old traditional trading system in
Asia was destroyed, while the Europeans trade in Asia relied greatly on the
cooperation with Chinese maritime merchants. It provided a broader global market
for Chinese production and exportation of a series of handicraft industries in South
China, such as silk and porcelain. So this progress also represents the rise of
Chinese maritime merchants, especially those of South Fujian. In the Asian trade
system dominated by Europeans, Chinese porcelain was an important good sold in
Europe and in the interior of Asia. The change in decorative style and the amount of
the exported ceramics from China reflected the development of the global market
and cultural interaction between East and West.

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10 Early Maritime Cultural Interaction Between East and West … 207

Author Biography

Miao Liu Graduated with BA, MA and

PHD. in archaeology and museology from
Nankai University; a post-doctoral
researcher of maritime archaeology at
Xiamen university; a participant of the un-
derwater archaeology training program
offered by the National Cultural Heritage
Administration of China. She is currently
an associate professor of archaeology at
Xiamen University, focusing on ceramic
archaeology and maritime history of south-
ern China and southeastern Asia.
Chapter 11
Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast
China During 16th–17th Century:
A Perspective of Maritime
Ethno-Archaeology

Chunming Wu

The Portuguese and the Spanish initially sailing around the world since the end of
15th century had been the most important maritime cultural event in human history.
These pioneering global navigators brought the broad and deep international cul-
tural encounter, exchange and conflict between the Eastern Asia and the Western
world. In the Southeast China region, the arrival of these early European navigators
brought a diversity of social culture and resulted a significant cultural change in
the 16th and 17th centuries.

11.1 Background: The Early Contact of the Portuguese

and Spanish with China

The early contact between the Portuguese and Chinese in the southeast coastal
region of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang was full of difficulties due to the ban
commerce policy of Ming dynasty (Lin 1987: 32–50; Wu 2003: 283–287). After
Vasco da Gama sailed by the Cape of Good Hope in 1498, Portugal quickly
controlled the maritime trade of the Indian Ocean, taking over the Arabian mar-
itime merchants. A series of the Portuguese trading halls and military fortress were
were established along the coast of the Indian Ocean from 1501 to 1511, including
Cochin, Cali Carter, Goa, Colombo, and Malacca. After then the Portuguese
struggled to trade with the Ming dynasty for all most one century. From 1515 to

C. Wu (&)
The Center of Maritime Archaeology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
e-mail: wu_chunming@hotmail.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 209

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_11
210 C. Wu

1522, the governor of Portuguese at Malacca Jorge d’Alboquerque and F. P. da

Andrade order missions to the Ming imperial court for legal trading with China.
They failed and then carried out illicit trade at some desolate islands like Wuzhou
(浯屿) in Zhangzhou of Fujian, Shuangyu (双屿) in Ningbo of Zhejiang, where
they traded with the smugglers at risk of confronting imperial authority (Lin 1987:
131–175). The situation changed after the Portuguese were permitted to settle at
Nakasaki of Japan in 1543 and were permitted to colonize Macau in 1557, which
had connections to Manila, Timor, Vietnam and Siam. Though they were not
permitted to dock in traditional maritime commercial centers as Canton (now
Guangzhou广州) and Quanzhou (泉州), the success of Portuguese colonies in
the Eastern Asia resulted in a long distance maritime trade route between
the Eastern Asia and Europe connecting Nagasaki, Macau, Malacca, Hormuz, Cape
of Good Hope and Lisbon.
The Spanish navigated to the East Asia slightly later than the Portuguese. They
arrived in the East Asia from America colonials and wanted to establish a per-
manent trading base in the Philippines. Their fleet tried to get another Europe-Asia
maritime route across the Pacific between 1519 and 1522. During this period,
Portuguese Fernando de Magellan led a Spanish fleet sailing across the Atlantic and
the Pacific arriving in Philippines. Then his ship sailed west to the Indian Ocean and
to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope in the South Africa and succeeded in the
earliest global navigation of the world. This pan-Pacific experience set great benefit
for the Spanish, but they met similar difficulties in the Eastern Asia for the maritime
ban of Ming regime.
After their arrival at Philippine archipelago, the Spanish took almost half a
century to conquer and suppress the Filipino. They fought with the Portuguese to
control the Moluccas in 1529, They confronted Philippine aboriginals and estab-
lished the pan-Pacific trade route to link Asia, America and Europe by the Manila
Galleon since 1565. They also sought to expand into Southeast China. Their
requests to settle in Amoy (now Xiamen) in 1574, and in Guangdong in 1598 were
refused by the Ming imperial court. In 1626, the Spanish fleet occupied Keelong of
Taiwan from which they engaged in smuggling trade with mainland of China until
they were defeated by Dutch colonists in 1642. After their unsuccessful colonizing
experience in southeastern China, the Spanish carried out indirect and illicit mar-
itime trade with Chinese merchants. The Spanish established the Manila Galleon
navigation in the mid of 16th century, which sailed across the Pacific to Acapulco
at the west coast of central America. The Galleon cargo was transferred to Veracruz
at the east coast of Mexico and then were sailed to Europe. In the Esat and
Southeast Asia, they developed a series of extension maritime routes linking
Manila and other Philippines seaports to mainland Amoy, Macau, Canton, Siam,
Borneo and other regional Eastern Asian seaports, connecting them with early
global maritime trade system (Fig. 11.1).
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China … 211

Fig. 11.1 Portuguese and Spanish colonization in the Eastern Asia

11.2 Shipwrecks Content Reflecting the Early

International Maritime Trade in Eastern Asia
During 16th and 17th Centuries

Although the Spainish and Portuguese had to confront the difficulties of the mar-
itime ban of Ming regime after they got to the Esat Asia, they nonetheless carried
out trade with mainland Southeast China directly and indirectly, legally or illicite.
In the last 20 years, underwater archaeological investigation has uncovered a few of
shipwrecks dated to 16th to 18th centuries identified as the remains of private
endeavors of maritime trade from Southeast China which had been treated as illicit
smuggling by regime of Ming dynasty.

11.2.1 Nanao Shipwreck

The Nanao shipwreck is located off the south of Nanao Island (Sun 2012). The site
was discovered deep in 30 m of water, and was surveyed and excavated in 2000–
2014. The wooden hull remains 27 m long and 7.8 m wide. The boat had 23
compartments (Fig. 11.2). The shape of hull was identified as structure typical of
traditional vessel of local Fujian and Guangdong. More than 30,000 artifacts have
been salvaged from the site, including export ceramics, bronze, iron, tin, stone,
212 C. Wu

Fig. 11.2 The wooden hull with compartments structure of Nanao shipwreck

Fig. 11.3 The porcelain, pottery and bronze artifacts remains from Nanao wreck

wooden, bone, lacquer, and the vegetation dry food coving more than 10 species
(Figs. 11.3, 11.4 and 11.5). These contents are dated to the late 16th century.
About 95 % of the artifacts from the site are the blue and white porcelain from the
Zhangzhou kiln and the Jingdezhen kiln. These type blue and white porcelain are
similar to Swato ware or Kraak artifacts. The Zhangzhou kiln was located next to
Wuyu and Moon harbors famous for their maritime smuggling activities during Ming
dynasty. The article of ban of maritime trade of the Ming regime had forced private
merchants fleeing away from old traditional harbors such as Canton and Quanzhou.
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China … 213

Fig. 11.4 Iron cannon underwater of Nanao wreck

Then the private merchants of China carried out smuggling trade with the Portuguese
and Spanish. They sailed out from the desolate harbours as Wuyu, Suangyu, Nanao
and Zhangzhou Moon to trade with the European from Macau, Malacca, Nagasaki
and Manila. The Zhangzhou kiln which produced Kraak ware had specialized in
products for the taste of European consumption. Preliminary studies show that Kraak
ware from Nanao shipwreck share great similarities with material recovered from the
shipwrecks of Portuguese, Spanish, and early Dutch like the San Diego and the San
Felipe (Fujian Provincial Museum 1997; Von der Porten 2013). This indicated that the
Nanao wreck had been involved in this type of this “illicit” trade.
Most of the content from Nanao was exported goods, therefore the ship could
have been in its outbound route. There does not seem to have European material on
board, but there are some artifacts of European impact. The presence of firearms in
the shipwreck is probably the European factors, for the Chinese junk didn’t use the
firearm weapon during precontact period.

11.2.2 Donggu Shipwreck

Dongshan is another island as Nanao island in the border region between southern
Fujian and eastern Guangdong province which had also been involved in smuggling
trade during the maritime ban of Ming reign. The shipwreck was discovered in the
214 C. Wu

Fig. 11.5 Ceramics from Nanao shipwreck

small bay of Donggu, south off Dongshan, one of camp site of Chenggong Zheng (郑
成功) troops which had established the separatist regime in Taiwan and southern
Fujian during the late Ming to early Qing dynasty (Chen 2001; Donggu Underwater
Archaeology Team 2003; Ao and Zhao 2005; Li and Sun 2005). The underwater
archaeological survey and excavation on the site uncovered many artifacts as ceramics,
bronze, iron, tin, stone and wooden. A coin with inscription of Yong Li Tong Bao (永
历通宝) was discovered, which had been casted and used during the Zheng’s family
regime in Taiwan and Fujian (1647–1683). Taking into account the weapons and armor
found from the site, the boat could have been part of the military fleet of Zheng’s
regime. The ceramic artifacts from the site include bowl, plate, dish and cup of blue and
white porcelain, of which most are daily necessities. Most of this porcelain is from the
local kilns of Zhangzhou, Dehua and others kilns in southern Fujian. A few blue and
white might be from the Izink kiln of Japan from the 17th century. This information
shows the close connection between Zheng’s regime with Japan archipelago (Li 2012).
Some artifacts from the shipwreck are interesting for understanding of maritime
cultural contact between Zheng’s regime and foreign world as European colonists.
The firearms including iron cannons and gun powder have been identified as
imitations from Portuguese or Spanish, obviously sharing the similiar pattern with
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China … 215

Fig. 11.6 Iron cannons and gun powder collected from Donggu shipwreck

Fig. 11.7 Bronze Armor (left) and Bronze tobacco pipe (right) from Donggu site

the Mediterranean or European (Fig. 11.6). The weapon trade of Zheng’s regime
with European had been recorded in detail in European documents (Campbell
1903; Seiichi 1959). The dissemination of European firearms in China during 16th
and 17th century could be a result of maritime cultural exchange. A bronze tobacco
pipe which is the oldest one of China uptill now had been collected from the site
(Fig. 11.7), highlighting the cultural interaction between the East and West. As we
216 C. Wu

konw that the tobacco originated from the American continent and was introduced
in the Eastern Asia by Spanish Manila galleon.

11.2.3 Other Shipwrecks of 16–17th Century Discovered

in Southeast China

Besides of Nanao and Donggu shipwrecks, more than ten other shipwrecks dated to
the 16th to 17th centuries have also been investigated in the sea of Southeast China.
They are Baijiao No. 2 and Longwenyu (Zhao and Wu 2010), Laoniujiao, Jiuliang,
Wanjiao No. 1 (Zhou 2012), Guangao, Baolinggang (Wu 2003, pp. 22–24),
Yuzhuojiao No. 1, Langhuajiao No. 1, Panshiyu No. 1, Shiyu No. 3, Shiyu No. 4,
Huaguangjiao No. 4 (Zhao 2012), and etc. All of them were preliminary identified
as the remains of local Junks.
The Baijiao No. 2 shipwreck is located at Dinghai bay in the estuary of Minjiang
river. Dinghai had been the key fort defending the provincial capital Fuzhou in
Ming and Ding dynasties. Most of the artifacts from the site are celadon and blue
and white. These ceramics bowl, plate, pot were identified as products from kilns
of Pingnan, Wuyishan, Pucheng in north of Fujian province, dated to the mid 17th
century. Similar ceramics had been discovered in Akita, Aomori, Kumamoto
counties of Japan, showing the possible maritime cultural contact within this
international region in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Fig. 11.8 Bronze cannon with inscription of “Guo Xing Fu” from shipwreck of Southeast China.
(left 1, 2, Long wengyu, Dinghai, Fujian; right 1–4, Guangao, Shantou, Guangdong)
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China … 217

Longwenyu is located 1000 m south to Baijiao No. 2. A Bronze cannon with

inscription of “Guo Xing Fu” (国姓府) was collected from the site (Fig. 11.8, left
1–2). The name Guo Xing is associated with Zheng regime (Chen 2010).
According to historical records, Zheng’s regime navy fleet sailed to Dinghai bay
in 1654–1657 and fought with army of Qing reign (Yang and Chen 1981, pp. 7, 79,
138–141, 158–160).
The Guangao ship wreck is also related to Zheng’s regime. A bronze official
seal of Zheng’s subordinate general Zhong Zhen Bo (忠振伯) and bronze canons
with inscription of “Guo Xing Fu” were salvaged from the site (Fig. 11.8, right 1–
4; Chen 2010).

11.2.4 Private Maritime Merchants and the Smuggling

Situation During Ming Dynasty

After the establishment of the Ming regime in 1368, the Chinese empire carried out
the maritime tributary trade and maritime ban system forbidding free and
non-governmental maritime trade. From the late of Ming and beginning of the Qing
dynasty (1368–1683), maritime trade was mostly controlled by the central gov-
ernment. Nevertheless, private merchants counteracted the ban articles of the
regime and carried out illicit smuggle trade, though facing grave reprieves. The
arrival and maritime contact of the Europeans encouraged and favored the growing
of these smuggle activities. These private merchants usually organized themselves
by family groups and armed their junks with firearms of the European style to
fight the government navy fleet. They were treated as pirates and smuggler by the
officials of the Ming regime while they kept close relationship with the Portuguese,
Spanish and the Dutch traders (Lin 1987: 183–200, 204–208; Wu 2003: 283–287).
According to historical documents, more than 15 different groups of maritime
merchant took part in smuggling activities in the southeastern coast of China in the
Ming and Qing dynasties (Lin 1987: 85–130). Zheng’s family group and their
regime was the largest and strongest one. They had been active in the eastern Asian
international maritime region among Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan of China and
Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines. The first generation of this family group was
Zhilong Zheng (郑芝龙1604–1661) who was born in Shijin (石井) village in
Fujian province and then he became the adoptive son of a Portuguese wealthy
business man in Macau. He emigrated to Hirado of Japan and joined the local
Chinese business family Dan Li (李旦) when he was eighteen years old (1622).
Zhilong Zheng married a Japanese woman and strengthened his maritime trading
business with the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch. His son Chenggong Zheng
(1624–1662) inherited and expanded this family business, controlling this trans-
border maritime trade system of eastern Asia for half century.
Indeed, all of these private maritime business groups played a key important role
in the process of cultural exchange between the East Asia and the western world
218 C. Wu

when the Ming regime was absent from international maritime trade after the
decrease of the tributary trade. The shipwrecks including Nanao, Donggu and
others appear to be the remains of these private endeavors. According to historical
nautical guide’s books as Sun Feng Xiang Song (顺风相送) and Zhi Nan Zheng Fa
(指南正法) (Xiang 1961) of late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the vessels
of these private merchants were active in the Eastern and Southeastern Asian
maritime region. It was these smuggling navigation routes connected the eastern
Asia with the outside world of Europe and America during early maritime
globalization.

11.3 Maritime Cultural Heritages Resulted from Early

Maritime Globalization

Besides of these shipwrecks remain, other maritime cultural factors investigated

from the southeast China also showed us the history of the international cultural
exchange occurred during early maritime globalization. These maritime heritages
included both tangible and intangible cultures such as the European styles’ archi-
tecture and maritime settlement pattern, imported foreign plants species from
American continent, cross cultural life style and Christian religion, modern science
and technology knowledge from the western world, and so on.
(1) European styles’ Architecture Heritage
The most significant landscape change resulted from the cultural interaction
between east and west in the coast region of southeast China had been the intro-
duction and construction of the European style architecture, which started with the

Fig. 11.9 The front wall ruins of Sao Paulo Church of Macau (1595)
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China … 219

Fig. 11.10 St Dominic’s Church of Macau (1587)

Portuguese and Spanish cultural dissemination in the East Asia. The early settle-
ments of the European style at Macau, Wuyu, Shuangyu and Keelong had been
mostly destroyed by the government army of the Ming regime while enforcing the
maritime ban system, except for Macau. More than twelve European style buildings
were evaluated as UNESCO world cultural heritage at Macau, showing the his-
tory of early European style architectures built after European contact (Wang 2004).
The oldest European style building in Macau is Sao Paulo Church which was
built between 1555 and 1562 by the Portuguese. The most famous heritage and
cultural landscape, the Great Sanba Paifang (大三巴牌坊) had been in fact the front
wall ruins after this earliest church building was destroied by the last of three fire
in 1835 (Fig. 11.9).
St Dominic’s Church is another early building of the Macau built in 1587
(Fig. 11.10). Nossa Senhora da Guia church was built in 1622 at East Wangyang
mount of the Macau. The city library and town hall of the Macau were built in
1656 and 1784, with the typical characteristic of Portuguese architecture. Further
European influence from the 18th and 20th century has also conferred much more
distinctive Western landscape in many seaports cities in China as Amoy
(Fig. 11.11).
The cultural dissemination of European architecture in the last 500 years has
impacted local construction landscape in Taiwan, south of Fujian, and east of
Guangdong. The red brick building in this region might have been the result of
architecture cultural mix of the East and West from the 16th century onwards
(Fig. 11.12; Wang 2008).
220 C. Wu

Fig. 11.11 The landscape of European architectures in Amoy, Fujian

Fig. 11.12 The red brick house in South of Fujian

(2) The import of the foreign crops and changing of the agriculture
After the establishment of the early global navigation, the Portuguese and Spanish
not only brought a large amount agricultural crops and industrial products as
maritime cargo of their vessel, but also introduced a series of foreign crops’ species
directly or indirectly into China. These imported plants included sweet potatoes,
potatoes, corn, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, peanut, ipomoea, bitter and cigarette.
These imported plant species changed greatly the cultivating system in Chinese
agriculture and affected the traditional food diet and life style in China.
Most of these foreign species were imported by the Portuguese and Spanish from
the South America to the Southeast Asia (Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia), and
11 Portuguese and Spanish in Southeast China … 221

then were introduced to the southeastern China by maritime trade (Lin 1987: 371–
379). The name of sweet potato in China was Fan Shu (番薯) which means foreign
(Fan番) potato (Shu). It was first taken to Fujian and Guangdong in 1580 by Moon
seaport at Haicheng (海澄) of Zhangzhou in south Fujian, and then spread to
Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong,
Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and Guizhou in the beginning of Qing Dynasty. The corn
was another important crop introduced in Fujian and Guangdong in the mid 16th
century. The peanut was introduced to Haicheng county in the beginning of the
16th century, and then spread to Zhejiang and other places of China at the end of
16th century. Potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, ipomoea and bitter were also
introduced to China in the mid and late 16th century.
Tobacco was introduced from America to the Philippines via the Manila Galleon
in the mid 16th century. It was also taken into China through the Moon seaport at
Haicheng of Fujian at the end of 16th century, and then spread to Southwest China
and beyond in the mid 17th century.
(3) Spread of Christian Missionaries and the Modern Scientific Academy
There were two spreading waves of Christian missionaries getting to inland of
the Eastern Asia prior to the maritime arrival of the Europeans in 16th century. This
medieval Christian, the Nestorianism came to China by the land Silk Road during
the Tang (618–907) and Yuan (1271–1368) Dynasties, was respectively called Jing
religion (景教) and Yelikewen religion (也里可温教) in ancient Chinese records.
The arrival of Spanish and Portuguese brought about another introduction wave of
Christian and scientific, cultural academy to China accompanying with the
European early navigation to the Eastern Asia since 15th century, affecting deeply
on Chinese socio-cultural life in last 500 years (Lin 1987: 414–418).
The Catholic Diocese of Macau was established in 1576, which was the first and
most important missionary center in the Far East. Matteo Ricci and Jules Aleni were
two of the most famous and productive missionaries in China during 16th and 17th
centuries. Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) was the pioneer missionary of the Jesuits in
China (Zhang 2002). He arrived at Macau in 1582 and was permitted to go to
Guangzhou and Zhaoqing in 1583. He stayed in Zhaoqing and missionized there for
20 years and then went north to Nanchang, Nanjing, and finally he arrived in
Beijing in 1600. He studied Chinese language, Chinese traditional literature and
ancient culture, making friends with Chinese scholars and officials. He preached in
southern China by way of “reconciliation strategy” and got a great success in
expanding his religious community. Jules Aleni (1582–1649) was another great
missionary of Catholicism who arrived in Macau in 1610 (Aleni 2011). He was sent
to Beijing, Shanghai, Yangzhou and other places to preach the Christian and was
active in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hangzhou and Fuzhou. He had stayed in Fujian for
23 years and set up dozens of churches before he died in 1649.
Soon after the works with these missionaries, Catholicism developed quickly in
China. There were more than a hundred thousand Catholics in China in the mid
17th century, many of whom were senior officials of the imperial court of the Ming
222 C. Wu

Dynasty. The dissemination of Catholicism influenced Chinese social-cultural life

and philosophy, complying with the local traditional Confucian and Buddhism. The
introduction of new knowledge by missionaries also had great influence in China.
Matteo Ricci was in fact the most famous academic missionary in China, spe-
cializing with modern mathematics, fieldwork surveying, and geography which
developed originally at Europe. He published more than 10 different Chinese books
as 6 volumes Geometry Theory (《几何原本》), 8 volumes Mathematics Compare
of East and West (《同文算指》), Survey and Cartography Theory (《测量法
义》), Pythagorean Theorem (《勾股义》), Similarities and Differences of
Measurement (《测量异同》), Principles of Astronomy (《乾坤体义》). These
publications were co-authored by his students Zhizao Li (李之藻) and Guangqi Xu
(徐光启) who had been the senior officials of Ming regime (Zhang 2002). Other
missionaries like Jules Aleni also contributed to the spread of modern European
academic knowledge (Aleni 2011; Wylie 2011). All of these works greatly pro-
moted the development of modern science and technology in China, the mutual
understanding of the East and West, social-cultural progress of the Eastern Asia,
and integrated globalization and modernization of this region.

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Chapter 12
Consumption of Chinese and European
Ceramics at the Sultanate of Banten, Java,
Indonesia from the Seventeenth
to the Early Nineteenth Century:
Material Culture of Early Globalism

Kaoru Ueda, Sonny C. Wibisono, Naniek Harkantiningsih

and Chen Sian Lim

12.1 Introduction

Southeast Asia was probably one of the first regions in the world that were captured
by the lure of imported Chinese porcelain. As early as the twelfth century, the
Chinese customs official Chau (1911) recorded that Chinese porcelain was a major
trading item at various ports in Southeast Asia, where many enthusiastic buyers
were willing to trade in exchange for their precious local products. Consumers in
Southeast Asia were not mere recipients of Chinese products, but actively appro-
priated Chinese porcelain to further their positions. The control of foreign prestige
goods was important to many of the polities in the region as part of gift giving,
ritualized feasting, and religious and court ceremonies (Pigafetta 1969; Junker
1998, 2004: 233, 244; 2010: 283). The appearance of the Southeast Asian vessel
form kendi, or spouted ewers, in Chinese stoneware around the 12th to 13th cen-
turies, and later in porcelain during the 14th century, if not earlier (Harrisson 1995:
30), was probably a response by Chinese potters to consumer demands in Southeast
Asia. Facilitated by merchants, the pace and intensity of exchanges of information

K. Ueda (&)
Department of Archaeology, International Center for East Asian Archaeology
and Cultural History, Boston University, 650 Beacon Street, Suite 505,
Boston, MA 02215, USA
e-mail: kueda@bu.edu; kueda1597@gmail.com
S.C. Wibisono
N. Harkantiningsih
The National Research Center of Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
C.S. Lim
The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) Archaeology Unit, Pasir Panjang,
Singapore

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 225

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_12
226 K. Ueda et al.

Fig. 12.1 Map of sites discussed in this chapter

between consumers and producers seem to have accelerated by the 17th century, as
evidenced by a large volume of Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-
Indische Compagnie or VOC) correspondence exchanged among Holland, the
trading posts, and an administrative center in Asia (Volker 1954).
The Sultanate of Banten (16th-century to 1813), located in Java, Indonesia, was
one of the major trading hubs in early global trade (Fig. 12.1; Reid 1988, vol. 2:
73). Its strategic location, overlooking the Sunda Strait, and ability to source pepper
attracted the attention of many foreign merchants; some came from as far as
Portugal and the Netherlands. Ultimately, the Dutch placed the sultanate under
indirect rule after seizing the pepper trade monopoly and diplomatic independence
in the 1680s (Stavorinus 1798: 66; Raffles 1830, vol. 1: 166; Guillot et al. 1990: 10;
Talens 1993: 347). Through a case study of 17th- to early 19th-century Banten, we
explore the role of imported ceramics in indigenous and Dutch material cultures
from an archaeological perspective. The results in turn allow us to ascertain the
place Asian porcelain occupied in the increasingly globalized world.

12.2 History of Banten

Fragmentary extant documentary sources reveal key aspects of the history of

Banten as a trading center. The port of Banten itself was apparently a major pepper
trading center by the time Pires (1515 [2005]: 166–169), a Portuguese resident of
Melaka (Malacca) on the Malay Peninsula, visited Banten in 1512. The pre-Islamic
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate … 227

history of Banten, though, remains enigmatic because of limited local and European
documentary sources. The only indigenous source available to reconstruct its early
16th-century history is a mytho-historical court chronicle, Sejarah Banten (The
History of Banten) written by an anonymous Bantenese author in 1662–63
(Djajadiningrat 1983: 8). The origin of Islamic Banten, according to this chronicle,
can be traced to the Muslim conquest of a local Hindu kingdom around 1527;
subsequently, the capital of the newly conquered Islamic state was established
along the coast of Banten. Banten flourished as a major pepper trading center and a
place of intense long-distance maritime trade (Lodewycksz 1598 [1997]: 138). By
the mid-17th century, the population of Banten probably had grown to as many as
100,000, making it one of the largest cities in Southeast Asia at that time (Reid
1988, vol. 2: 72–73; Fryke and Schweitzer 1700: 80).
The sultan was considered to be the axis of the world around which political
order was maintained, and Islam was an integral part of legitimizing and aug-
menting his power (Talens 1993: 340–344). The traditional local power structure
was based on loose control over people through the sultan’s iconic power, nego-
tiations with his allies, and distribution of wealth (Reid 1988, vol. 2: 122–125), and
court rituals played a particularly important role in maintaining the sultan’s sym-
bolic power (Talens 1993: 337).
The year 1596 marked the first arrival of the Dutch in Banten, an event that the
Bantenese apparently treated as any other routine commercial meeting with foreign
merchants. Being a prominent source of highly sought-after pepper, Banten had
originally boasted a superior political position to Europeans who were eager to
trade with the port city (Lodewycksz 1598[1997]: 141–142). The nature of
Bantenese-Dutch relationships, however, changed from predominantly economic to
increasingly socio-politico-economic by the late 17th century (Talens 1993). The
traditional historical assessment is that the military involvement of the Dutch East
India Company during Banten’s civil war between 1682 and 1684, and the end of
the sultan’s trade monopoly in 1684 brought political ruptures to the sultanate
(Guillot et al. 1990: 10, 64–65). One of the major steps toward Dutch indirect rule
of Banten was the construction of the VOC headquarters Fort Speelwijk and the
deployment of its garrison at the Dutch-engineered fort built around the sultan’s
Surosowan Palace during the 1680s. The latter fort, called Fort Diamond by the
Europeans, was part of the palace fortification effort. The official purpose of VOC
troops was to protect the sultan, but in reality, their motive was to keep an eye on
the sultan’s activities (Member of the Said Factory 1682; Stavorinus 1798: 62–64,
344; Boontharm 2003: 64–65).
Despite the sultanate’s loss of the pepper trade monopoly to the VOC in 1684,
written sources hint that Surosowan Palace continued to be the focal point of
sumptuous ceremonies for the sultan, his allies, and visiting VOC officials into the
late 18th century (Stavorinus 1798: 66; Raffles 1830, vol. 1: 166; Guillot et al.
1990: 10). The Bantenese royal family apparently continued to use the palace until
at least 1808, when the Dutch Governor General Daendels attacked Banten and sent
the sultan into exile. The sultanate was officially abolished in 1813 (de Jonge et al.
1862: XIII: xcv–cv; Ota 2006: 144).
228 K. Ueda et al.

12.3 Archaeology in Banten

The Banten Lama Archaeological Complex consists of several architectural remains

built from the 16th to early 19th centuries, including the Great Mosque (mid-16th
century), Kaibon Palace (early 19th century), Surosowan Palace (ca. 1527), the
surrounding Dutch Fort Diamond (1680s), and the VOC headquarters at the nearby
Fort Speelwijk (1685–86; Fig. 12.2). The extant brick fortification wall of Fort
Diamond/Surosowan Palace measures 282 m × 140 m and 3 m in height
(Fig. 12.3; Sakai 2002: 44). Many details of the site, however, remain unclear: the
spatial distribution of various activity areas, the exact location of the original palace
prior to its expansion in the 1680s, and the clear boundary between Fort Diamond
and the palace have not yet been identified archaeologically (Ueda 2015). Speelwijk
is located about 1 km northwest of the palace and features diamond-shaped bastions
at its corners, measuring approximately 150 m2 (Fig. 12.4).
The Indonesian Directorate for the Protection and Development of Historical and
Archaeological Heritage restored the fortification walls and some of the major vis-
ible architectural features of these structures in the 1970s and 1980s (Michrob 1982:
95–104; Boontharm 2003: 66). The restoration was largely restricted to uncovering
surface features by removing overgrown vegetation and later soil accumulations.
The National Research Center of Archaeology (Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi

Fig. 12.2 Satellite image of Banten Lama archaeological complex. Adapted from Geo 2013 and
modified by K. Ueda
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate … 229

Fig. 12.3 Architectural remains of Surosowan Palace. Photograph by K. Ueda

Fig. 12.4 Architectural remains (living quarters and a corner bastion) of the Dutch headquarters
in Fort Speelwijk, Banten. Photograph by K. Ueda

National or Arkenas) and the University of Indonesia conducted surface surveys and
partial excavations in conjunction with the restoration at Surosowan, Kaibon, and
Speelwijk (Michrob 1982: 9).
Under the directorship of Naniek Harkantiningsih representing the Arkenas, we
excavated the indigenous Surosowan Palace, its surrounding VOC Fort Diamond,
and the Dutch headquarters of Fort Speelwijk (Figs. 12.5 and 12.6). Here we
230 K. Ueda et al.

Fig. 12.5 Floor plan of Surosowan Palace and its surrounding Fort Diamond. The excavation
units discussed in this chapter are denoted in boxes. After Ueda et al. (2016)

Fig. 12.6 Plan of Fort Speelwijk, prepared by Syaifuddin of the

Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala, Serang. Excavation units discussed in this paper
inserted by K. Ueda
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate … 231

discuss the results of six excavation units that generated archaeological data per-
tinent to VOC and palace occupations: Surosowan Palace dumping area (S2E40);
Surosowan Palace core area (S4W4); Fort Diamond (N7E37); and living quarters at
Fort Speelwijk (U6T6 and U2T10). While the detailed artifact analyses from these
recent excavations are currently underway, the results of our study presented here
aim to shed light on the global connections and Bantenese-Dutch relationships in
early colonialism in Banten.

12.4 Consumption Patterns of Chinese and European

Ceramics in Banten

12.4.1 Past Research of Imported Ceramics in Banten

Through the turbulent history of Banten, one category of artifacts that is consis-
tently present in the archaeological record is Chinese ceramics, and the amount
excavated or collected in Banten is large and impressive. Arguably, Chinese and
Japanese ceramics were the primary focus of past scholarship in Banten
(Harkantiningsih 1980; Ohashi 1990, 1993, 2002, 2004; Ambary 1993; Sakai 2002,
2005). The Asian export porcelain expert Koji Ohashi and the Japanese archaeol-
ogist Takashi Sakai (1999) conducted one of the most comprehensive studies on
porcelain previously excavated in Banten. Based on this study of about 300,000
imported ceramic sherds (minimum vessel counts or MNV of 24,990), Ohashi
(2004: 100–115) observed a surge in the amount of Jingdezhen porcelain in the late
17th to early 18th centuries, surpassing that from Fujian and Guangdong provinces.
This increase in Jingdezhen porcelain probably coincides with major changes in
China’s political climate that allowed Jingdezhen potters to resume export in full
scale, namely the end of the Ming-Qing civil war and China’s export bans in the
1680s. Ohashi stresses that Jingdezhen porcelain continued to dominate in Banten
throughout the 18th century, and its position was only to be replaced by
Fujian/Guangdong wares by the end of the 18th to the early 19th centuries. Ohashi
discerns that European ceramic tableware was limited in Banten’s assemblage
throughout Dutch indirect rule and did not appear in earnest until the second half of
the 19th century.
Ohashi (2004: 113–114) raises an interesting point when evaluating
cross-cultural influence. He suggests that Jingdezhen and Hizen porcelain targeted
at Southeast Asian consumers essentially disappeared in Banten during the 18th
century to be replaced by products that, while still manufactured in China and
Japan, were produced for the European market.
Synthesizing from the results of research conducted by Ohashi and Sakai (1999),
Sakai (2002: 101–102) suggests that a major change appeared in the consumption
of Chinese porcelain around the mid-17th century, and by the 18th century there
was an apparent shift from prestige goods primarily for a limited number of elites to
232 K. Ueda et al.

ordinary ware for the masses. Sakai attributes this change in the pattern of porcelain
consumption to a rapid increase of porcelain exported from China to Banten, after
the export from China returned to full swing. Correspondingly, the vessel forms of
Chinese porcelain apparently changed from large plates or ornamental items in the
16th to 17th centuries to smaller tableware in the 18th century, such as small bowls
and plates.
This body of research highlights the place that Chinese porcelain occupied in the
export market, from rare prestige items to increasingly one of daily ware. The
resumption of Jingdezhen porcelain export in the late 17th century meant an
abundant supply of Chinese porcelain, hence a likely decrease in prestige value in
well-established port cities in Asia like Banten.

12.4.2 Imported Porcelain and Stoneware Excavated

in Banten in 2009–2011

One of the most abundant types of artifacts we excavated at three sites in Banten
were imported ceramics, including porcelain and stoneware. As discussed else-
where (Ueda 2015; Ueda et al. 2016), the excavated ceramics are predominantly of
Chinese production, produced both at Jingdezhen and in Fujian and Guangdong
provinces. Japanese ceramics are limited, but were found at Surosowan Palace and
the VOC forts. Despite their geographical proximity, wares from Thailand and
Vietnam are even more rare.
Similar to the results of research conducted by Ohashi (2004) and Sakai (2002),
the Chinese ceramics we excavated from Surosowan Palace, Fort Diamond, and
Fort Speelwijk in three field seasons from 2009 to 2011 show a shift from
Jingdezhen to Fujian/Guangdong dominance in the late 18th to early 19th centuries
(Fig. 12.7). The Surosowan Palace dumping area (S2E40) in the 18th century
demonstrates the dominance of Jingdezhen ceramics over Fujian/Guangdong. On
the other hand, the palace core area (S4W4) yielded more Fujian/Guangdong
ceramics than Jingdezhen. Jingdezhen only slightly decreases from the 17th and
18th centuries to the 18th to early 19th centuries at this location. However, the
percentage drop would be sharper if the 17th- to 18th-century assemblage did not
contain as many pieces of earlier Ming Chinese porcelain, because all of it is from
Fujian/Guangdong and dilutes the percentage of Jingdezhen ceramics (Fig. 12.8).
Fujian/Guangdong wares more clearly dominate in VOC assemblages in the 18th to
early 19th centuries. The higher percentage of Fujian/Guangdong ceramics at Fort
Speelwijk than Fort Diamond may indicate that the assemblages recovered from
Fort Speelwijk date from a slightly later time period, probably from the end of the
18th to the early 19th centuries.
The food consumption-related ceramics we excavated in Banten are of exclu-
sively Asian production. We did not excavate any European ceramic plates or
bowls, although the assemblages date to post-1680s, or during the Dutch indirect
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate … 233

Fig. 12.7 Imported ceramics excavated from Surosowan Palace, Fort Diamond, and Fort
Speelwijk, by place of manufacture (total MNV n = 2083)

Fig. 12.8 Large Chinese porcelain plate excavated from Surosowan Palace. Photograph by
N. Harkantiningsih
234 K. Ueda et al.

Fig. 12.9 European stoneware excavated from the Dutch layer at Fort Diamond. Photograph by
K. Ueda

rule of Banten. However, we did excavate some salt-glazed and white European
stoneware bottle sherds, most likely from Germany and related to alcohol con-
sumption and distribution. Excessive consumption of alcohol was particularly
pervasive at the tropical locations of VOC operations. It was considered as a
deliberate strategy by the Europeans to fend off tropical diseases (Onghokham
2003: 153). The finds of European stoneware are concentrated at Fort Diamond, but
are limited to only a few sherds at Fort Speelwijk (Fig. 12.9). This distribution
pattern may reflect the need for portable beverage containers at Fort Diamond, one
km away from the VOC headquarters at Fort Speelwijk. The later deposit at the
Surosowan Palace dumping area also yielded two European stoneware pieces, but
none were found at the Surosowan Palace core area.
A small amount of Japanese porcelain was also excavated in Banten. The time
period coincides with the short-lived export boom of Hizen porcelain during the
mid-17th to early 18th century when Chinese production, particularly in Jingdezhen,
was largely curtailed because of the export bans and the Ming-Qing civil war
(Ohashi 2004: 82–83). The finds of Hizen ware, albeit limited, in the 18th- to early
19th-century VOC assemblages probably reflect VOC employees’ private trade
activities, as Japanese porcelain trade shifted from the official VOC routes to their
employees’ private trade at this time (Volker 1959: 5–6; ACHI 1988: 389–399).
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate … 235

Compared to the published archaeological record from 17th- to early

19th-century Amsterdam (Gawronski 2012), the depiction of human figures found
on Banten’s porcelain appears to be limited both at the indigenous and VOC sites.

12.5 Discussion

While ceramics are only one type of artifacts excavated in Banten, Chinese dom-
inance in the consumption of ceramics by the Bantenese and the Dutch underscores
the availability and preference of Chinese ceramics by both populations. Despite
Bantenese-Dutch political entanglement from the 1680s, their material cultures
related to food consumption were largely shared. Some Dutch priorities, however,
may have been placed elsewhere; the high concentration of European stoneware
bottles may indicate a Dutch penchant for alcohol consumption.
Consumer demand was most likely reflected in the porcelain sold in Banten, as
evidenced by the limited amount of porcelain decorated with human figures. It is
important to remember that Banten was an Islamic kingdom and depiction of human
figures would have been against their religious rules. These products were probably
selected for the Bantenese market out of the porcelain cargoes, mostly bound for
Western markets (Harkantiningsih 2010: 180). This archaeological record seems to
suggest that the Bantenese and the Dutch were purchasing porcelain locally in Banten.
Although the two palace units do not exhibit a consistent distribution pattern, the
high concentration of Jingdezhen porcelain at the Surosowan Palace dumping area
may be attributed to the nature of palace ceramic consumption, as well as the export
boom of Jingdezhen wares to Southeast Asia in the early to mid-18th century.
Compared to the palace residents, the Dutch from the roughly contemporaneous
period used and discarded relatively fewer Jingdezhen vessels. It is hard to generalize
the value of porcelain on the basis of place of manufacture alone. Nonetheless, if we
apply a rule of thumb that Jingdezhen ware is generally considered to be of better
quality, and hence of higher value, than Fujian/Guangdong ceramics at least until the
mid-18th century (Fang 2002; Kerr et al. 2004), and in the case of Southeast Asia
even more recently, through the end of the 18th century (Ohashi 2004: 112–114), the
results of our excavation suggest that the politically subordinate Bantenese had better
access to more expensive Jingdezhen porcelain than the dominant Dutch in Banten.
The distribution pattern of palace core area is mixed, and probably partly disturbed
by the high percentage of heirloom Fujian/Guangdong ware in the 17th- to
18th-century assemblage. The use of highly valued porcelain, such as earlier Ming
porcelain, presumably heirloom items, and high quality Jingdezhen ware, appears to
have been not only possible, but also more important to the Bantenese palace residents
than to the Dutch. The ceramics may have continued to play an important role in
Bantenese feasting and ceremonies. Later deposits at the palace core area, however,
signal a decline in the consumption of high quality porcelain toward the end of the
sultanate.
236 K. Ueda et al.

Asian porcelain became a global phenomenon shared by many consumers living

thousands of miles apart. VOC’s well-documented export of Hizen porcelain shows
that Japanese porcelain was exported in large quantities not only to the Netherlands
but also to the Arabian Peninsula, coastal Bengal, and Indonesia between 1659 and
the early 1680s. Many were also carried on Chinese junks, less organized and more
poorly documented than VOC trade, contributing to the wider and more complex
distribution pattern (ACHI 1988). Chinese porcelain was even more widely and
abundantly distributed at many locations in the world, from Mexico City (Nogami
et al. 2006) to the Cape in South Africa (Lucas 2004: 36). Similar to Banten,
abundant blue-and-white, brown glazed Batavia ware, and overglaze enameled
ware appear in Amsterdam’s 18th-century archaeological record (Gawronski 2012).
The export market of Japanese porcelain reflects the ebbs of global trade and
economy. A decline in one place of manufacture gives rise to another production
center elsewhere. Hizen kilns probably would not have been able to compete with
Jingdezhen porcelain producers, who were able to deliver high quality porcelain on a
large scale—until the political situations in China curtailed the export capabilities of
Jingdezhen potters around 1644 (Volker 1954: 134; Ohashi 2004: 83). Hizen kilns
were not the only ones that benefitted from limited supply of Chinese porcelain in the
overseas market. Faience potters at Delft and Haarlem in the Netherlands gained
enormous momentum in their production, capturing a large share in their home
market in the mid-17th century. However, the rise in pottery production, largely
owed to external factors, was not sustainable. Once the Dutch East India Company
started direct trade with China in 1729 and supplied large quantities of Chinese
porcelain to the European market, the faience industry in the Netherlands started to
decline around 1740. The Chinese porcelain makers were able to supply a wide
variety of competitively priced products in large quantities for the European market,
exerting enormous pressure on faience production in the Netherlands (Jörg et al.
1984: 18–22). Similarly, Hizen porcelain largely disappeared from the export market
by the mid-18th century, with the last official shipment of porcelain from Japan
noted in VOC records in 1757 (Ohashi 2004: 215).

12.6 Conclusions

In this paper, we explored the role of Asian porcelain in the indigenous and Dutch
material cultures in 17th- to early 19th-century Banten, Java, Indonesia. The results
of our archaeological research suggest that both politically subordinate Bantenese
elites and the dominant VOC employees primarily used Chinese porcelain to serve
food, even after the Dutch seized the pepper trade monopoly from the sultan in the
1680s. European ceramics were restricted to the area of beverage consumption and
distribution, suggesting a Dutch predilection for alcohol consumption.
The trade networks of Asian porcelain is complex because of the diverse
activities involved, from the VOC official trade to private business conducted by
their employees and Chinese merchants. Certainly, their trade activities contributed
12 Consumption of Chinese and European Ceramics at the Sultanate … 237

to the widely distributed Asian porcelain found at many locations around the world.
These merchants acted as conduits of information exchange, connecting consumers
and manufacturers. Consumers living in distant lands also started subscribing to
new material cultures shared globally, while maintaining certain areas of traditional
cultural priorities and preference. Therefore, the simplistic classification of artifacts
by place of manufacture cannot accurately explain the complex web of goods and
information exchanges both the Bantenese and the Dutch experienced in Banten.
With the results of archaeological research, we can begin to understand the dynamic
and complex nature of the increasingly inter-connected world.

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Author Biography

Kaoru “Kay” Ueda Master in

Liberal Arts in Anthropology/
Archaeology of Harvard
Extension School, Ph.D. in
Archaeology of Boston
University. She collaborated
and joined archaeological field-
work projects at Banten Lama,
Java, Indonesia; Melaka,
Malaysia; Yayoi site at
Kire-Uriwari, Osaka, Japan; and
BagaGazarynChuluu, Gobi,
Mongolia. She is an author of
papers on ceramics and lifeway
of ancient and colonial societies
in East and Southeast Asia.
Chapter 13
The Investigation and Excavation
of Xiaobaijiao No. I Shipwreck Site
of Qing Dynasty in East Sea of China

Qijiang Deng

13.1 Introduction

The Xiaobaijiao No. I shipwreck is located just southeast of North Yushan Island
which is about 26 nautical miles to Shipu Town, Xiangshan County, in the East
China Sea off the coast of Zhejiang Province (Figs. 13.1 and 13.2).
A preliminary underwater archaeological survey of this wreck was carried out in
2008 by the National Museum of China and Ningbo Municipal Institute of Cultural
Relics and Archaeology (Lin et al. 2011). China’s Underwater Cultural Heritage
Protection Center organized a systematic excavation of its shipboard artifacts in
2012.

13.1.1 The Discovery of the Remain of Shipwreck

The shipwreck site is located very close to the north side of the Xiaobaijiao Reef
where the surface of the seabed is high in the south and low in the north. The
highest point measures 18–22 m in depth (low level tide-high level tide) while the
lowest (deepest) point measures 20–24 m in depth (Fig. 13.3).
The deposit of the site is shallow in the south and deep in the north following the
topography with a roughly oval-shaped plane, measuring around 23 m long
north-southwards and around 11.2 m wide east-westwards.
The main accumulations of the site are a wooden shipwreck, porcelains, slates
and other types of shipboard artifacts. Porcelains and other small pieces of
shipboard artifacts are distributed throughout the ruins.

Q. Deng (&)
The Center for Underwater Archaeology, National Museum of China, Beijing, China
e-mail: dengqijiang2009@sina.com

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 241

C. Wu (ed.), Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific Region,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0904-4_13
242 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.1 Location of the Xiaobaijiao No. I shipwreck site

Fig. 13.2 Xiaobaijiao No. I shipwreck next to Yushan island

13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 243

Fig. 13.3 The plans of the Xiaobaijiao No. I shipwreck site

Fig. 13.4 Stone slates in the site underwater

There are 5 rows of stone slates along north-southwards located in the central
south of the site. Their top exposed above the surface of the sea-bed ranging from
5 to 10 cm, one stacks to another. The row on either side measures about 8.5 m long,
the central 3 rows measure about 5 m long. Each slate is made into rectangular and
measures 85 cm long, 65 cm wide and 8 cm thick. The Texture of each slate is
uniform. Each slate is rough and ruddy-colored. Marine life like shellfish sticks to
the uneven surface of the slate. The body of the ship is below the slates (Fig. 13.4).
244 Q. Deng

The wreck hull is embedded shallowly in the surface of the seabed under the
direction of 10°. The remains are about 20.35 m long and 7.85 m wide. Stern is in
South and bow north. The remnants of the hull were broken into 2 parts. The
eastern half is about 20.35 m long and 4.86 m wide. The western half is about 20 m
long and 3.18 m wide.
With the remains of hull as the boundary, the remain of the site can be divided
into accumulations before and after the wreck occurred: (1) below the hull is the
surface of the seabed before the wreck occurred, (2) on the hull is the piled
accumulation slates from top to bottom after the wreck.
These accumulations can be divided into two layers:
① the thickness of the first layer is about 0–60 cm at different points. Most parts
of it are 20 cm thick. The first layer contains some big oyster shell and sand.
Moreover, there is only oyster shell accumulation in some places with no sand.
Near the bottom of the first layer some oyster shell is often adhered to silt of
the second layer.
② the thickness of the second layer is about 0–40 cm at different points. The
second layer is gray soft sea mud. The sediment accumulation of this mud is
thicker inside the hull and thinner outside, generally less than 20 cm
(Fig. 13.5).
The lower part of its hull was preserved and investigated. The main components
include the keel, ribs, bulkhead plate, bilge pad, planking, suspected mast block,
water holes and also a small amount of scattered shipboards. The upper part of the
ship has disappeared.
We found only a small part of the keel at the south of the site near the reef
because the excavation has not finished. The appearance of the keel is arc. There are
many small holes in the keel corroded by marine life (Figs. 13.3 and 13.6).
We can find only one layer of the Xiaobaijiao No. I Shipwreck bottom plating
from the broken part of the ship. Each layer is about 5 cm thick (Figs. 13.3
and 13.7).
Ribs of the ship have been found about 23 strips. The ribs at the north of the ship
are short and into a gentle arc. The ribs at the south of the ship are long and into
straightness. The distance of every two ribs is 55–65 cm wide (Figs. 13.3, 13.8
and 13.9).

Fig. 13.5 North-south wards stratigraphical profile of the site

13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 245

Fig. 13.6 Keel of the ship

Fig. 13.7 Bottom plank of the ship

Bulkheads of the ship have been found 3 trips and all beside the arc ribs at the
north of the ship (Figs. 13.3 and 13.10).
Backing boards of the ship were lad on the ribs. Each backing board is strip and
2 cm thick. Slates were put on the backing boards (Figs. 13.3 and 13.11).
Base of the mast is near the center of the ship. It is rectangular and 180 cm long,
85 cm wide and 19 cm thick. There are 2 grooves in the surface of it (Figs. 13.3
and 13.12).
246 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.8 Rib at the north of the ship

Fig. 13.9 Rib at the south of the ship

13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 247

Fig. 13.10 Bulkhead of the ship

Fig. 13.11 Backing boards of the ship

248 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.12 Base of the mast

13.1.2 The Collection of the Artifacts

606 pieces of artifacts were unearthed from the site, including porcelain, pottery,
bronze coins, silver coin, pyrophyllite seal, tin slab, tin framework and slate.
Most of the porcelain are found from the northeast part of the site, stoneware
pottery from the south, colorful jar and lid from the northwest and the slate from the
central south. Some jars, tins, coins, blue and white bowls and silver coins dis-
tributed next to the hull except for the high point of southeast part at on site.
The blue and white porcelain is main artifacts collected from the site. Beside
these there are colorful porcelains (Fig. 13.13).

13.1.2.1 Blue and White Porcelain

The types of blue and white porcelain include bowls, plates, tray, plates, lamp and
lid. These porcelain are all fine texture and white glaze. Their layer glaze is very
thin and shiny. The patterns are mostly floral scroll. Usually there are seal para-
graph in the outsole central of some blue and white porcelain, mostly are “Dao
Gung Nian Zhi”, a few of “Jia Qing Nian Zhi” (Figs. 13.14, 13.15, 13.16, 13.17,
13.18, 13.19, 13.20, 13.21, 13.22, 13.23, 13.24 and 13.25).
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 249

Fig. 13.13 Blue and white porcelain piled up underwater

Fig. 13.14 Blue and white porcelain bowl decorated in floral scroll patterned with “Dao Guang
Nian Zhi” on the bottom, 17.3 cm of mouth diameter, 7.3 cm of bottom diameter, 7.2 cm of height
250 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.15 Blue and white porcelain bowl decorated in floral scroll patterned with “Dao Guang
Nian Zhi” on the bottom

Fig. 13.16 Blue and white porcelain bowl decorated in floral scroll patterned with “Jia Qing Nian
Zhi” on the bottom, 14.8 cm of mouth diameter, 6.5 cm of bottom diameter, 6.4 cm of height
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 251

Fig. 13.17 Blue and white porcelain bowl decorated in floral scroll patterned with “Jia Qing Nian
Zhi” on the bottom

Fig. 13.18 Blue and white porcelain plate patterned with “Fu”, 16 cm of mouth diameter, 9.3 cm
of bottom diameter, 3.6 cm of height

13.1.2.2 Color painted Porcelain

Color painted porcelain found in this site can be divided into bowl, lid and jar dedicated
with white color layer glaze. There are red, yellow, green and other colors on the surface
of these porcelains. Due to seawater erosion some color of the colorful porcelain had
disappeared and been mottled vague pattern (Figs. 13.26, 13.27 and 13.28).
252 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.19 Blue and white porcelain plate patterned with “Fu”

Fig. 13.20 Blue and white porcelain plate decorated in floral scroll, 15.1 cm of mouth diameter,
9.6 cm of bottom diameter, 2.7 cm of height

13.1.2.3 Pottery

Most of potteries excavated from this site are daily necessities. There are brown
glazed pottery lid, brown glazed pottery kettle and red pottery tea kettle. Some
position of the sauce glazed pottery appears to thick glaze (Figs. 13.29, 13.30,
13.31, 13.32 and 13.33).
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 253

Fig. 13.21 Blue and white porcelain plate decorated in floral scroll

Fig. 13.22 Blue and white porcelain lid decorated in floral scroll patterned with “Jia Qing Nian
Zhi” on the bottom, 9.9 cm of mouth diameter, 3.5 cm of height
254 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.23 Blue and white pupil tray with flower—shaped mouth decorated in floral scroll,
11.3 cm of mouth diameter, 6.5 cm of bottom diameter, 4.8 cm of height

Fig. 13.24 Blue and white

pupil tray with flower—
shaped mouth decorated in
floral scroll
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 255

Fig. 13.25 Blue and white pupil tray with flower—shaped mouth decorated in floral scroll

Fig. 13.26 Color painted porcelain bowl, 14.6 cm of mouth diameter, 6 cm of bottom diameter,
8.3 cm of height
256 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.27 Color painted

porcelain lid, 17.2 cm of
mouth diameter, 8.4 cm of
height

Fig. 13.28 Color painted

porcelain jar, 15.5 cm of
mouth diameter, 9.7 cm of
bottom diameter, 12 cm of
height

13.1.2.4 Bronze Coin

Bronze coins excavated from the site include the coins made in Kangxi reign,
Qianlong reign, Jiaqing reign, Daoguang reign. Beside these Chinese coins we also
found some foreign bronze coins like Kuan Yong Tong Bao and Jing Xing Tong
Bao (Figs. 13.34, 13.35, 13.36, 13.37, 13.38 and 13.39).

13.1.2.5 Silver Coin

One silver coin was collected from the site. This silver coin has an embossing edge
and attrite surface. The pattern and mark on the front side of the coin is very vague.
We try to recognize that they maybe a head and the casting year. On the back side
of the coin there are 1 crown, 1 shield badge and 2 columns engraved around the
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 257

Fig. 13.29 Brown glazed

pottery lid, 19.2 cm of mouth
diameter, 2 cm of height

Fig. 13.30 Brown glazed

pottery lid

Latin “HISPAN.ET IND.REX.M.8R FM” and stamped some different styles

characters. The diameter of the coin is 3.9 cm and a thickness of 0.2 cm, weight
27.07 g. It contained 90 % of silver (Fig. 13.40).
258 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.31 Brown glazed pottery kettle, 8 cm of mouth diameter, 10.5 cm of bottom diameter,
16.3 cm of height

Fig. 13.32 Red pottery tea kettle, 6.2 cm of mouth diameter, 6.9 cm of bottom diameter, 4.4 cm
of height
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 259

Fig. 13.33 Red pottery tea

kettle (bottom view, carved
with Chinese characters as
“ER shui Zhong fen Bai lu
zhou, Meng chen Zhi (the
river is divided into two
flowing by the egret island,
made by Mengchen”)

Fig. 13.34 Kang Xi Tong

Bao (1662 AD)
260 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.35 Qian Long Tong

Bao (1736 AD)

Fig. 13.36 Jia Qing Tong

Bao (1796 AD)

This coin is the ‘Spanish 8R’ silver coin commonly known as “double column
silver yuan” or “foreign silver yuan” which was casted first in Mexico. It has two
styles:
(1) The currency value surface of the first style was casted two hemispheres with 1
column on both sides commonly known as “double-ball and double-column
silver coin”;
(2) The positive side of the second style was character by bust. At the middle of
the back side there is a shield-shaped emblem on the crown. Both sides of the
emblem there is a column decorated with reel flexible wrap. This style was
commonly known as “Portrait double-column silver coin”.
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 261

Fig. 13.37 Dao Guang Tong

Bao (1821 AD)

Fig. 13.38 Kuan Yong Tong

Bao, 2.2 cm of diameter, first
casted in Japan Kuan Yong
reign about 1626 AD. This
kind of coin was one of the
largest numbers of foreign
coins flown into China

Fig. 13.39 Jing Xing Tong

Bao, 2.3 cm of diameter, first
casted in Vietnam, Li Xian
Zong King Hing period (AD
1740-1777)
262 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.40 Silver coin

The coin excavated from Xiaobaijiao shipwreck site belonged to the second
style. It was quite popular in the Chinese and foreign exchange market in 17th and
18th centuries. Mexico was independent from Spanish rule until the year 1823 and
started to cast its own silver coin named “Ying Yang”. From then on the ‘Spanish
8R’ silver coins gradually withdraw from the Chinese market.

13.1.2.6 Tin ink Slab

There is only 1 Tin ink slab we have found. It composed with 2 parts while rusted
into a whole one. It is rectangle and 12.2 cm long, 7.4 cm wide and 5.8 cm high.
There are some shells adhered on the surface of it. At the bottom of it there are 4
legs (Fig. 13.41).

Fig. 13.41 Tin ink slab

13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 263

13.1.2.7 Tin Ironing

The tin iron is about 13.5 cm long, 8 cm wide and 6.5 cm high. It composed by 2
parts. Under part of it is a rectangle frame. Up part is a bow-shaped beam. One side
of the beam is connected with the frame. The other side is shaped into flower
appearance. The bottom of the tin iron in the rectangle frame which used to put
some high temperature stuff like hot water or burning charcoal on it had broken
(Fig. 13.42).

13.1.2.8 Stone seal with inscription of “Yuan He Sheng Ji”

The seal was made up by pyrophyllite shaped in square column. It is 2.7 cm wide
and 3.1 cm high. One side of the seal carved with the words “Yuan He Sheng Ji”.
The up side carved with the word “up” (Fig. 13.43).

13.1.2.9 Stone Slate

There are 5 rows of stone slates along north-southwards located in the central south
of the site. Their top exposed above the surface of the sea-bed ranging from 5 to
10 cm, one stacks to another.
Each slate is very thin and rectangle. Its color is a little bit red. The surface of
each slate is uneven and adhered by some shells. Each one is about 85 cm long,
65 cm wide and 8 cm thick (Fig. 13.44).

Fig. 13.42 Tin iron

264 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.43 Stone seal with inscription of “Yuan he Sheng Ji”

Fig. 13.44 Stone slate

13.1.3 Preliminary Discussion

Xiaobaijiao No. 1 shipwreck site was one of the most important maritime
archaeological heritages investigated in last a few years in China Sea. The wreck
hull remains and a series of cargo artifacts with definite dating provide a series of
interesting materials for understanding maritime trade history in eastern Asia.
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 265

Fig. 13.45 Ningbo Ship shown in TangchuanZhiTu (Drawing of Tang ship) of Qing Dynasty

1. According to the ceramics and the group of coin remains from the site, partic-
ularly the coin “DaoguangTongbao” which had been firstly casted in 1821 AD
(Duan and Zhou 2008), the Xiaobaijiao No. 1 Shipwreck could be dated to the
late of Qing Dynasty, about AD 1821 to 1850.
2. This wooden vessel was built with a structure of sharp bottom with keel and ribs
as the skeleton frame in length and breadth. The shape and structure continued
the ship building technique and tradition in southern China in Song and Yuan
Dynasties (Fig. 13.45).
The batch placed Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain, Wucai painted porcelain
and other cargo like stone slates stacked in the middle of the hull determines the
boat shall be a medium-sized seafaring commercial carriers (Da and Zhu 2011).
3. The cargoes’ remain includes a large amount of ceramics of Jingdezhen kiln,
bronze coins of Japan, silver coin of Spanish colonial, rows of stone slate,
provides us important clues to identify its navigation route related to Ryukyu or
the Southeast Asian region like Philippines (Fig. 13.46).
(a) From North Yushan Island to east the nearest country is the Ryukyu
Kingdom before 1879. The relationship between the Qing government
and the Ryukyu Kingdom is the sovereign state and the vassal state
(Zhang 2006). In addition to the official contacts such as the canonization
trade and tributary trade, civil border trade was also very active before 1879
(Zhou (Qing) 2002).
266 Q. Deng

Fig. 13.46 The possible

destination of Xiaobaijiao
No.1 ship

Large numbers of stone slates on the very bottom of the ship-body were
clearly the first cargo been loaded from an originating in Ningbo. We need
some scientific analysis of the X-ray fluorescence detection to determine
whether it is Plum Garden Stone or Small Stream Stone. No matter what
kind of stone it maybe, Plum Garden Stone and Small Stream Stone are all
produced in Yinzhou District, Ningbo City. Especially the Plum Garden
Stone were exported to Japan, Korea and other East Asian region since Tang
Dynasty (Li 2010).
(b) From North Yushan Island to south there are 2 possible routes:
The first one is regional trade bound for China’s southeast coastal areas like
Fujian and Guangdong provinces;
The second one is to Southeast Asian area like Philippine, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
Porcelain produced in Jingdezhen kiln of Jiangxi Province was sold east-
ward and southward to the southeast coast of China generally by way of
Fujian Minjiang River and other convenient route.
It would add transportation costs and risks if the porcelain was transported from
west Jingdezhen detour to north Ningbo and then to China’s southeast coastal
areas. So the emergence of a large number of Jingdezhen blue and white
porcelain as one kind of the Xiaobaijiao No. I ship-borne cargo should not be
transported to China’s southeast coastal areas but to Southeast Asian area.
Some blue and white porcelain bowls, colorful tureens, red tea kettles, sauce
glazed jars, coins and other artifacts collected from the Desaru shipwreck
13 The Investigation and Excavation of Xiaobaijiao No. I … 267

which was found around the Malaysian waters in 2005 sank during 1840 are
similar to the Xiaobaijiao No. I shipwreck (China Jiade Auction 2005).
Timber species identification of Xiaobaijiao No. I shipwreck showed that
the timber of the keel and a few ribs belongs to Verbenaceae, column
belongs to Sapotaceae. The bulkhead plate, ship bottom, bilge plate, mast
step and most of the ribs were using the wood Dipterocarpaceae. Most of
these timbers produced in southwest China and Southeast Asian like
Malaysia, Philippine, Vietnam, Borneo and other tropical regions.
Although we cannot decide where Xiaobaijiao No. I ship was built simply
based on the species identification report and conclude the hull was made in
the Southeast Asian countries, it still provides a reference to the Xiaobaijiao
No. I ship’s possible destinations of navigation.
4. The hull of Xiaobaijiao No. 1 shipwreck is in north-south direction on the
surface of the seabed. It is perpendicular to the east-west direction reef rock.
Fracture surface of the southern end of the hull (stern) is uneven and almost
close to the reef rock. So why Xiaobaijiao No. 1 ship sank into this area should
be some kind of reasons such as storms impact, drifting out of control, improper
manipulation or hull fell into disrepair and then knocked onto the rocks.
5. Red pottery tea kettle
The producer usually carved his own name followed by “Zhi” on the bottom of
the dark-red enameled pottery tea kettle to distinguish his own production from
others. On the hand this way also had a function on advertisement.
On the bottom of the dark-red enameled pottery tea kettle excavated from
Xiaobaijiao No. 1 shipwreck carved with “two rivers divide the egret island
from the centre, made by Mengchen”. Mengchen was a famous dark-red
enameled pottery tea kettle producer lived from Chongzhen emperor of Ming
dynasty to Kangxi emperor of Qing dynasty. Dark-red enameled pottery tea
kettle was an important cargo exported to oversea foreign from 16 century.
Underwater archaeologists have found many Chinese dark-red enameled pottery
tea kettles among some underwater shipwreck site.
But we only found 1 dark-red enameled pottery tea kettle at the Xiaobaijiao
No. 1 shipwreck site. So it maybe one kind of the ship owner’s articles for daily
use.
6. About the “Yuan He Sheng Ji” inscription stone seal
There were many private firms named “Yuan Ji” or “Sheng Ji” in Ningbo City
during Dao Guang reigns in Qing dynasty. While the private firm named “Yuan
He Sheng Ji” was rare.
There were 2 situations about adding “Ji” behind the private firm’s name. First
when the owner of the private firm was changed the new owner would add “Ji”
behind the private firm’s name to distinguish his proprietary rights. Second
when the firm added some other new partners the owner would add “Ji” behind
the private firm’s name to distinguish the firm’s different phase.
268 Q. Deng

The name of the private firm was a marking of the firm. It was an exclusive name
to distinguish the firm’s character from others when the firm carried out its econ-
omy activities. It was expressed only by words. In some situations the name was
property of the firm’s owner (Zhang 1996).
Seal of the private firm was used to stamp on the surface of the documents
attesting to the giving or receiving of money, goods, etc., such as voucher,
advertisement and cargo list. It emphasized more on practical usage and commerce.
Its main value was not on art but on commercial culture and history.
Seal of the private firm first appeared from the middle of Qing dynasty and
disappeared by the end of Minguo age. Commercial activities developed rapidly
during Ming and Qing dynasty. Seal particularly the private firm seal became an
indispensable and important credit voucher among commercial activities. The
private firm seal was used more frequently during late Qing dynasty. The function
of it was not only on credit voucher but also on anti—counterfeit (Wang and
Sui 2013).
“Yuanhe Sheng Ji” seal was the seal of anassociated firm named Yuanhe Sheng.
This “Yuanhe Sheng” named firm was associated by 2 families or 2 groups which
named “Yuan” and “Sheng”. This kind of association firm was usually seen among
China’s south-east marine trade. From these we can see that the embryonic form of
early and simple Joint-stock firmcame into being during late Qing dynasty influ-
enced by the Western’s marine trade system. That reflected a big change about the
marine trade system in Qing dynasty.
Researchers collected a lot of porcelain pieces on Chicken Coop Hill, Chenghai
City, Guangdong Province in 1991. Many firms’ seal were found patterned on the
bottom of some porcelain artifacts. Among them there were “Yuanxing”,
“Shengyu”, “ShengliShanghe”, “Sanhe”, “Heyuan”, “Chaoji”, “Chengji” (Chen
and Cai 2001).

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Author Biography

Qijiang Deng Maritime

archaeologist and underwa-
ter explorer of China. B.A.
and M.A. in archaeology
and museology in Beijing
University and Wuhan
University, he works at
Underwater archaeology
research center of National
Museum of China after a
few years experience at
Department of archaeology
of Jingzhou Museum in
central China Hubei pro-
vince. He joins a series of
underwater exploration on
Nanhai No. 1 shipwreck and Nanao No. 1 shipwreck in Guangdong province, Xiaobaijiao
No. 1 shipwreck in Zhejiang province.