Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade

choi

(1) The Manila Galleon Trade (1565–1815). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art, undated.
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mgtr/hd_mgtr.htm

Note: "nao de China"

Spanish English dictionary
nao (noun feminine; [from from Latin noun feminine nāvis ship]): "(history) ship"
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english/nao

(2) Manila galleon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_galleon

Quote:

"The route lasted until 1815 when the Mexican War of Independence ended Spanish control of Mexican ports.

"Trade with Ming China via Manila served a major source of revenue for the Spanish Empire and as a fundamental source of income for Spanish colonists in the Philippine Islands.

"Due to the route's high profitability but long voyage time, it was essential to build the largest possible galleons, which were the largest class of ships known to have been built.[7] In the 16th century, they averaged from 1,700 to 2,000 tons, were built of Philippine hardwoods and could carry a thousand passengers.

"The galleon trade was nourished by merchants largely from port areas of Fujian who traveled to Manila to sell Spaniards spices, porcelain, ivory, lacquerware, processed silk cloth and other valuable commodities. * * * East Asia trading primarily functioned on a silver standard due to Ming China's use of silver ingots as a medium of exchange. As such, goods were mostly bought by silver mined from Mexico and Potosí.

"It took at least four months to sail across the Pacific Ocean from Manila to Acapulco,

"The wrecks of the Manila galleons are legends second only to the wrecks of treasure ships in the Caribbean.

Note:
(a) Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821 when Mexico declared independence (in 1821) [Spain recognized the independence of Mexico in 1836])  Wikipedia
(b) Currents. In NOAA Ocean Service Education. National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce, undated.
oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/currents/05currents1.html

The Wikipedia page titled “trade winds” is not helpful, so I choose the above instead.