Manila Galleons in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: An Analysis of Cultural Impacts on Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and Santa Margarita

Between 1565 and 1815, Manila galleons traveled between the Philippines and Mexico in Spain’s Manila-Acapulco galleon trade network. Galleons transported people and valuable goods such as porcelain, silver, textiles, and spices across the Pacific. Because of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade network, Spain established colonies throughout the Pacific, including one in the Northern Marianas Islands (NMI). Spain’s colonizing efforts in the Mariana Islands altered the Chamorro and Carolinian culture substantially.  

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  Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific (Aleck Tan 2020).

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  Locations of Santa Margarita and Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion (Aleck Tan 2020).

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  Manila Galleons trade route (Aleck Tan 2020)

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  Currents that assisted Manila galleons in their voyages (Aleck Tan 2020).

My thesis is focused on learning more about the two known Manila galleons which wrecked in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI): Santa Margarita which wrecked 1601 off the coast of Rota and Nuestra Señora de la Concepción which wrecked 1638 off the coast of Saipan. These two shipwrecks were salvaged by the indigenous people, the Spanish, and modern treasure hunting companies. All of these activities affect(ed) what we know about the galleons. My goal is to learn more about these galleons from historical documents as well as from oral histories provided by indigenous people in the CNMI.

The wrecking of Santa Margarita (IOTA Partners 2006).

Artist rendition of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (Guampedia 2014).

In May-June 2018, I visited Saipan to conduct fieldwork as part of an East Carolina University field school project for Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). During my time there, I collected information from the archives at the Historic Preservation Office. In addition, I visited the NMI Museum of History and Culture museum to view the artifacts from Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.

In July 2019, I visited the Micronesian Area Research Center in the University of Guam to access Spanish documents from their special collections. After Guam, I traveled back to Saipan to work on another DPAA project, but also gathered more information for my thesis. I revisited the NMI Museum of History and Culture museum to learn more about the artifact collection from Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.

In August 2019, I visited archives in the National Archives of the Philippines to learn more about the galleons.

A part of my thesis research that I presented at 2019 Society for Historical Archaeology in St. Louis, MO

The result is a public Story Map to preserve Indigenous and scientific knowledge gained from this thesis.

Find a copy of my thesis on this webpage.