Beginning in 1565, Spanish galleons established a regular trade route across the Pacific between Manila and Acapulco, carrying Mexican and Peruvian silver west in exchange for Chinese silk, porcelain, and other Asian goods. The route operated for roughly 250 years and drew large volumes of American silver into the Chinese economy through intermediary trade at Manila. It connected Spanish American, Southeast Asian, and East Asian commercial networks into a single transoceanic system.
Relevance to Trade History
Created one of the first regular trade links directly connecting the Americas to East Asia, moving enormous quantities of silver into the global economy.
Read the full story in our article The Manila Galleon and the Pacific Silver Trade.
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.