A PORTUGUESE MERCHANT NETWORK IN THE INITIAL TIMES OF THE MANILA GALLEON SYSTEM

Abstract

This thesis offers an analysis of the manila Galleon trade between 1570 and 1600. It aims examine the formation of a system of trade that ultimately endured for two and half centuries, from 1565 to 1815. This approach goes beyond the linear perspective of connected shipping route, and studies the multiple contributions of merchant networks distributed over multiple geographical points. Past accounts of the Manila Galleon have presented it as a unique Spanish achievement. This study, by contrast, disentangles the discourse from nationalist historical frameworks by taking other agents into account.

This research focused mainly on the merchant networks of Portuguese origin and New Christian identity (recent converts to Christianity). The study views the Manila Galleon beyond a narrow economic framework of shipping goods and generating profits, addressing its cultural and societal impacts as well. This is why the Manila Galleon has been framed and understood in terms of a system.