Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 383 The Declining Grand Galleon Trade
October 2, 1638, San Fernando (now Guam).

As early as 1565, the Kingdom of Spain officially declared the entire Mariana Islands as its colony, but they did not station troops there for a long time, nor did they establish colonial institutions. They only served as a stopover point for supplies on the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade route.

But in 1631, the situation changed slightly. The Spanish began to send armed men to San Fernando to establish a colonial outpost and formally take control of the archipelago.

Because the Manila galleons that traveled across the Pacific Ocean were attacked by pirates in 1627 and 1630, losing two merchant ships fully loaded with gold and silver, with a total value of 800,000 pesos, causing the Spanish extremely heavy losses.

Therefore, the Spanish felt it necessary to establish a stable colonial outpost that could provide shelter for passing ships.

Later, Spain learned through other channels that the pirates who attacked the large sailing ship were actually Chinese immigrants.

They don't know when it started, but they also frequently crossed the Pacific Ocean using the North Equatorial Current to engage in trade with the Ming Dynasty and transported a large number of Ming immigrants to the northwest coast of North America for colonization and development.

In view of the threat posed by the new Chinese, the Viceroyalty of New Spain launched an expedition against them five years ago in an attempt to nip this emerging force in the bud.

Disappointingly, the expedition suffered a severe defeat, with the landing force almost completely wiped out and the expeditionary fleet losing several ships, ultimately returning in defeat.

Left with no other option, the Spanish had to cease hostilities with the new Chinese, sign a peace agreement, and tacitly acknowledge their existence.

However, with the rise of the new Chinese, the trans-Pacific trade, which had flourished for decades, was immediately dealt a heavy blow.

It is important to understand that due to the strict regulations of the Spanish monarchy, trade throughout Spanish America, including Mexico, was subject to severe restrictions and constraints.

Previously, the large galleon trade between the Philippines and Mexico was generally conducted once every two years (occasionally once a year in some individual years), which greatly promoted the exchange of goods between the two places and allowed the Americas and even Spain to enjoy the ultimate in luxury goods from the East.

As a result, Manila and Acapulco gradually prospered, becoming the most important trading ports in the Pacific region, and bringing great profits to countless traders.

However, the intervention of the new Chinese almost destroyed the Spanish trans-Pacific trade, leaving many merchants in a situation where they could not make a profit.

Can you imagine?
Almost every year, Chinese immigrants would organize fleets to travel to the Ming Dynasty and then transport massive quantities of Eastern goods back to the Americas.

Although the vast majority of these goods were absorbed by the Americans themselves, a considerable amount of Eastern goods still flowed into the Americas through smuggling channels.

It should be noted that the new Chinese not only traveled between the Americas and China every year, but also organized more than one ship.

That was a fleet that was growing larger and larger!

From the initial two or three ships, to more than ten in recent years, and even more than twenty.

With such enormous transport capacity, how many quantities of goods from the East could it carry?!
Under these circumstances, the Spanish-running galleon trade gradually declined, from once every two years to every three years, then to every five years, and finally it simply stopped.

No businessman would foot the bill for a business destined to lose money. Leveraging their massive transportation network, Xinhua people drove down the prices of goods from the East by 20-30%, causing many investors to lose everything.

“It’s said that the colonial authorities in Manila are having a really tough time.” San Fernando Sheriff Dani Lucas Vázquez downed his rum in one gulp and then licked his lips. “They can’t even pay the salaries of their officers and soldiers anymore, and the whole region is sluggish.”

“Yes, everything is terrible.” Father Fran Ceballos García sighed upon hearing this. “The Manila Diocese is also struggling to survive due to a lack of necessary funding. Six months ago, I received a letter from parishioners there saying that the Governor-General of the Philippines was planning to abandon the two outposts established in Formosa (now Taiwan) in order to save on expenses.”

“You know, Father Mayor spent several years and a lot of effort to establish the parish there and develop nearly a thousand believers. If we give up now, all our previous efforts will be wasted.”

“Hehe, if we don’t do this, I’m afraid the entire Philippine Governorate will not be able to hold on.” Dani smiled. “Without silver from the Americas, the Philippines will no longer be able to attract so many Ming Dynasty merchants and Portuguese from the Oyster Bay to trade as it did before.”

"Because of the lack of trade with the Americas, the Governor of Manila lost the trade tax revenue he should have had (the tax revenue from the galleon trade accounted for more than 60% of the fiscal revenue), and consequently could not maintain the construction of the army and the investment of church funds."

"There is a rumor in Mexico that the Governor General's Office had several rounds of heated debate on whether to abandon the Philippines, this distant eastern colony. Although no decision has been made yet, this territory, which is causing the Mexican colonial authorities to bleed money, is still a major headache for the Governor General."

“I’ve heard this rumor too.” Father Garcia’s expression darkened, and a deep disappointment appeared on his face. “But I still believe that abandoning hundreds of thousands of believers in the Philippines due to financial pressure would be a complete tragedy.”

“A tragedy?” Dani shook his head, saying dismissively, “If we can’t even sustain ourselves, how can we possibly protect those so-called God’s people? It’s foreseeable that once the Philippine colonial territory is abandoned, we in San Fernando will also be hard-pressed to hold on. Perhaps the entire Mariana Islands will once again revert to a state of barbarity and ignorance.”

“No!” Father Garcia suddenly realized something. “Even if we leave this sea, those primitive and ignorant Chamorro people will not revert to their savage state. Because, besides us Spaniards, there are other people on these islands.”

“Others?” Dani looked at him with great surprise. “Father Garcia, who are you referring to as ‘others’…”

“New Chinese!” Father Garcia gave a strange look. “Do you remember? A few days ago, a canoe from a tribe on a small island in the north was swept away by a storm to San Fernando. We rescued it and put it in a nearby tribal camp.”

“Yesterday, after a detailed inquiry and exchange, we learned that they were tribal natives from the island of Saint Vincent (now Saipan) in the north. They were fishing at sea when they were blown here by a storm. They told me that the new Chinese had established a colonial settlement on the west coast of the island two years ago.”

"What?" Dani was immediately taken aback. "The new Chinese have built a colonial outpost right under our noses!"

“Yes,” Father Garcia nodded. “I was also shocked when I heard the news. They have secretly established a base and carried out colonization and development in the territory we claim to own. Moreover, without our knowledge, they have a large number of ships making short stops and resting on St. Vincent Island every year.”

“We must report this to Commander Diaz and try to get it back to Mexico so that the Governor-General knows this terrible news.” Dani suddenly stood up. “Oh God, it’s unbelievable. The new Chinese have established a colonial outpost on San Vicente Island without a sound. If they want, they can not only attack our San Fernando at any time, but also cut off the transportation between the Americas and the Philippines.”

"Commander Diaz went to Agathe in the south to meet with the local Chamorro chief and has not yet returned." Father Garcia reminded him from behind, "Have you thought about how we can get this news back to Mexico in the shortest possible time? You know, the earliest merchant ships from the Americas will arrive is next April or May."

"If there is no trade demand, or no important orders are passed to the Philippines, there will not be any ships passing through San Fernando even next year."

"..." Upon hearing this, Dani froze on the spot. "Then... what should we do?"

The priest remained silent for a long time, then finally shook his head: "I don't know."
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(End of this chapter)