MANILA GALLEONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CULTURAL IMPACTS ON SANTA MARGARITA AND NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA CONCEPCIÓN by Aleck Danielle Tan May 2020 Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jennifer McKinnon Major Department: Program in Maritime Studies, Department of History ABSTRACT Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Spain prospered as a dominant trading empire with the help of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade network. While Spain’s empire grew with the trade network, some disasters struck Manila galleons on their voyages. To date, two of those shipwreck sites have been identified in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI): Nuestra Señora de la Concepción off the coast of Saipan and Santa Margarita off the coast of Rota. The remains of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and Santa Margarita are significant sources of information about Indigenous Chamorro culture, the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade network and more broadly, the Spanish trade empire in the 17th century. Both sites, however, have been impacted by post-wrecking activities of looting and salvage. Immediately after the wrecking events, the two shipwrecks were salvaged by both Chamorro people and the Spanish government. Starting in the 1980s, stories of Spanish treasure on galleons captivated modern treasure hunters and prompted salvage of these shipwrecks, which in turn led to destruction of archaeological context. There is limited information from both the Chamorro populations and the treasure hunting companies about these shipwrecks. In addition, no comprehensive archaeological surveys, excavations, or reports of these two shipwrecks have yet been completed that were not driven by monetary gain. Because our archaeological knowledge of these shipwrecks is limited and the archaeological contexts have been disturbed, it is important to learn as much as possible from the local Chamorro people and the treasure hunting companies using their oral histories, reports, and records. Based on site formation processes, actor-network theory, and shared heritage frameworks, this thesis analyzes the cultural impacts of post-wrecking activities, specifically the contemporary and commercial salvage, carried out at the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and Santa Margarita sites to enhance our understanding of the two ships. The methods for analyzing and examining the activities include archival and historical research, textual analysis, oral histories, and an ESRI Story Map. Some archaeologists may dismiss these shipwrecks because they have been salvaged by treasure hunters, however, these two shipwrecks provide some data that can add to the knowledge base about the Spanish empire during the 17th century, as well as the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade network. MANILA GALLEONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CULTURAL IMPACTS ON SANTA MARGARITA AND NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA CONCEPCIÓN A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree Master of Arts in Maritime Studies by Aleck Danielle Tan May 2020 © Aleck Danielle Tan, 2020 MANILA GALLEONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CULTURAL IMPACTS ON SANTA MARGARITA AND NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA CONCEPCIÓN by Aleck Danielle Tan APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF THESIS: ____________________________________ Jennifer McKinnon, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: ____________________________________ Jason Raupp, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: ____________________________________ Charles Ewen, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: ____________________________________ Roberto Junco, Ph.D. CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY: ____________________________________ Christopher Oakley, Ph.D. DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL: ____________________________________ Paul Gemperline, Ph.D. Mama and Papa, Para sa inyo po ito Atchie Acknowledgements When I was young, my family and I often traveled to Manila from our small fishing town of Dagupan, Philippines. I would not have imagined years later that I would extensively research an important trade network that started in Manila. When I was a little girl, I only viewed this place as a city where my parents allowed me to buy one toy I wanted under 1,000 pesos every time we visited, not as a city that carried Asian influences throughout the world for almost 250 years. Dr. Jennifer McKinnon encouraged me to build upon her previous research on Manila galleons in the CNMI which enabled me to learn more about my Filipino history. Her support also allowed me to travel to Guam and Saipan, which tremendously aided in my thesis research. This thesis, as well as my continued growth as a young professional in underwater archaeology, would not have been possible without Dr. McKinnon’s unwavering guidance and support. I would also like to thank my committee members Dr. Jason Raupp, Dr. Charles Ewen, and Dr. Roberto Junco for their feedback. While I was in the Pacific, many people assisted in my thesis research. I thank Jim Pruitt and Luke Simonds from the CNMI Historic Preservation Office in Saipan for allowing me to view and scan hundreds of documents about the shipwrecks’ salvage projects and for providing information about the Manila galleons. I would also like to extend my greatest appreciation to Jim for diving and capturing photographs and videos of Concepción’s remains. During my 2019 visit to Saipan, Fred Camacho, Genevieve Cabrera, and Lino Olopai were invaluable in helping me learn more about the Indigenous history of the Spanish colonization in the Marianas. Fred and Genevieve toured me around the island, and shared stories with me about Chamorro history. Lino shared his Carolinian history and the Spanish colonization in the Marianas. Fred made sure I was able to get any available information about Concepción and for that I will forever be grateful. I thank Gus Adamson for accompanying me on this leg of my trip. My historical and archival research was made easy because of researchers Omaira Brunel-Perry and Dorathina Herrero at MARC, and Aurea Silva, Ramil Abao and Aileen Vergonio at the National Archives of the Philippines. I would also like to thank Ligaya Lacsina, Rachelle Urete, and Catherine King at the National Museum of Anthropology in the Philippines for sharing information about San Diego and touring me around their museum. Most importantly, I could not have completed this thesis without the support and encouragement of my family. My parents always encourage me to take advantage of any opportunity. They let me chase after my dreams and are 100% behind me no matter what. Finally, I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to Dallas for being my rock and for always helping me see things clearly. Cookie and Toni have been the greatest gifts in our lives. This thesis was powered by their cuddles. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ____________________________________________________________ v List of Tables ________________________________________________________________ x List of Figures ________________________________________________________________ xi Abbreviations _______________________________________________________________ xiii Chapter 1 Introduction _________________________________________________________ 1 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 1 Research Questions ______________________________________________________ 4 Justification ____________________________________________________________ 5 Theoretical Framework ___________________________________________________ 6 Methodology ___________________________________________________________ 7 Research Limitations ____________________________________________________ 9 Thesis Structure _______________________________________________________ 11 Chapter 2 Historical Background ________________________________________________ 12 Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 12 Establishment of Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Network _____________________ 12 Spanish Colonization in the Mariana Islands _________________________________ 17 Pre-missionization________________________________________________ 17 Missionization ___________________________________________________ 20 Spanish-Chamorro Wars ___________________________________________ 24 Mariana Islands as a Spanish Colony _________________________________ 27 Manila Galleons _______________________________________________________ 30 Santa Margarita _________________________________________________ 33 Concepción _____________________________________________________ 37 Decline of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade _______________________________ 45 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 49 Chapter 3 Theoretical Framework _______________________________________________ 50 Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 50 Site Formation Processes ________________________________________________ 50 Defining cultural impacts by groups __________________________________ 55 Actor-Network Theory __________________________________________________ 59 Shared Heritage ________________________________________________________ 64 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 67 Chapter 4 Methodology _______________________________________________________ 69 Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 69 Literature Research _____________________________________________________ 70 Textual