CONVICTS OR "CONQUISTADORES?" SPANISH SOLDIERS IN THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY PACIFIC

In 1565 a conquering party led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi sailed across the Pacific to establish a permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines. Ever afterwards, the history of the archipelago was defined by its orientation towards the Pacific. More than thirteen thousand kilometers of ocean separated the islands from the nearest outpost of the Spanish empire, the viceroyalty of New Spain (modern-day Mexico). Yet the Pacific crossing was enduring. Galleons plied Pacific waters between Manila and Acapulco for two hundred and fifty years, transporting cargoes of Chinese silks to New Spain and bringing back to Manila boatloads of soldiers, missionaries, silver and much needed supplies. Here, Mawson discusses the historiography of the early colonial Philippines.