The Philippine Islands: a vital crossroads during the first globalization period

• Main Authors: Carlos Martínez Shaw, Marina Alfonso Mola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2014-06-01
• Series: Culture & History Digital Journal
• Subjects: spain; america; asia; 16th-18th centuries; silver; trade relations; cultural exchange
• Online Access: http://cultureandhistory.revistas.csic.es/index.php/cultureandhistory/article/view/43

The first globalization is a concept which should be interpreted as the period during which a system of exchanges of every kind (human, economic, cultural) was established between the different continents, unknown to each other until the last decade of the 15th century. After being conquered by Spain in 1565, the Philippine Islands represented a vital crossroads in this process. Firstly, the islands acted as a major distributor of Mexican silver in the Pacific sphere. Secondly, they were Spain’s launching pad for access to neighbouring kingdoms (China, Japan, the countries of Southeast Asia, the Spice Islands), with which it was connected by means of trade, missionary activities, diplomacy and sometimes war. News, learning and exotic products were taken from the islands to Mexico and other parts of Spanish America. Lastly, the Philippine Islands were connected directly to the mother country following the opening of the Cape of Good Hope route by various ships, dispatched first by the Navy, then by private trading companies and lastly, by the Royal Company of the Philippines. The Seville (or Cádiz)-Veracruz-Mexico City-Acapulco-Manila axis, with movement in both directions, served as a permanent route for the exchange of precious metals and exotic products.