ABSTRACT
The main item sent from America to the Philippines was silver, and in the other direction the chief cargo was Chinese silk goods. Consequently, when the Spanish sailed out from Europe they sailed west, and discovered the New World of America. They then continued west from America to arrive in the east, thus hoping to enjoy the profits of the spice trade. In 1492 the Spanish government sent Columbus to discover America. In 1519 Spain subdued Mexico, and later, in 1565, went on to the Philippine Islands from Mexico. The chapter argues that from the late Ming to the mid-Ch'ing raw silk and silk textiles were already being transported through Manila across the Pacific to dominate the market in the New World. Chinese foreign trade from the late Ming to the mid-Ch'ing was by no means limited to the Philippines. Thus, silk was for a long period the main commodity in the galleon trade between the Philippines and the Americas.
