Manila Galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos
For two centuries, physical evidence of a vast shipwreck, including beeswax and Chinese porcelain, has washed ashore in the Nehalem Spit area on the north coast of Oregon. The story of the wreck has been “shrouded by time and folklore.” Archaeological evidence points to the Santo Cristo de Burgos.
It was a Manila galleon owned by the kingdom of Spain bringing Asian trade goods to the Americas, as the ship that came to be known as the “Beeswax Wreck.”
From fifteen sixty five to eighteen fifteen, Manila galleons such as the Santo Cristo de Burgos — followed a twelve thousand mile route from the Philippines through the stormy North Pacific, sometimes passing parallel to what is now the north Oregon coast, before reaching their destination in Acapulco, Mexico. The galleons were a central part of Spain’s complex international commerce system, transporting people and Asian goods around the world. Tempestuous seas, and hazardous weather likely led to the ship’s demise.
The Santo Cristo “drew together a multiethnic crew of Spanish, Spanish Basque, Philippine, Mexican, and possibly African men, in the most sprawling global trade network of their day.” The galleon left the Philippines in the summer of sixteen ninety three, without some necessary crew and supplies. The lack of skilled men and critical supplies, along with winter storms, likely contributed to the ship’s fate. Based on Native oral tradition, there were survivors of the shipwreck. Those survivors “were key participants in arguably the first Native-European contact on what is now the northern coast of Oregon, before disappearing into the state’s cultural lore with few traces.”
Much of the debris that has washed up on the shores of the northern Oregon coast for centuries were mainstays of Spanish trade, carried as cargo across the world on Manila galleons. Both Native people, and Euro-Americans have recovered large beeswax chunks, lending to the lore of the “Beeswax Wreck”.
“Euro-Americans in coastal communities amplified Native American oral traditions, increasingly focusing on buried treasure." This blending of Native oral tradition with romances and adventure tales helped create the legends contributing to Neahkahnie Mountain’s reputation as Oregon’s treasure-seeking haven.”
**For more info on the Santo Cristo de Burgos, click HERE or HERE.
It was a Manila galleon owned by the kingdom of Spain bringing Asian trade goods to the Americas, as the ship that came to be known as the “Beeswax Wreck.”
From fifteen sixty five to eighteen fifteen, Manila galleons such as the Santo Cristo de Burgos — followed a twelve thousand mile route from the Philippines through the stormy North Pacific, sometimes passing parallel to what is now the north Oregon coast, before reaching their destination in Acapulco, Mexico. The galleons were a central part of Spain’s complex international commerce system, transporting people and Asian goods around the world. Tempestuous seas, and hazardous weather likely led to the ship’s demise.
The Santo Cristo “drew together a multiethnic crew of Spanish, Spanish Basque, Philippine, Mexican, and possibly African men, in the most sprawling global trade network of their day.” The galleon left the Philippines in the summer of sixteen ninety three, without some necessary crew and supplies. The lack of skilled men and critical supplies, along with winter storms, likely contributed to the ship’s fate. Based on Native oral tradition, there were survivors of the shipwreck. Those survivors “were key participants in arguably the first Native-European contact on what is now the northern coast of Oregon, before disappearing into the state’s cultural lore with few traces.”
Much of the debris that has washed up on the shores of the northern Oregon coast for centuries were mainstays of Spanish trade, carried as cargo across the world on Manila galleons. Both Native people, and Euro-Americans have recovered large beeswax chunks, lending to the lore of the “Beeswax Wreck”.
“Euro-Americans in coastal communities amplified Native American oral traditions, increasingly focusing on buried treasure." This blending of Native oral tradition with romances and adventure tales helped create the legends contributing to Neahkahnie Mountain’s reputation as Oregon’s treasure-seeking haven.”
**For more info on the Santo Cristo de Burgos, click HERE or HERE.