{"id":3201,"date":"2025-08-20T13:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T13:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?p=3201"},"modified":"2025-08-20T13:19:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T13:19:02","slug":"rediscovering-voyages-that-changed-trade-culture-and-medicine-across-the-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/3201\/rediscovering-voyages-that-changed-trade-culture-and-medicine-across-the-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Rediscovering voyages that changed trade, culture and medicine across the Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"

New EU-funded research, sparked by a 17th-century shipwreck, reveals how centuries of trans-Pacific trade shaped medicine, shipbuilding and geographical knowledge, and built cross-cultural connections still relevant today.<\/p>\n

By<\/em> Gareth Willmer<\/p>\n

In 1609, the Spanish galleon San Francisco\u00a0<\/em>sank off Japan after sailing through storms and hurricanes en route from the Philippines to Acapulco in Mexico.\u00a0The shipwreck took with it many vital clues about centuries of trans-Pacific trade and cultural exchange.<\/p>\n

Now, over 400 years later, the San Francisco<\/em>\u2019s fate has inspired an international team of EU-funded researchers. They aim to shed fresh light on the era of the Spanish Manila galleons and the lasting legacy of these epic ocean voyages.<\/p>\n

Hidden impact of the silk route<\/strong><\/p>\n

The San Francisco<\/em> was one of many vessels in the fleet of trading ships that linked Asia and the Americas from the 16th to the early 19th century. They carried luxury goods such as silver, silk, spices and ceramics from China and other parts of Asia, in exchange for silver and other items, such as medicines, cacao, wine, plants and dyes, from the New World.<\/p>\n

As part of a six-and-a-half-year\u00a0research initiative called TRANSPACIFIC, the researchers aim to find out what three centuries of steady trade meant for contact between populations and the sharing of knowledge.<\/p>\n

Key interests included tracing how diseases spread, how medicines were traded and transferred, and how galleon crews interacted with the environment during their voyages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u00a0is important to show in our modern capitalist world how globalisation came into existence and who contributed to knowledge transfer,\u201d said Professor Angela Schottenhammer,\u00a0principal investigator on the TRANSPACIFIC team. She is also a professor of Chinese Middle Period and Early Modern World History at KU Leuven in Belgium.<\/p>\n

Deeper dive into the past<\/strong><\/p>\n

The inspiration for the research came during a conversation between Schottenhammer and long-time collaborator Dr Jun Kimura, a maritime archaeologist at Tokai University in Tokyo, after a dive to search for the remains of the San Francisco<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, his team didn\u2019t find anything,\u201d she said. \u201cThe seabed is deep, and most of the remains will have been washed away.\u201d But that led to an in-depth discussion about just how little we still know about the Manila galleons.<\/p>\n

Since then, the TRANSPACIFIC team has delved into rare manuscripts, diaries and maps from museum and library archives around the world. They have also drawn on archaeological findings and historical data to reconstruct winds and ocean currents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve found so many materials that we\u00a0realised we\u2019re actually only scratching the surface,\u201d said Schottenhammer. \u201cThere\u2019s so much more to investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balm for wounds<\/strong><\/p>\n

One fascinating finding concerns Peruvian balsam, a resin from the Myroxylon balsamum<\/em> tree in Latin America, long valued as a topical antiseptic. Carried into Asia on the Manila galleons, it spread beyond China\u2019s elite and even reached the country\u2019s Qing army.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that a general of the Qing army wanted to get more of this substance,\u201d said Schottenhammer. \u201cIf it was used in the army for healing sword wounds, it shows how even what seem like marginal aspects of trade could have an important impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such findings resonate today as interest grows in natural remedies and plant-based medicines, with many medicinal drugs, herbs and plants used on galleons originating in the Americas<\/p>\n

To dig deeper into medical exchanges, the team reconstructed the inventory of Agust\u00edn S\u00e1nchez, a Spanish \u201cbarber-surgeon\u201d who died aboard the\u00a0San Mart\u00edn<\/em>\u00a0galleon in 1592.<\/p>\n

Along with tools like syringes, knives, or scissors, his collection also included medical texts. One of these recommended mixing leaves from a narcotic plant called picietl \u2013 or Aztec tobacco \u2013 with lime and garlic to make a remedy believed to cure disease, ward off venom and protect against evil spirits.<\/p>\n

Other prized substances included\u00a0camphor, a natural antiseptic sourced, for example, from the camphor laurel tree native to East Asia.<\/p>\n

Finding the right mix<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Dr Mariana S\u00e1nchez, a KU Leuven researcher in early modern Hispanic history of medicine, European travellers embraced indigenous knowledge, adapting treatments for tropical climates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems the travellers really understood that native knowledge was important,\u201d said S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n

The research team also explored other puzzles, such as how sailors secured enough drinking water for the long Pacific crossings.<\/p>\n

Galleons appointed a \u201cwater constable\u201d (alguacil de aguas) and developed methods to purify seawater and collect rainwater. Islanders also soon realised\u00a0water was a prized commodity and began trading it with foreign sailors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a galleon with a crew of several hundred, you needed a lot of water,\u201d said Dr Mathieu Torck,\u00a0a maritime historian at KU Leuven. \u201cA local barter economy thus developed among indigenous island populations\u00a0for water and other provisions much needed by the Europeans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another revelation was the possible role of chocolate. Despite the gruelling Pacific voyages, some records show surprisingly low mortality rates among crews.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the start, we wondered how the Spanish managed to sustain this trade for 250 years across such huge distances,\u201d said Torck.<\/p>\n

One possible clue lies in frequent references to cacao on board. As it is rich in flavonoids, the researchers speculate that it may have boosted the effects of vitamin C, staving off scurvy when combined with fruit and vegetables.<\/p>\n

Shaping our understanding of globalisation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The TRANSPACIFIC team is now developing a digital database to trace the flow of goods, people and ideas over three centuries of trade. Their work reveals how knowledge travelled, how informal and seemingly marginal factors affected trade, and how cultures intertwined. Their research will conclude in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that these studies will entirely change our view of the historical trans-Pacific trade,\u201d said Schottenhammer. \u201cThey reveal how deeply connected the world was, long before modern globalisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the researchers continue to uncover\u00a0hidden links, it reminds us how much the legacy of this global trade route still resonates in our lives today.<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u200bThis article was originally published\u202fin\u00a0Horizon<\/a>\u00a0the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

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