The Manila Galleon: How Silver and Silk Created the First Global Economy

In 1565, the Spanish launched a maritime trade route that would forever change the world: the Manila Galleon. For 250 years, these enormous ships sailed annually between Acapulco and Manila, carrying Mexican silver to Asia and returning with Chinese silk, porcelain, and spices. Lucas and Luna explore the economic and human costs of this early globalization — the indigenous laborers forced to build the galleons in Philippine forests, the Chinese merchants who dominated Manila's Parian district, the silver that fueled the Ming dynasty's collapse, and the pirates who preyed on the treasure fleets. Along the way, they discuss the galleon's impact on Mexico's colonial economy, the rise of a global silver standard, and how this single trade route connected Spain's American and Asian empires. A story of wealth, exploitation, and unintended consequences. #ManilaGalleon #Acapulco #SpanishEmpire #Philippines #ChinaTrade #Silver #MingDynasty #GlobalTrade #Colonialism #Galleon #SoutheastAsia #PacificOcean #SilkRoad #Piracy #Urdaneta #NewSpain #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo