Ghost Galleon
The Discovery and Archaeology of the San Juanillo on the Shores of Baja
California
The Manila
galleon trade formed an important part of world trade from 1565 to 1815 – a 250
year period.
The San Juanillo
disappeared in 1578.
A few
beachcombers found porcelains on a remote Baja California beach. A few sherds of
porcelain were found in excavations of Native American sites.
Only starting in
1997, when some of the beachcombers’ finds were exhibited in Los Angeles did
historian Edward Von der Porten see the pieces of this puzzle.
Contacts with the
beachcombers were restricted, then conducted using fake names and pay
telephones. Finally, full contact was
made and a research team formed. INAH,
the Mexican archaeological officials joined in at every step.
Finally, a fuller
story of this earliest wreck on the Californias coast be
told.
Richly
illustrated in full color. 9” X 11” 227 pages. Available from the University of Texas Press,
eBay or contact mikevdpca@aim.com