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