Manila. The gigantic Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de la Conception sets sail for Japan, then heads for California. This is the standard return leg for galleons exporting silver to China. It is the largest galleon ever built, and has a declared cargo of 4 million pesos, plus at least as much undeclared cargo. Just outside the port of Manila, the young, inexperienced captain loses control of the crew, and the ship crashes off the Mariana Islands, scattering its cargo into the shallows of the coral reef. Even today, you can dive on it and find pieces of fine blue and white Chinese porcelain. The following year, the San Ambrosio sinks on the same leg in the Philippines, and the galleon sent in its place also sinks, this time off Japan. A coincidence of a lean season for silver mining in Potosí, South America, nearly brings the silver-for-porcelain trade to a halt.
