In 250 years, 108 galleons crossed the Pacific, but only 50 were constructed for the
Manila-Acapulco trade. In the beginning, ships were sent from Mexico. But from the
1570s, galleons were built in several shipyards in Pangasinan, Cavite, Marinduque, Albay, Camarines, Masbate—all of them safe ports—with access to plentiful supplies of timber and native labor. Thousands of natives were assembled to build the galleons, while supplies to feed,clothe, and arm the crew were requisitioned by the government from the provinces in the form of levies and taxes.
It was in Cavite that most of the galleons were built, repaired, and refitted for each new voyage.The shipyard, which was 10 miles from Manila, was guarded by the guns of San Felipe and protected by the mountains from strong gales.An order in 1679 prohibited the construction of Manila-Acapulco galleons outside the Philippines.
The skeleton of the wooden ship is a complex system, with timbers joined together to form the frame, to which the planks and decks are attached. Shipbuilders used hardwood from the islands, which were excellent for shipbuilding.
Declares Father Fray Casimiro Diaz, OSA “The best that can be found in the universe... and if not for the quality of the timbers, so dangerous voyages could have not been performed.”
So many years ago, a few far sighted individuals, more of them in later posts to this blog, began to plant trees on these islands. This effort contiues. Planting trees informs all of the other devlopmental activities I shall report in this blog. Trees provide both a long term goal and a monthly rhythm that drives our efforts.
When one is involved in diverse engineering and ecologicaql work then one needs a natural form of managment of one's time and energy lest one dissappate one's creative efforts across too many projects. Serving the trees and their underwater cousins, the coral, provides focus and rhythm to our efforts.
At this moment 5000 mahogany seedlings are waiting outside my door for transport to the islands. They arrived a few nights ago from the plantation during a torrenitl downpour. Their presence creates an urgency since these seedlings will begin to put down roots within days so they must be moved to the islands. This in turn involves further trucking and then the seedlings are loaded on to a bangka for transport to the islands. One of our most important projects involves refurbishing a 47 foot bangka as a service boat to support ongoing tree planting and care.
So a small army of planters is being organized to truck and boat the seedlings to the islands. Later today I will go along and photograph the operation.
Follow this blog for further information on our efforts and how you can be involved.
