Method · Historiography
Contradictions between sources
Dates, figures and names on which the sources about the Manila Galleon disagree: discrepancies detected automatically in the corpus, with their sources and a note on how to read them.
This project does not give a single answer to each question. It breaks every source — chronicles, letters and documents of the time, academic studies and reference works — into short statements and compares those that refer to the same event. When two sources say incompatible things, it shows them side by side, with their provenance.
The discrepancies on this page were detected automatically, by semantic similarity and with a language model acting as judge, and most were reviewed by a person. Not all of them are errors: sometimes they are different readings of the same figure, differences in detail or ships sharing a name. Each case comes with a note on how to read it.
30 discrepancies
Ask the atlas →Where do the sources on the Manila Galleon contradict each other?
The 1565 tornaviaje: the return route that made the Manila Galleon possible
When did the San Pedro leave the Philippines in 1565?
The galleon San Pedro left Luzon behind on June 10, 1565, and emerged into the open ocean through the San Bernardino Strait. (machine-translated)
The San Pedro departed from that Philippine island on June 1, 1565. (machine-translated)
They do not necessarily contradict each other: one date may mark the departure from Cebu and the other the passage to open sea through the San Bernardino Strait, days later.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personDid the San Pedro sail in May or June 1565?
The nao San Pedro, carrying friar Andrés de Urdaneta, sailed from Cebu in May 1565 with cinnamon in its holds bound for New Spain. (machine-translated)
The so-called tornaviaje was started by the San Pedro on Friday, June 1, 1565, from the island of Cebu. (machine-translated)
The account collected by Blair and Robertson and the Real Academia de la Historia biographies give 1 June 1565; “May” appears in a modern study and may refer to the preparations for the voyage or simply be imprecise.
Spotted while preparing this pageDid it reach Acapulco on 1 or 8 October?
The flagship, under command of Phelippe de Salzedo and Fray Andrés de Urdaneta, set sail on June 1, 1565, and reached Acapulco on October 1, 1565, without stopping at La Navidad.
Urdaneta set a course east to take advantage of the westerly winds and easily reached Acapulco on October 8. (machine-translated)
A week apart for the arrival. Period accounts sometimes record the first landfall on the coast and sometimes the entry into port, which may explain the different dates.
Spotted while preparing this pageBefore the galleon: the failed attempts to sail back across the Pacific
How many ships did Villalobos take in 1542?
Don Antonio de Mendoza sent Ruy Lopez de Villalobos with four ships, four hundred soldiers and four hundred Indians.
Villalobos' fleet was composed of six ships: the flagship Santiago, the naos San Jorge, San Antonio or San Felipe or Los Siete Galigos, San Juan de Letrán, the galeota San Cristóbal, and a brigantine San Cristóbal or fusta San Martín. (machine-translated)
The gap may come from one source counting only the larger ships while the other includes the fleet's smaller vessels (a galliot, a brigantine).
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhen did Magellan's expedition reach the Unfortunate Isles?
On February 4, 1521, they discovered Tiburones island, included with the previous one under the name Infortunadas or Desventuradas. (machine-translated)
after sighting the first uninhabited islands on June 4, 1521, which they called the Unfortunate or Misfortune Islands (machine-translated)
Four months apart for the same landfall. By June 1521 Magellan's expedition had long left those islands behind, so “June” is probably an error in the source or in the extraction.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhat became of Magellan's men left behind in Cebu?
It was heard that on the island of Zubu there were Castilians living since the time of Magellan, and that the Chinese were accustomed to go there to buy gold and certain precious stones.
A man who had been a captive in Cebu related that the natives told him they had sold to the Chinese the eight companions of Magellan who were left on that island.
Two second-hand reports, gathered by different expeditions (Villalobos and Saavedra), about the fate of Magellan's men left in Cebu: one says they were still living there, the other that they had been sold to Chinese traders.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhen did Balboa sight the Pacific: 1513 or 1514?
Vasco Núñez de Balboa sighted the sea from a mountain that dominates the Gulf of San Miguel. (machine-translated)
In 1514, Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and arrived at a new and vast ocean. (machine-translated)
Balboa sighted the Pacific in September 1513; the 1514 date looks like an error in the source.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWho named the Philippine Islands?
He was sent to give an account of the expedition and its route; he discovered and named the Philippine islands.
Numerous islands were identified in the Revillagigedo, Marshall, Carolinas, Philippines, Volcano, Bonin and Schouten archipelagos. (machine-translated)
Tradition credits the name to Villalobos, who called one of the islands Felipinas after Prince Philip; some accounts credit Bernardo de la Torre, a captain on the same expedition. Rather than excluding each other, the two statements share out the credit differently.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personLegazpi and the founding of Manila
Who named Luzon “Nueva Castilla”?
Felipe II grants the title of 'New Castilla' to Luzón.
Governor Miguel López de Legazpi gave the island of Luzon the name 'New Kingdom of Castilla'.
They may not exclude each other: Legazpi may have coined the name in the islands and the Crown confirmed it later.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personLimahong's attack on Manila (1574)
Did Limahong take Manila in 1574?
The defense of Manila was vulnerable, as demonstrated by the capture of this capital by Chinese pirate Li-ma-hong in 1574. (machine-translated)
In April 1574, the Chinese pirate Lin Feng, also known as Li-Ma-Hong, attacked Manila and although he failed to take the plaza, he did cause a great fire that destroyed the city's flimsy buildings. (machine-translated)
Both statements may describe the same event with a different emphasis: the town was stormed and burned, but its defenders held out and the corsair withdrew.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a person62 junks or seventy ships?
In 1574, the pirate Lin Feng attacked Manila Bay with a fleet of 62 junks and 10,000 armed men. (machine-translated)
There came the corsair Limahon from China, with seventy large ships and many men-at-arms, against Manila.
Round numbers (“seventy”) are common in chronicles; the figure of 62 junks comes from a modern study. Neither can be verified here without the original sources.
Spotted while preparing this pageThe sangleys and the Parian of Manila
Who took control of Dasmariñas's galley in 1593?
The three Spaniards, aided by the Chinese, made themselves masters of the junk.
The Chinese rowers took possession of the ship, killed the governor and almost all the Spanish. (machine-translated)
Two accounts of who took control of the vessel when the Chinese rowers rose up in 1593. They are best read in context: it is not clear they refer to exactly the same moment.
Detected automatically · not yet reviewedHow many sangleys lived in the Parian?
The Sangleys who live in the Parian of Manila number ordinarily between three and four thousand, not counting the more than two thousand who come and go in ships.
The Parian contains about two thousand Sangleys, more or less, with their judge and governor.
Two documents from the early 1590s give different figures for the Parian's population. It rose and fell with the seasonal arrival of the junks and with periodic expulsions, and people passing through were not always counted.
Spotted while preparing this pageSilver for silk: the Manila Galleon trade
How many Chinese ships reached Manila each year?
Every year four hundred ships come from Chincheo in China with silks and other goods, and take silver coin in return.
Each year twelve or fifteen ships from China arrive in Manila laden with merchandise such as silks, wheat, flour, sugar, fruits, metals, and bronze artillery, all in abundance and at very moderate prices.
Four hundred ships a year is far above what other documents of the time report — a dozen or a few dozen junks — so it is probably a transcription or extraction error.
Spotted while preparing this pageChinese porcelain in New Spain
22,300 or 22,500 pieces of porcelain?
The cargo included 312 quintals of cinnamon, 22,300 pieces of fine porcelain, 1,300 pieces of cotton cloth worth 2 pesos each, and 930 arrobas of wax worth 15 pesos each.
On the second Manila Galeon to Acapulco, which occurred in the 16th century, 22,500 pieces of Chinese porcelain were transported. (machine-translated)
Two hundred pieces apart: it may be the same cargo quoted with a different figure, or a transcription error; it is not even clear that both sources refer to the same voyage.
Spotted while preparing this pageThe wreck of the San Felipe and the martyrs of Nagasaki
One San Felipe or two?
The fragments found on the beaches of Guerrero Negro, Baja California, are remnants of the wreck of the San Felipe galleon in 1576. (machine-translated)
In 1596 the Spanish galleon San Felipe was shipwrecked in Japanese waters. (machine-translated)
Not a contradiction but a case of two ships sharing a name: the different dates and places point to two separate wrecks. The name San Felipe was given to several ships of the period.
Spotted while preparing this pagePrivateers against the Manila Galleon
Where did Cavendish capture the Santa Ana?
The British privateer Cavendish boarded the Manila galleon near Cape Santa Ana on November 14, 1587, captured the crew, burned the ship, and obtained a booty of 122,000 pesos in gold. (machine-translated)
In November 1587, the English pirate Thomas Cavendish captured the Spanish galleon Santa Ana near Cabo San Lucas. (machine-translated)
Most sources place the capture of the Santa Ana off Cabo San Lucas, at the tip of the Baja California peninsula; the mention of a “Cape Santa Ana” may be a mix-up with the ship's name.
Spotted while preparing this pageWhen was the Covadonga captured: 1740 or 1743?
The ship 'Nuestra Señora de Covadonga' was captured by Commodore Anson in 1740. (machine-translated)
In 1743, Commodore Anson's expedition seized the galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga off Cape Espíritu Santo (Philippines), a ship plying the route between Acapulco and Manila loaded with a million and a half reales de a ocho. (machine-translated)
The accepted date for the capture of the Covadonga is 1743; 1740 is the year Anson's squadron left England, which probably explains the mix-up.
Spotted while preparing this pageTordesillas, the Moluccas and the Treaty of Zaragoza
Tordesillas: 370 or 270 leagues?
In the Treaty of Tordesillas, the delimitation of the demarcation zone was established at 370 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde. (machine-translated)
The Portuguese Court accepted the papal arbitration of Pope Alexander VI but moved the demarcation line 270 leagues west, establishing the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. (machine-translated)
Not a real contradiction: the Tordesillas line was moved 270 leagues further west than the one set by Pope Alexander VI (100 leagues), which gives the treaty's 370 leagues.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personDid the Moluccas lie in the Spanish half of the world?
The islands they call the Moluccas, where all spices are produced and exported to Malacca, lie within the Spanish western division.
King Charles I of Spain delivered the Moluccas islands to Portugal through the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529 in exchange for 350,000 ducats. (machine-translated)
Both statements reflect different moments: Castilian cosmographers held that the Moluccas fell in the Spanish half, and in 1529 Charles V gave up that claim in exchange for money.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhen did Bartolomeu Dias round the Cape of Good Hope?
Bartolome Diaz discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1486, and Vasco da Gama made several voyages to India, the first time in 1497.
In 1488, the Portuguese navigator Bartolomé Díaz successfully passed the Cape of Storms, now known as Cape of Good Hope. (machine-translated)
The generally accepted date for Bartolomeu Dias rounding the Cape of Good Hope is 1488.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhich pope authorised Portugal to conquer “infidel lands”?
Pope Leo X grants authority to Alfonso V of Portugal to make war against the infidels and conquer their lands.
Pope Nicholas V issued the bull Dum diversas on June 18, 1452, authorizing King Alfonso V of Portugal to make war upon the infidels, conquer their lands, and reduce them to slavery, and granting plenary indulgence to participants.
One statement credits Pope Leo X with a grant to Afonso V of Portugal, which is chronologically impossible: Afonso V died in 1481 and Leo X became pope in 1513. The bull Dum diversas (1452) was issued by Nicholas V.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWas the Treaty of Zaragoza signed in 1524 or 1529?
After the Badajoz settlement proved ineffectual, the Moluccas were relinquished to Portugal by the treaty of Zaragoza on April 22, 1524.
Emperor Charles ratified the cession of the Moluccas archipelago in 1529 through the Treaty of Zaragoza. (machine-translated)
The Treaty of Zaragoza was signed on 22 April 1529; 1524 is the year of the Junta of Badajoz, which probably explains the wrong date.
Spotted while preparing this pageManila Galleon shipwrecks
One San Felipe or two?
The fragments found on the beaches of Guerrero Negro, Baja California, are remnants of the wreck of the San Felipe galleon in 1576. (machine-translated)
In 1596 the Spanish galleon San Felipe was shipwrecked in Japanese waters. (machine-translated)
Two different wrecks of ships sharing a name: one in Baja California (1576) and the other in Japan (1596).
Spotted while preparing this pageAsian slaves in New Spain
How many slaves were there in Manila in 1621: 1,970 or 970?
In 1621, the number of slaves in the service of the Spaniards of Manila reached 1,970 individuals. (machine-translated)
In 1621, the slave population within the walls of Manila was 970 individuals, constituting one-third of the total population. (machine-translated)
A difference of exactly one thousand suggests a transcription error in one of the two sources; without the original document it is impossible to tell which figure is right.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personOther cases
Where, and on which leg, was the Covadonga captured?
George Anson captured the galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga off the coast of the Philippines in 1743. (machine-translated)
In 1743, Commodore Anson's expedition seized the galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga off Cape Espíritu Santo (Philippines), a ship plying the route between Acapulco and Manila loaded with a million and a half reales de a ocho. (machine-translated)
George Anson captured the galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga off the coast of the Philippines in 1743. (machine-translated)
In 1743, pirate George Anson attacked and captured the galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga on its voyage from Acapulco to Manila. (machine-translated)
The sources agree on the year (1743) and the ship; they differ only in how precisely they describe the place and the route. It is more a difference in precision than a contradiction.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhen was the Franciscan province of San Gregorio established?
The custody of St. Gregory is erected and established as a province in the Philippine Islands.
The San Gregorio Custody was not established until the following year.
A papal brief and a contemporary letter differ by one year on when the Franciscan province of San Gregorio was established; the gap may reflect the time between the document's date and its application in the islands.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personDid the maharlikas pay tribute to their datu?
The nobles, or maharlicas, paid annually to the datos one hundred gantas of rice.
The maharlicas did not pay taxes or tribute to the datu, but had to accompany him to war.
Two documents from the early 1590s describe the duties of the maharlikas, the free Tagalog nobility, in opposite ways. Customs could vary between communities, and both texts are Spanish descriptions of a society foreign to their authors.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personWhen did Mendaña sail from Callao in 1567?
Alvaro de Mendaña, accompanied by Sarmiento de Gamboa, departed from Callao on November 16, 1567 in search of terra australis. (machine-translated)
The fleet set sail from the port of Callao on November 19, 1567. (machine-translated)
Three days apart for Mendaña's departure from Callao; neither date can be checked here without the original account of the voyage.
Detected automatically · reviewed by a personFrequently asked questions
Why do historical sources contradict each other?
For many reasons: copying or translation errors, chroniclers who wrote from hearsay or years later, political or religious interests, different ways of telling the same event (leaving port versus reaching open sea) and modern studies that repeat second-hand data.
How are these contradictions detected?
Each statement in the corpus is compared with semantically close ones; a language model judges whether they are incompatible and a person reviews the cases. Statements are extracted automatically, so it is worth checking them against the linked original source.
How this page was made: the introduction was written with AI assistance from the project's corpus and checked against its sources. The statements listed are paraphrases extracted automatically from each source (and translated when the source is in another language); they may contain errors, so check the linked original source. Last updated: 2026-10-19.