AH-WR-1190

San Juanillo

Manila Galleon · Spain · Lost Late 1578 or early 1579 · Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

Likely the earliest known shipwreck on the coast of the Californias, this Manila galleon drove onto a Baja California beach around 1578-79 loaded with Chinese porcelain.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

San Juanillo was a Manila galleon under Captain Juan de Ribera, sailing the Manila-Acapulco trade route, when she was likely disabled by scurvy and adverse weather during her return voyage in late 1578 or early 1579. She drove onto a beach on the Pacific coast of Baja California and filled with water; a storm some years later broke the wreck apart and scattered cargo, including Chinese porcelain, along the shore. American beachcombers' porcelain finds eventually led archaeologists Edward and Saryl Von der Porten, working with INAH, to identify and study the site starting in the late 1990s.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Spanish Crown trans-Pacific trade (Manila-Acapulco galleon route)

Loss

Date: Late 1578 or early 1579
Cause: Navigational error
Location: A beach on the Pacific coast of Baja California
Water: Pacific Ocean, Baja California coast
Voyage: Manila, Philippines → Acapulco, New Spain
Cargo: Chinese porcelain and other trade wares from the Manila trade
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Juan de Ribera

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: A storm broke up the beached wreck a few years after loss, scattering ship's timbers, wax, and porcelain fragments for miles along the beach.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Identified through archaeological survey beginning in the late 1990s, following discovery of porcelain sherds by American beachcombers.
Protection: Site location and access are controlled as a registered Mexican archaeological site under INAH.

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position withheld to protect the site
Nearest: Pacific coast of Baja California (precise site restricted)
Region: Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

Precise location is withheld by Mexican authorities to protect the archaeological site from looting.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)

Exact date, vessel dimensions, and casualty details from the loss itself are not established in the historical record reviewed.

Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH)
Archaeological investigation and site protection status.
Edward Von der Porten, "Ghost Galleon: The Discovery and Archaeology of the San Juanillo on the Shores of Baja California" (Texas A&M University Press)
Identification of the wreck, voyage history, and archaeological findings.