Acapulco Ships In Asia

While shipbuilding continued in Tehuantepec, Cortes began to expand a little harbor to the east, at the delta formed at the mouth of the Zacatula, the last stretch of the mighty River Balsas the region dominated by Villafuerte. And there, forty carpenters, and several ironsmiths, among other artesans, put together two Caravelles and two Bergantines, in 1523, after sending the necessary woodwork, saris and other gear overland from Veracruz.

In his fourth report to Charles V, dated October 15, 1524, Cortes wrote from Tenochtitlan: “I have established a settlement at a place called Zacatula and there have a working shipyard with four vessels, ready to set sail for the Southern Sea, to there claim all that lies within my possibilities, in the service of the Lord God.” But fire laid waste to his ships before they could be launched. Still undaunted, Cortes built others.
Three of them, assembled in Zihuatanejo, raised sail in December of 1527, the Florida, the Santiago and the Espfritu Santo. They were the first Mexican made vessels to sail toward Asia, under the mandate of the King of Spain, in search -their main goal- of the ship Trinidad, in Magellan’s fleet, and ail its crew. The ships were encharged to Alvaro de Saavedra Ceron.

He reached the Philippines and the Moluccas, touched by Magellan five years back, but in spite of his efforts he never returned to New Spain. His life was ex-pended on his voyage. Soon the watchword of the new explorations became “To the East, via the West;” that is, the Orient, from the European focal point, could be reached by sailing west, as related to America.