Age of Discovery

==Major new trade routes (1542–1565)==
[[File:16th century Portuguese Spanish trade routes.png|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] trade routes (blue) and the rival [[Manila galleon|Manila-Acapulco galleons]] trade routes (white) established in 1568]]

In 1543, three Portuguese traders accidentally became the first Westerners to reach and trade with Japan. According to [[Fernão Mendes Pinto]], who claimed to be in this journey, they arrived at [[Tanegashima]], where the locals were impressed by [[Firearms of Japan|firearms]] that would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale.<ref>[[#Pacey 1991|Pacey 1991]], p. 88</ref>

The Spanish conquest of the [[Philippines]] was ordered by [[Philip II of Spain]], and [[Andrés de Urdaneta]] was the designated commander. Urdaneta agreed to accompany the expedition but refused to command and [[Miguel López de Legazpi]] was appointed instead. The expedition set sail on November 1564.<ref>N. McAlister, Lyle. (1984) ''Spain and Portugal in the New World: 1492–1700.'' p. 316.</ref> After spending some time on the islands, Legazpi sent Urdaneta back to find a better return route. Urdaneta set sail from San Miguel on the island of [[Cebu]] on 1 June 1565, but was obliged to sail as far as [[38th parallel north|38 degrees North latitude]] to obtain favorable winds.
[[File:Namban-11.jpg|thumb|left|Portuguese [[carrack]] in [[Nagasaki]], [[Nanban trade|Nanban art]] attributed to [[Kanō Naizen]], 1570–1616 Japan]]

He reasoned that the [[trade wind]]s of the Pacific might move in a [[gyre]] as the Atlantic winds did. If in the Atlantic, ships made the ''[[Volta do mar]]'' to pick up winds that would bring them back from Madeira, then, he reasoned, by sailing far to the north before heading east, he would pick up trade winds to bring him back to North America. His hunch paid off, and he hit the coast near [[Cape Mendocino]], California, then followed the coast south. The ship reached the port of Acapulco, on 8 October 1565, having traveled {{convert|12000|mi|0|abbr=off}} in 130 days. Fourteen of his crew died; only Urdaneta and Felipe de Salcedo, nephew of López de Legazpi, had strength enough to cast the anchors.

Thus, a cross-Pacific Spanish route was established, between Mexico and the Philippines. For a long time these routes were used by the [[Manila galleon]]s, thereby creating a trade link joining China, the Americas, and Europe via the combined trans-Pacific and [[Transatlantic crossing|trans-Atlantic]] routes.