Edward Von der Porten: Ghost Galleon: The Discovery and Archaeology of the San Juanillo on the Shores of Baja California
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BOOK REVIEW
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, College Station, 2019, 227 pp, ISBN 9781623497675 Scott S. Williams1 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Written in a colloquial and engaging style, Ghost Galleon is a summary report on the twenty-year-long investigation of a Spanish Manila galleon wreck on a desolate stretch of coast in Baja California. Written for both the general public and a technical audience, it is more than a dry archaeological report: it is an adventure story, full of personal details including some of the author’s tragedies and triumphs during the project. Maritime archaeologists and those interested in the Spanish Colonial Period will find this book useful. The galleon San Juanillo is the oldest European wreck on the west coast of North America and is one of only three known Manila galleon wrecks on the American coast. The circumstances of its wrecking, which included gently beaching on a shallow and stable coastline far from any habitation, allowed Von der Porten’s team to recover a wide variety of artefacts. Their recovery from a well-dated shipwreck context will help refine chronologies and date other sites in the future. The book begins with the story of how Von der Porten came to learn about a possible Manila galleon wreck somewhere in Baja California. The caption of a picture of two porcelain plates, indicating they were from ‘‘an unpublished site off the California coast’’, caught Von der Porten’s attention and began what would turn into two decades of research by an international team of archaeologists, remote sensing experts, divers, beachcombers, and interested volunteers. In cooperation with staff of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (Instituto Nacional de Antropologı´a e Historia, INAH), Von der Porten led teams of volunteer researchers to a remote beach in Baja California every year from 1997 to 2017, stopped only by his unexpected death in early 2018. The eighteen chapters of the book alternate between descriptions of the yearly fieldwork and archaeological finds, and broader discussions to provide context to the recovered artifacts. Chapters cover the history of Spanish colonization of the Philippines and the & Scott S. Williams [email protected] http://maritimearchaeological.org 1
Maritime Archaeological Society, Astoria, USA
123
Journal of Maritime Archaeology
development of the Manila-Acapulco trade, the construction of the galleons, and details of the ceramic trade from Asia to the New World and Europe. The writing is an entertaining and interesting mix of scientific and technical material combined with adventure and personal stories, describing the trials and tribulations of organizing volunteer projects in remote areas. The story of a lobster that ‘‘missed the tide’’ and wound up as dinner for the crew is an example of the lighter stories Von der P
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