Urdaneta Finds the Return Route

1565

The Augustinian navigator Andres de Urdaneta sailed north from the Philippines into the high latitudes, found the westerlies, and rode them back to Acapulco. The tornaviaje he mapped would power the Manila Galleon trade for two hundred and fifty years, linking Chinese silk directly to Mexican silver. The route, arcing north to catch the westerlies before turning south along the California coast, was followed virtually unchanged for over two centuries.