Studies made by historians, scholars, and researchers of the Spanish Pacific and the Galleon system, particularly from the 1400s to the 1800s, conclude that “the center of the world is not the Atlantic but Asia, particularly China.”
This was revealed at the international conference, The Spanish Philippines: First International Conference of the Society for Early Transpacific Studies, which the Ƶ Department of European Languages (DEL) recently hosted.
UPD Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II, in his message delivered by UPD University Registrar Rowena Quinto-Bailon, said “the Galleon system was a conduit for the movement of people, ideas, technologies, artistic traditions, religious practices, and cultural identities. It was one of the earliest and most enduring examples of global interconnectedness during that time, when oceans were largely imagined as links, rather than barriers.”
The conference was organized in partnership with the Society of Early Transpacific Studies (SETS), an academic organization that, according to its Facebook page, is “dedicated to researching the social and historical spaces that emerged from the Manila Galleon trade and early transpacific connections.”
Ricardo Padrón, PhD, SETS president and professor at the University of Virginia, said “in this set-up, the Philippines became the front door in the world of commerce; and navigation was in Southeast Asia.”
In his keynote lecture Lost in Translation: Filipinas in the Spanish Pacific, Ambeth R. Ocampo, PhD said, “Filipinos today are separated from their past because of time, language, and translation.”
He expressed that it was unclear how the number of Philippine islands was first determined.
“I went to NAMRIA (National Mapping and Resource Information Authority) during the 1990s and they cannot ascertain how the number 7,107 was reached. It was taught in school but how it was determined is unsure. Even earlier maps did not indicate that number of islands,” Ocampo said.
Ocampo is a known historian, author, and professor at the Department of History of the Ateneo de Manila University.
He continued, “Did you know that none of the vegetables in the song [Bahay Kubo] are endemic to the Philippines? Some were introduced even before the Spanish colonization, while some were brought by the Spanish colonizers.”
Ocampo also suggested that instead of saying that Magellan did not discover the country, or that he re-discovered the country, people should just say, “Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521.”
UPD College of Arts and Letters Dean Jimmuel C. Naval said the inaugural launch of The Spanish Philippines: First International Conference of the Society for Early Transpacific Studies was a meaningful recognition of DEL’s and the University’s long-standing commitment to the study of the Spanish language, culture, and discipline.
According to Marlon James Sales, PhD, DEL faculty and conference co-convenor, this was the biggest conference on the SpanishPacific where there were more than 100 participants who signed and presented their papers.
“For participants who travelled across America, Europe, and Asia, your presence not only enriches our conversation but also affirms the growing importance of scholarship represented in this conference,” Naval said.
Other conference speakers were Ambassador Daniel Hernández Joseph of Mexico, Ambassador Miguel Utray of Spain, Undersecretary Maria Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Chairperson Regalado T. Jose Jr. of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Director Victorino Manalo of the National Archives of the Philippines, and Director Francisco Javier López Tapia of Instituto Cervantes de Manila.
The Spanish Philippines: First International Conference of the Society for Early Transpacific Studies was held from June 9 to 11 at the Child Development Center Auditorium of the UPD College of Home Economics.
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