Before the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Pacific Coast Ports in the Americas, and Beyond

Pacific Ports in the Americas were the key sites where people, goods, and ideas circulated along the Pacific Rim, literally creating the stuff of economic and political capital. Bridging together seascapes and landscapes, these were multicultural hubs where maritime routes, terrestrial roads, and riverine systems intersected. Ports served both indigenous and European powers, often in succession and sometimes in conjunction. Starting from the 16th century and culminating with the establishment of the Manila Galleons, these and newly founded ports were the scene of fierce competition between the Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch and others in their race to establish a foothold in the first global economy. Countless African slaves passed through these ports, and in the process changed the cultural fabric of the Pacific Coast. The session brings together case studies which employ terrestrial and underwater archaeology, to historical, cartographic, and art historical research.