Placing Intramuros in global history: Insights from the ceramic consumption in Spanish Manila

Summary

Manila was a critical link between Asia, Europe, and the New World during a pivotal period in world history; however, little attention has been paid to its colonial live. This paper aims to fill this void by re-examining consumption patterns of various types of ceramics excavated from sites in the Spanish walled city. The result shows that the Spanish colonists consumed better products than other subordinate groups and demonstrated their power by using customized Chinese goods rather than their home products, which was a traditional political strategy in Southeast Asia. Ironically, these Chinese products were initially developed due to the demand of these colonists’ Muslim enemy. Combining the artifacts mentioned above with the indigenous traditional cooking ware and the innovative colonial style tableware, the material culture of Intramuros reveals the hybridity process of Spanish Manila during its early colonial period. This paper enhances the postcolonial discussion in the archaeological study by providing a case that neither the colonists nor the indigenous people, but rather the trade diaspora that dominated trading activities and material culture. It places a local colonial episode to a global framework, where the longue durée of each tradition is considered while evaluating the contemporary cultural change.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Archaeology of Global History

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14313