Discovery of Timbers of Oregon’s Manila Galleon and New Light on the Early Beeswax Controversy

Abstract

Abstract:This Research Note reports on two items, one archaeological and one historical, on Oregon’s Manila galleon. The first item summarizes the find of timbers on the north Oregon coast, which initial testing indicates date from the time of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, the Manila galleon thought to have wrecked in the area in 1693-94. The second item traces the controversy that raged in the early 20th century over the masses of wax found in the Nehalem Spit area. There was heated disagreement between those who thought it was beeswax, and therefore from a shipwreck, and those who thought it was ozokerite, a mineral wax indicative of possible presence of oil. This brief drama played out in lurid newspaper ads and an oil drilling outfit operating on Nehalem Spit.