The identity of the sunken ship Nan'ao 1

Route direction

As for the whereabouts of the "Nanao No. 1", Professor Qin Dashu from the School of Archeology and Museology of Peking University believes that it may be related to the "Manila Galleon" trade during that historical period. In the late Ming Dynasty, due to the great geographical discoveries, Portugal, Spain, etc. became maritime powers and began to participate in and control global trade.

The "Manila Galleon" was a cargo ship controlled by the Spanish that sailed between Manila in the Philippines and Mexico. It had a large carrying capacity. Although the starting point and end point of the "Manila Galleon" trade are not in China, its goods mainly come from China, especially Yuegang in Zhangzhou. The "Nan'ao I" most likely sailed from Zhangzhou to Manila in the Philippines, where it was transited and then transported to the Americas by the "Manila Galleon".

Smuggling theory

During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the government strictly prohibited the private sector from selling copper materials overseas. Therefore, some experts speculated that the discovery of copper materials more or less corroborated the "South Australia incident". No." is a conjecture that it was a smuggling ship.

Li Dan’s armed merchant ship

Zhang Guolin, head of the Cultural and Historical Committee of the CPPCC Hui’an County in Quanzhou City, speculated that this may belong to Asia at that time based on the five points of age, location, route, cargo and identity. The merchant ship of Li Dan, the leader of the largest maritime trading group.

Commercial ships sailing to Southeast Asia

Archaeological experts said that the "Nanao I" is the only commercial ship from the late Ming Dynasty discovered in China so far. It is initially speculated that the "Nanao I" "It was sailing from near Zhangzhou, Fujian Province to Southeast Asia. According to the preliminary judgment of the cultural relics found in the water, Nan'ao Island is located on the route from Zhangzhou, Fujian to Southeast Asia. The porcelain on board is mainly from Pinghe kiln in Zhangzhou, Fujian. A large number of similar styles of porcelain have been found in Southeast Asia or northern Kenya in Africa. It can be speculated that the "Nanao No. 1" probably set off from near Zhangzhou and sailed to Southeast Asia or the Han cultural circle. Judging from the exploration by archaeologists, the "Nanao No. 1" sank relatively smoothly to the bottom of the sea when it sank, and the hull was relatively well preserved. The value of the hull is greater than the value of all the cultural relics on the ship. After the cultural relics are cleaned and excavated, the hull of the ancient ship will eventually be salvaged.