"The Philippines themselves furnished some gold, copra, and coconut-shell products, cotton cloth from Ilocos on Luzon, cotton stockings and petticoats, and gauze made in Cebu. They also produced burlap, rope, and hammocks made of hemp. Skilled Chinese and Filipino artisans in Manila wrought delicate filigree jewelry and gold chains.  "Craftsmen from India and Ceylon shipped Bengal taffetas, pearls, diamonds, and topazes, carved ivory chests, fine handkerchiefs, intricate woodcarvings, and bedspreads from Surate. From imperial Japan came amber, wheat flour, suits of armor, katanas (samurai swords) knives, saltpeter to make gunpowder, and cabinetwork.  "Bezoar stones from Asia, taken from the stomachs of ruminant animals, were sent on the Manila galleons. Europeans believed they could signal the presence of poison in wine.  "The Spice Islands supplied clove, cinnamon, and pepper. From Borneo came sago flour, camphor, ceramic wares, and precious gems. Cambodia, Malaya, Siam, and Cochin China provided musk, civet, and other essences, tin, ivory, rubies, and sapphires.

"But the most important trade came from the Chinese mainland. For that reason the Spaniards called the Manila galleon nao de la China, 'the ship of China.  "Skeins of raw yellow silk, the finest white silk cloth and the most coarse grogram, richly embroidered satin bedspreads, sumptuous brocades and damasks, linen and satin cloth, costly gold and silver ribbons, painted shawls, and silk stockings arrived from Canton and Amoy on Chinese junks. There were copper kettles, forged ironwork, jade statues, paneled screens, chests of perfumed sandalwood, lacquered writing desks, figurines of carved ivory, delicate paper-and-ivory fans, exquisite Ming...dynasty porcelain wares with rich, deep colors, imaginative designs, and quality glazes. European artisans would not unlock the secret of making porcelain until the 18th century.  "As this Oriental ware, called chinoiserie, began to reach the West in quantity, it increasingly influenced European styles. In turn the Chinese began to manufacture specifically for the West: They made altarware and tableware, crucifixes, Christian images, and rosaries. They sent children's toys and virtually every kind of bric-a-brac. They also shipped gold bullionto Manila to be directly exchanged for silver."  

Finally, there is the question of contraband, cargo hidden to escape the tax, which was referred to as "the royal fifth."  Practically all of the contraband would be high value in a small volume, such as gold and gemstones, and therefore would be most likely to survive both the wrecking process and, in the case of the Santa Margarita, four hundred years on a windward reef.  In a number of documented cases, the value of contraband exceeded the value of the rest of the cargo combined. As to how and where it would be hidden, Dr. Lyon says, "Stashes of unregistered bullion were made in every part of a ship in hollowed-out timbers, within bales of cloth, even inside the rinds of cheeses."  In an ironic twist to the usual need to pay taxes to the government, IOTA’s historians, Drs. Hebb and Earle, found correspondence between the Spanish king and his agent in Manila confirming that the King's taxes from the Philippines, in gold coin and bullion, were shipped on the ill fated Santa Margarita.

Many of the types of cargo listed above have now been recovered from the Santa Margarita  by IOTA divers, a process which is not yet complete at the time of this writing.  Although the only artifacts  IOTA expected to recover were those certain to survive--such as gemstones, gold, copper, bronze and porcelain–we were pleasantly surprised to find that organic materials which conventional wisdom said would never survive 400 years in the sea, have in fact survived, at least in part, and been recovered by IOTA divers and restored by IOTA’s Marine Conservator.  Organic finds to date include wooden timbers and boards from the ship itself, fragments of cloth, rope, twine, peppercorns, an ivory comb, carved ivory triptychs and leather.