In 1693, the Spanish galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, en route from the Philippine Islands to Acapulco, was loaded with Asian luxury goods including silk, porcelain, spices, and most of all, beeswax. The massive ship was blown hundreds of miles off course and wrecked near the Nehalem River on the Oregon coast. For the next 200 years, Indigenous people and European fur traders continued to trade and use beeswax from the ship, while its true source remained unknown. Scott Williams of the Maritime Archaeological Society presents the results of 18 years of research on the origins of the goods on Oregon's lost Spanish galleon. 

Scott Williams is the former executive director and a founding member of the Maritime Archaeological Society and director of the Beeswax Wreck Research Project since it began in 2006. During his 40-year career as an archaeologist, Scott has worked throughout the Pacific Basin and the Pacific Northwest on a wide variety of research projects on land and underwater. 

Enjoy 15% off your hotel stay on History Pub nights! Show your ticket at check-in.

These events are open to everyone interested in Pacific Northwest history, and beyond! Often co-sponsored by local or state historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers, historians and documentaries expounding on topics from indigenous history to the birth of Portland, early explorers to hop growing, and on and on! It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp