[14] Much of the wealth from this trade was used by the Spanish Habsburgs to finance armies to protect its European territories in the 16th and 17th centuries against the Ottoman Empire and most of the major European powers. The organized system of convoys dates from 1564, but Spain sought to protect shipping prior to that by organizing protection around the largest Caribbean island, Cuba, and the maritime region of southern Spain and the Canary Islands because of attacks by pirates and foreign navies. Privacy Statement This Spanish Galleon is for the most discriminating collector of fine art and workmanship. Featured Image Source: Painting by Roland Davies (1stDibs), Book Reference: Spanish Galleon 1530-1690 (By Angus Konstam), Online Sources: The Mariners Museum / Pirate Glossary / Encyclopedia.com. Also, the 1588 campaign was a shock defeat for the Spanish Armada, and the result may have ushered in changes in the Spanish navy. The adoption of such tactics translated to ships being used as floating artillery platforms, thereby resulting in the design of heavier vessels with more guns better known as the ship of the line. However, the galleon also shared some design features with the nao, given its sturdier construction and stronger sailing rig. 2. Well, as it turns out, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Colombian Navy, Maritime Archaeology Consultants and Switzerland AG did find the Holy Grail of shipwrecks in 2015, and only recently received permission to tell the world about the find. One reason is that the ownership of the treasure is already being disputed by Spain, which owned the ship; Colombia, in whose waters it sits; and marine archaeologists, who found the ship. Such arrangements were complemented by strict regulations that dictated the specified construction and adjustment of almost every section of the ship. The Spanish culture ministry has begun an inventory of shipwrecks in the Americas, identifying 681 vessels that sank between 1492 and 1898. Similarly, the smaller 500- toneladas varieties carried 24 guns, while the even tinier 300- toneladas galleons carried around 20 guns. [40], The wreck of the Spanish merchant ship Encarnacin, part of the Tierra Firme fleet, was discovered in 2011 with much of its cargo still aboard and part of its hull intact. In that regard, during the Battle of Preveza, circa 1538 AD, a Venetian ship, described as a galleon, was said to have countered multiple Turkish galleys thereby suggesting how the vessel was well-armed and yet maneuverable. The Spanish galleons sailed on North for the first time in 1542. Quiz # 57,321. The name derived from "galley," which had come to be synonymous with "war vessel" and whose characteristic beaked prow the new ship retained. Other facts include that they were mostly designed and developed by Spanish during the 15th to the 17th century and they had an average capacity of 500 tons. [20] As economic conditions gradually recovered from the last decades of the 17th century, fleet operations slowly expanded again, once again becoming prominent during the reign of the Bourbons in the 18th century.[21]. Two other British attempts were foiled by the Rosario in 1704 and the Begonia in 1710. In essence, sea crafts were built for specific purposes and their individual designs and schemas reflected such a function-based direction. ; 7 How heavy was a Spanish galleon? 6. [9][7] To better defend this trade, Pedro Menndez de Avils and lvaro de Bazn designed the definitive model of the galleon in the 1550s. Clues to forgotten migrations of Filipinos, Sephardic Jews emerge. [12] The Crown of Spain taxed the wares and precious metals of private merchants at a rate of 20%, a tax known as the quinto real or royal fifth. Read More How do magicians do the sawing a person in half trick?Continue. Almost the entire fleet named the Silver Plate Fleet . Now judging by this nomenclature, it becomes somewhat evident that the Spanish viewed their galleon ships as naval extensions of actual fortresses on lands. The original galleon began as a dependable war vessel that usually had three or more masts. Described as steaming like hell and stinking like the devil by one Spanish passenger in 1573 AD, the sullied water and the residues even had the tendency to attract rats one of the major health risks inside ships during the period. The Capitana (El Rubi) was the flagship of the 1733 fleet; it ran aground during a hurricane near Upper Matecumbe Key, then sank. [25], Every year, two fleets left Spain loaded with European goods in demand in Spanish America; they were guarded by military vessels. For example, while the earlier galleons had capacities for 120 toneladas (Spanish tons), the post-1560 galleons tended to cross thresholds of 330 toneladas. Reflecting the name of the town they set sail from, these Manila Galleons possibly made two round trips in a year all the way from Manila (in the Philippines) to Acapulco (in Mexico). MGTR Personnel. On a small sloop the guns may range in sizes between 4 and 6 pounders. The Manuel Polanco is the seventieth wreck to . [22] Another involved the increased use of registered ships, or navos de registro, traveling solo outside the fleet system to transport goods. But after the momentous defeat of the Armada, there was an overhaul of the management of the galleon guns. The business model is very simple. What came after the galleon? For example, in the Spanish navy, the 700-850 toneladas galleons carried around 30-40 guns (divided between canones, culebrinas, and other smaller guns), while the largest 1,000-toneladas ones carried 50 guns. Where can you find out about upcoming meteor showers? Of the 2 million pesos reaching the Dutch Republic in that year, 75% went to the Baltic for naval stores and 25% went to Asia. The Manila galleon, in particular, used to transport huge loads of silks, spices and other exotic goods from various parts of the world, especially China and Mexico. Hand-colored woodcut. An itchy, painful rash from poison oak is no fun at all and just because you never had a problem before doesnt mean you wont have a reaction. RealmofHistory(C)2019. So by the 1590s, till the mid-1600s, the galleons tended to be even more trimmed, with their capacities averaging around 500 toneladas. Additional gold was recovered in June 2015. Find out more here! The convoys were general purpose cargo fleets used for transporting a wide variety of items, including agricultural goods, lumber, various metal resources such as silver and gold, gems, pearls, spices, sugar, tobacco, silk, and other exotic goods from the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire to the Spanish mainland. French pirates established themselves in Saint-Domingue in 1625, were expelled, only to return later, and the Dutch occupied Curaao in 1634. It was originally a 1200-ton Swedish warship that was built on the orders of Gustavus Adolphus, in 1628. The primary shipyards in the 16th-century Spanish Empire pertained to the Basque coast of northern Spain and southern Andalusian coast, while (oddly enough) the eastern Mediterranean coastline was largely left out of the galleon-building industry. The most consistent and reliable reports speak of a lost Spanish galleon loaded with black pearls in the Mojave or Colorado Desert. Harking back to our romanticized notions of the veritable Spanish Armada and the early transatlantic trade routes of the 16th century, the Galleon serves as the quintessential template of the Spanish naval might. The Spanish culture ministry has begun an inventory of shipwrecks in the Americas, identifying 681 vesselsthat sank between 1492 and 1898. Once the two fleets reached the Caribbean, the fleets separated. of missing model, 28, is found . It eventually sank along with 400 crew and more than 12,000 cargo in 1694.. Fleets of fifty or more ships sailed from Spain, one bound for the Mexican port of Veracruz and the other for Panama and Cartagena. In essence, the galleons, especially the larger specimens, were perceived as floating fortresses (albeit with finer design considerations when compared to carracks) that could accommodate their fair share of defenders in the form of well-trained musketeers who could perform boarding actions. Spanish ships had carried goods from the New World since Christopher Columbus's first expedition of 1492. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? How do you pick a really good watermelon? This was complemented by meat (or cheese on occasion), onions, garlic, olives, and vinegar. And by 1588 AD, when the Spanish Armada arguably was at its peak, the crown boasted three humongous 1,000-ton galleons accompanied by eight 800-ton galleons and eight 600-ton galleons. Unfortunately, in spite of the many modifications (both structural and organizational) made on the Spanish galleon, naval warfare in the decades of mid 17th century changed significantly in terms of formations and maneuvers. Furthermore, in times of war, the number of soldiers could actually be increased thus transforming the galleon into a well-armed transport ship instead of a royal-sanctioned commercial vessel. [27], The Tierra Firme fleet, or galeones, sailed to Cartagena to load South American products, especially silver from Potos. Actually it's pretty balanced. To that end, in the following years, one of the widespread tactics adopted by many contemporary European navies related to the line of the battle basically entailing the formation of a line of ships end to end, which allowed them to collectively fire their cannon volleys from the broadsides without any danger of friendly-fire. The Spanish culture ministry has begun an inventory of shipwrecks in the Americas, identifying 681 vessels that sank between 1492 and 1898. The Capitana was the first of the 1733 ships to be found again in 1938. During the same period (by 1565), the Spanish navy also employed what has been termed the Manila Galleon (Galen de Manila). They were loaded up with coinage, bullion, high-value European manufactured goods, wine, olive oil, glassware, weapons, tools, clothing, books, papers, and a number of passengers.The fleets then crossed the Atlantic with this eagerly anticipated bounty destined for merchants and . The word galleon comes from the Old French word "Galion" meaning "Little Ship.". British ships often harassed Spanish galleons, which ferried long-forgotten peoples to Latin America, including enslaved Filipinos and former Jews. 10. Greg Stemm, co-founder of OME said in a 2007 interview with Fortunemagazine,Theres billions of dollars scattered on the ocean floor thats a fact and we have the technology to find it. But, as he added, just because you have the know-how doesnt mean its easy to do. In the year 1733 Spain decided to send a large fleet of Spanish Galleons to collect treasures and other cargo goods from Havana. In the late 17th century, a so-called Manila galleon part of the robust trade between Spanish America and the Philippines from the mid 1500s until the early 1800s was en route to Acapulco . Share on Facebook. Now interestingly enough, the ship masts were both square rigged and lateen-rigged for effective maneuverability on the water. The first ship to land on San Diego's shores is being resurrected at Spanish Landing Park. Ah therein lies the rub. Spanish merchants and Spaniards acting as fronts (cargadores) for foreign merchants sent their goods on these fleets to the New World. Consequently, the galleons were breeding grounds for various diseases, including yellow fever (and its high mortality rate) exported from the Caribbean. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); by Synchronista LLC - FindersFree: Find answers to life's little questions. As for the guns on board, many of the older wrought iron specimens were already replaced by bronze ordnance by 1588 AD. How many boats did the Spanish have in the Spanish armada? WHOI provided an autonomous underwater vehicle called REMUS 6000, which surveyed the Bar Peninsula during a first expedition in June of that year. In 1665 the debts of the Spanish crown were 30million pesos short-term and 300million long-term. The New Spain fleet left Havana first and headed to the east coast of Florida where it would catch the trade winds back to Spain. These ships were also progressively used as escort vessels (in place of the ponderous naos) for the naval convoys that traveled between Spain and the Americas. Suffice it to say, the sleeker galleon was ironically anachronistic, with the focus of shipbuilders once again shifting to the bigger warships with broadside artillery platforms. A shipwreck hunter has launched a new expedition to search for a Spanish galleon and engraved stone lost in Queensland that may rewrite Australia's history. 22 Spanish and Portugese Galleons and 108 armed merchard vessels I'm not a marine archaeologist, butI know what a cannon looks like. [34] None of these attacks took place in open seas. Thus in the initial phases of galleon development during the 16th century, the onboard artillery only took a secondary role, while boarding actions were still given preference by the Spanish commanders. What was the average size of the crew of a Spanish galleon? How is the sawing a person in half magic trick done? Its 62 highly decorated cannons werent enough to fend off the royal navy, and during a firefight the San Jos's powder magazine was hit. In this period he was the owner and captain of the frigate El Ave Mara y Las nimas, a ship which he sailed from the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Havana. On their way back to Spain a hurricane caused more than 20 ships to be wrecked on the Florida Keys losing all its cargo of timber, ballast stones and silver pesos. The Spanish Armada used Galleons and Merchant ships. As a result of the discovery of precious metals in Spanish America, Spain's money supply increased tenfold. The Spanish trade of goods was sometimes threatened by its colonial rivals, who tried to seize islands as bases along the Spanish Main and in the Spanish West Indies. Share by E-Mail. Now while from the mathematical perspective, many of the galleons were possibly undermanned in regards to their weight, the available space for crew members onboard had always been cramped. The Encarnacin sank in 1681 during a storm near the mouth of the Chagres River on the Caribbean side of Panama. Author Charlie007. Read More Where can you find out about upcoming meteor showers?Continue. The reduction in their war capability possibly also reflects how the Spaniards faced little to no opposition on their maritime trade routes, especially during the period between the 1590s till 1620s. Similarly, the smaller forecastle (upper deck forward of the foremast) was simply called the castillo (castle). Interestingly enough, given the repute of the Golden Hind in English circles, the ship was said to have been maintained for 70 years for public exhibition at Deptford, London. Furthermore, the very same period might have corresponded to a crisis in the shipbuilding sector, especially in northern Spain. Historian Angus Konstam noted how in the 16th century, the Spanish followed the naval doctrine of ship artillery being used as supporting weapons. This is a list of a few of the carracks and galleons that served under the Spanish Crowns in the period 1410-1639; note that Castile and Aragon were separate nations, brought together in 1474 only through a unified Trastamaran and subsequently Habsburg monarchy, but each retaining its own governments and naval forces until the 18th century. And in case we have not attributed or misattributed any image, artwork or photograph, we apologize in advance. The Spanish West and East Indies fleets are considered among the most successful naval operations in history[3][4] and, from a commercial point of view, they made possible key components of today's global economic system.[5]. However, the transatlantic routes also brought forth their fair share of logistical challenges with the primary one pertaining to how early 16th-century Spanish merchant ships had to operate on their own in those dangerous voyages. 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