''Independencia'' was a 26-gun

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

of the

First Chilean Navy Squadron The First Chilean Navy Squadron was the heterogeneous naval force that terminated Spanish colonial rule in the Pacific and protagonized the most important naval actions of in the Latin American wars of independence. The Chilean revolutionary gover ...

Construction

The 851-ton ship was built in 1818 at the Forman Cheeseman Shipyard of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

under the name ''Curacio'' for the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an revolutionary government. The ship was launched in July 1818 and towed from

Corlear's Hook The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

to the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

to continue work there. It was officially registered on the Register of Ships on 30 July 1818, with build number 203, under the ownership of American captain

Paul Delano Captain Paul Delano (June 15, 1775 – February 4, 1842) was an American born sea captain and a member of the prominent American Delano family. Early life Delano was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on June 15, 1775, to Nathan Pope Delano and S ...

, in order to prevent confiscation under U.S. neutrality laws. The ship, still unarmed, set sail for

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

on 9 September, together with ''Horatio'' (under Captain Joseph Skinner), built in the

Adam and Noah Brown Adam and Noah Brown were American shipbuilders, based in New York City, founded a company with its name based in New York, which was active between 1804 and 1833. They built several notable vessels, including Robert Fulton's , the first steam-powe ...

shipyard under the same circumstances, and with ''Sachem'' following with their respective war

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...

Chilean career

In Buenos Aires ''Curacio'' set sail for

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, where she arrived on 23 June 1819 to be renamed ''Independencia'' and commissioned to the

under the command of Captain Carlos F. Foster (also Robert Forster) and up to 1821 Wilkinson. She was

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Thomas Cochrane's expedition to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1821. On the way she, together with ''Araucano'', captured the Spanish brigantine corsario ''San Francisco Javier''. She ran aground near

El Realejo El Realejo is a municipality in the Chinandega department of Nicaragua. History The town of El Realejo was constructed in 1532, during the first years of Spanish colonization. During this period it served as Nicaragua's principal port, and rema ...

without heavy losses. In summer 1822/23 she was refitted in Valparaíso and participated in the blockade of Chiloé. In 1823 she transported

Jorge Beauchef Jorge Beauchef (1787 in Velay, France - June 10, 1840 in Santiago, Chile) was a French military who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known in Latin America for his participation in the Chilean War of Independence, where he won man ...

and his regiment from

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. Geo ...

in order to support the Putsch of

Ramón Freire Ramón Freire Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Freire was one of the pr ...

against

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...

. In 1826 she participated to the blockade and conquest of Chiloé under the command of Paul Delano.

Argentine career

On 1 April 1826 she was sold for $40,000 to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(for the war against Brazil) and renamed ''Montevideo'', but her bad condition impeded the rounding of

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

, and she sank in

. She was refloated and sold to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Peruvian career

She was sunk in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Independencia (1818) First Chilean Navy Squadron Sailing corvettes of the Chilean Navy 1818 ships Maritime incidents in Chile