La Lavia was a Venetian merchantman. She was a class of ship known as a
carrack
A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade fr ...
often used as merchant ships due to their capacious holds. She was requisitioned at Lisbon for service in the
Spanish armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
of 1588. She was wrecked on 22 September on the coast of
Cairbre, now
county Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
in northwest Ireland, along with two other ships,
La Juliana and
Santa Maria de Vison.
Armada service
She was the Almiranta, or
Vice Flagship of the Levantine Squadron . She also had on board the
Judge Advocate General of the armada, Martin de Aranda. He was ultimately responsible for dispensing justice and therefore was in charge of discipline for the fleet. His staff consisted of a chief
assistant, a licentiate named Magaña, four notaries, six military police, a jailer and six guards.
It was to this ship that the Spanish officer
Francisco de Cuellar
Francisco de Cuéllar (Valladolid, Spain, 1562) was a Spanish sea captain who sailed with the Spanish Armada in 1588 and was wrecked on the coast of Ireland. He gave a remarkable account of his experiences in the fleet and on the run in Ireland. ...
was transferred for judgement after being sentenced to death by courts martial for breach of discipline after the battle of Gravelines in the English channel. The Judge Advocate declined to carry out the sentence on de Cuellar, saving his life. De Cuellar later wrote an account of his adventures.
Wreck
The
wreck-site of the Lavia was discovered in 1985 by an English salvage crew off the north Sligo coast at Streedagh strand. The wreck is protected under the National Monuments (Amendment) Acts 1987 and 1994. Monitoring and excavation are ongoing at the site.
References
{{Reflist
Carracks