:''The article you are about to read is about a ship from the Spanish Armada. '' JohnPine TheBurningAndCaptureOfTheSanSalvador

''San Salvador'' was a Spanish

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...

of 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 ...

as part of the Guipúzcoan squadron of

Miguel de Oquendo Miguel de Oquendo y Segura, was a Spanish Admiral. Born in San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa) in 1534, died at sea in 1588 when returning from the Spanish Armada campaign. He was the father of Admiral Antonio de Oquendo. Principal events of his life *15 ...

. She was damaged and captured as a result of the first encounter of the Armada with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1588. ''San Salvador'' was lost at sea in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

later that same year.

Capture

During the first encounter with the English fleet on 31 July 1588, during a lull in battle, ''San Salvadors

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

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exploded, lighting a portion of the ship on fire. The Spanish fleet was able to extinguish the flames and rescue some of the injured. 49 crew died as a result of this explosion and 23 had died previously due to combat. On 1 August, ''San Salvador'' was ordered to be

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

, but instead was simply set adrift. The English dispatched an inspection party to ''San Salvador'' and found approximately fifty burnt bodies aboard. ''Golden Hind'', a ship in the English fleet, then towed ''San Salvador'' to the English port at Weymouth.

Significance

''San Salvador'' was one of the heaviest armed in the Spanish fleet. The Spanish records rate the ship at 958

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s, while the English assessment rated the ship at only 600 tons. These are the only numbers available for calibration of the reported vessel tonnage between the two fleets (the Spanish tended to give higher ratings). Between ''San Salvador'' and ''Rosario'' (another ship captured during the first encounter), the English retrieved a significant amount of

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

shot and powder. One estimate places the 229 barrels of powder captured from these two ships at one quarter the total used by the English during the entire campaign.

After the campaign

''San Salvador'' became known as the ''Great Spaniard'' to the English fleet after her capture. On 15 November 1588, notice was sent to Lord Charles Howard that ''San Salvador'' had been lost at sea at

Studland Studland is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The village is located about north of the town of Swanage, over a steep chalk ridge, and south of the South East Dorset conurbation at Sandbanks, from which it is ...

. Twenty-three men died with the ship; thirty-four were saved by a small

man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

. A wreck discovered in 1983 in Studland Bay was initially believed to be the ''San Salvador'' but is now thought to be a Spanish merchant ship, ''Santa Maria de Luce''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Salvador (Guipuzcoan Squadron) Galleons 16th-century maritime incidents Ships of the Spanish Navy Age of Sail naval ships Shipwrecks in the English Channel

Capture

Significance

After the campaign

See also

References