''Mexicano'' (or ''Mejicano'') was a 112-gun three-decker

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

built at Havanna for the Spanish Navy in 1786 to plans by

Romero Landa The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for a Roman or an Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Roman. #A person on a religious journey or pilgrimage from Rome (possibly ...

. One of the eight very large ships of the line of the '' Santa Ana'' class, also known as ''los Meregildos''. ''Mexicano'' served in the Spanish Navy for three decades throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, finally being sold at

Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...

in 1815. Although she was a formidable part of the Spanish battlefleet throughout these conflicts, the only major action ''Mexicano'' participated in was the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797.

Construction

The ''Santa Ana'' class was built for the Spanish fleet in the 1780s and 1790s as heavy ships of the line, the equivalent of Royal Navy first rate ships. The other ships of the class were the ''Santa Ana'', ''Conde de Regla'', ''Salvador del Mundo'', ''Real Carlos'', ''San Hermenegildo'', ''Reina María Luisa'' and '' Príncipe de Asturias''. Three of the class were captured or destroyed during the French Revolutionary Wars. ''Mexicano'' was constructed at Havanna, built over eleven months in 1785 at a cost of 328,000

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

, most of which was supplied by the Cabildo of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

, known as Mexico and from where the ship took its name.

History

The maiden voyage of ''Mexicano'' was made from Havanna to

with a light armament of 80 guns under Captain Miguel Felix Goycoechea, who reported that the ship sailed smoothly and with endurance. In 1797, ''Mexicano'' was with the Spanish fleet which fought the British at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. The Spanish fleet was defeated and four ships were lost, although ''Mexicano'' survived the battle with losses of 25 killed, including Captain

Francisco de Herrara Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

and 46 seriously wounded. Between 1799 and 1801, ''Mexicano'' was with the combined French and Spanish fleet stationed at Brest after participating in the '' Croisière de Bruix'' campaign. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars ''Mexicano'' was laid up at Ferrol, her hull in a bad condition, and at the end of the war the ship was sold out of service and broken up.

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the Spanish Wikipedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mexicano 1786 ships Ships of the line of the Spanish Navy Ships built in Cuba