''Santísima Trinidad'' was a

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

destined for merchant shipping between the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Launched in 1751, she was one of the largest

Manila galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...

s built. Officially named ''Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin'', and familiarly known as ''The Mighty'' (), she is not to be confused with the

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 involved the two column ...

the ''Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad'', the largest warship in the world when launched in 1759.

Construction

Armed with 60 guns, her keel was laid in Bagatao Island shipyard (Real Astillero)

Sorsogon Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in the island of Luzon and ...

in 1751 with a carrying capacity of 2,000 tons. With a length of 167 feet and a beam of 50 feet, she was "one of the largest galleons ever built in the Philippines," able to carry 5,068 crates of cargo. Orders came from the

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

Don

Francisco José de Ovando, 1st Marquis of Brindisi Francisco José de Ovando y Solís Rol de La Cerda, 1st Marquis of Brindisi () (c. 1693 – December 9, 1755) was a Spanish soldier who served as Governor-General of the Philippines and governor of Chile. Early life Francisco José de Ovando wa ...

. Her large volume and some construction errors made modifications necessary in 1757 to reduce her displacement.

Voyage of 1755

In 1755, the ''Santísima Trinidad'', steered by French pilot Antoine Lemaire de Boucourt, made a bad voyage from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

which lasted 221 days and is said to be the third longest in the history of the line; it started on 23d of July, 1755, with 435 persons on board, of whom 74 died on the way, by ''tabardillo'', a kind of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

, and/or by lack of water (rainfall). Among the victims were former

Governor General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

Marquis Ovando and his young son, who was only eight days old. The voyage ended in

, after a long stop in

San José del Cabo San José del Cabo (, ''Saint Joseph of the Cape'') is a coastal city located on the Gulf of California coast, near the southern tip of Baja California Sur (state), México. San José del Cabo is situated on the edge of a shallow bay, some northea ...

, on 27 February 1756.José María Silos Rodríguez: ''El viaje de 1755 del galeón Santisima Trinidad''. In: ''Revista de Historia Naval'' 88 (2005), S.57-82- The author reads the pilot's name differently, obviously wrong; see Schurz, ''Manila Galleon'' (1959), p.208.

Capture

On 3 September 1762 she departed from

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

towards

, but due to a severe storm near the Marianas, she lost a mast. The captain decided to return to the Philippines for repair, unaware that Manila had fallen into British hands after the Battle of Manila. The ship was

intercepted In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

by two British warships, the 60-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

under Hyde Parker and the 28-gun

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

under Richard King. ''Panther'' opened fire, but did little damage to her thick wooden hull and caused few casualties. Nevertheless, the disheartened crew of ''Santísima Trinidad'' decided to surrender. On board was cargo valued at $1.5 million, besides the value of the ship at $3 million. Previously, ''Filipina'' had been captured with her cargo of American silver from Acapulco. The ship was taken to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, where her sale earned the two captains 30,000 pounds, a fortune at that time. It is not known what happened to the ship after the sale but she was probably scrapped.

References

Sources

* * - For the complete article with passenger lists see the print version in: ''Revista de Historia Naval'' 88 (2005), S.57-82; Online available: https://armada.defensa.gob.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/mardigitalrevistas/prefLang-es/03revistaHistoriaNaval--01catalogoRevista * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santisima Trinidad (1751) Galleons of the Spanish Navy Age of Sail merchant ships of Spain 1751 ships Ships built in the Philippines Captured ships

Construction

Voyage of 1755

Capture

See also

References

Sources