The Spanish Navy in 1700

Spain had a long naval tradition, but like the army the navy had been weakened by neglect and mismanagement. Its grasp on the sea was that weak that other European powers had begun to like the thought of war with Spain because of the merchantmen they would be able to raid.

There is a statement about the situation of the Spanish navy at the beginning of the war of the Spanish Succession. It is that the Spanish had forgotten how to build warships and only knew how to build merchantmen for the Indies and the Americas¹. It furthermore stated that the Spanish fleet consisted of six galleys anchored at Cathagena, rotten by time and inactivity, 6 galleys rented at Genova and 1 more, for a grand total of 13 galleys².

The Spanish Navy in the War of the Spanish Succession

For the Spanish navy at Vigo there are two different accounts: The first one is: Jesus Maria Joseph of 70 guns commanded by General Don Manuel de Velasco; La Buffona 54 guns, commanded by admiral Don Joseph Chacon; La Capitana de Assogos 45 guns commanded by Don Fernando Chacon³. In another account these consisted of: Notre Dame de la Marice 36 guns; La Trinité 34 guns and La Capitana 50 guns⁴. I hold the first one to be true. There were also 15 gallions, 3 large merchant vessels and 2 other merchant ships.

Notes