Spanish Warships in the Age of Sail, 1700–1860

Design, Construction, Careers and Fates

Rif Winfield, John Tredrea, Enrique García-Torralba Pérez, Manuel Blasco Felip

• Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781526790798
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: Technology & Engineering

"A beautiful work . . . certain to become the standard work in English on the Spanish sailing navy." —Seaways' Ships in Scale
This book is the latest contribution to a unique series in a common format documenting in great detail the warships of the major naval powers during the age of sail. To date, four volumes have covered the British Navy, two have been devoted to the French Navy and one each to the Dutch and Russian Navies. This volume on the Spanish Navy, for much of its history the third largest in the world, fills the final gap in the ranks of the major maritime powers.
This book is the first comprehensive listing of these ships in English and covers the development of all the naval vessels owned or deployed by Spain during the period of the Bourbon monarchy from 1700 to 1860 (including the period of French control during the Napoleonic Wars), but it also sets the scene for that period by summarizing the origins of Spanish naval development under the preceding Habsburg regime.
As with previous volumes in the series, the main chapters list all the naval vessels from 1700 onwards (including those 16th-century ships which survived into the new regime in 1700) by type, with the first chapters listing the ships of the line (navíos in Spanish terminology) and frigates in descending order of firepower, and subsequent chapters covering minor and ancillary vessels. Where available, a brief service history of each individual ship is given.
Its publication is of the utmost importance to every naval historian and general reader interested in the navies of the sailing era.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Structure and Organisation of the Book
• Some Guidance Notes for the Reader
• Chronology of the Trastamara and Habsburg Eras
• Chronology of the Bourbon Era
• Historical Overview
• Civilian and Naval Leaders of the Bourbon Spanish Navy
• The ‘Regional’ Navies of Felipe II and his Successors
• Subsidiary Services and Squadrons
• Trans-Pacific Trade — the Manila Galleons
• Fleet Lists (for Battles and Actions in which Spanish Naval vessels took part)
• Naval Construction Programmes
• Departmental Organisation under the Bourbons
• Spanish Naval Ordnance Development from 1600 to 1860
• Spanish Naval Architecture
• Copper Sheathing
• Material Resource Management under the Bourbons
• Naval Personnel — Acquisition, Training, Maintenance and Retention under the Bourbons
• Sources and Archives
• Bibliography
• Glossary and Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: The Three-decker Ships of the Line
• Chapter 2: Large Two-decker Ships of 80 guns and above
• Chapter 3: Two-decker Ships of ‘70’ (68 to 74) guns
• Chapter 4: Two-decker Ships of ‘60’ (58 to 66) guns
• Chapter 5: Ships and Frigates of 40 to 56 guns
• Chapter 6: Frigates of 20 to 36 guns
• Chapter 7: Small Frigates (Fragatillas) with fewer than 20 guns and Corvettes (Corbetas)
• Chapter 8: Brigs (Bergantines) and Brig-schooners (Bergantines-goletas)
• Chapter 9: Bomb vessels (Bombardas)
• Chapter 10: Storeships (Urcas)
• Chapter 11: Fireships (Brulotes)
• Chapter 12: Packets (Paquebotes)
• Chapter 13: Other Square-rigged Vessels — Polacres (polacras) and Zumacas
• Mediterranean vessels (with lateen sails)
• Chapter 15: Xebecs (Jabeques, including Chambequines)
• Chapter 16: Pinks (Pingues) and Saetías
• Chapter 17: Barks (Barcas) and Mystics (Místicos)
• Chapter 18: Feluccas (Faluchos)
• Chapter 19: Other Minor Vessels with Mediterranean Rigs — Escampavías and Tartanas
• Fore-and-aft rigged vessels
• Chapter 21: Pilot Boats (Pailebotes) and Balajús
• Chapter 22: Cutters (Balandras)
• Chapter 23: Flecheras
• Chapter 24: Other Minor Vessels with Fore-and-aft Rigs — Luggers (Lugres), Quechemarines, Trincaduras and Falúas
• Addendum: Steam-assisted Warships to 1860
• Appendix A: List of vessels participating in the 1588 Felicísima Armada
• Appendix B: List of vessels participating in the 1639 Battle of the Downs
• Appendix C: The 17th-century Ordinances governing shipbuilding
• Appendix D: Numbers of ships in existence from 1782
• Appendix E: Spanish naval expenditures
• Appendix F: Ordnance regulations
• Appendix G: Official complements of Spanish warships