''Independencia'' was a 26-gun

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

of the

First Chilean Navy Squadron The First Chilean Navy Squadron was the heterogeneous naval force that terminated Spanish colonial rule in the Pacific and protagonized the most important naval actions of in the Latin American wars of independence. The Chilean revolutionary gove ...

Construction

The 851-ton ship was built in 1818 at the Forman Cheeseman Shipyard of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

under the name ''Curacio'' for the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an revolutionary government. The ship was launched in July 1818 and towed from Corlear's Hook in

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

to the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

to continue work there. It was officially registered on the Register of Ships on 30 July 1818, with build number 203, under the ownership of American captain

Paul Delano Captain Paul Delano (June 15, 1775 – February 4, 1842) was an American-born sea captain and a member of the prominent American Delano family. Early life Delano was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on June 15, 1775, to Nathan Pope Delano and Sa ...

, in order to prevent confiscation under U.S. neutrality laws. The ship, still unarmed, set sail for

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on 9 September, together with ''Horatio'' (under Captain Joseph Skinner), built in the

Adam and Noah Brown Adam and Noah Brown were American shipbuilders, based in New York City, founded a company with its name based in New York, which was active between 1804 and 1833. They built several notable vessels, including Robert Fulton's , the first steam-powe ...

shipyard under the same circumstances, and with ''Sachem'' following with their respective war

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

Chilean career

In Buenos Aires ''Curacio'' set sail for

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, where she arrived on 23 June 1819 to be renamed ''Independencia'' and commissioned to the

under the command of Captain Carlos F. Foster (also Robert Forster) and up to 1821 Wilkinson. She was

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of Thomas Cochrane's expedition to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1821. On the way she, together with ''Araucano'', captured the Spanish brigantine corsario ''San Francisco Javier''. She

ran aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...

near

El Realejo El Realejo is a municipality in the Chinandega department of Nicaragua. History The town of El Realejo was constructed in 1532, during the first years of Spanish colonization. During this period it served as Nicaragua's principal port, and rema ...

without heavy losses. In summer 1822/23 she was refitted in Valparaíso and participated in the blockade of Chiloé. In 1823 she transported

Jorge Beauchef Jorge Beauchef (1787 in Le Puy-en-Velay, France – June 10, 1840 in Santiago, Chile) was a French military who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known in Latin America for his participation in the Chilean War of Independence, where ...

and his regiment from

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. ...

in order to support the Putsch of

Ramón Freire Ramón Saturnino Andrés Freire y Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Fr ...

against

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...

. In 1826 she participated to the blockade and conquest of Chiloé under the command of Paul Delano.

Argentine career

On 1 April 1826 she was sold for $40,000 to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(for the war against Brazil) and renamed ''Montevideo'', but her bad condition impeded the rounding of

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

, and she sank in

. She was refloated and sold to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Peruvian career

She was sunk in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Independencia (1818) First Chilean Navy Squadron Sailing corvettes of the Chilean Navy 1818 ships Maritime incidents in Chile Corvettes of the Argentine Navy Corvettes of the Peruvian Navy