''Esmeralda'' was a 40-gun

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

. Built in

Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (, ; formerly spelled ''Mahó''), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the ar ...

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

and launched in 1791,Gerardo Etcheverry
Principales naves de guerra a vela hispanoamericanas
retrieved 10. Januar 2011 the First Chilean Navy Squadron, under the command of Thomas Cochrane, captured her on the night of 5 November 1820. She was renamed ''Valdivia'' in Chilean service. She was beached at

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 ...

in June 1825.

Spanish career

''Esmeralda'' was a 950

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship b ...

40-gun frigate designed by Julián de Retamosa. Built under the direction of Honorato de Bouyon y Serze in

, she was launched in 1791. In April 1793, captained by José Pascual de Bonanza, ''Esmeralda'' captured the French privateer corvette ''République'', bringing her into

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

. After the Spanish defeat at Chacabuco on February 1817, ''Esmeralda'' was ordered to sail from

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

on 6 May under Captain Luis Coig with a convoy that included the ships ''Reina de los Ángeles'', ''San José'', ''San Juan'', ''Castilla'', ''Tagle'', and ''Primorosa Mariana''. The convoy arrived in Callao on 30 September; ''Tagle'' had already arrived on 21 August.Pérez Turrado (1996), p. 96. On 31 March 1818, ''Esmeralda'', the most powerful Spanish warship on the Pacific coast, joined ''Pezuela'' and ''Potrillo'' in the blockade of Valparaíso. On 27 April, came alongside ''Esmeralda'', but she made such poor contact that fewer than 20 men from ''Lautaro'' were able to get on board ''Esmeralda''. Although the boarders were unable to capture ''Esmeralda'', the Spanish ships abandoned the blockade.

Chilean career

On the night of 5 November 1820, during the Expedition to Freeing of Perú, two silent columns of boats under command of

Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (14 December 1775 – 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a British naval officer, politician and mercenary. Serving during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic ...

entered Callao Bay and captured ''Esmeralda'' under the guns of Callao's fortifications. The demoralization of his crews helped dissipate the naval power of the Viceroy. Later, she was renamed ''Valdivia'' to commemorate Cochrane's

capture of Valdivia The Capture of Valdivia () was a battle in the Chilean War of Independence between Royalist forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Montoya and Fausto del Hoyo and the Patriot forces under the command of Thomas Cochrane and Jorge Beauchef, held on ...

. The squadron was forced to move up and down the coast on supply gathering excursions, challenging shore fortifications. As the intensity of the quarreling between San Martín and Cochrane increased, Cochrane sailed north with ''O'Higgins'', ''Independencia'' and ''Valdivia'' in search of the last two Spanish frigates in the Pacific: ''Venganza'' and ''Prueba''. The Chilean ships sailed as far as the Gulf of Cortez off

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 ...

without finding a trace of the missing frigates.

Loss

On 10 June 1825 at Valparaiso, a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

from the north developed. The gale drove ''Esmaralda'' and the Chilean merchantman ''Valparaiso'' on shore. As ''Valparaiso'' was blown towards shore, her anchor hooked and broke the chains of the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, with the result that ''Calder'' too wrecked on shore.''

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and i ...

'
№6052.
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Post-script

''Valdivia''s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

became fixed in the sand. The ship was unsalvageable and was filled with sand so that she could be used as

's first pier for passengers and light cargo. The area where she rested was later filled in with rubble, burying her. The area is now Plaza Sotomayor.

Citations

References

*Bateson, Charles, and Jack Kenneth Loney (1972) ''Australian Shipwrecks: 1622-1850''. (A. H. & A. W. Reed). *Gaspar Pérez Turrado (1996) ''Las Marinas realista y Patriota en la independencia de Chile y Perú''. (Ministerio de Defensa, Madrid, España). {{DEFAULTSORT:Esmeralda First Chilean Navy Squadron 1791 ships Captured ships Frigates of the Spanish Navy Sailing frigates of the Chilean Navy Maritime incidents in 1825 Ships built in Spain