''San Pedro de Alcantara'' was a 64-gun

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

man-of-war In Royal Navy jargon, a man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a powerful warship or frigate of the 16th to the 19th century, that was frequently used in Europe. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually rese ...

, which sank near Peniche,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, loaded with so much treasure that her shipwreck shocked the financial markets of Spain. The cargo was eventually salvaged, and the scattered remains were investigated in 1988 and 1996.

Career

''San Pedro de Alcantara'' was built of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in 1770, by an English shipbuilder in

service. She sailed 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 ...

in 1784, where she loaded about 600 tons of copper, 153 tons of silver and four tons of gold from

vian mines. She also carried a collection of ancient ceramics from the

Chimu Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture (). The culture arose about 900 CE, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, f ...

culture, as well as political prisoners from the Túpac Amaru Rebellion (including Túpac Amaru's 12-year-old son) and from the

Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios The conspiracy of the three Antonios (1781) () was a minor failed conspiracy against the Spain, Spanish colonial authorities in the captaincy-general of Chile, that was led by two Frenchmen, Antoine Gramusset and Antoine-Alexandre Berney, and a S ...

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 ...

. The silver was in the form of minted coins, mostly "pieces of eight". Unfortunately the ship was heavily overloaded and the cargo was about twice as much as usual for such a ship. The captain was even warned that the ship would risk losing her bottom in a storm. However, there were no exact rules for the loading of ships, so she sailed for Spain anyway. During her voyage from Peru, ''San Pedro de Alcantara'' was constantly leaking, and the crew had a hard time manning the pumps. She was forced to put into the port of

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 Chile, where major repairs were effected. After rounding

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 ...

, the ship had to be taken in again for repairs at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where the leaks were again fixed. The ship continued her journey to Spain in early 1786. ''San Pedro de Alcantara'' sank in a storm on February 2, 1786, at approximately 10.30 PM, off Peniche, on the Portuguese coast, with the loss of 128 people. There were 270 survivors. Salvage operations began almost immediately, carried out by around 40

underwater divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of d ...

, who without the help of any breathing apparatus brought up almost 750 tons of cargo over the three years following the disaster.

Notes

Sources

* * Ships of the line of the Spanish Navy Shipwrecks of Portugal Maritime incidents in 1786 {{Europe-mil-ship-stub