San Juan de Silicia
Encyclopedia
The San Juan de Silicia was one of the 130 ships that formed the ill-fated Spanish Armada
of 1588. The ship was originally known as the Brod Martolosi, before it was seized to form part of the navy. It was one of 10 ships forming the Levant squadron, one of 8 squadrons that formed the entire armada.
The ship was wrecked off of the Inner Hebridean island of Mull.
Over the years the true identity of the wreck was forgotten, and rumours of gold were tied to the ship. The ship was said to have been named the Florida, and to have been the flagship of the fleet, and a treasure ship
. It was also said to have been the Florencia. It was not until the turn of the 20th century that the true identity of the ship was determined.
The remains of the San Juan de Silicia have been destroyed by countless searches for gold.
. She was originally known as the Brod Martolosi, and was based out of Rugusa (modern Dubrovnik
), and captained by Luka Ivanov Kinkovic. The ship, and several others, were commandeered by the viceroy of Sicily in December 1586. The ship may have seen service with the Spanish in 1587, when the Marquis of Santa Cruz commanded a fleet to the Azores
. The ship was renamed the Santa Maria de Gracia y san Jan Bautista, although it was not the only ship to be named after St John the Baptist, and as such, she became known as the San Juan de Silicia to differentiate it from the others.
The San Juan de Silicia was one of 10 ships that formed the Levant squadron, which was commanded by Martín de Bertendona
. The squadron of 10 ships was manned by 767 seamen, and 2,780 soldiers. The San Juan de Silicia was one of the larger ships of the fleet, with only about 20 of the total 130 ships being larger. The senior officer on board was Diego Tellez Enríquez. It had a crew of 62 seaman, who were mainly Slavonic
, under the command of Luka Ivanov Kinkovic. The ship also carried military troops: 135 Sicilians, under the command of Miguel de Garros; 54 Flemings, under the command of Antonia de Valcarel; and 90 Spaniards, under the command of Don Pedro Enriquez.
The San Juan de Silicia was heavily damaged by English ships.
On 23 September 1588, the San Juan de Silicia was spotted off Islay
, and several days later landed in Tobermory Bay, on the Isle of Mull
. The ship was not damaged, but the crew were short of water, and the ship's senior officer negotiated for supplies with the local chieftain
, Lachlan MacLean of Duart
. The agreement was that the ship was be replenished if Spanish troops were to be used to settle some of Duart's outstanding feuds with nearby clans
. Diego Tellez Enríquez also received a surety of five hostages from Duart, and for more than a month the San Juan de Silicia remained in port, as Spanish troops ravaged the lands of Duart's enemies. The troops aided Duart by ravaging the Inner Hebridean islands of Rum
and Eigg
, which belonged to MacDonald of Clanranald; and the nearby islands of Canna
and Muck
, which belonged to MacIan of Ardnamurchan. The troops were later used on the mainland, when they besieged Mingary Castle for three days, although MacLean of Duart was then forced to withdraw.
One of the merchants who provisioned the ship was John Smollet, from Dumbarton, who is now considered to have been an agent for Sir Francis Walsingham
. On 5 November 1588, the ship exploded, killing almost everyone on board – including the five hostages. Of the survivors, MacLean of Duart kept about fifty, and used them in his feuding for another year before having them shipped back home to Spain.
Years after the destruction of the San Juan de Silicia, the ship's identity was forgotten, and rumours of Spanish gold were linked to the wreck. In 1677, the ship was known as "the Armada treasure-ship
". It was said to have been originally the Florida, and was the almirante (flagship
) of the Spanish fleet, and was said to have had a treasure of "30,000,000 of money" on-board. In fact, the almirante of the fleet made it safely back to port, and no ship by the name Florida is known to have taken part in the Spanish Armada. The 'treasure-ship' has also been called the Florencia, however the real Florencia also survived the expedition. It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that serious scholarship cast light onto the ship's true identity.
To complicate matters, there were several ships with the name San Juan – at least nine of them. Another complication is that there are known to be have been at least two men with the name Diego Enríquez in the fleet, though one can be distinguished by the name Tellez. In early accounts of the wreck, the captain was called Diego Manrique, although no officer of the fleet is known to have had this name.
Harbour in 1628. The earliest diving for treasure was instigated by the Earl of Argyll. The rights to salvage were transferred to the Crown following Argyll's support of the Commonwealth, but were restored to the family sometime afterwards. The rights were again taken away from the family when Argyll supported the Duke of Monmouth in 1685, and James II
authorised searches for treasure. The salvage rights were again returned to the family by William II and Mary II, although no further searches took place until 1729, when the 2nd Duke of Argyll employed divers who were previously successful with the wreck of the El Gran Grifón
. Explosives and winches were employed at this time, to break up the wreck on the bottom of the bay, but no treasure was found. Attempts at salvaging the wreck have continued right up through to the end of 20th century.
Over the years numerous objects have been salvaged from the wreck, such as: guns, anchors, pewter
platters, and medals. A bronze cannon
was recovered from the wreck of the San Juan de Silicia in about 1740. The gun is specifically a medio cañón, a type of canon that utilized heavy shot that weighed 15–27 Castilian libras. The gun bears the emblem of Francis I of France
, King of France, and may have been originally captured by the Spanish at the battle of St Quentin
in 1557, or possibly at the battle of Pavia
in 1525. The gun is currently located at Inveraray Castle
. The gun is estimated to have weighed 3154 pounds (1,430.6 kg), its bore is 5.8 inches (14.7 cm), its length is 112.5 inches (285.8 cm), and its shot weight is 23 pounds (10.4 kg) of iron
. The gun's bore/length ratio is 1:19.4, and its shot/gun weight is 1:137.
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
of 1588. The ship was originally known as the Brod Martolosi, before it was seized to form part of the navy. It was one of 10 ships forming the Levant squadron, one of 8 squadrons that formed the entire armada.
The ship was wrecked off of the Inner Hebridean island of Mull.
Over the years the true identity of the wreck was forgotten, and rumours of gold were tied to the ship. The ship was said to have been named the Florida, and to have been the flagship of the fleet, and a treasure ship
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
. It was also said to have been the Florencia. It was not until the turn of the 20th century that the true identity of the ship was determined.
The remains of the San Juan de Silicia have been destroyed by countless searches for gold.
Spanish Armada
The San Juan de Silicia was one of many ships embargoed to enforce the Spanish ArmadaSpanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
. She was originally known as the Brod Martolosi, and was based out of Rugusa (modern Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
), and captained by Luka Ivanov Kinkovic. The ship, and several others, were commandeered by the viceroy of Sicily in December 1586. The ship may have seen service with the Spanish in 1587, when the Marquis of Santa Cruz commanded a fleet to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. The ship was renamed the Santa Maria de Gracia y san Jan Bautista, although it was not the only ship to be named after St John the Baptist, and as such, she became known as the San Juan de Silicia to differentiate it from the others.
The San Juan de Silicia was one of 10 ships that formed the Levant squadron, which was commanded by Martín de Bertendona
Martín de Bertendona
Don Martín de Bertendona was an important officer of the Spanish Navy under Philip II and Philip III. He participated in the Spanish Armada, and is perhaps most famous for his role in the capture of the iconic English galleon Revenge in 1591....
. The squadron of 10 ships was manned by 767 seamen, and 2,780 soldiers. The San Juan de Silicia was one of the larger ships of the fleet, with only about 20 of the total 130 ships being larger. The senior officer on board was Diego Tellez Enríquez. It had a crew of 62 seaman, who were mainly Slavonic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
, under the command of Luka Ivanov Kinkovic. The ship also carried military troops: 135 Sicilians, under the command of Miguel de Garros; 54 Flemings, under the command of Antonia de Valcarel; and 90 Spaniards, under the command of Don Pedro Enriquez.
The San Juan de Silicia was heavily damaged by English ships.
Scotland and destruction
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
, and several days later landed in Tobermory Bay, on the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
. The ship was not damaged, but the crew were short of water, and the ship's senior officer negotiated for supplies with the local chieftain
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
, Lachlan MacLean of Duart
Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean
Sir Lachlan Mór Maclean or Lachlan the Great, was the 14th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean from late 1573 or early 1574 until 1598.Mór or Mor translates as great in English, or magnus in Latin, when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic....
. The agreement was that the ship was be replenished if Spanish troops were to be used to settle some of Duart's outstanding feuds with nearby clans
Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
. Diego Tellez Enríquez also received a surety of five hostages from Duart, and for more than a month the San Juan de Silicia remained in port, as Spanish troops ravaged the lands of Duart's enemies. The troops aided Duart by ravaging the Inner Hebridean islands of Rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
and Eigg
Eigg
Eigg is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With an area of , it is the second largest of the Small Isles after Rùm.-Geography:The main...
, which belonged to MacDonald of Clanranald; and the nearby islands of Canna
Canna
-Places:Australia*Canna, a locality in the Shire of Morawa, Western AustraliaItaly*Canna, Calabria, a comune in the Province of Cosenza*Cannae, a frazione in the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, ApuliaScotland*Canna, Scotland, an island in Lochaber...
and Muck
Muck
Muck can refer to:*Muck *Muck, Scotland, an island in Scotland*Isle of Muck, a small island connected by sand spit to Portmuck, County Antrim, Northern Ireland*Muck , a number of actions...
, which belonged to MacIan of Ardnamurchan. The troops were later used on the mainland, when they besieged Mingary Castle for three days, although MacLean of Duart was then forced to withdraw.
One of the merchants who provisioned the ship was John Smollet, from Dumbarton, who is now considered to have been an agent for Sir Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
. On 5 November 1588, the ship exploded, killing almost everyone on board – including the five hostages. Of the survivors, MacLean of Duart kept about fifty, and used them in his feuding for another year before having them shipped back home to Spain.
Uncertain identity, Spanish gold
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
". It was said to have been originally the Florida, and was the almirante (flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
) of the Spanish fleet, and was said to have had a treasure of "30,000,000 of money" on-board. In fact, the almirante of the fleet made it safely back to port, and no ship by the name Florida is known to have taken part in the Spanish Armada. The 'treasure-ship' has also been called the Florencia, however the real Florencia also survived the expedition. It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that serious scholarship cast light onto the ship's true identity.
To complicate matters, there were several ships with the name San Juan – at least nine of them. Another complication is that there are known to be have been at least two men with the name Diego Enríquez in the fleet, though one can be distinguished by the name Tellez. In early accounts of the wreck, the captain was called Diego Manrique, although no officer of the fleet is known to have had this name.
Salvage and artefacts
There are known to have been attempts at salvaging the wreck as far back as the 17th century. The first to do so are thought to have been Swedes, who recovered items from the wreck of the Swedish Wasa, lost in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
Harbour in 1628. The earliest diving for treasure was instigated by the Earl of Argyll. The rights to salvage were transferred to the Crown following Argyll's support of the Commonwealth, but were restored to the family sometime afterwards. The rights were again taken away from the family when Argyll supported the Duke of Monmouth in 1685, and James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
authorised searches for treasure. The salvage rights were again returned to the family by William II and Mary II, although no further searches took place until 1729, when the 2nd Duke of Argyll employed divers who were previously successful with the wreck of the El Gran Grifón
El Gran Grifón
El Gran Grifón was the flagship of the Spanish Armada's supply squadron of Baltic hulks ; see List of Ships of the Spanish Armada...
. Explosives and winches were employed at this time, to break up the wreck on the bottom of the bay, but no treasure was found. Attempts at salvaging the wreck have continued right up through to the end of 20th century.
Over the years numerous objects have been salvaged from the wreck, such as: guns, anchors, pewter
Pewter
Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C ,...
platters, and medals. A bronze cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
was recovered from the wreck of the San Juan de Silicia in about 1740. The gun is specifically a medio cañón, a type of canon that utilized heavy shot that weighed 15–27 Castilian libras. The gun bears the emblem of Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, King of France, and may have been originally captured by the Spanish at the battle of St Quentin
Battle of St. Quentin (1557)
The Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1557 was fought during the Franco-Habsburg War . The Spanish, who had regained the support of the English, won a significant victory over the French at Saint-Quentin, in northern France.- Battle :...
in 1557, or possibly at the battle of Pavia
Battle of Pavia
The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...
in 1525. The gun is currently located at Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle is an estate house near Inveraray in Argyll in western Scotland.It is the seat of the Duke of Argyll and a Category A listed building.-Ghosts:...
. The gun is estimated to have weighed 3154 pounds (1,430.6 kg), its bore is 5.8 inches (14.7 cm), its length is 112.5 inches (285.8 cm), and its shot weight is 23 pounds (10.4 kg) of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. The gun's bore/length ratio is 1:19.4, and its shot/gun weight is 1:137.