Havana's Maidens

La Santisima Trinidad, The largest ship of its time

After major defeats of the Spanish Armada, Spain had lost its indisputable supremacy across the seas.

During the 1700s, the beginings of the industrial revolution in England propels England into an  almost unbeatable industrial and ship making power.

In comparison, Spain's armada suffered a recession in ship production specially into the 1700s. For the first 3 quarters of the XVIII century, Spain doesn't really replenish or improves on its ships' designs or on its production processes. The Real Felipe and its design remained the most powerful galleon in the Spanish Armada. Given Havana's access to strong tropical wood and its exposure to ideas as one of the capitals of the world, Havana's shipyard is the main shipyard that continues to accommodate the best Spanish Ships but are not rivals to England's new economical power.

By mid 1700s, Havana was the biggest port and the third largest city in the New World following Lima, and Mexico City. It was bigger than New York and Boston.

In 1762, England sends 53 warships to the Island. Generally accepted numbers state the strength of the British army and navy with over 11,000 soldiers. However, there were thousands of other non-enlisted personnel that were added as the fleet headed to the city of Havana. Adding up all non-regular and colonies' militia, the rough numbers add up to around 25,000 men. The 13 colonies offered between 2,500 and 4,000 men, and even Jamaica and Martinique added over 2,000 men for the siege of Havana. Total number of vessels counting hospital, cargo, ammunition, and food enough for a siege added to a total of 200 vessels.

To put it into context, the Spanish Armada sent against Queen Elizabeth had a total of 22 warships, and a total of 102-120 vessels.

What a need the modern world has for invented mythology when our human history is more glorious. No movie scene matches the magnitude of actual historical events.

Havana is surrendered to the British 3 months later. During the British occupation, Havana suffered a radical shift in its history from rich city of the Spanish empire to center of commerce and manufacturing with British technologies. New processes, construction methods were introduced so quickly that most were forgotten afterwards.

A year and half later, the British exchanged Havana for Florida after the 7 year War ended. By this time, England had built on top of Havana's shipyard with their new industrial processes and technologies. I believe England was able to produce only a hand full of ships 4 to 5. I have tried for years to track down what they were.

After England's retreat from Havana, the British burned the shipyard. But it was too late. the high number of slaves imported during this time and workers had already learned the latest technology. From its ashes, Havana's shipyard, El Arsenal rose to become one of the greatest shipyards in the world producing the largest ships including la Santisima Trinidad, the largest ship of its time. The shipyard end up producing around 100 ships. Probably some of the best last ships before steam and its metal sheet based vessels came to be.

This brief British influence in an unexpected place allowed the Spanish fleet to flourish again rebuilding its numbers with some of the most powerful ships in the world. Once again, Espana returned to be a power to be reckon with in the high seas.

Santisima Trinidad y Nuestra
Senora del Buen Fin