Santísima Trinidad - 18th Century Spanish Galleon in Alicante Harbour

Santísima Trinidad - Spanish Galleon in Alicante Harbour. The "Santísima Trinidad" is now moored in Alicante harbour. The "Santísima Trinidad" was launched in 1769 in the Habana (Cuba) navy yard. At that moment, the ship was known as "Escorial" (because Escorial refers to a great Spanish monastery) due to its magnificence and was the biggest and most armed vessel in the world. It took two years to build, was 63 metres (208 feet) long, 17 metres (55 feet) wide and 8 metres (27 feet) high. It weighed 4.950 tonnes, had 140 cannons and a 160 man crew. Several fine woods were used in its construction such as mahogany. The "Santísima Trinidad" took part in a lot of decisive historical events while it was crossing the seas. The galleon was the Spanish flagship in July 1779 during the American War of Independence when Spain and France declared war against the British to support North America. It was also part of the missions in the English Channel later on in 1780, the ship helped to capture an English convoy formed from 66 vessels. Two years later it was incorporated into the so called Mediterranean Squad and fought in the Espartel's Cape. However, the ship is famous for its tragic end in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar. After massive fight, the ship was finally seized by the English in awful conditions with huge structural damage and the loss of 200 men. The English fleet tried hard to save the Spanish ship by taking it to their port in Gibraltar. However, their efforts were in vain as it finally sank 25 miles off the coast on October 24th. That sinking was the beginning of the end of Spanish power on the seas. Nowadays, the greatest and most powerful warship of the 18th Century lies at the bottom of the sea. Its artillery however was removed and is on show at the Naval museum in Cadiz. The ship in Alicante harbour is an exact replica of the "Santísima Trinidad". It took over 2 years to build and cost more than 4 million Euros. www.eltrinidad.es