NUESTRA SENORA DE COVADONGA

[aukepalmhof]

The Philippines issued in 1997 a set of four stamps for the National Stamp Collecting Month (November), honoring some of the painters of that country.
One of these stamps painted by Alfredo Carmelo shows us the “Encounter between the NUESTRA SEÑORA DE COVADONGA (also given as CAVADONGA) and the British warship HMS CENTURION on 20 June 1743. (Spanish sources give 16 June.)

She was ordered and built in Cavite, near Manila, Philippines alongside her sister NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PILAR in 1730.
Displacement 1.000 tons, dim. 36 x 9m.
Armament: 50 guns.
Crew up to 460.

08 July 1731 sailed for her maiden voyage from Cavite under command of D. Antonio Gonzalés de Quijano and Captain D. Manuel Recuero y Rivera, and the flagship SAN CHRISTÓBAL under command of D. Juan Manuel de Barrede and Capt. D. Pablo Antonion de Azora.
End January 1732 arrived at Acapulco, Mexico.
21 March 1732 both ships set sail from Acapulco loaded with 1.322.700 pesos bound for Manila.

26 July 1733 sailed from Cavite as flagship of General D. José Bermúdez de Sotomayor and the galleon NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PILAR.
During the voyage in a severe storm both ships lost contact near the Marianas Islands, the NUESTRA SEÑORA COVADONGA arrived at Acapulco on the 16 February 1734.
09 April 1734 both vessel sailed from Acapulco and arrived August 1734 at Manila.

31 July 1736 the next trip, the COVADONGA under command of General D. Juan Francisco de Irizarri y Vizua and Capt. D. Nicolás de Argüelles, with the flagship PILAR ZARPARON.
Both vessels sailed from Manila bound for Acapulco, where she arrived end January 1737.
In the middle of 1736 both ships were back in the Philippines.

17 July 1740 she sailed alone from the Philippines under command of General D. Jerónimo Montero, arrived Acapulco on 12 January 1741, returning to the Philippines in ballast.

22 July 1742 under command of General D. Luis Manso de Velasco she sailed from Cavite and arrived the 18 February 1743 at Acapulco.
15 April 1743 sailed from Acapulco under command of General D. Jerónimo Montero with on board 1.313.843 pesos and 35.682 ounces of silver.
In the morning of 16 June off Cabo de Espiritu Santo she was sighted by the British vessel HMS CENTURION with an armament of 60 guns, and under command of George Anson, who had lingered already for a month in these waters with the hope to capture one of the “Galleons of Manila.”
The NUESTRA SEÑORA de COVADONGA made herself ready for a fight at that voyage she was armed with 5 – 12pdrs. and 8 – 6pdrs. guns. She had on board 530 men, only 266 were crew including 43 soldiers. Also on board were 177 servants belonging to the passengers.
At noon the CENTURION crossed the course of the Spanish vessel, and was able to near her from behind on the port side, making sure the Spanish vessel could not escape to the coast about 30 miles away.
When she approached the Spanish vessel at a distance of 1 mile she fired her bow-guns in the stern of the Spanish vessel.
Around 1 pm the CENTURION was abeam the COVADONGA, and the CENTURION could fire her heavy guns placed in lower gun-deck at a distance of a pistol shot, riddling the hull with gunshots, while 30 sharpshooters from the tops of the masts of the Centurion cleared the upper deck of the Spanish vessel.
The COVADONGA got heavy causalities, 60 men killed and 60 wounded under which her commander.
After a fight of 90 minutes, the COVADONGA surrendered.
The CENTURION had only 3 men killed and 15 wounded.


Many prisoners were brought to the CENTURION while emergency repairs on the COVADONGA took place.
In the mean time all the treasures on board the COVADONGA were brought on board the CENTURION what took one week.
The prisoners were placed in the hold, while four revolving-guns placed in the four corners of the hold did keep the prisoners at bay.
After a month sailing CENTURION arrived at Macao with the COVADONGA in tow, three day later she arrived at the entrance of Canton, where she sold the hull of the COVADONGA for only 6000 pesos to the Portuguese.
December 1743 the CENTURION sailed away and arrived at Spithead in June 1744.

Philippines 1997 8p sg?, scott?
Turks and Caicos Islands 1983 8c sg 771, Scott? viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17806

Source: Mostly translated from http://nere-lorco-philippines.over-blog ... 12864.html

[hindle]

Auke,

I was interested to read about the ship, for some reason Ray Howgego in his encyclopedia spells it "Covadonga". I will check it when I get home. I am at our head office in Birmingham this week, so I am going off the "checked" list of ships I have on my computer.

The date differences I thought was down to the fact that Britain converted from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, some time after the "Catholic" countries adopted it, However, our calendar jumped 11 days, so to be in parity with the Spanish, the corrected date is now around the 30th or 31st. (Sorry I forgot which month it was so if there are 30 days in the month then it becomes the 1st of the next month"). Now I am 15 days adrift instead of four!

I'll have a stiff whisky tonight to see if I can get my addled brain to find a logical solution!

Regards,

Richard Hindle.