Santisima Trinidad - Guide 325

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@bushidiru]

Was the lower amount of guns in Spanish ships mainly because of their preference for boarding actions and increased troop numbers or construction practices?

[@bkjeong4302]

Which capital ship that was sunk in action had the highest percentage of crew losses? I suspect it’s Hood, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a capital ship that was lost with all hands.

[@bkjeong4302]

@UNSCForwardontodawn Then Pommen probably has that dubious title (if you can call a predreadnought a capital ship by WWI).

[@NEY-uu3lx]

@@bushidiru Perhaps for other reasons, but boarding was not the primary goal of any navy at the time.

[@NEY-uu3lx]

If the spanish did not suffer from the negligent reign of Charles V and Godoy and they choose not to align with france on grounds of supporting the Bourbon Monarchy, Could the spanish fight the french republic/empire on equal footing at sea?

[@Ridliman]

The Infante Don Pelayo didn't only tow the Santisima Trinidad, before that she also warned the crew of the SM that if they don't raise the colors again the Don Pelayo would be the next ship to shot the Santisima Trinidad. It worked.

[@spirz4557]

"If you will not serve in combat, then you will serve on the firing line !"

[@0_1_2]

Evidence?

[@aceous99]

@@0_1_2 some books

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@0_1_2 _"Of the 24 ships of the line that the Spanish fleet had, seven entered into combat, losing four, and it could even have lost its flagship had it not been for the actions of Cayetano Valdés, commanded by Infante Don Pelayo, who came to his rescue when he had already lowered his flag. It is said that he threatened the Spanish flagship with shelling it too if he did not immediately raise his flag."_ Courtesy of Google Translate from the Article: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalla_del_Cabo_de_San_Vicente_(1797) Which is in Spanish. .

[@RexsHangar]

One of my favourite ships from the age of sail! And proof that bigger isn't always better.

[@Dave_Sisson]

I know you're Australian (I'm subbed to your channel), but no American would ever say that bigger is not better!

[@garychisholm2174]

If I ever get model collection display space (currently in the Imagination phase) this would be one of them.

[@ronanwaring3408]

It would have been fine had they not added more weight than she was built to handle

[@merafirewing6591]

Still it's very cool in it's own way.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@ronanwaring3408 This. She was fine when she initially entered service, her rebuild made her worse.

[@50043211]

"... she was largely build out of mahogany ..." world wide furniture, hard wood floors & music instrument enthusiast enter a state of perteptual mourning!

[@gth042]

That had to be one beautiful, and at least initially, wonderful smelling ship.

[@nk_3332]

So are you treasure hunters after treasure galleons and their gold? No, we're after the Santisima Trinidad and it's wood. Surprised pikachu face.

[@marvindebot3264]

@@nk_3332 Probably still in fine form and all, it's tough stuff. I'd pay very well for a coffee table made from her planking.

[@baraxor]

The Manila Galleons were built in the Philippines out of teak and mahogany.

[@andysmodelandstuff4306]

There is also an absoltely fantastic almost four meters long model of the ship in the Maritime Museum in Old Havana in Cuba, located in Castillo de la Real Fuerza, a fort from around 1550.

[@marvindebot3264]

Holy cow, that must be spectacular! Built out of the correct timbers no doubt as well.

[@VRichardsn]

Another very nice model (although much much smaller) is in the Museo Naval de la Nación, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is notable in that it is made almost entirely of bone. It was the property of Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, the last captain of the ship; at Trafalgar he was severely injured when the main mast fell, debris hitting him on the head and leaving him partially deaf for the rest of his life. Most of officers and crew near him became casualties as well. After Trafalgar, he was named Viceroy of the River Plate, and established himself in Buenos Aires, where he took the small bone model we are talking about. He would go on to be the last viceroy with effective power, being ousted in the 1810 May Revolution. While he remained a free private citizen in Buenos Aires for a while, he was later banished, ostensibly "for his protection". He returned to Spain, where he lived a comfortable retirement, being in the good graces of the king, who didn't find fault with his actions. Some of his property, however, remained in Buenos Aires, and that is how the curious small bone model of the Santísima Trinidad can be admired in the Museo.

[@maxart3392]

A good reason for a naval historian to travel to Cuba (provided that the museum is currently open), apart from the fact that the fort itself is one of the finest examples of the Renaissance military architecture. If you visit Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (just across the park from Castillio de la Real Fuerza) you can see a few remains of USS Maine, and if you travel to Santiago de Cuba you can dive to the wrecks (in very shallow water) of a few Spanish ships sunk at the battle of Santiago. The question is whether this is a good time to visit Cuba right now.

[@augustosolari7721]

@@VRichardsn Cisneros was a very capable Viceroy in a very difficult Time for Spanish colonies. Could you tell me where that museum Is? I live in Buenos Aires.

[@VRichardsn]

@@augustosolari7721 El museo está en Av. Victorica 602, Tigre.

[@TomFynn]

Spanish Shipbuilder: "How many guns do you want?" Spanish Navy: "Yes."

[@nickklavdianos5136]

Are you going to use them to good advantage? No, but I want them anyway.

[@toddwebb7521]

Si

[@johnladuke6475]

"Surely you don't want these useless four pou-" "I said _GUNS!!!"_

[@GeneCaralde119workshop]

Nice topic. Could you also discuss the Battles of La Naval De Manila, where two Spanish galleons Rosario and Encarnacion single handedly defeated the Dutch Navy and prevented the Dutch invasion of the Philippines.

[@reginaldpasao8390]

Would have been nice had the Philippines been a Dutch or British colony

[@shaider1982]

​@@reginaldpasao8390 yeah, better management of resources.

[@enalche2]

@@shaider1982 but less filipino population

[@GeneCaralde119workshop]

@@enalche2 Thats actually true.

[@justsomehaatonpassingby4488]

@@enalche2 and more death and starvation

[@Edax_Royeaux]

She was certainly the prestige ship of Napoleon Total War. Whether I was France, Russia or Britain, I spent considerable time and effort taking the Santisima Trinidad aprize, repairing her at great expenses and making her the new flagship. Especially as Russia as I believe they can't even build anything greater than a third-rate, which makes Santisima Trinidad really worth having in that context.

[@korbell1089]

Admiralty: "She is slow and handles like a bloated pig!" Shipwright: "I have the perfect answer, let's add more guns."😂😂

[@greggweber9967]

5:40 HMS Terpsichore may not have had much chance of prise money, but it certainly tried and was beside that of the enemy.

[@KR4FTW3RK]

Santisima Trinidad: *Is biggest ship in the world* Spanish Admiralty: *NOT BIG ENOUGH!*

[@sidartha2011]

Indeed? Ask Vernon,

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Santisima Trinidad: Is biggest ship in the world US Congress: I'll have one of those, but with more bigger guns.

[@davebignell773]

Just imagine the amount of prize money she would have been worth if safely returned to a British port! The Chancellor must have been delighted that she was scuttled.

[@aaronsucayan433]

If it does happen, imagine they even modified it becoming the hypothetical 170-gunned HMS Duke of Kent 💀💀💀

[@aidanacebo9529]

love these age of sail guides. I'm surprised you hadn't done one on the Santi yet.

[@alowry2002]

Lol. I think every time Drachinifel does a ship people request another ship too. He needs to spread out the material as he needs to sleep at some point. :)

[@ravenknight4876]

Is the Henry grace a dieu guide still up ?

[@therisingsun4357]

Fun fact, I am soo used to the old intro volume that I want to turn my speakers up if the gun shots don't make my ears ring as I expect the speech to be really quiet :D

[@jayg1438]

Yes! Would love to see more Spanish ships. They had one of the 3 largest navies for hundreds of years. Some topic ideas: Spanish fleet/ ships used in the Spanish American War Battleship race in South America in the interwar years

[@eaglefighter1295]

He's already done the latter.

[@ungluedbiscuit2736]

I think he’s done both not sure 100% though

[@jayg1438]

@@eaglefighter1295 I'll have to look better, thanks!

[@jayg1438]

@@ungluedbiscuit2736 you are right, I found both and will look them up. One was 4 years ago, so no wonder i hadn't seen it!

[@ungluedbiscuit2736]

@@jayg1438 I thought I seen it at some point didn’t think it was that old, it’s kinda insane the amount of content he has!

[@phillip0537]

Huh, sounds like they took a great 1st rate and made it an impressively large liability. Great video, thank you!

[@garycornelisse9228]

I very much enjoy your presentations and look forward to viewing each. In viewing these I am amazed at the amount of iron that was being produced to manufacture all those cannons, and the equipment that had to have been used to move those things around. Many of those cannons weighed several tons and there were so many produced.

[@AlexanderWernerJr]

Spanish admiralty detailing their plans of building the most massive ship of the line ever seen to that point. The shipbuilders: "¡¡¡Santísima Trinidad!!!" Spanish admiralty: "Sí señores, that was the name we wanted to give her and the information is classified as 'muy secreto'. Who told you about it?!"

[@ThePuschkin1986]

'muy secreto' - thats what this Mexican girl said to me after I jizzed onto her face

[@jeffbybee5207]

Thankyou drach for great knowledge and entertainment

[@jeffbybee5207]

I wonder if her wreck has been found and could she be raised? I too much a dreamer

[@javiermedina9080]

@Drachinifel Hello everyone, and Drach if you are reading this, I just wanted to mention something regarding the nick name that was given to Santisima, as“ el pondoroso” the only thing I have yo say about this is that this word ( as it is written and pronounced) doesn’t actually exist in the Spanish dictionary ( by that I mean Euripean Spanish not latin american Spanish), I believe that the word that was meant to be said was “ el Ponderoso” with an “e” instead of a “o” after the letter “d”. the word ponderoso, has two meanings: a) something or someone that weighs a lot. b) someone who takes great care and precision when doing something. I believe that the former of the two is more appropriate for Santisima. Over all great video and eager to see more Spanish ships in the spot light.

[@jjsmith4829]

thanks. love that you are featuring first rate ships of the line.

[@Packless1]

...the Yamato of its days...!

[@Dana-nv4ej]

Yes, and about as useless

[@bkjeong4302]

Not really, given that this thing was actually about the size of some other first-rates at first. It was only after refits that she became unusually gigantic. Also, Santisima Trinidad’s issue was that she was an awful design (after refits, she was more capable before then) that didn’t handle very well. Yamato handled quite well (especially for a ship of her size), and the reason she ended up being useless was that the entire battleship concept was outdated by that point (which is a pretty much universal problem with other contemporary battleship designs as well, rather than something wrong with Yamato specifically). I’d also argue that Santisima Trinidad was still more useful than either Yamato or most other WWII-generation battleships (pretty much all of them save Washington and DoY) in terms of service record, given that she at least got to fire on other first-rates….

[@augustosolari7721]

@@bkjeong4302 AND Also captured a 60 ship convoy. I Wonder if the magnitude of that defeat Made the British become obsessed with her.

[@AdmRose]

So she was basically a cat: * Big * Fat * Capable of doing a large amount of damage, but most of the time doesn’t * Generally only moves where it wants to go, when it wants to go there

[@friendsinmyhead2195]

Thank you I’ve recommended this probably half a dozen times thank you for not ignoring

[@davidpowell6098]

Just what I needed, I am building this ship at the moment, nice to know her history, thank you.

[@michaelsnyder3871]

The best book on this subject is Harbron's "Trafalgar and the Spanish Navy". This is actually a history of the Spanish Navy from 1783. The Spanish pound unlike the French pund, was 10% less than the English pound. There is also Goodwin's "The Ships of Trafalgar: The British, French and Spanish Fleets, October 1805. The San Carlos, laid down at Havana in 1765 as a two deck 94 was decked in and made a three deck 112 in 1801. While a two-decker, the San Fernando, a sister, remained a 92 (equal to a British three deck 90) until sold out in 1815. Laid down in 1779 in Ferrol, Purisma Concepcion was 112 three-decker lost in Cadiz Bay in 1810. In the 1780s, the Spanish built a group of 112s to similar designs with a 185 ft keel. Here we have a major problem in the use of different measurements, both in the ways and types of measurements. How length was derived could be different three ways in three navies. When San Jose was captured by the British in 1797, she was 210' Spanish measurement on the gundeck, 185' 10" on the keel having been laid down with her sister, Santa Ana in 1779. The Royal Dockyard (according to the data in Winfield's "British Warships in the Age of Sail") measured her at 156'11 3/4" on the keel and 194' 3" on the gun deck. This implies that by British measurements, Santissima Trinidad would be around 158' on the keel and 196' on the gun deck. As further comparison, HMS Victory, laid down in 1759 was 152' 6 5/8" on the keel and 184' on the gundeck. HMS Royal George was laid down in 1784 and measured 156' 5" on the keel and 190' on the gun deck. The French Ville de Paris laid down in 1757, measured British style, 153' on the keel and 185' 7.5" on the gun deck. San Jose and Santa Ana laid own in 1783 in Ferrol. After capturing San Jose, she was Nelson's flagship in 1801, when he called her the perfect three deck ship of the line. San Jose was built in a time when Spanish design was heavily influenced by the French, but construction methods remained similar to the British, introduced in the 1750s and 1760s when British Catholics dominated warship design. Three comparable vessels were laid down in 1786 in Havana, the Conde de Regla, Mejicano and Salvador del Mundo. The British measured the last when captured as 152' 11" on keel and 190' on gun deck. San Hermenegildo was laid down in 1789 in Havana and Reina Louisa in Ferrol in 1791 to the same basic design. The French Bretagne/Revolutionnaire was laid down in 1765 at in French measurements 186' on the gun deck. At this time, the French "inch" was 10% longer than the British. This might imply a gun deck length of 204' in British measurement. The Terrible in 1778, Invincible and Royal Louis followed in 1779 and Majestueux in 1780, all to basically the same size though three designs (Winfield and Roberts, French Warship in the Age of Sail, 1626-1786). Commerce de Marseille introduced the next step up in size, laid down in 1786 with four sisters, 196' 6" French measurement (all this according to Winfield and Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Sail, 1786-1862). When the British captured and measured her in 1793, she measured in British feet, 208 and 3" on the gun deck. I also have Tredea and Sozaev, Russian Warships in the Age of Sail, 1696-1860, and the Russian measurements are even harder to understand.

[@roscoewhite3793]

I first encountered the "Santisima Trinidad" in Dudley Pope's "Ramage And The Drumbeat". The viewpoint characters were impressed by her potential broadside, but were less than impressed by its effect in the battle at the end ("They've got a lot of yaw-sighted gun-captains," was the verdict).

[@marks8603]

and Captain Digby of the HMS Africa had her boarded and tried to take her as a prize.... he was told she was still in action and the boarding party was allowed to return to HMS Africa

[@hazchemel]

Hahaha

[@marvindebot3264]

Back when honour was a real thing.

[@meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee2]

@@marvindebot3264 As by this time the obsolescent 64 gun HMS Africa had already engaged most of the leading portion of the Franco - Spanish fleet on it own. The Spanish were probably just desperate to get the weight of Capt. Digby's crews testicles off the ships upper deck before their already unhandy ship capsized.

[@pegzounet]

Kudos to the madlad captain on the 32gun who snapped at her heels all the way to cadix.

[@Peepjouster27]

Well, now I want a "Scuttled for safety" t shirt.

[@nmjerry]

Glad to see these ship bios from the age of sail.

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Santisima Trinidad has one size: Bigger than you

[@overlordminigun6346]

One of my favourite age of sail ships, simply for being so damn large and unwieldy

[@overlordminigun6346]

A floating wooden castle with a million guns

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Which is why the US had to have one of those.

[@user-dg9pu4pe9d]

When the fourth gundeck was added, I was wondering if she would go the way of the Mary Rose.

[@mandowarrior123]

Nono, they knew how to ballast properly and did a decent job on her all things considered.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Also the Mary Rose had a huge number of armored soldiers aboard. That adds a lot of top weight the ship isn't designed for.

[@enalche2]

Speaking about Trafalgar, there's a novel with the same name about a spanish boy who would see himself fighting at the Battle, totally recomended ("Trafalgar" by Benito Pérez Galdós). Also, common spanish shipbuilding W💪😎

[@centermassgamer323]

Yes. Been waiting for this one.

[@PaulfromChicago]

The mad lad Agamemnon ❤️ Santisimo Trinidad.

[@bigal3055]

"But before we get into today's mad lad, it's yeh boy, Raid Shadow Legends..." If you know, you know.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

@@bigal3055 Oh, we know.

[@thinaphonpetsiri9907]

Had the wreck has been found? It would be kinda interesting to see how much was left of this behemoth. BTW since you have covered this Spanish flagship, how about the La Real (Don Juan flagship at Lepanto) in later video?

[@SteamCrane]

I wonder how often the lower deck guns were used, or how often the lower deck ports were even opened. Especially after adding more topweight.

[@Graham-ce2yk]

Good episode, what was the source for the images at 03:45 and 04:23, they're not ones I've seen of the ship previously.

[@johnforsyth7987]

Thank you for the excellent video. I was aware of this vessel before. But I was not aware of her nickname. A reminder that bigger is not always better.

[@Cbabilon675]

My question is have they ever found her remains or any of the remains of that battle?

[@Drachinifel]

They think they mightve found her wreck but not enough definitive items were seen

[@Localnimation]

I mean its made out of wood i think ita to late now, the gun it self probably burry in thw sand and the remain of the ship itself

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

"Captain! Barn, dead ahead!" "That's no barn..."

[@psikogeek]

I'm glad we are all keeping up with current technology.

[@zetectic7968]

Proving that bigger is not always better. Went to Davy Jones' locker along with other prizes captured at Trafalgar.

[@NEY-uu3lx]

Most Spanish Admirals and Naval Officers already knew that, and they wanted it to stay at port. But it was forced to be in battle and it did not end well.

[@TomFynn]

In the words of the Georgian Navy: "We will sink one more than you!"

[@MikelZappy]

She was sunk by the British after Trafalgar because they could not deal with her and the heavy damage she had received from five British warships that had engaged her. So when the storm ⛈️hit and the British were unable or unwilling to try and save her been in enough distress themselves with their own ships been damaged and all. They consider scuttling her and saving those that they could. The sad fact is the this ship took many of those who were wounded down with her simply because the British sailors were unable to save the huge amount of wound she had onboard. So yes she and many of her country men’s ships were lost in the storm that raged for a week afterwards. Many were driven ashore and wrecked on the coast off cape Trafalgar. So in the context of your comment your right but further explanation would have been useful.

[@nigelbagguley7606]

The 18th century equivalent of the "big gun goes brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" meme.

[@skywise001]

Aw I was hoping the picture I found and gave you of her battleflag would come up :)

[@Drachinifel]

Thats being kept for a more special video :)

[@skywise001]

@@Drachinifel

[@OskarVanBruce]

The Santisima Trinidad was, as explained at the beginning of the video, a prestige ship rather than a ship entirely envisioned for war. What british historians fail to always mention due to their hubris is the superior shipbuilding of french and spanish smaller vessels like the 74 cannon ship of the line, which later the brits straight copied. What the british indeed had over the french and spaniards were better trained crews and, above all, cheaper construction costs for their ships.

[@bkjeong4302]

Santisima Trinidad was a decent first-rate as originally built. The rebuild is what really made her impractical.

[@lightwalker222]

I don't think historians fail to mention it at all. In books about the coalition wars I frequently read about how the Royal Navy prioritized boarding and taking the higher quality French and Spanish ships to use for themselves. In fact it is frequently mentioned that British built vessels especially those from private shipyards sometimes had issues due to incompetence or corner cutting from the builders. This is a pretty lukewarm take my dude

[@augustosolari7721]

@@annadalassena5460 pretty cheeky on His part considering that the dons took an arm of him.

[@iankerridge5720]

Often, The Royal Navy didn't need to copy them, just take them as prizes!

[@randomobserver8168]

I dunno- those points have long and widely been made in British naval histories and continue to be so. The consensus has always been that it was better and faster gunnery, and eventually more aggressive captains and admirals and a more aggressive tactical model, as well as experience gained from more sea time on blockade duty, that tended to give the Royal Navy its advantages even over peer rivals France and Spain. And no British admiral going into battle seemed to not expect to have to pay stiffly for victory.

[@CAP198462]

FYI, it would probably have been abbreviated Nstra. Sra. Santisima Trinidad on the stern.

[@mikeynth7919]

That stern would almost be big enough to list the reigning monarch's full titles.

[@wattyler6075]

How about taking a look @ the French Terrible class ironclads of 1870s & 1880s. The ship 'Requin' survived quite late after being re-gunned.

[@HolyWarrior1]

Catholic Monarch ship names are so wholesome. I petition to bring back some Hapsburgs.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

And the most modern frigate would be called "Her Most Holy Sunken Jaw".

[@captaincharlemagne]

Mahogany 😮holy crap that is a lot of desks

[@cesarsalas8506]

It is curious to notice that it could be called "a three decker designed by a comittee", as it was in fact what happened.

[@soumadelezo4867]

I was waiting this video the moment I subscribed

[@elmaxidelsur]

Hey, would you re is the battle of Vuelta de Obligado in 20 Nov 1845??? That would be an epic tale and I would really like to get your take on it. Thanks!!!!!

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

Yes. Have my boat. I mean, my vote.

[@trekkie1701c]

You know, I've always wondered how someone plucked from a time where ships had well over a hundred guns would react to modern ships that have like 1 anti-ship gun. And that's after we got rid of ships with a whopping 9 guns. Oh and the 1-gun ships are escorts. Our largest ships that are expected to do anti ship stuff have zero.

[@Axterix13]

Though if you were to show them what a single Close In Weapon System could do: the sheer quantity of rounds fired per time period, the range, the accuracy, and what it would do to a ship of that era....

[@bkjeong4302]

Show them what a carrier’s air wing can do combined with how fast a carrier is, and they’ll be forced to realize that no gun-based naval warship can even get close enough.

[@keefymckeefface8330]

@@Axterix13 CIWS woud do less damage than you think- down to the ammo.. from mem its proximity fused frag ammo loaded with tungsten ball bearings on a phalanx, similar on the Rheinmetal systems and Russian 30 mm equiv. Not HE. You would want contact fused HE rounds for engaging a wooden ship the line- those thick wooden sides might eat up more ball bearings than you would think, and they wont produce the big lethal splinters that get with HE or straight kinetics of ball shot impacting. so yes- if - IF- you make special HE ammo for em (impact fused HE 40mm from 8 barrel pom-pom would be my call, not the CIWS)

[@Edax_Royeaux]

They'd probably conceptualize them as bomb vessels, war ships with few guns, but notable for having a 13" forward firing mortar.

[@DreadX10]

They wouldn't react at all at the 'one-gun' when they see the helicopter take off from the helo-deck........ ;-)

[@augustosolari7721]

A gargantuan ship. I think that the Santa Ana was a much better balance between size AND sailing.

[@salvadorsempere1701]

Yes indeed. The 8 Santa Anna Class 112 gunners were some of the finest 1rst rate ever build.

[@augustosolari7721]

@@salvadorsempere1701 Landa was such a great designer.

[@bholdr----0]

I didn't know that Santisima Trinidad was made out of cuban mahogany- which is now very rare and prized lumber for really top-end fine woodworking, and, as it is now endangered, can sell for dozens of dollars per board-foot for exceptional specimens (several times as much as other furniture grade woods like walnut, cherry, oak, etc) and is used for making things like the classic bombe chest, wardrobes, desks, etc... There had to be maybe 10,000+ board feet of that (now) nearly priceless lumber in that ship! Wow, eh? (And the Teak, etc isn't exactly cheap these days, too!). Speaking of woods used in shipbuilding, in a drydock post someone asked about an Australian wood's suitability for wooden shipbuilding- so, I wonder how woods like mahogany, teak, lignum vitae (ironwood), etc, stack up against the commonly used white oak? (Was Pine ever used for warships, other than for spars?) One of the very hardest woods, geenheart, was used on occasion, like as a sheathing for the Endurance, but was rare because it's so hard that it requires metal working tools to process efficiently... Thoughts? 🤔

[@VRichardsn]

We need a video on the properties of different woods used for shipbuilding.

[@mattwardman]

Go from the weight? Weighed just under 5000 tons.

[@maxart3392]

Back then Cuba was in some sort of transition from the densely wooded landscape to an agricultural land dominated by sugar cane plantations, so mahogany and other species of hardwood were no luxury at all. That's also why Havana was quite important for the shipbuilding at the time (SS Trinidad wasn't the only ship built there)

[@bholdr----0]

@@VRichardsn Yeah, Id like that too: im a (non professional) woorworker (mostly furniture/cabinetry), and Drach, as an engineer, gave us an hour long vid on iron/steel armors, and prob could do justice to a vid on the various woods used in shipbuilding. also, the age of sail (specifically the period of the French revolutionary and napoleonic wars) is what interests me most re: naval war/statecraft.)

[@bholdr----0]

@@maxart3392 Yeah, that makes sense. Good point. The thinking prob was: if it's being cleared anyway, why not use if for shipbuilding? Also, in that time period, people probably rarely considered that we could ever possibly run out of natural resources, from wood to whale oil, etc... heck, some people still don't think that we can (vis: fresh water, topsoil, etc, etc). Cheers.

[@jasonz7788]

Awesome review thank you

[@GizmoDuck_1860]

Building furniture I'm aware just how endangered mahogany is and its place on the CITES database. So a friggin' 4-decker made out of it makes my eyes water. She must of been a sight!

[@benrobertson7855]

Always great stuff,thanks for your efforts.

[@derkaiser50]

I know you’ve got a decade long list, but I would like to suggest the Spanish Ironclad Pelayo (1890), mainly because it looks more like something from 1870 or 80

[@vespelian5769]

A splendid biography.

[@robbabcock_]

Great video!

[@ionaguirre]

Nice videos Sir. Congratulations

[@LeCharles07]

El Ponderoso!

[@Medieval_Arpad_cooks]

talk to us about razees - and about 54-gunners

[@renesagahon4477]

She was a beautiful vessel. Excellent documentary. At that time Spain built some of the best ships in the world. Unfortunately they were manned by them

[@senator1295]

great work

[@mtgAzim]

What happened to the crew when the ship was scuttled? We're they prisoners of the British? Did they go back to Britain?

[@francisco-pk5rt]

Los españoles nunca seremos presos de piratas!

[@john88benson]

Speaking of Age of Sail, any chance you've looked into Warlord Games’ Black Seas? I'm chipping away at a Royal Navy box set and they are fun little miniatures.

[@michaelsommers2356]

_'Terpsichore'_ has four syllables: terp-SIK-or-ee. It's Greek, and Greek doesn't have silent vowels as English does. On the other hand, I don't know how the sailors pronounced it, If they could turn _Bellerophon_ into _Billy Ruffian,_ they could turn _Terpsichore_ into anything at all.

[@carausias]

Rhymes with 'hickory'

[@dalbhuie_youtubeaddedanumber]

Can you consider doing a history of HMS Speedy please?

[@0Zolrender0]

Could you please review HMAS Perth

[@trancamortal]

Next one: Admiral Vernon's attempt against Cartagena the Indias with the biggest fleet the World had seen until D Day.

[@lewiswestfall2687]

thanks

[@ecooper4604]

BRILLIANT Any chance of some more 'Trafalgar' ships? ....or Napoleonic ships?

[@rayalbaugh4149]

near the Top Great Day!

[@michaausleipzig]

That one ship you have to somehow take from the Spanish in "Napoleon: Total War" cause it's the only 140 gun ship of the game and 106 guns is the best you can build yourself...

[@johnfisher9692]

A lesson that bigger doesn't always mean better

[@chrisvickers7928]

Particularly useless trivia from the Battle of Trafalgar was the the British ship the Neptune of 74 guns, the French ship le Neptune of 74 guns, and the Spanish ship el Neptuno of 80 guns all took part in the battle.

[@Localnimation]

Lol after reading this my mind keep picturing those 3 spiderman meme💀

[@excorialdelosmares6040]

El barco era una obra de ingenieria increible, era el mejor del mundo y segun textos españoles de la epoca, no extranjeros, navegaba bien a pesar de su tamaño tras sucesivas remodelaciones. La prueba la tienes en que no habia barco que pudiera superarle en linea o uno a uno. Tenian siempre que atacarle rodeandolo entre 5 o 6 e incluso asi aguantaba muchas horas. En el asedio y conquista de Menorca, batalla que no se nombra aqui, el Trinidad solo, con un cañoneo incesante destruyo la fortaleza inglesa menorquina, que era de piedra.

[@lafeelabriel]

Also must be said that is a *monsterous* amount of firepower for her time period.

[@RonJohn63]

You've said many times how hard it is to sink a big wooden ship. How did they scuttle it?

[@Drachinifel]

To scuttle a wooden Warship you have to open up holes at or just below the waterline but bove the ballast, and leave as much heavy gear like guns etc aboard.

[@ralphbennett8575]

Do not forget her sister ship Salvador del Mundo

[@SteamCrane]

Conversely, the slightly smaller Victory was a fast, handy battleship.

[@cesarsalas8506]

Faster and handier, no doubt. And even HMS Victory was neither the fastest nor the most maneuvrable of the first rates.

[@seppoe]

I saw a few years ago pictures taken in southern Spain (can’t even remember city… :( ) of a copy of this ship. Somehow did not look very convincing, IIRC a restaurant & museum & something else rolled into one…

[@sskuk1095]

Are the tropical woods better for ship building than european woods?

[@OldOneTooth]

I don't think that pun about nelsons column ever occurred to me till now.

[@ianslaby5703]

Nice I was wondering when you would get around to her.

[@smellysam]

These topics are perfect for cooking pasta. Could you do some slightly more in detail, approx 12 minutes, for eggs?

[@mattwardman]

Boil the eggs. 3 minutes each. You get two.

[@smellysam]

@@mattwardman hard eggs.

[@MarkJoseph81]

How is all of this recorded and passed down? It's fascinating in it's own right that part of history alone, the fact of it being recorded in the first place and then passed down!

[@gothicalpha]

Basically the ultimate ship in both Total war and Naval Action

[@graveyard1979]

Between her and Italian Immacolata Conzezione, I think Spanish and Italian ships have best names. Spanish ones win on virtue of being longer, though.

[@juanitoalimana1267]

Can you explain why the Spanish navy had no first rates in the 1760s? I mean they had been in a series pf major colonial conflicts since the war of succession in 1702. They had won some important victories in some of these wars, like Cartagena. Its seems strange to think they had no capital ships.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

If I had to guess, it's because building ships is a bit of a crap-shoot and building first rates is really hard, few nations could do it and the ones that could often made them badly. Consider the previous HMS Victory (1737), a hundred gun first rate and flagship that was not all that well designed and overly tall and sank in the English Channel with a loss of the entire crew. Or the HMS Royal George (1756) 100 gun first rate that rolled over and sank with the loss of 800 crew in the harbor. By 1794 the Royal Navy had only five completed First Rates.

[@cesarsalas8506]

Mainly, in this case, it was a matter of available funds, if i recall correctly, plus a focus on keeping the sea lanes between Spain and America open. Thus it was considered that having a certain number of 80-gun ships would be cheaper and more useful than trying to operate first rates.

[@onsterfelijke]

I would like to see The seven Provinces (1666-1692) story should be enough for 18 hours 😊

[@VRichardsn]

My personal favorites is the Botafogo galleon; its actual name was São João Baptista, but is more well known by the nickname it received, Botafogo, due to sporting a large number of guns it sported for the time. But for me the most interesting aspect related to the ship is the epitaph that could be read on the grave of his former captain: "Here lies the holy body of Dom Joao de Pereira, captain of the Botafogo galleon. And he was holy, for, while having power from God to set the whole world on fire, he didn't."

[@andreaskolling3749]

Question over collection of merchant vessels by enemy warships by that time: Did any of the nations with world wide colony networks think over a new type of merchant vessel that would be able to outrun any contemporary warship?

[@sheboyganshovel5920]

The 19th century clipper ships went in for speed in a big way, but sacrificed cargo capacity to do so. I don't know how they compared in speed to the commerce raiders of the day.

[@orbiradio2465]

Could you tell more about the construction of large warships in America in the 18th century? Did the British also build ships of the line in the colonies? Were guns and other equipment also built there? Was the design created in Havanna? ...

[@seanbissett-powell5916]

If you want a crazy British build, look up HMS St Lawrence, built during the War of 1812. At a time where the Great Lakes were being contested between squadrons made up of small ships (mostly brigs, sloops and gunboats), the British decided it would be fun to build a 102-gun monster.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@seanbissett-powell5916 Drach has a video on her already. The only freshwater first-rate.

[@chpet1655]

So she took part in an attack on a convoy? I’d love to hear more about that battle. 55 of 63 merchantmen captured in a single convoy is a pretty severe loss to Britain. Why have I not ever heard of this before? I thought the British Navy won every battle all the time ? I mean that’s all I ever hear about, one Royal Navy victory after another. The Spanish and French being the Washington Generals while the Royal Navy plays the part of the Harlem Globetrotters.

[@mandowarrior123]

Not as much as you'd think. The Royal Navy really did have it much their own way, so to focus on the defeats wouldn't give you much general perspective. The battles focused on are not just victories but crucial battles that changed the course of history. Naval battles at the time were very much a snowball, too, as you captured and used the ships you defeated, and the losing nation had to build new. Bear in mind you are probably only considering anglophone sources, perhaps you should listen to spanish and french sources. You seem to want balance, but it wasn't balanced. The Royal Navy did come to dominate the seas.

[@andyquinn1125]

Incredible work here Drach. One trifle - pronunciation: terp-sick'-or-ee. Greek effing dancers and poets of yore, right. Please don't damn my eyes. I'm not really that way. I hate the nit pickers.