Santa Anna (ship)
Encyclopedia
Carrack
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese , and later by the Spanish, to explore and...
of the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. The war ship was celebrated for its many modern features. While some authors view its lead sheathed hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
as an early form of ironclad, others regard it primarily as a means to improve its watertightness.
Career
Santa Anna was launched in NiceNice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
on 21 December 1522, one day before the Knights Hospitaller surrendered at the siege of Rhodes (1522)
Siege of Rhodes (1522)
The Siege of Rhodes of 1522 was the second and ultimately successful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to expel the Knights of Rhodes from their island stronghold and thereby secure Ottoman control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The first siege, in 1480, had been unsuccessful.-Setting:The Knights of St...
under honorable terms.
The underwater hull of Santa Anna was completely sheathed with lead plates. Above the waterline two of the six decks of the ship were also armoured with lead plates, which were fastened by bronze nails to the wooden ship hull. Santa Anna was designed to accommodate 500 marines besides the sailors and it featured below-deck large cabins and messes for its officers. The carrack housed a forge, where three weapon smiths could do maintenance work at sea. The ship even called several ovens and a windmill its own, in order to provide the crew with fresh bread. The ship also featured a garden on board with flowers hanging down from the stern gallery in boxes.
In 1531, the Santa Anna routed on its own an Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
squadron of 25 ships. One year later, the carrack took part in the expedition against the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
under the command of Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria was an Italian condottiere and admiral from Genoa.-Early life:Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family, the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria, de Oria or de Auria family. His parents were related: Ceva Doria, co-lord of Oneglia, and Caracosa Doria, of the...
, during which Koroni
Koroni
Koroni or Coroni is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Known as Corone by the Venetians and Ottomans, the town of Koroni Koroni or Coroni is a...
, Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
and the Turkish fortresses protecting the entry to the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece...
were seized. In 1535 Santa Anna fought in the successful campaign of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
fleet under Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
against Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, where the Spaniards managed to capture over 100 ships of the Maghrebinian corsairs. Its firepower contributed significantly in the assault on the fortress
La Goulette
La Goulette
La Goulette is the port of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The Kasbah fortress was built in 1535 by Charles I of Spain but was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1574...
which controlled the entry to the harbour.
Temporarily, the carrack was also employed as a wheat freighter, with an impressive capacity of up to 900 tons. Only eighteen years after its launch, Santa Anna was decommissioned in 1540 on the order of grandmaster Juan d’Omedes
Juan de Homedes y Coscon
Fra Juan de Homedes y Coscon was a Spanish Knights Hospitaller. He was the 47th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, between 1536 and 1553...
.
Further reading
- Jochen Brennecke: Geschichte der Schiffahrt (1986) Künzelsau (2nd. ed.) ISBN 3-89393-176-7, p. 138 & 144
- Helmut Pemsel: Seeherrschaft. Eine maritime Weltgeschichte von den Anfängen bis 1850, Vol. 1, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, ISBN 3-89350-711-6, p. 144ff.