El San Diego Un tesoro bajo el mar [San Diego, A Treasure Under the Sea] [Galleon Sunk in the Philippines in 1600]

Description

389 pp., softbound, with historical and archaeological articles and numerous coloured photographs of the ship’s contents and maps. ISBN: 84-608-2985-1
EXTREMELY RARE – out of print collector’s item. First edition, Spanish language. This book faithfully describes the excavations carried out from the San Diego as well as the pieces found, which are magnificently documented and photographed. The San Diego was built as the trading ship San Antonio before hastily being converted into a warship of the Spanish Navy. On December 14, 1600, the fully laden San Diego was engaged by the Dutch warship ‘Mauritius’ under the command of Admiral Olivier van Noort a short distance away from Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Philippines. Since San Diego couldn’t handle the extra weight of her cannons, which led to a permanent list and put the cannon portholes below sea level, she was sunk without firing a single shot in response.The Dutch were later reported firing upon and hurling lances at the survivors attempting to climb aboard the Mauritius. Nearly 400 years later, in 1992, the wreck was discovered by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and a total of 34,407 artifacts and ecofacts were recovered from the shipwreck, including Chinese porcelain, Japanese katanas, Portuguese cannons and Mexican coins. The San Diego Exhibition toured the Globe before it was permanently displayed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila. The Naval Museum in Madrid has also featured a display.