A brief essay on the development of Spanish artillery in the last decades of the 16th century, taking a cue from two bronze pieces found on the wreck of Nuestra Señora de la Mercedes (original) (raw)
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After the battle of Lepanto in 1571, the "Atlantic shift" which, according to Braudel, moved the geopolitical focus of the Spanish monarchy from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic ocean resulted in a dramatic increase in the demand for gunners, the technicians specialized in the use of cannons. Whereas Mediterranean warfare relied mainly on lightly-gunned galleys (Guilmartin, 1974), naval warfare in high seas involved galleons and other sailing ships with far greater fire power (Martin & Parker, 1988). In the last decades of the sixteenth century, the use of artillery at sea experienced a huge quantitative change when growing fleets of heavily-gunned vessels were assembled by the Spanish crown in order to struggle against the Northern protestant powers for the control of the ocean. Cannons were quite complex weapons to handle, requiring specific skills in gunnery for the efficiency of the shots as well as for the safety of the ship. Finding enough gunners for its fleets soon became a challenge for the monarchy. Not only will this paper highlight the considerable increase in the number of gunners which resulted from the development of galleon fleets but it will also show how this rising demand fostered the implementation, by the Spanish military administration, of new skill-management solutions. Practices of teaching and examinations of gunners emerged in semi-institutionalized “schools” where seamen, soldiers and craftsmen were trained in the art of gunnery. Moreover, the development of these practices encouraged the production of technical literature on gunnery, preparing the ground for the Scientific revolution of the 17th century (Hall, 1952, Biagioli, 1989). By placing the focus at the intersection between military history and the history of science and technology, the paper will thus propose to pinpoint a few technological elements which played a significant role in major transformations of the early modern period
The wrecks of the Rosario and the Santo Antonio are the remains of two late 17th-century Iberian warships. Both ships, constructed in colonial shipyards, were built to defend the colonial interests of Spain and Portugal. The ships are of nearly identical size, carried similar armaments, and are constructed of tropical hardwoods in the Iberian-Atlantic tradition. These vessels provide invaluable insights not only into colonial shipbuilding but also into the construction of Iberian frigates in the late 17th century. This article, based upon a construction comparison, will present the similarities and differences of the shipbuilding traditions that produced these vessels.
A Spanish bronze cannon recovered off Carcavelos, Portugal
Journal of the Ordnance Society, 2020
A bronze cannon recovered off Carcavelos at the mouth of river Tagus in September 2016, now in the Museu do Mar de Cascais ‘Rei Dom Carlos I’, after its restoration has revealed to have been produced in the Duchy of Milan during the Spanish domain. Indeed, its main coat-of-arms is that of the Reign of Spain during the Habsburgs dynasty containing that of this Italian duchy at its centre. The other coat-of-arms has been recognized as belonging to the Guzman Spanish noble family and is precisely attributable to Antonio de Zúñiga Guzmán, governor in Milan from 1573 to 1580. Like another piece with the same provenance on display in the Museu Militar, Lisbon, it should have been produced in the said period in the foundry of the Castello Sforzesco by a member of the Busca family or, more probably, by a worker of theirs.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2023
This article deals with the study of an assemblage of scrap bronze guns recovered from the Delta III site, identified as a Dutch merchant ship lost in the port of Cadiz, Spain, about the third quarter of the seventeenth century. This kind of remains is seldom preserved and therefore stands as a unique source for addressing modern bronze gunfounding. Its main characteristics and drawbacks were outlined and discussed on historical and archaeological grounds. The gun remains and casting by-products were recorded, and pieces were identified through their design, decoration, and marks. A metallurgical study of selected samples was carried out by visual inspection and microstructural and chemical analyses by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. A better understanding of the quality and manufacturing process of the pieces and the conditioning factors of the failed casting was achieved by this approach. Results provided new insights into the gunfounding process, with emphasis on a renowned atelier of German bell and cannon founders, along with the associated international markets and recycling practices.
Transformation of military technology in Portugal: the impact of the Iberian Union on artillery
The First World Empire. Portugal, War and Military Revolution, H. Carvalhal, A. Murteira, R. Lee de Jesus (ed.), Routledge, London, 2021
This paper studies how the annexation of Portugal by the Spanish Habsburgs between 1580 and 1640 impacted its military technology, and especially artillery. By focusing on the documentation from the Spanish artillery administration, it highlights the strategic role that Portugal, and especially Lisbon, came to play in the military organisation of the Spanish monarchy. Soon after the annexation, the royal Council of War in Madrid took over the leadership of artillery matters regarding Portugal and integrated it into the wide administrative network of the Habsburg monarchy. By entering the orbit of a state which, according to Parker, was a pioneer actor of the military revolution, Portugal gained new institutional structures and benefitted from a widely transnational circulation of knowledge and experts. The artillery personnel of Portugal soon included seasoned Castilian officers, Italian engineers, as well as gunners and gun-makers coming from the four corners of Europe, while some Portuguese technicians got involved in Spanish imperial dynamics, being sent to Cuba with the mission to create a new gun-foundry. The transfer of technology and knowledge was strengthen by the implementation of artillery lessons taught by Italian and Castilian masters, on the model of the schools of the gunners that the Spanish monarchy opened in other artillery hubs such as Milan, Palermo, Burgos and Seville. Article available in OPENACCESS : https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9780429346965-11/transformation-military-technology-portugal-brice-cossart
EGA: Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica, 2018
Un estudio profundo de las expresiones arquitectónicas del gótico en los territorios de la Corona de Aragón, tanto españoles como del sur de Francia, sardos, sicilianos o napolitanos, y que voluntariamente se aleje de una lectura basada en los límites nacionales actuales permite descubrir la existencia de unas características estéticas, tipológicas y constructivas, en definitiva, una esencia común a todas ellas que trasciende las diferencias y particularidades locales y que denominamos gótico mediterráneo; más allá de la presencia común en todas las variantes del gótico de unos estilemas formales y decorativos, el gótico mediterráneo tiene una personalidad propia que se extiende, en las zonas mediterráneas de las actuales España, Francia e Italia, unos territorios con unas condiciones climáticas y físicas con grandes similitudes que mantuvieron una estrecha relación política, económica y cultural durante siglos dentro de la estructura de la Corona de Aragón. Estas relaciones se plasman en unas tipologías arquitectónicas, ya sean religiosas, civiles o militares, que se extienden por todo el territorio de la Corona y dotan de un sentido artístico y constructivo unitario a la arquitectura mediterránea de los siglos XIV y XV. An in-depth study of the Gothic architectural expressions in the territories of the Crown of Aragon, whether in Spain, southern France, Sardinia, Sicily or Naples and voluntarily away from a take based on current national borders, allows for the discovery of the existence of a number of aesthetic, typological and constructive characteristics. In short, a common essence to all of them, which transcends the local differences and particularities, called Mediterranean Gothic. Beyond the common presence, in all the variants of the Gothic style, of formal and decorative features, Mediterranean Gothic has a personality of its own that extends throughout the Mediterranean areas of present Spain, France and Italy. These territories share climatic and topographic conditions and maintained a close political, economic and cultural relationship for centuries within the Crown of Aragon. These relationships are embodied by architectural typologies, whether religious, civil or military, that extend throughout the territory of the Crown and provide a unitary artistic and constructive sense to the Mediterranean architecture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.