The weakness of the Spanish navy in 1823 according to the local Dutch newspaper Goessche Courant

This local Dutch newspaper published 10 February 1823 the following interesting news item. According to French military documents, even confirmed by Spanish ministerial reports, was the Spanish navy extreme weak. On paper she was with 6 ships of the line and 7 frigates an opponent to pay attention to. The truth was otherwise; none of the ships was suitable to serve at sea! This was the complete Spanish navy. In this news item was referred to the fact that Spain some years earlier bought from Russia 4 ships of the line, which ships were in so bad condition that it was feared that they would sink before departure. (1). Spain also asked France in the past if it was possible to buy two old hulls, which were now be broken up in Brest, France.

In 1819 Spain was fitting out her navy for action and the ships were to depart for sea 15 September according to tiding from Madrid dated 6 August. The relations with France weren’t well at that moment. Its worth to do more research due to the fact there seems to be negotiations between Spain and the Netherlands to help each other. Spain was also suffering problems in her colonies in South-America.

Note
1. According to the Warship International no. 3 of 1983, p. 316 there were 5-74 gun ships of the line bought, namely the Fernando VII, Alejandro I, Numancia, Espana and the Velasco and 5 or 6 frigates including the Patrico later renamed Maria Isabel. This latter ship was to become the Chilean O’Higgins. The ships were lying at Archangel and St. Petersburg and towed to Spain and fitted out in 1818-1819. The worse quality mentioned in the Dutch newspaper was true, the ships of the line were so rotten due to using worse timber, that they never saw service! See for the O’Higgins on this weblog “The Chilean frigate O’Higgins captured as the Spanish Maria Isabel, being the former Spanish Patrico and Russian Patricia and finally became the Argentinean Buenos Aires”.