Santa María (ship)
1892 replica | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Castile | |
| Name | Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción (originally La Gallega) |
| Namesake | Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Owner | Juan de la Cosa |
| Launched | 1460 |
| Stricken | 25 December 1492 |
| Fate | Ran aground |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Carrack |
| Displacement | est. 150 metric tons of displacement |
| Tons burthen | est. 108 tons BM |
| Length |
|
| Beam | est. 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Draught | est. 3.2 m (10 ft) |
| Propulsion | sail |
| Complement | 40 |
| Armament | 4 × 90 mm bombards, 50 mm culebrinas |
| Notes | Captained by Christopher Columbus |
La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción (Spanish: [la ˈsãn̪.t̪a maˈɾi.a ð̞e̞ la ĩm.ma.kuˈla.ð̞a kõn̟.θeβ̞ˈθjõn] lit. 'The Holy Mary of the Immaculate Conception'), or La Santa María (Spanish: [la ˈsãn̪.t̪a maˈɾi.a]), originally La Gallega (Spanish: [la ɡaˈʝe.ɣ̞a]), The Galician, was the largest of the three small ships sailed by Christopher Columbus in his first expedition across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, with the backing of the Spanish monarchs. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa.
In 1492 the ship ran aground on a sand bar near modern-day Cap-Haïtien of the island of Hispaniola. The ship's wood was stripped and then utilized in the construction of a wooden fort at Limonade. One of her anchors survives to the present day in a museum in Haiti. In the 19th and 20th century, several replicas were created with varying attributes and dimensions, as the size and details of the original ship are unknown.