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Conquistador (1730)

The Conquistador was a Spanish flagship which would have looked similar to this one.
History
- Spain
Name	Conquistador
Ordered	1729
Launched	1730
In service	1730-1741
Stricken	1740, twice in broadside by cannon shot
Honours and awards	Participated in: Siege of St. Augustine
Fate	Scuttled in 1741
Status	Sunk
Notes	After helping destroy the retreating British frigates after their defeat at the Siege of St. Augustine, the Conquistador continued to sail for another year until it was intentionally scuttled in 1741.

Overview

Conquistador was a Spanish warship/ship-of-the-line which served from 1730-1741 in the Spanish West Indies. She was built for the purpose of exploring, but also served as a trading and war vessel.

Role

Conquistador was heavily used in exploring the undiscovered ocean surrounding southern Florida, where forts would be eventually erected and towns would be settled along the coastline. A portion of her crew were trained in cartography, as geographical information about the northern Caribbean was needed to expand the Spanish influence. Many maps and sketches created by the ship's crew were responsible for the knowledge and subsequent settlement of Florida's western coastline.

In 1734, the Spanish Crown designated Conquistador as a merchant vessel, where she would travel to established settlements across the West Indies and Caribbean. Havana had regular visits from Conquistador as it was her main port, where she would be loaded with various materials to trade.

After 5-6 years of being a trading ship, Conquistador was converted into a warship in preparation of multiple suspected Royal Navy assaults across Spanish controlled territory. She received a large instalment of cannons on each side, increasing her firepower greatly over her existing swivel guns used for defence against pirates. This newly equipped weaponry came in very handy both at the Siege of St. Augustine and for defending against constant pirate attacks.

Siege of St. Augustine

After the withdrawal of the Royal Navy and Oglethorpe's forces, Conquistador assisted in destroying fleeing ships and artillery pieces after the Spanish victory. Despite not having an impact on the initial defense at St. Augustine, she played a major role in weakening the retreating British units before returning back to port.

Scuttling & Fate

In 1741, the ship and crew came under heavy attack by pirates a few nautical miles off the coast of Cuba. Although they were experienced with dealing with previous pirate attempts, their efforts against the aggressive assault were with no avail. The crew scuttled the ship intentionally to prevent her from being captured and plundered, with most crew members perishing in the process. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________