She is the vessel in the foreground of the stamp.
CATALINA (Catherine saint (1767)
From Todoavante.es Construction:
Built in Guarnizo by the system, upon arrival at this shipyard of Don Francisco Gautier .
Launched on July 12, 1767. Armed with 26 12-pound cannons.
From the Guarnizo shipyard it went to Ferrol to complete its armament, remaining destined for the department.
On October 15, 1768, she set sail from Cadiz with the division commanded by Captain Juan Ignacio Madariaga , commanding the frigate INDUSTRIA . They arrived in Montevideo on January 3, 1769.
On January 8, 1770, under the command of frigate captain Don Fernando Rubalcaba , she departed Montevideo for the Falkland Islands to reconnoiter several British settlements, accompanied by the chambequin (small ship) ANDALUZ. He returned to Montevideo on March 28, 1770.
In June 1770, she participated in the expulsion of the British from their settlement at Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands with Madariaga 's frigate flotilla . On 30 June 1770, she set sail from Annunciation Bay to carry news to Spain of the British expulsion from the Falkland Islands, entering Ferrol on 1 October. By March 1771, she was based at Ferrol.
She left Ferrol for Buenos Aires in 1771 with the ship SAN JULIAN. and the frigate NUESTRA SENORA DEL CARMEN . They arrived in Montevideo on November 16, 1771. He sailed from Río de la Plata on April 18, 1772 with troops and entered Cádiz on July 22 with the ship SAN JULIAN and the chambequín ANDALUZ.
Under the command of Captain Don Pedro Autrán, it carried out privateering patrols in the Ocean from October 1772 to March 1773. In 1774, it arrived in Cartagena de Indias from Cádiz under the command of Captain Don [ Francisco de León y Luna with supplies and army deserters. It was to remain in Cartagena de Indias for the ROSARIA frigate to return to Cádiz, but due to some breakdowns, the SANTA CATALINA frigate was refitted for its return to Cádiz. On September 9, 1774, it entered Cádiz with cargo from Cartagena de Indias.
In January 1775, he participated in the relief of Melilla under the command of frigate captain Antonio Partearroyo . Under the command of the Marquis of Medina, he joined the squadron of squadron leader Don Miguel José Gastón de Iriarte in the first months of 1776. With this squadron, he made several voyages in the waters of Cape St. Vincent, in the Canary Islands, and entered the port of Lisbon.
Under the command of frigate captain Don José Varela y Ulloa , it left Cádiz in November 1777 and anchored in Montevideo on February 2, 1778. Its commander received orders from Viceroy Ceballos to carry out an expedition to Africa, the occupation by cession, agreed with the Portuguese, of several islands in the Gulf of Guinea.
Under the command of frigate captain Varela y Ulloa, she set sail from Montevideo on April 17, 1778 with the frigate NUESTRA SENORA DE LKA SOLEDAD, under the command of frigate captain Don Ramón Topete , and the brig SANTIAGO under the command of lieutenant don José de Grandallana, for the occupation of Fernando Poo and Annobón, a flotilla that was under the command of frigate captain don José Varela y Ulloa .
The expedition, with troops and supplies to take possession of the new colony, was commanded by Brigadier Don Fernando Felipe de los Santos Toro , Count of Argelejos. The second in command of the expedition was Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery Don Joaquín Primo de Rivera . The technical advisor was Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers Don Francisco de Paula Esteban .
On June 29, Varela's ships arrived at Príncipe Island, where they had to wait for the Portuguese commissioners. On October 24, they landed at Fernando Poo and took possession of the Portuguese colony in the name of King Charles III. On the same day, June 29, a commission disembarked requesting an audience with the governor of that city, but apparently, news of the Treaty signed by both crowns had not yet arrived, nor had the order to surrender two islands. After several days of waiting aboard the anchored ships, the commander decided to send another commission to the island of São Tomé on board the ship SANTIAGO, in search of officials authorized to transfer possession of Fernando Poo and Annobon.
September arrived, and time passed without any Portuguese authority appearing. The brig SANTIAGO was sent to Spain to request instructions from the Minister of the Indies, Don José de Gálvez. On October 4, the Portuguese Commissioner Frey de Castro arrived on Príncipe Island, along with Governor Juan Manuel de Azambuja. The two met with Argelejo and Varela Ulloa , and the newly arrived instructions were read. These instructions consisted of an initial transfer and disembarkation in Annobon, carrying a detachment of 40 soldiers and the same number of Spaniards, to summon the natives to place themselves under the guardianship of the King of Spain. Having completed this mission, the frigate CATALINA returned to Cádiz in December 1778.
In June 1779, at the outbreak of the war with Great Britain, he set sail from Cádiz with the division under Brigadier Juan de Lángara to carry out a patrol mission in the Azores. They returned to Cádiz in October of that year.
In November 1779, he was in the fleet of Brigadier Don Juan de Lángara , under the command of Captain Ignacio Duque de Estrada . When this fleet was driven into the Mediterranean by storms, he was able to enter Algeciras with another frigate. On December 11, they set sail from Algeciras to join the fleet of Don Luis de Córdoba , which was patrolling between Capes Espartel and San Vicente.
The frigate was in the Bay of Cádiz, from where it was to join two other frigates and the ships SAN JULIAN and MINO . On the morning of March 16, 1782, it was twenty leagues west of Cape Spartel when it recognized two suspicious frigates, which it gave chase. They were the British frigate SUCCES, with 32 cannons of 24 and 12 pounds and six howitzers of 18 pounds, crewed by 300 men, which went to heave to protect the privateer frigate VERNON, with 22 cannons of 8 pounds with 50 men and 110 fresh soldiers destined for Gibraltar. When they were at close range, the two frigates launched Dutch colors, while ours had hoisted the Spanish one. Commander Tacón ordered an officer to speak to them on the horn while they had the fuses ready to respond to an attack. The Spanish frigate, which was sandwiched between the two British frigates, received a furious broadside from the two enemy frigates at half pistol shot, while they were hoisting the British flag. The battle lasted from five to eight-thirty in the evening. The Spanish frigate was almost completely dismasted and unable to escape, with the main and mizzen masts lost, the hull riddled with bullets, and many casualties. The commander, Frigate Captain Miguel Tacón , surrendered the frigate. That same day it would be burned due to the impossibility of repair. In the rush faced with the danger of snking, a Spaniard and British frigate burned themselves. The Britih frigate given its many damages, had to change its plans and returned to England for repairs.
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Spanish Guinoa 1949 5p sg. Scott C4