San Diego
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | San Diego | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | boat | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Spain | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | Spanish Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Sea / ocean | South China Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Philippines | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 19 km from land |
| Position | 14.0600, 120.4940 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
The galleon San Diego was built as the trading ship San Antonio before hastily being converted into a warship of the Spanish Navy. On December 14, 1600, the fully laden San Diego was engaged by the Dutch warship Mauritius under the command of Admiral Olivier van Noort a short distance away from Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Philippines. Since San Diego could not handle the extra weight of her cannons, which led to a permanent list and put the cannon portholes below sea level, she was sunk without firing a single shot in response. The Dutch were later reported firing upon and hurling lances at the survivors attempting to climb aboard the Mauritius.
Nearly 400 years later, in 1992, the wreck was discovered by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio; and a total of 34,407 artifacts and ecofacts were recovered from the shipwreck, including Chinese porcelain, Japanese katanas, Portuguese cannons and Mexican coins. The San Diego exhibition toured the globe before it started to be permanently displayed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila. The Naval Museum in Madrid has also featured a display.
Diving & visiting
The accounts of the battle of the San Diego and the Mauritius are incomplete. To rectify this, Patrick Lize, a historian, conducted extensive research in the archives of Seville, Madrid, and the Netherlands to look for new information that would shed light on the battle. From the testimony of 22 survivors, memoirs of 2 priests from Manila, and the inventory of both the weapons and provisions on the San Diego, a more accurate reconstruction of the battle was made possible.
Franck Goddio and his team, in coordination with the National Museum and financially supported by Foundation Elf, conducted underwater explorations to find the San Diego.
Location
- Recorded position: 14.0600, 120.4940 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: South China Sea
- Nearest coast: Philippines
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article San Diego (ship) (revision 1345298063), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Discovery”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- USS Genesee 1942 · 37 km
- Japanese cruiser Nachi 1944 · 57 km
- MV Doña Paz 1987 · 188 km
Browse more: Asia wrecks · wrecks off Philippines · South China Sea