"The Irish live like beasts," said a captain of the Spanish Armada.
Francisco Cuéllar's letter, who survived the shipwreck off Streedagh beach, is published in a book.
Barcelona"The custom of these savages is to live like beasts among the mountains, very steep in this part of Ireland where we were lost. They dwell in thatched huts. The men are stout, with graceful features and a fine build; agile as deer. They wear a cloak to cover themselves, and a linen sheet, fold upon fold, on their heads, tied in front," wrote Captain Francisco Cuéllar in October 1589, a year after surviving the shipwreck of the Spanish Armada, the fleet that Philip II sent to attack England.
In the letter, Cuéllar explains how LaviaThe ship she was traveling on sank in a terrible storm off Streedagh. That same night, two other ships became stuck in Sligo: Juliana, which had set sail from Barcelona, and the Saint Mary of VisónThe ships, which had sailed from Dubrovnik, are estimated to have lost 1,100 lives at that point on the Irish coast, either drowned or executed by English forces. The ships were three of the 137 vessels that set sail from various ports, primarily on the Iberian Peninsula, with the intention of dethroning Queen Elizabeth I of England. It was a resounding failure for Philip II and a turning point in global hegemonic powers. After surviving the catastrophe, Cuéllar spent several months traveling through northwest Ireland. "Many of the sailors drowned, and those who swam ashore were quartered by the English, whom the Queen keeps stationed in the Kingdom of Ireland. I escaped from the sea and those enemies by sincerely entrusting myself to Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin; they swam to shore. With them, I endured great hardships: naked and barefoot throughout the winter, spending more than seven months among mountains and forests with savages, which is what everyone is like in those lands of Ireland where we were shipwrecked," wrote Captain Cuéllar.
During his ordeal, he sought the protection of various Gaelic chieftains. He hid from the English forces, who would likely have executed him had they found him, and made several attempts to find a ship to take him home. He traveled north of Sligo and ventured into County Leitrim, where he met up with other survivors. Together they found refuge under the protection of the Gaelic chieftains O'Rourke and MacClancy. They even defended Rosclogher Castle, on the shores of Loch Melvin. Cuéllar managed to reach Derry, from where he sailed to Scotland and then on to Antwerp, in the Spanish Netherlands. From there he sent the letter to Philip II and found safe passage to Spain.
His adventures were immortalized in a letter, a copy of which is preserved in the Royal Academy of History of Spain, and which can now be read in facsimile edition in the book The Letter of Captain Cuéllar. The Shipwrecks of the Spanish Army in IrelandThe book, which also features articles by Irish and Spanish experts and includes the most recent archaeological discoveries, has been published by the Irish National Monuments Service in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
Archaeological Research
Cuéllar's account is also a valuable testimony for archaeological research, as it has provided many clues. He describes how he reached the shore clinging to the wreckage of the ship and encountered hostility from the local population and soldiers of the English Crown, who killed most of the survivors. One of the survivors of Juliana It was Pedro Blanco, who later fought against the English for the freedom of Ulster with Hugh O'Neill, the second Earl of Tyrone. In fact, the Crown of Castile allied itself with various Irish leaders who had conspired to free themselves from Elizabeth I.
Twelve cannons in exceptional condition, originating from forges in Genoa, Sicily, and Constantinople, have been recovered from the seabed off Streedagh. "The archaeological remains of the Armada lie on the seabed off Streedagh. Following the severe storms of 2015, the National Monuments Service recovered nine bronze cannons and a bronze cauldron from the shipwreck of Julianaand recorded the cart wheels and the ship's structure. The material recovered from Juliana “It constitutes the largest collection of cannons from a single naval shipwreck in the world to date,” says Irish Minister for Heritage, Nature and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan.
“Shipwrecks capture the imagination: vessels lost in a matter of moments. The story of the Navy is, above all, a human story, vividly told by Captain Cuéllar in his account. This narrative has traveled to us through the centuries and reflects a collective cultural heritage that we share today,” says archaeologist Connie Kelleher.