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José Antonio de Gaztañeta e Iturribalzaga
José Antonio de Gaztañeta e Iturribalzaga | |
|---|---|
 José Antonio de Gaztañeta e Iturribalzaga. Anonymous work from 1847. (Naval Museum of Madrid). | |
| Occupations | Shipbuilder and military officer of the Spanish Royal Navy |
| Known for | War of the Quadruple Alliance |
José Antonio de Gaztañeta (or Gastañeta) e Iturribalzaga (Motrico, August 11, 1656 – Madrid, February 5, 1728) was a Spanish sailor, military officer and naval engineer.
Although he was a distinguished sailor and military officer, Gaztañeta became known mainly for his great contribution to shipbuilding in Spain. He was an innovator and a pioneer in the field of shipbuilding, notable for the scientific approach he brought to this activity.
He wrote three fundamental works: Arte de fabricar Reales, Proporciones de las medidas arregladas a la construcción de un bajel de guerra de setenta codos de quilla and Proporciones de las medidas más esenciales para la fábrica de nuevos navíos y fragatas de guerra. These three works, together with the practice he developed in the Cantabrian and Basque shipyards over many years, made it possible to rationalize the building of ships in the shipyards and laid the foundations of Spanish shipbuilding throughout the 18th century.
Gaztañeta had a great influence on naval architecture, since he modified the measurements and design of the warships of the Spanish Navy, which became longer. Many of the elements introduced by Gaztañeta would in turn also be copied by the English and the Dutch.
Biography
Origins and early years
José Antonio de Gaztañeta was born in 1656 in the Basque town of Motrico into a family traditionally linked to the sea. His father, Francisco de Gaztañeta, was a sailor of the Carrera de Indias. Antonio was baptized in the parish church of Motrico on August 11, 1656.
At the age of 12 (1668) he embarked for the first time on a galleon bound for the Indies. He then pursued some studies, mainly in mathematics, and at the age of 16 he embarked on the ship Aviso, commanded by his father, on a voyage to Veracruz. His father died in the Mexican city, and the young Antonio had to take command of the ship on its return voyage to Europe. The young sailor brought his vessel back without any mishap, beginning a successful career as a naval pilot.
By 1684, at the age of 28, he had already completed eleven round trips to America (Buenos Aires, Tierra Firme and New Spain) serving in the Fleet of the Indies. That year he joined the Armada of the Ocean Sea, taking charge of plotting and directing the courses. Two years later he obtained the title of Chief Pilot with the rank of Sea Captain.
Admiral of the Navy and author of treatises
In 1687 he moved to Colindres (Cantabria), where he would direct the construction of a royal flagship (capitana real). During these years in Cantabria he wrote his first great treatise on shipbuilding: Arte de fabricar Reales.
From 1691 he settled in Cádiz. Appointed Captain of Sea and War of the Capitana Real, he served in the Mediterranean in combined operations with the allied English and Dutch squadrons. He was promoted to Admiral and somewhat later to Royal Admiral of the Navy, without thereby giving up the post of Chief Pilot. Between 1694 and 1695 he took part in a naval campaign in the Mediterranean. His skill as a navigator became evident when, leading a fleet returning from Naples, he deftly eluded the French squadron of Marshal Anne Hilarion de Costentin, Count of Tourville, lying in ambush off Mahón, thus sparing his ships an unequal encounter.
In 1696 he served in the Canary Islands, and between 1700 and 1701 in the operation that dislodged the Scots who had occupied Darién. During this period he wrote Norte de la Navegación hallado por el Cuadrante de Reducción, published in Seville in 1692 with illustrations by Matías de Arteaga y Alfaro, a work in which he explored the practical possibilities of the quadrant. From its publication onward, the use of the quadrant spread throughout the Spanish Royal Navy. Thus, the censor of the work described Gaztañeta as the first of our compatriots to write an easy method of navigating. Also appearing at that time (1697) was Cuadrante Geométrico Universal para la Conversión Esférica a lo Plano, aplicado para el arte de Navegar, a treatise on spherical charts.
Shipbuilder during the War of Succession
In 1702 the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, lasting until 1713. During this period Gaztañeta held various posts related to shipbuilding, thereby contributing to the cause of the Bourbon claimant to the throne, Philip.
In 1702 he was appointed Superintendent of Shipyards and Plantations of the Cantabrian Coast, a post through which Gaztañeta was entrusted with the management of the shipyards and timber plantations of Cantabria. Antonio Gaztañeta centralized Cantabrian shipbuilding in the shipyard of Guarnizo and ordered its relocation to another nearby site. It was around this new site that a new town arose which, over the years, would end up becoming El Astillero,[1] so Gaztañeta can be considered the founder of this Cantabrian town.
He then went to the Basque Country, where he directed the construction of numerous ships in Zorroza, Pasajes and Orio. Notable among them were the galleon El Salvador, of 66 guns, built in Zorroza but which never sailed,[2] and six ships of revolutionary design that he built in Orio. During this period he was also elected Mayor of Motrico and was charged with inspecting the defenses of the Biscayan ports in the face of the existing threat of invasion.
His second great treatise on shipbuilding was written during this time: Proporción de las medidas arregladas a la construcción de un bajel de guerra de setenta codos de quilla, published in 1712.
War of the Quadruple Alliance
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The War of the Spanish Succession lasted until 1713. The war was brought to an end by the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht (1712–1714). However, the Treaty of Rastatt, signed on March 6, 1714, between Claude Louis Hector de Villars, representing the King of France, Louis XIV, and Prince Eugene of Savoy, representing the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles VI of Austria, in which other territories of the Hispanic Monarchy such as Sardinia, Naples and Milan were divided up—an agreement made behind Philip V's back without his consent or signature—led the King of Spain to set out to recover the Italian territories that had been illegitimately ceded by France. In 1717 Spanish troops retook Sardinia, supported by the local population, preventing it from passing into Austrian hands. The following year, they recovered Sicily. For their part, Great Britain, France, the United Provinces and Austria signed the Quadruple Alliance against the Hispanic Monarchy.
In October 1717 José Antonio de Gaztañeta was appointed Commander General of the Squadron Chiefs of the Navy and Army of the Ocean Sea. His mission began with a voyage to the United Provinces to purchase ships for the Navy. On his return he was entrusted with command of the squadron that was to transport the army of 30,000 men of Juan Francisco de Bette, Marquis of Lede, for the reconquest of Sicily. The squadron entrusted to Gaztañeta consisted of 40 warships and 399 transport vessels.
After landing the troops of the Marquis of Lede in Sicily, who took control of the island, Gaztañeta's squadron was waiting at anchor off Cape Passaro when it was attacked by the British squadron of Admiral Byng. The British attack caught Gaztañeta and his men completely by surprise, since no prior declaration of war had been made between the two countries.
The Battle of Cape Passaro, on August 11, 1718, was a disaster for the Spanish Navy. Off Syracuse they sighted the British squadron, but Gaztañeta made the serious political mistake of trusting the English, since at that time there was no declaration of war between the two countries. When the surprise attack came, the Spanish squadron was anchored off Cape Passaro, outnumbered, unable to form a proper line of battle and with the wind against it.
The defeat was total; only four ships and a few smaller vessels managed to escape. Gaztañeta fought bravely, but finally had to surrender when his ship was dismasted, 200 men of his crew were dead and he himself was wounded in the leg. He was released shortly afterward and returned to Spain, where he continued serving in the Navy. Despite having been severely defeated, his conduct was not considered negligent, given the conditions under which his defeat occurred, due to dishonorable behavior on the British side. The treacherous British attack meant the almost total destruction of the Spanish squadron supporting the army on the island. This fact, together with the invasion of northern Spain by the Quadruple Alliance, forced the signing in 1720 of the Treaty of The Hague, by which Spain surrendered its possessions in Italy.
After recovering from his wounds, he returned to his work as a shipbuilder and published his last great work on the subject, Proporciones de las medidas más esenciales para la fábrica de navíos y fragatas, which appeared in 1720. That same year he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 1721 a Royal Decree (Real Cédula) was made public by which the rules for the construction of vessels given by Antonio de Gaztañeta were to be observed in the peninsula and overseas.
Fleet of the Indies
He spent the last years of his life in command of the Fleet of the Indies, at the head of which he achieved a resounding success.
Between 1726 and 1727 he managed to bring 31 million pesos to Spain, evading the English watch, which tried to block the passage of the Fleet of the Indies. In a skillful maneuver, Gaztañeta led the fleet between the enemy ships under cover of night and managed to bring it intact to a Galician port. King Philip V rewarded Gaztañeta for this feat by granting him a life annuity of 1,000 ducats a year for himself and 1,500 ducats for his son. However, he was unable to enjoy it, as he died suddenly in Madrid on February 5, 1728, not long after returning from his last voyage.
Over the course of his life he was married twice, first to Petronila de Segovia, and after her death, in 1716 he married secondly Jacinta de Urdinso, a native of San Sebastián.
The distinguished scientist and sailor Cosme Damián Churruca (1761–1805) was a relative of Gaztañeta. There are streets in his honor in Motrico, Bilbao and San Sebastián.
Works
- Arte de fabricar Reales. Colindres (Santander), (1687–1691)
- Norte de la navegación hallado por el cuadrante de reducción. Seville, Juan Francisco de Blas (1692)
- Cuadrante geométrico universal para la conversión esférica a los planos, aplicado al arte de navegar. (1693)
- Proporciones de las medidas arregladas a la construcción de un bajel de guerra de setenta codos de quilla. (1712)
- Proporciones de las medidas más esenciales para la fábrica de nuevos navíos y fragatas de guerra. Madrid, Phelipe Alonso (1720)
References
External links
- Ocampo Aneiros, José Antonio (2018). "Antonio de Gaztañeta e Iturribalzaga". Diccionario Biográfico Español (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
- Cruz Apestegui, José Antonio Azpiazu, María Dolores Erviti and Francisco Fernández González: Antonio de Gaztañeta (1656-1728), Museo Naval de San Sebastián (1992).
