[MARINE ESPAGNE] Relazion de la Esquadra para salir à la Mar, del mando del Exmo Sor Dn Luis de Cordoua y los Exmos Dn Anto de Vllua y Dn Migl Gaston

Three-and-a-quarter-page manuscript written in black ink on a bifolium.

One vertical fold.

Manuscript detailing the nominal roster of the Spanish squadron that set sail under the command of Don Luis de Cordova, Don Antonio de Ulloa, and Don Miguel Gastón.

The fleet comprised 31 ships of the line (including the Santissima Trinidad, a 116-gun ship and one of the largest ships of the line of its time) and 9 frigates.

For each vessel, the name of its commander and the number of guns are specified.

The document, most likely penned by an officer of the squadron, is undated, but can be reliably placed around 1779–1780 based on the dates of the various ships (see the website on 18th–19th century Spanish naval history: todoababor.webcindario.com).

It most probably relates to the joint Franco-Spanish expedition of 1779 aimed at invading England. Two of the greatest Spanish naval commanders of the period were placed at the head of this squadron: Luis de Cordova (1706–1796), Vice Admiral of the fleet since 1775, and Antonio de Ulloa (1715–1796), Fleet Captain in 1767, who had accompanied Bouguer and La Condamine in 1735 on their expedition to Peru to measure a meridian arc.