Descubierta and Atrevida

The corvettes Descubierta and Atrevida; drawing by Fernando Brambila.
History
Spain
Name	Descubierta and Atrevida
Builder	Tómas Muñoz, La Carraca shipyard, Cadiz
Launched	8 April 1789
General characteristics
Type	corvette
Tons burthen	306 toneladas
Length	33.3 m (109 ft)
Beam	8.7 m (29 ft)
Depth of hold	4.3 m (14 ft)
Propulsion	Sail (three masts, ship rig)
Complement	104
Armament	14 × 6 pounds (2.7 kg) cannons, 2 × 4 pounds (1.8 kg) cannons

The Descubierta and Atrevida were twin

Malaspina's expedition was the most important voyage of discovery dispatched by Spain in the 18th century. It had two primary goals, the first being to increase geographic and scientific knowledge in general, the second being to check on the status of Spain's vast empire, especially along the west coast of North America, where the Russians and the British were expanding their influence.

The Descubierta and Atrevida sailed from Cadiz on 30 July 1789, stopping first at Montevideo on the Río de la Plata, then sailing south along the coast of Patagonia and visiting the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). After rounding Cape Horn the expedition stopped at several Chilean ports and surveyed the Juan Fernández Islands. The two corvettes sailed north separately, surveying and mapping the coast between Peru and Mexico, where they arrived at the end of March 1790.^[3]

In Mexico Malaspina received instructions from the Spanish king,

Leaving Nootka Sound, Malaspina and Bustamante sailed the Descubierta and Atrevida south to Monterey, Alta California. There Malaspina learned from Juan Carrasco that an inland sea had been discovered near Nootka Sound. It was the Strait of Georgia. Malaspina knew that an exploration voyage had to be dispatched immediately. He gave two of his officers, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores, command of two newly constructed goletas (schooners or brigs), and instructed them to thoroughly explore the new discovery. Malaspina himself supervised the final construction and fitting out of the two goletas, called the Sutil and the Mexicana.^[3]

The Malaspina expedition crossed the Pacific Ocean, from Acapulco to

From New Zealand the expedition sailed west to Port Jackson, Australia (today part of Sydney). They arrived in March 1793, about five years after the British first colonized Australia. The Malaspina expedition stayed for about a month. Relations with the British colonists were warm and friendly. The Spanish conducted scientific experiments, including astronomical and hydrographic observations, and the collection of many specimens of flora, fauna, and minerals. They also observed the British settlement, taking special note of any potential threat to Spanish interests in the Pacific. Malaspina was concerned that the increasing British presence in the Pacific might jeopardize Spanish trade between the Americas and the Philippines, which the Manila galleons had carried out for over two centuries with virtually no outside interference.^[3]

The Spanish corvettes left Port Jackson on 11 April 1793 and sailed northeast to Tonga, then known as the Friendly Islands. Cook had visited the southern Tongan islands in 1773. Malaspina opted to visit the northern archipelago now known as Vavaʻu. After the stay in Tonga the expedition sailed to Peru, then back around Cape Horn and on to Spain, arriving in Cadiz on 21 September 1793 after a voyage of over four years.^[3]

Aftermath

In Spain Malaspina's involvement in a conspiracy to overthrow the government culminated in Malaspina's arrest, imprisonment, and eventually banishment.^[3] Most of the material collected by the expedition was put away and didn't see the light again until late in the 20th century.

See also

• List of historical ships in British Columbia
• Descubierta class corvette
• European and American voyages of scientific exploration

References