The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-19
NAMES OF SPANISH SHIPS.
ANOTHER INSTANCE OF sPAIH'S
PRIDE IN HER FORMER CREAM AS.

In recent times Spain has followed in tho
naming Of her w~arships the fashion set long
ago by her English adversnrios. The first Eng.
ish shin known to have been distinctly q man
of-wRr was named the Great Harry. after the
King by whose orders she was built, and
through the whole course OF English naval his
tory some Of EnglAnd's most formidable fight
ing ships have borne the names of kings.
princes, princesses. or distinguished leaders. All
this time, in the days of her hottest rivalry
with England, and while sho still retained n
remnant Of her ancient hold upon the sea, SPANS
ships, as a rule, received religious names, most
~, Of course. names of saints, but including
Santissima Trinidad, Espiritu Snnto, Asuncion,
and like names OF sacred mysteries. The change
from the use of these religious names 10 the use
Of names famous in Spanish history may sig
nifty n decay of religious faith in tho Spanish
people, or it may be that the national conscience
interpreted more than two centuries of naval
disaster as an expression Of Divine dlsPleasuro
at the former custom. But ut the present time
here IL a tragic irony hidden under the names
Of many of SPANS ill.equipped, wretchedly
handled ships.
One OF Dowsy's easiest victims at Cavit6 was
the Don Antonio d'Ulloa. The original Don
Antonio was not, 1t is true, distinguished as
either a sea fighter or as an administrators. 1t
was no who, having been sent out TO the Azores
to intercept a fleet of eight English merchant
men on their way homo from India, allowed
himself to become SO absorbed In scientific
studies that he forgot to open his scaled orders
until It was too late to execute them. Some
years before that. in 1866, he had been appoint
cd first Spanish Governor Of Louisiana, after
the transfer o. that territory to Spain by secret
treaty, but the French colonists made them
selves SO troublesome to Don Antonio that ho
soon resigned the task into the hands OF one
O'Reilly. AS an explorer, astronomer, and en-
Iineer, however, d'UlloR ranks among the fore
most men Of his time. At the age OF 10 he was
associated with Lalande, the famous French
mathematician, in the work of determining the
measurement OF a given arc OF the meridian at
the equator. With this object he was sent by
his Government to Quito. Unfortunately, Eng
land went to war with spain before the given
arc was determined. and Don Antonio was has
tily summoned by the Spanish Governor Of Peru
10 the practical work Of planning Notifications
for Callao against an expected attack by An
son. The Notifications were planned, and the
young scientist laboriously made his way back
to his meridian, but had hardly
tae work when a second summons came.
A less earnest man might have lost patience
with science and devoted himself to vengeance
on his English tormentors. but Don Antonio
went back again to his geodetic work, stuck to
1t and wrote an account OF his South American
experiences. He was aftorward promoted to
high rank in the Bureau Of Marine at Madrid,
was instrumental in founding the great obser-
vatory at Cadiz and in promoting scientific
studios generally in his country. and planned
some OF the most important engineering works
in Spain. Neither his failure as a Governor of
Louisiana nor his absent indedness ut the
Azores seems to have lessened the esteem in
which he was held at court. Still, il there is
luck in the association OF names. the name OF
Don Antonio d'Ulloa might have struck the
Spanish authorities, one would have thought,
as ominous for a battleship.
IL was the Marques de la Ensenada, whose
name is now borne by a light-armed cruiser,
who supported d'Ulloa in the project of the
Quito survey and later on gave him counter
ance in other practical and scientific public en-
terprises. Lemon de Somouevilla was by birth
a man Of the plain people. In 1892 he acted as
commissary of the Spanish fleet on the north
coast Of Africa and a little later held a similar
post in the Spanish army which invaded Naples.
In recognition OF his services he was made Min
lister OF Marine and received the curious,
though appropriate, title OF Marques de Ia En-
senada, which means Marquis OF the Ports.'
by 1742 Philip W, after the capricious fashion
of eighteenth century monarchs. had loaded
hin, with the responsibility OF well nigh all the
BY a turn OF fortune, also characteristic OF his
country and time, the Marques, some years
later. was superseded and practically, banishcd
from The capital. lie was a strong Rdministra-
tive retormer and probably a man far ahead Of
his times. His, policy, which favored France
as against England, and tended to remove re-
sLrictions on commerce. fell with him. Never
theless. there ID evidence of SomodeVilla's force
OF personality, a. well AS 4 curious glimpse Of
Spanish governmental methods, in the state
ment OF his biographer that the King privately
correspondent with him aud sometimes TOOK his
ad Twice on affairs OF state after his retirement.
Tho exploit of Lieut.. Hobson has practically
deprived spain OF the services of two OF her
finest cruisers in the ViZcaya and tho Almirante
Ooquendo. The ,Oquendo is named in honor of
the best and boldest and most famous sea tight.
ors spain ever Possessed. Three successive
selves in the Spanish naval service between
the middle OF the sixteenth and the middle of
the seventeenth century. Il is a coincidence
worth, noting that the Oquendo family be-
i0nged to the province, Of Nizcaya. Miguel
place in the 'Invincible Armada" about cor.
responding to that of a Commodore, and com
manded the Guipuzcoa squadron. His son,
Antonio, was 10 years old at that time, but at
the age OF 20. in 1904, he commanded: u squad.
ron which chased a fleet OF English corsairs
Spanish nIen.of war seldom succeeded, even in
those days. in capturing English corsairs, this
exploit was highly esteemed at Madrid and
resulted in Oquendo's promotion.
Three years later AlniranLe Oquendo wrought
havoc among the Dutch ships OF war that were
fleet past the Spanish coast. In 1851 he
gained u great victory over the Dutch Admiral.
Adrian Hanspater. OF the Argentine coast,
and, according To Spanish authorities. a Dutch
fleet which Oquendo successfully withstood in
the Downs some years later o~utnumbered the
Spanish by Ave vessels TO one. This last may be
an example OF Spanish hyporDole. but 1t seems
that, on the ,wnole. Antonio, de Oquendo, as
well as Miguel, his father. and another &1iguel,
bis son, WAS an emlnently fine example OF tho
nBhting Biscayln of his timo. lie Is a DOpu-
lar hero to this day in the north of Spain,
where. popular fancy has made much oil the
tradition that three large tumors were found on
the point OF his heart after his death. this phe-
nomenon being taken as \ physical indication
r Oquendo,s greatness of soul.
Another Spanish vessel of the same class
with the Vizcaya and the Oquendo is tho Car.
denial Cisneros. Headers OF Prescott and
W ashington Irving may or may not recognize
by This. name Jimenez de Cisneros, the church,
man, who. under Ferdinand and isabella, was
both jealous and successful in converting
many OF the conquered Moors. though some
times. by means which will hardly beur scru,
tiny in the light Of nineteenth century ideas
Whatever may he thought of his proselytizina
methods, Jimenez Was certainly u practical.
statesman such as Spain could prohtably EN-,
ploy today IL she could find him.
But in all the humiliation that Spain is now
undergoing, 10 association of names contains q
Gitterer irony than that of her, theoretically
most powei tul ship, the Pelayo. The name OIL
S1rlos V. il, 1t IL true, overwhelmingly great
In European history. but Carlos ". was, In feel
ing and in character, a German rather than
SLaniard. He robbed AraRon of her anCicnl