RODRIGO PÉREZ FERNÁNDEZ Y JAIME PÉREZ MARTÍNEZ
En este artículo se trazará la trayectoria de la tecnología naval española en
los últimos 250 años, cuyo desarrollo permitió a España el control y dominio
de mares y océanos, y como consecuencia de ello, adentrarse en un nuevo
mundo y conseguir dominarlo.
Palabras clave: arsenales, historia construcción naval, ingenieros navales.
Abstract
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the creation of the Spanish Navy
Engineers Corps (1770), the birth of naval engineering studies in Spain. And
there have been many prominent figures who have participated in the creation
and development of naval engineering in Spain.
In order to retain its position in the context of the European powers, it was
necessary to possess an effective army and naval forces (navy) capable of
serving the dynastic ambitions of the crown. That is, to contribute to the
defence of a vast transoceanic empire and to ensure the safety of overseas
trade. Therefore, the Secretary of State José Patiño created the “Cuerpo Gene-ral”
(General Corps), with military duties at sea, and the “Cuerpo de Ministe-rio”
(Ministry Corps, known as “Intendencia”), with economic and manage-rial
responsibilities. Likewise, in 1717, the Academy of Midshipmen of Cádiz
was established. He also commissioned the construction of the first modern
shipyard in our country, the Royal Shipyard of La Carraca, which would be
followed in 1749 by that of Cartagena and Ferrol in 1751.
In 1765, as a result of Spain’s new military commitments and technologi-cal
developments, a new approach to Spanish shipbuilding was required. This
was carried out by Francisco Gautier (1733-1800), who inspired the creation
of the Navy Engineers Corps together with its training academies.
This paper will discuss the development of naval technology over the last
250 years, which allowed Spain to rule the seas, and as a consequence, to
reach and conquer the New World.
Keywords: Navy, shipyard, shipbuilding history, naval engineers.
Antecedentes
El desarrollo de la tecnología naval y su liderazgo en este campo permitie-ron
a España controlar y dominar los mares y océanos, y como consecuencia
de ello, descubrir un nuevo mundo, adentrarse en él y llegar a dominarlo. El
dominio de los mares se convirtió en una fuente de oportunidades que España
aprovechó para convertirse en la mayor y más duradera potencia mundial.
Los mares, que durante muchos siglos fueron una frontera infranqueable que
impidió a Europa conocer el mundo en toda su extensión, permitieron a la huma-
108 REVISTA DE HISTORIA NAVAL 154 (2021), pp. 107-118. ISSN 0212-467X