San Diego (ship)

The galleon San Diego was built as the trading ship San Antonio before hastily being converted into a warship of the Spanish Navy. On December 14, 1600, the fully laden San Diego was engaged by the Dutch warship Mauritius under the command of Admiral Olivier van Noort a short distance away from Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Philippines. Since San Diego could not handle the extra weight of her cannons, which led to a permanent list and put the cannon portholes below sea level, she was sunk without firing a single shot in response. The Dutch were later reported firing upon and hurling lances at the survivors attempting to climb aboard the Mauritius.

Nearly 400 years later, in 1992, the wreck was discovered by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio; and a total of 34,407 artifacts and ecofacts were recovered from the shipwreck, including Chinese porcelain, Japanese katanas, Portuguese cannons and Mexican coins. The San Diego exhibition toured the globe before it started to be permanently displayed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila. The Naval Museum in Madrid has also featured a display.