Need to find oldest Spanish cannon in Western Hemisphere

[cannonmn]

What's the oldest dated Spanish cannon you know of?  My need to find it stems from a research project I did on a breechloading bronze cannon owned by the Navy, which I think is mis-identified. 


Details are on my recent post on the Company of Military Historians board.  It is just a bit tricky to get into so hotlinks don't work but you can get there.  You start at

http://military-historians.org/

and find the red button on bottom of the page.

[Bob Smith]

Well, depends what you call Spanish, I suppose. There are a number of early Portuguese (and English) guns on the Santissimo sacramento, wrecked off Brazil in the 1660s; the cannons are now scattered round a variety of instititutions in Rio. They are published by Joe Guilmartin and can be found on the internet.

I think there is an English gun cast by the Mayo brothers inthe 1550s in Massachusetts. Queen Maryt of England was the wife of Philip of Spain, so could count as "Spanish".

But there was a facetted gun found in the Gulf of Mexico, dated 155? which was being touted round in the 1970s; it was certainly published in the IJNA, not sure where else.

Oh, and my wife says, to let you know, she featured two of your items in her last Basilicoe Mercury; she hopes you don't mind.

Bob Smith

[nematode]

There is a pretty old Spanish mortar or large thundercup signal cannon in ebay right now... don't remember listing details but it was going pretty high.

[cannonmn]

Oh, and my wife says, to let you know, she featured two of your items in her last Basilicoe Mercury; she hopes you don't mind.

No problem, I shall eagerly await the checks to cover our license fee of 5,000. Euros per item. (insert yellow smiley face here.)

Seriously now folks: 

Thanks for letting me know Bob, I hope I can find a link to it so I can see for myself!

I'll try to find the 1550's piece, if you think of where I can find a picture pls advise.

In this investigation, for a cannon to qualify as Spanish, it has to have been cast in some part of the Spanish empire at the time it was cast, so for certain periods, Portugal would qualify, as would the Philippines, Mexico, Spanish Florida, etc.  England doesn't count, sorry.

[cannonmn]

Oh, and my wife says, to let you know, she featured two of your items in her last Basilicoe Mercury; she hopes you don't mind.

I finally found 'em, down towards the bottom, the link to the article on the Guanatnamo Bay cannon, and one of our recent videos on firelances.

http://www.klm-mra.be/icomam/

[Bob Smith]

Here's the information of the 1550s facetted gun, although still cannot find online picture:
http://www.international.icomos.org/18thapril/18avril2003case.htm
Interestingly they think their's is the oldest Spanish bronze gun found in the New World

Bob Smith

[cannonmn]

Thanks for that info Bob!

BTW, here's a photo of the oldest one I could find a photo of.  It is privately owned.  It is 8 feet long, weighs 3300 lbs., dated 1592, has arms of Philip II, and came from famous wreck of ATOCHA.  This piece was for a time displayed in Explorer's Hall at Nat. Geographic Society in Washington DC.  It is the larger of the two pieces shown.