An important communication between two high ranking officials in the eighteenth-century Spanish empire. The Viceroy informs Valdes, minister of the Navy, that he is sending money to Spain in the frigate Santa Tecla, and that he has appointed Don Luis Arquedas to be Captain. He also mentions that he is sending various vessels which are intended for the expedition to Darien.
To place this letter in context, in “1784 a Junta was convened in Bogota by the viceroy and archbishop, Don Antonio Caballero y Gorgora, when instructions were issued to establish forts at Mandiga, Concepcion, Carolina (in Caledonia Bay) and Cayman. The command was intrusted to De la Torre and with him were associated Brigadier General Don Antonio de Arebalo and Garcia de Villalba; these forts were established in 1785 and the same year Lieutenant Colonel Don Andres de Arisa, governor of Darien founded Puerte del Principe with 200 men” (Hurst).
As for the Santa Tecla, she didn’t manage to complete her delivery. While still in port on 22 June 1786, a fire broke out and though the crew were evacuated safely, the ship was lost.
Hurst, T.W., compiler. Isthmus of Panama, Nicaragua, Canal Routes, etc. (Michigan, 1895), pp.31-32.
