El Graduado
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There is another Cozumel place-name that I find interesting: Punta Salis. It lies to the south of Playa Hanan (also known as Playa Xanan or Playa Xhanan).
Some people believe Punta Salis was a misspelling of Sales. These folks say the point was named after the ship San Francisco de Sales that wrecked on the east coast of Cozumel in 1761. They link the ship’s name and the name of the point because iron cannons were found on the seabed near there. I am not so sure these cannon belonged to the San Francisco de Sales, because that ship was salvaged shortly after it grounded. When the ship’s captain, crew, and passengers were rescued, their report does not mention that they had any interaction with the island’s inhabitants. The captain stated in a letter that the crew had heard that these inhabitants were “wild Indians” and whom they feared would attack them on the beach. Since there was no apparent contact with the islanders, that would have to mean the island’s inhabitants never knew the name of the ship. The survivors may have recorded the site of the wreck on a map at a later date, but that is unlikely since the maps at the time were not that accurate and the point would not have been distinguishable from the rest of the island’s east coast. And, since the ship was salvaged all at one time and there is no record of any subsequent trips back to the site, I just can’t see how the name could have been passed down through the years. Below is an article I wrote recently about the ship and its wreck:
After departing Cadiz on September 2, 1760, the Tetis arrived in Cartagena de las Indias (Colombia) with a shipment of goods and 34 Jesuit priests from Cadiz in early November. It took a while for the captain to secure a contract for a return cargo to augment the small load of silver he was taking from Cartagena to Cadiz, but by March he had arranged to carry some passengers to Veracruz then pick up a load of sugar in Havana to deliver in Cadiz. He set off from Cartagena in route to Havana in late March of 1761, but after over a week of calm seas and little headway, the winds suddenly picked up and through the fault of a careless pilot, the Tetis ran aground on the east coast of Cozumel on April 5. No one was hurt in the wrecking event and over one hundred crew and passengers abandoned the vessel, carrying all of the silver to shore for safekeeping.
Two days after the wreck, a small group of the Tetis’ stranded crewmembers and a couple of prisoners being transported to Havana aboard the Tetis spread the word that there were “Wild Indians” on Cozumel and that these Indians were on their way through the jungle to attack the crew’s encampment. The rumor was started with the intention of causing pandemonium in the hope that during the confusion, the small group of plotters could steal the silver and carry it away in the ship’s longboat.
The captain got wind of the plot and ordered the group put in chains and sentenced the ringleader to death by gunshot. The silver was saved and the ringleader begged for mercy, which was granted at the very last moment as the executioner was preparing to fire. Although most of the crew sided with the captain in this small mutiny, they were an unhappy lot, and held Rivero at fault for their predicament, even though it was the pilot who caused the wreck.
Although Cozumel was not a busy port in the 1700s, ships did pass by frequently and some would stop to trade with the islanders and logwood cutters living there. One of these ships passing by the east coast(probably chased down by the longboat of the Tetis) carried the news of the wreck to Campeche, where Manuel Rivero’s son in law, Miguel Antonio Armida, was living at the time. Armida owned Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (a.k.a. El Victorioso), a ship he built in Campeche two years earlier. Upon hearing news of the wreck, Armida gathered up the equipment and small vessels he needed and set off from Campeche in July of 1761 in El Victorioso to salvage the Tetis’ cargo and equipment and rescue the crew who were stranded on Cozumel.
In July, Armida and his salvors arrived in Cozumel. The Tetis was stripped of everything of value, including cannons and anchors and all the shipwrecked sailors and passengers were loaded aboard the Victorioso and carried to Veracruz. Once safely there, the passengers all demanded a refund for the 1,200 pesos they each paid for their transport to Havana as well as compensation for lost baggage (which, judging by the values claimed must have been Luis Vuitton bags full of Hermes scarves!) and recompense for their troubles and lost time. The crew also filed suit for unpaid wages, lost baggage, and room and board until those amounts were paid in full. The Tetis had been insured, but by the time all the exaggerated claims had been paid, the amount paid out far exceeded what the insurance covered. With the costly wreck of the Tetis, the shipping company that Manuel Rivero González had built from scratch began to flounder, and soon was bankrupt.
On October 26, 1761, José Antonio Rivero wrote a letter to his father from Campeche, saying: “God can do as he will, but I pray that in his infinite good will he will not permit me to ever need to eat lizards in Cozumel or any other place, nor see me so hungry with so little to eat!”
There is an interesting story of how the documents regarding the Tetis survived, but I will save that for a later telling.
Some people believe Punta Salis was a misspelling of Sales. These folks say the point was named after the ship San Francisco de Sales that wrecked on the east coast of Cozumel in 1761. They link the ship’s name and the name of the point because iron cannons were found on the seabed near there. I am not so sure these cannon belonged to the San Francisco de Sales, because that ship was salvaged shortly after it grounded. When the ship’s captain, crew, and passengers were rescued, their report does not mention that they had any interaction with the island’s inhabitants. The captain stated in a letter that the crew had heard that these inhabitants were “wild Indians” and whom they feared would attack them on the beach. Since there was no apparent contact with the islanders, that would have to mean the island’s inhabitants never knew the name of the ship. The survivors may have recorded the site of the wreck on a map at a later date, but that is unlikely since the maps at the time were not that accurate and the point would not have been distinguishable from the rest of the island’s east coast. And, since the ship was salvaged all at one time and there is no record of any subsequent trips back to the site, I just can’t see how the name could have been passed down through the years. Below is an article I wrote recently about the ship and its wreck:
The Wreck of the San Francisco de Sales on Cozumel, April 5, 1761
Copyright Ric Hajovsky 2018
Manuel Rivero González owned a fleet of cargo vessels which he used to haul freight and passengers between Cadiz, Spain and ports in the New World during the mid-1700s. One of Rivero’s ships was named San Francisco de Sales (nicknamed Tetis), a ship captained by Rivero’s son, José Antonio Rivero Cordero. Rivero acquired the 476 ton, French-built vessel from Fernando Arnaud and overhauled it, resulting in a 500 ton ship armed with 20 cannons to fend off English pirates.Copyright Ric Hajovsky 2018
After departing Cadiz on September 2, 1760, the Tetis arrived in Cartagena de las Indias (Colombia) with a shipment of goods and 34 Jesuit priests from Cadiz in early November. It took a while for the captain to secure a contract for a return cargo to augment the small load of silver he was taking from Cartagena to Cadiz, but by March he had arranged to carry some passengers to Veracruz then pick up a load of sugar in Havana to deliver in Cadiz. He set off from Cartagena in route to Havana in late March of 1761, but after over a week of calm seas and little headway, the winds suddenly picked up and through the fault of a careless pilot, the Tetis ran aground on the east coast of Cozumel on April 5. No one was hurt in the wrecking event and over one hundred crew and passengers abandoned the vessel, carrying all of the silver to shore for safekeeping.
Two days after the wreck, a small group of the Tetis’ stranded crewmembers and a couple of prisoners being transported to Havana aboard the Tetis spread the word that there were “Wild Indians” on Cozumel and that these Indians were on their way through the jungle to attack the crew’s encampment. The rumor was started with the intention of causing pandemonium in the hope that during the confusion, the small group of plotters could steal the silver and carry it away in the ship’s longboat.
The captain got wind of the plot and ordered the group put in chains and sentenced the ringleader to death by gunshot. The silver was saved and the ringleader begged for mercy, which was granted at the very last moment as the executioner was preparing to fire. Although most of the crew sided with the captain in this small mutiny, they were an unhappy lot, and held Rivero at fault for their predicament, even though it was the pilot who caused the wreck.
Although Cozumel was not a busy port in the 1700s, ships did pass by frequently and some would stop to trade with the islanders and logwood cutters living there. One of these ships passing by the east coast(probably chased down by the longboat of the Tetis) carried the news of the wreck to Campeche, where Manuel Rivero’s son in law, Miguel Antonio Armida, was living at the time. Armida owned Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (a.k.a. El Victorioso), a ship he built in Campeche two years earlier. Upon hearing news of the wreck, Armida gathered up the equipment and small vessels he needed and set off from Campeche in July of 1761 in El Victorioso to salvage the Tetis’ cargo and equipment and rescue the crew who were stranded on Cozumel.
In July, Armida and his salvors arrived in Cozumel. The Tetis was stripped of everything of value, including cannons and anchors and all the shipwrecked sailors and passengers were loaded aboard the Victorioso and carried to Veracruz. Once safely there, the passengers all demanded a refund for the 1,200 pesos they each paid for their transport to Havana as well as compensation for lost baggage (which, judging by the values claimed must have been Luis Vuitton bags full of Hermes scarves!) and recompense for their troubles and lost time. The crew also filed suit for unpaid wages, lost baggage, and room and board until those amounts were paid in full. The Tetis had been insured, but by the time all the exaggerated claims had been paid, the amount paid out far exceeded what the insurance covered. With the costly wreck of the Tetis, the shipping company that Manuel Rivero González had built from scratch began to flounder, and soon was bankrupt.
On October 26, 1761, José Antonio Rivero wrote a letter to his father from Campeche, saying: “God can do as he will, but I pray that in his infinite good will he will not permit me to ever need to eat lizards in Cozumel or any other place, nor see me so hungry with so little to eat!”
There is an interesting story of how the documents regarding the Tetis survived, but I will save that for a later telling.
