Jesus of Lübeck

Jesus of Lübeck on the Anthony Roll
History
Free City of Lübeck
NameJesus von Lübeck
Launchedc. 1520
History
England
NameThe Jhesus of Lubeke
Acquiredc. 1540
FateCaptured off San Juan de Ulúa, 23 September 1568
General characteristics
Class and typeCarrack
Tons burthenc. 700 tons

Jesus of Lübeck was a carrack built in the Free City of Lübeck in the early 16th century.

English fleet

Around 1540 the ship, which had mostly been used for representative purposes, was acquired by Henry VIII, King of England, to augment his fleet.

The ship saw action during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight in 1545. She, along with Samson, was used in an unsuccessful attempt to raise Henry VIII’s flagship, Mary Rose, after she foundered during the Battle of the Solent.

Slaving vessel

In 1563, Jesus of Lübeck was chartered to a group of merchants by Queen Elizabeth I, becoming involved in the Atlantic slave trade and smuggling under John Hawkins, who organized four slave voyages to West Africa and the West Indies between 1562 and 1568.

During the last voyage, Jesus, along with several other English ships, encountered a Spanish fleet off San Juan de Ulúa (modern day Vera Cruz, Mexico) in September 1568. In the resulting battle, Jesus was disabled and captured by Spanish forces. The heavily damaged ship was later sold for 601 ducats to a local merchant.

Bibliography

  • Pietsch, Ulrich (1981). Die Lübecker is Seeschiffahrt vom Mittelalter bis zur Neuzeit (in German). Vol. 5. Lübeck: Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte. ISBN 3-9800517-1-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Reinhardt, Karl (1949). "Die Karacke Jesus von Lübeck". Zeitschrift für Lübeckische Geschichte und Altertumskunde (in German). 31: 79–110.