Santa Rosa was built in 1715 at the Ribeira das Naus shipyard in Lisbon, Portugal for the Portuguese Navy.

On 19 July 1717 Santa Rosa took part in the Battle of Matapan (now Tenaro, Greece) in the Portuguese wing coalition organized by Pope Clement XI against the Turks during the Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–18).

Amongst the cargo spread over the two warships were 27,000 rolls of tobacco, 13,000 boxes of sugar, 20,000 hides, thousands of coconuts, a large number of logs, some 10 tons of gold in bullion and coins, diamonds and gems, between 70 and 200 barrels of gunpowder and a regiment of Portuguese soldiers along with other passengers.

The seven survivors (who were all male) clamped on to the ship's wreckage and were rescued the following day; it is believed more people survived the explosion but perished when they were overcome by fatigue or by injury of shark attacks.

The most believed theory is that Captain Bartolomeu Freire de Araújo had been having some heated discussions with the commander of the Portuguese regiment that were on board the ship.