Esmeralda was a 44-gun frigate built in Port Mahón, Balearic Islands in 1791 for the Spanish Navy.

After the defeat in the Battle of Chacabuco the Spanish government ordered Esmeralda to sail from Cádiz on 6 May 1817 under the command of Captain Luis Goic with a convoy that included the ships Reina de los Ángeles, San José, San Juan, Castilla, Tagle, and Primorosa Mariana.

[2] On 31 March 1818 Esmeralda, the most powerful Spanish warship on the Pacific coast, joined Pezuela and Potrillo in the blockade of Valparaíso.

The squadron was forced to move up and down the coast on supply gathering excursions, challenging shore fortifications.

The Chilean ships sailed as far as the Gulf of Cortez off Mexico without finding a trace of the missing frigates.