Independencia was
long between perpendiculars, had a
beam of and a
draft of . The ship
displaced . She had one
trunk steam engine that drove her single propeller. The engine produced which gave the ship a speed of . For long-distance travel,
Independencia was fitted with three
masts and
barque rigged. She had a crew of 250 officers and crewmen. The ship was armed with four
Armstrong , twelve and four 30-pounder
rifled, muzzle-loading guns. The 7-inch guns were on
pivot mountings on the
spar deck. She was a
central-battery ironclad with the armament concentrated amidships.
Independencia was equipped with a
ram at her bow and her hull was divided into three
watertight compartments. The ship had a complete
waterline armor belt thick. Her
battery was protected by armor plates equally as thick. ==Construction and career==