The galleon San Salvador was part of King Philip II’s Armada.
Defeated at the Battle of Gravelines, some of the Armada’s galleons tried to escape both northward and southward.

That explains how in July 1588, the San Salvador put up with an explosion and ran aground on the coast of Canton de Ryes.

The name ‘Calvados’ probably takes its origin either from this rocky coast named ‘calva dorsa’ (i.e. peeled crest in Latin) situated at what is called the Pit of Spain,
or from the name of this galleon.

In both cases, it all took place in the Canton of Ryes and since the XVIIIth century, the Norman cider brandy is called “Calvados”.