Perhaps someone can help me? Was there a 1711 Spanish Treasure Fleet. If So, can you tell me how many ships, their cargo, and if the fleet made it to Spain. Thank you for your help. humble
Old Bookaroo said:From Robert Marx:
"Cuba. 64. Year 1711. Five ships of the Nueva Espana Flota were wrecked during a "norther" on December 16 about 5 leagues west of Havana; one was its Almiranta, Santisima Trinidad, which carried a large treasure, Captain Diego de Alarcon y Ocano of the Armada de Barlovento; the other four were flota naos, of which only one was identified, the Nuestra Senora del Rosario, San Jose y Las Animas. Divers were quickly employed and by January 4 they had recovered over 1,700,000 pesos in treasure from the wrecks. The total amount of treasure carried on these ships was not stated in the documents.
Shipwrecks of the Western Hemisphere: 1492-1825 (New York: 1971) pg. 353
from The Homewrecker:
The ALMIRANTA and THREE NAOS
Somewhere against the coast "leeward of Havana" - probably near Mariel - lie the bones of the Almiranta and the three naos of the 1711 New Spain armada. These ships were driven south onto reefs by a sharp storm which caught them coming in from Veracruz. Nearly all their crew and passengers reached safety ashore before the ships were battered to pieces and most of the treasure which they carried was recovered afterward by native divers. The comment "nearly all the silver was saved" indicates that some could not be located in the tangled wreckage. The positions of these ships could be pinpointed with a little research. Their crusted ballast should hold ten to twenty thousand dollars in ingots and coins.
John S. Potter, Jr. The Treasure Diver's Guide (Revised Edition) (Garden City, New York: 1972) pg. 152.
You probably should check Horner's Treasure Galleons - my copy isn't close at hand.
Good luck to all,
~The Old Bookaroo