A Spanish Treasure Fleet Is Shipwrecked Just Off Vero Beach

Many may be aware that there is an entire wrecked Spanish treasure fleet just off the stunning Vero Beach in Florida. The site immediately attracted pirates and other salvage attempts. Since the 1960s salvage attempts have been ongoing and to this day the long-stricken fleet continues to give up its treasures with treasure hunters making their fortune.

Sometimes the value of a sunken treasure galleon can be worth billions - like the San Jose treasure ship, the "holy grail" of shipwrecks today. In fact, diving for treasure ships has become a big business with companies dedicated to discovering and salvaging long-lost treasures.

The Historical Background Of the Doomed Treasure Fleet

By the early 1700s, Spain's heyday as the superpower of the world was long over with other countries like Britain and France in the ascendancy and challenging it at every turn. These treasure fleets served to fund Spain's declining place in European and world affairs.

Spain: A Declining World Power By The 1700s

Europe was ravaged by two major wars between 1688 and 1715. These wars disrupted trade between the Old World and the New World - a trade that declining Spain was highly dependent on. They were suffering greatly at the hands of the French and other countries on the continent, while their navies and treasure ships were being attacked and sunk by the English.

By the end of the hostilities of the period, Spain was in dire need of financial relief and dispatched a fleet to bring much-needed gold and silver to Spain. Long-delayed and under intense pressure from Spain, the fleet set sail even though the hurricane season had long begun.

Delayed: The Treasure Fleet Was Delayed By 2 Years

The Voyage of The Dammed

In 1715 a Spanish treasure fleet set sail from the New World laden with silver to Spain. The ill-fated fleet departed from Havana in Cuba under the command of Juan Esteban de Ubilla, but just seven days later they ran into a devastating hurricane near Vero Beach in Flordia.

During these times, the return trip to Spain from the New World was more dangerous. The galleons would be fully loaded with all manner of precious cargoes of gold, silver, jewelry, tobacco, spices, indigo, cochineal, etc. Plus the crew were often plagued by tropical diseases and malnutrition by this point.

At that time in history, Florida was just an isolated outpost of the Spanish Empire and its most important mission was just to secure the homeward route of the Spanish New World Treasure Fleets.

Treasure: Silver
Date: 2.00 am, Wednesday, July 31, 1715
Ships: 11 of 12 Spanish Ships Wrecked

The winds blew the ships close to the Florida coast and in the wee hours of the morning of July 31st, the hurricane struck the doomed ships with all its might onto the jagged reefs.

The ships broke up like wooden toys. The only ship to survive the storm was the accompanying French warship Griffon (her captain Captain Antoine d’Aire had chosen to head towards the northeast and into the storm). When the ship arrived in Paris, they were unaware that all the Spanish ships had been destroyed.

Sailors: Around 1,500 Sailors Perished

Of the 12 ships in the fleet, 11 were wrecked and around 1,500 sailors perished. Only a few survived in lifeboats. Afterward many ships took part in the initial salvage - including pirates from the nearby Republic of the Pirates in the Bahamas.

The Treasures Onboard The Fleet

Onboard one group of 5 ships in the fleet were 1300 chests containing a staggering 3,000,000 silver coins. Additionally, they also carried gold coins, gold bars, silver bars, jewelry, emeralds, pearls, and even precious Kangxi Chinese export porcelain which had been brought to Mexico by the Manila Galleons.

Another ship carried some 44,000 pieces of eight and other ships had their own cargo. In total, Captain Antoine d’Aire reported that the fleet’s entire cargo was estimated at 15 million silver piastres (pieces of eight).

Value Of the Treasure: 15 Million Pieces of Eight

Salvage of The Treasures

While these initial salvage operations salvaged what they could of the vast hordes of treasure they could not get it all. In the 1960s the salvage operations started once again and continue to this day and there are many companies and websites dedicated to these salvage attempts with more treasure beginning found every year.

Over two days one team made the most valuable find in recent times finding 350 coins worth $4.5m. Other treasures hunters made finds of a million or so dollars. According to the Guardian, it is thought that there is still some $400m in coins still undiscovered in a coastal area stretching from Melbourne to Fort Pierce, known as Florida’s Treasure Coast.