Search This Blog

Wednesday, 13 November 2024

3529) 1715 Treasure Fleet - a combination of two Spanish Treasure Fleets - returning from the New World to Spain, the "Nueva España Fleet", and the "Tierra Firme Fleet" comprising 11 ships: Date of Ships being wrecked: 31.07.1715:

3529) 1715 Treasure Fleet - a combination of two Spanish Treasure Fleets - returning from the New World to Spain, the "Nueva España Fleet", and the "Tierra Firme Fleet" comprising 11 ships: Date of Ships being wrecked: 31.07.1715:

The 1715 Treasure Fleet was actually a combination of two Spanish treasure fleets returning from the New World to Spain, the "Nueva España Fleet", under Captain-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla, and the "Tierra Firme Fleet", under Don Antonio de Echeverz y Zubiza. At two in the morning on Wednesday, July 31, 1715, seven days after departing from Havana, Cuba,all eleven ships of the fleet were lost in a hurricane along the east coast of Florida. 

A 12th ship, the French frigate Le Grifon, had sailed with the fleet. Its captain was unfamiliar with the Florida coastline and elected to stay further out to sea. Le Grifon safely returned to Europe. 

Because the fleet was carrying silver, it is also known as the 1715 Plate Fleet (plata being the Spanish word for silver).

Some artifacts and even coins still wash up on Florida beaches from time to time.

According to Cuban records, around 1,500 sailors perished while a small number survived in lifeboats. 

The Salvage Operations:

Many ships, including pirates, took part in the initial salvage. Initially a privateer, Henry Jennings was first accused of piracy for attacking such salvage ships and claiming their salvages. 

Treasure hunter Kip Wagner's team built an exhibit held at National Geographic "Explorers Hall" in Washington, D.C. that was featured in the January 1965 issue of National Geographic

This was the beginning of a fine collection of 1715 plate fleet treasure that brought hundreds of visitors from around the world.

Wagner published his book Pieces of Eight (Recovering The Riches Of A Lost Spanish Fleet) in 1966. 

This is a detailed account of the finding and exploration of many of these shipwrecks along Florida's "Treasure Coast". 

An exhibit was set up with a grand opening on May 1, 1967, at the First National Bank of Satellite Beach, Florida. 

In 1987, another ship in the fleet, the "Urca de Lima", became the first shipwreck in the Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves. 

Mel Fisher's company, Mel Fisher's Treasures, sold the rights to the 1715 Fleet shipwreck to Queens Jewels, LLC. 

In 2015, 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels, LLC and their founder Brent Brisben discovered $4.5 million in gold coins off the coast of Vero Beach, Florida; the coins come from the 1715 Fleet shipwreck site known as the Corrigans wreck. 

List of identified ships which were shipwrecked in the hurricane and sank:

- Urca de Lima (Santissima Trinidad)

- former HMS Hampton Court (Nuestra Señora del Carmen y San Antonio)

- Santo Cristo de San Roman

- Nuestra Señora de las Nieves

- Nuestra Señora del Rosario y San Francisco Xavier

- Nuestra Señora del Carmen y San Antonio

- Nuestra Señora de Regla

- Nuestra Señora de la Popa (La Holandesa)

New evidence shows that the Douglass Beach Wreck, long believed to be the Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, is in fact the Santa Rita y Las Animas, bought by Ubilla in Cuba and renamed Nuestra Señora de Regla, like his flagship. 

In popular culture:

- In the 2008 movie Fool's Gold, the protagonists are searching for the location of one of the sunken ships of the treasure fleet (along with its treasure). 

- The treasure fleet was used as the backdrop for a scene in the video game Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: The main character, Edward Kenway, is aboard one of the ships in the fleet as a prisoner, and manages to escape with the help of his future quartermaster, Adéwalé, recruiting other captive pirates as a crew. 

The pirates eventually manage to escape the fleet and the hurricane by stealing the twelfth ship, the brig El Dorado, which Edward keeps and renames the Jackdaw, becoming the player's ship for the rest of the game. Edward later makes reference to the event when Blackbeard inquires as to how he got the Jackdaw, and the latter then suggests visiting the site to salvage some of the lost treasure. 

- In the 1977 movie "The Deep": "David Sanders (Nick Nolte) and his British girlfriend Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset) recover a number of artifacts (from a diving expedition off the coast of Bermuda, homeland of Captain Henry Jennings), including an ampule of amber-colored liquid and a medallion bearing the image of a woman and the letters 'S.C.O.P.N' (an abbreviation of the Latin 'Santa Clara Ora Pro Nobis' that translates to English as 'Saint Clara Pray For Us') and a date, 1714. 

- St. David's Lighthouse keeper and treasure-hunter Romer Treece (Robert Shaw): believes the medallion had come from the wreckage of the surviving twelfth ship, thought to be a French tobacco ship that was being protected by the 1715 Fleet and named Grifon (spelt "El Grifón" in Peter Benchley's novel The Deep).

The ship was thought to be returning to Havana, Cuba for repairs but instead sank off the coast of Bermuda. 

- The plot of the Starz show "Black Sails": revolves heavily around the 1715 Treasure Fleet in its first season. 

The largest of the ships, the Urca de Lima, is wrecked during the hurricane off the coast of Florida, carrying five million Spanish dollars' worth in gold, silver and other precious materials, pursued by Captain Flint and his crew. The treasure, colloquially referred to as "the Urca gold", is an important plot device throughout the series.

Some Coins recovered from the 1715 Fleet:

8 reales Mexican silver cob, full date 1715, recovered from the 1715 fleet 

Rare 8 escudos lima dated 1710, recovered from the 1715 Fleet

Exhibits and preserves - Historical marker designating the site of the Survivors' and Salvagers' Camp - 1715 Fleet




Links:



 Links to SS Central America (The Ship Of Gold) posts on this blog:

i) "SS Central America" (The "Ship of Gold"), USA (Part I): "California Gold Rush" Gold Nuggets recovered from the historic wreck which sank on 12.09.1857

ii) The Ship of Gold (SS Central America), USA - Part II: A historic 54-pound Gold Rush ingot which sank to the bottom of the Sea in the shipwreck SS Central America in 1857 was recovered 131 years later

 "Australian Shipwrecks" Coin Series:





Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:


The Treasure ship: San Jose:


The Treasure ship : Princess Louisa:

The Clipper - Cutty Sark:


Did You Know Series : The SS Tilawa:


Nuestra Senora de Atocha shipwreck & Salvage of the enormous Treasure:


The Atlantic Sands - Shipwreck:


The 1715 Treasure Fleet - or "The Nueva Espana Fleet:


Some interesting links to Spanish & Portuguese exploration:





Discoverers of Oceania Annual Stamp Series:






Portugal:




The "Age of Discovery" Escudo Banknote Series:




For interesting posts on Coins and stamps of Spain, please visit the following links:














































Spain and Spanish Culture through its Animals Gold Coin Series:




For interesting posts on Coins and stamps of Portugal, please visit the following links:





7) Portuguese Numismatics (1st Group): A set of four Stamps in the values of N20g, A20g, E20g and 120g issued by CTT Correios (Portuguese Post) in partnership with INCM ("Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (the "Portuguese Mint & Official Printing Office") depicting coins from various periods of history: Date od Stamp set issue: 22.04.2020
























The "Age of Discovery" Escudo Banknote Series:




My Stamp Album - The Adventures of Tori & Co.:






For posts on coins issued under the Eurostar Coin Programme, please visit the following links:

7) i) "Europa Coin Programme" or the "European Star Programme" or the "Eurostar Programme" ii) Central Bank of Malta issues 50 Euro (Gold) and 10 Euro (Silver) Proof Coins featuring "Architecture and artwork of the Gothic Era" in 05/2020 (which is a part of the wider programme focussing on the Ages of Europe: Date of Coins issue: 08.05.2020





Links to interesting posts on Coins & Banknotes of Japan:












4 comments:

  1. Rajan Trikha has commented:
    "Very interesting description."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Santosh Khanna has commented:
    "A VERY informative and interesting post Thanks for sharing."

    ReplyDelete