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1715 Spanish Plate Fleet
by Bob "Frogfoot" Weller
On July 31, 1715 a savage hurricane swept across the Bahama Channel from the Northeast, catching in its path the Spanish treasure fleet on its way from Havana to Spain. It was a disaster to the fleet as well as to the King of Spain Philip V. His fortunes rose and fell with the arrival of the annual treasure fleet, and when it did not arrive he often faced bankruptcy. This fleet was of particular importance because it was the first fleet in 4 years and carried an accumulation of gold and silver coins and bullion from the New World mints.
To the fleet it was chaos. There were 12 vessels, 5 of these comprising General Ubilla's
Nueva Espana fleet, 6 in General Echeverz Galeones fleet, and a French vessel that
accompanied the fleet back to Spain for protection. The French vessel was the only one
that survived. The rest of the fleet disintegrated on the jagged coral reefs of Florida
between Fort Pierce and Sebastian inlet.
Over 700 lost their lives, including General Ubilla, and 14,000,000 pesos in gold
and silver scattered over the beaches and reefs a few hundred yards offshore. There was a
salvage effort by the Spanish, but when their work was done a great quantity of treasure
remained. To modern day treasure salvagers this is what dreams are made of.
To date 6 of the 12 ships have been located and tentatively identified to the best
of researchers' ability. The 6 ships represent the major ships of the fleet, and the ones
carrying the most treasure. They are considered the most important in terms of salvage
effort. But more than treasure, they represent a time capsule of historic significance
that is now only becoming available to the public due to the salvage and preservation of
the artifacts.
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