The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet from Spanish Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet (from the Spanish plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, linking Spain with its territories in the Americas across the Atlantic. The convoys were general purpose cargo fleets used for transporting a wide variety of items, including agricultural goods, lumber, various metal resources, luxuries, silver, gold, gems, pearls, spices, sugar, tobacco, silk, and other exotic goods from the Spanish Empire to the Spanish mainland. Passengers and goods such as textiles, books and tools were transported in the opposite direction. The West Indies fleet was the first permanent transatlantic trade route in history. Similarly, the Manila galleons were the first permanent trade route across the Pacific.
The 1715 Treasure Fleet was a Spanish treasure fleet returning from the New World to Spain. At two in the morning on July 31, 1715, seven days after departing from Havana, Cuba, eleven of the twelve ships of this fleet were lost in a hurricane near present-day Vero Beach, Florida. 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.
Around 1,000 sailors perished while a small number survived on lifeboats. 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.
Exhibits and preserves
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 the Florida "Treasure Coast." An exhibit was set up with a grand opening on May 1, 1967, at the First National Bank of Satellite Beach, Florida.
Leaving to one side the fact that Hawkins was not only a slave trader but also third in command of the English fleet that defeated the SpanishArmada and Treasurer of the Navy, I have proposed to the ...
In 2015, 101 gold coins were recovered from the 1715 Fleet, a group of Spanish ships carrying treasure that sank in a hurricane off Florida's central coast ... The 1715 Fleet, found in the area between ...
The 1715 Fleet refers to a fleet of 12 Spanish treasure ships that carried vast amounts of gold and silver from the newly colonized Americas to Spain... the 1715 Spanish Fleet off the coast of Florida.
Authorities say that in 2015, there were 101 gold coins salvaged from the 1715 Fleet — a collection of Spanish treasure-laden ships that sank during a hurricane off of Florida's central coast.
Authorities say that in 2015, there were 101 gold coins salvaged from the 1715 Fleet — a collection of Spanish treasure-laden ships that sank during a hurricane off of Florida’s central coast.
Thirty-seven of 50 gold coins which conservation officials said were stolen from a 1715 Spanish fleet shipwreck site by treasure hunters nearly a decade ago — valued at roughly $1 million — have been ...
Treasure hunters find $6,000 worth of silver coins from wreck of 1715 Spanish fleet that sunk off the coast of Florida in a vicious hurricane while carrying the riches of the New World back to Spain.
The coins date back to the 1715 TreasureFleet. Several ships in two different Spanish fleets were lost in a hurricane in July 1715, causing their treasure to sink to the bottom of the ocean.Advertisement.
A professional treasure hunter has been charged in connection with the case ... The coins were aboard the 1715 SpanishTreasureFleet, a convoy of 11 ships filled with treasure from the New World that were lost to a hurricane in July 1715.
Thirty-seven gold coins stolen after being brought to the surface from the wrecks of a 1715 Spanish treasure fleet off the coast of Florida have been recovered ... .
