*1715 FLEET DISASTER DOCUMENTS TRANSLATED BY JACK HASKINS*

The following translations are from documents, which I

gathered from Archivo General de las Indias in Seville, Spain and

from various other archives in England and the United States.

AGI, SEVILLA, ARRIBADAS 187A-

"My Dear Sir:

I have just received the extraordinary news by way of France from

on board the ship San Francisco, which arrived at Rochelle, that

the Flota and ships of Don Antonio de Echeverz had shipwrecked on

the coast of Florida on the Isle of Palmar de Ayz in front of Los

Mimbres (Bahamas) on the 31st of July 1715.

Many persons, of all classes, perished in this disaster. At the

same time it is expected that much of the treasure will be

recovered because the Capitana of the Flota grounded in 3 and 1/2

brazas of water and the Almiranta in 3. Some ships were

dispatched from the Havana to gather up the treasure, and though

they have not recovered all of it as of this writing, it is

expected they will do so in the near future." The remainder of

this letter deals with preparing the fleet to leave Cadiz for New

Spain, etc. Note that at the time this letter was written they

had not discovered the Capitana’s exact location.

AGI SEVILLA, ESCRIBANIA DE CAMARA 1058C-

"SIR:

It is with heavy heart and with the knowledge of my full

obligation that I inform Your Lordship of the fatal loss of our

Flota and Galleons on an Isla whose name I do not know, although

some call it Palmar de Ayz, and which is about 25 leagues from La

Florida (St. Augustine or about 29d 18m N). All of the wealth

and treasure of the King, Our Senor, was lost in this disaster,

although it is expected that the salvage effort will recover a

large part. The Capitana of Ubilla was divided into many pieces,

drowning my General and all of his officers. The Almiranta of my

command divided. into three pieces and some people were able to

escape in the bow and stern sections which were driven ashore.

The center section, which holds all the silver, remains on the

bottom under 4 or 5 brazas of water.

Not one chest of silver has been swept ashore nor any of the

leather pouches (talegos) with coined money. The ship of Lima is

the one which was in the best place, and most of the cargo was

salvaged from it. On my ship, 100 men drowned, and those who did

escape are sustaining themselves on palms and other vegetation,

for nothing of our foodstuffs was saved from our ship.

All of us are at a distance of 10 leagues from each other (about

35 nautical miles). I have been here on these miserable sands

for 6 days now and have written to the Governors of Florida and

Havana that in the name of God they help us with some food. and

transport my people back to Havana. Little of the private wealth

which was in boxes has been salvaged. I have not been able to

give an account to Your Lordship sooner because I lacked the

paper to do so. As soon as God carries me to Havana by whatever

means available I shall write each of Your Lordships, explaining

all that has happened here as is my obligation...etc.

God Guard Your Lordship for Many Years.

Written from Palmar de Ayz at an altitude of 27 degrees 50

minutes on 8 August 1715."

Signed Don Francisco Salmon

This letter was written to His Excellency the Duque de Linares

(Viceroy of New Spain) and a post script states ..."We were

wrecked on 31 July and the 3 cavalry officers from Veracruz

escaped the destruction of the Capitana."

AGI SEVILLA, ESCRIBANIA DE CAMARA 1058C(Cont'd).

"Your Excellency:

I cannot begin to explain to Your Lordship, even though it is the

obligation of my employment, to give notice of the unhappy and

sorrowful loss of the Flota of General Don Estiban de Ubilla,

which after 52 days of sailing arrived from the port of Vera Cruz

to the Havana. From here they left in prosecution of their

voyage to the Kingdoms of Spain in company with the Galleons of

Don Antonio de Echeverz y Subiza and a French ship named El

Grifon on the 24th of July. At this time I notified Your

Lordship. However, such is the will of God that on the 31st in

the Canal de Bahama and coast of Florida at a place called Palmar

de Ayz a hurricane came upon them. This storm was so formidable

that there was no human way to save themselves from it.

The Capitana swamped and in it the General Don Juan Estiban de

Ubilla perished along with all those of his cabin class, and up

to 53 of all classes were also lost. Many of the soldiers and

sailors also drowned. In his Almiranta, 8 people including the

Admiral survived. With respect to the Refuerzo (Lima's ship),

the Pat ache (Sotosanchez ship), and the Fragatilla which Ubilla

bought in Havana, all of these were also lost.

In this same manner the Capitana, Almiranta and 3 other ships of

Don Antonio de Echeverz were lost along with a good portion of

the people.

I have no notice or explanation of three ships; the French ship

called El Grifon, and two of Echeverz. One of these was a French

Frigate which Echeverz took as a prize (Concepcion) and the

registry ship of his command named San Miguel. By conjecture of

the Pilots and other practical sea people of the coast, these

ships could have capsized when considering where they were at the

time of the storm. However, up to now no better notice has been

given.”

                       Governor of Havana to the Viceroy of New Spain

AGI SEVILLA, CONTRATACION 641-

First Notice: Captain and Sargent/Major Don Manuel de Justis came

into Havana at 3 PM on 28 January 1717 with 8 English prisoners.

Testimony of Joseph de Prader; He said "We left Havana in the

month of August 1716 in a Piragua (small one-masted sloop with

oars), the Captain of which was Pedro Delgado. On board was at

total of 18 men.

We arrived at the Real of Sotosanchez (Ubilla"s Patache) where we

spotted two balandras (one-masted sloops). In one of these were

10 Englishmen and it had 6 cannon. One of the balandras

dispatched a small boat filled with armed Englishmen who made us

their prisoners. Through an interpreter named Juan Mexia we

inquired into the names of the English and learned that their

Captain was called Juan Carpenter and the others were William

Miches, Robert Pons, William Williams, George Parker, and David

Bonnett. Another Englishman who came from Trinidad to Havana was

called LLimens Reitca.

What these English robbed they divided equally among the two

balandras, and with this testifier"s Piragua, from which I was

taken prisoner, they chopped a hole in the bottom and it sank.

This testifier and my companions were taken on board the larger

balandra and held there for two months, after which we were

placed ashore on the Island of Cuba to the East of Baracoa about

10 leagues. In the time this testifier was held prisoner by the

English I saw how they seized and robbed Spanish boats, etc. The

English took the Spanish they captured to Providence Island

(Nassau) for a while. This testifier is 28 years old and cannot

write my name but I swear this to be the truth, etc."

Declaration of Geronimo Rodriquez; He said "We sailed from Havana

in the month of August 1716 in the Piragua of Captain Pedro

Delgado, we being 18 in number. Upon arriving at Palmar de Ayz

off the Real of Sotosanchez we saw two English balandras with

which was also a launch and they seized the ship this testifier

was in. The English split us among two balandras. The Captain

of the smaller one was called Genegon, and the one in the larger

balandra was known as Quadra. The one called Genedon wanted to

kill us but the one called Quadra disagreed.

After dividing us among the two balandras they opened the bottom

of the Piragua and sank it. This testifier and the other Spanish

remained prisoners in the large balandra for more than three and

one-half months. In the course of this time we witnessed the

English making efforts to seize Spanish ships and we saw some

that we recognized. In inquiring about the crew of Juan

Carpenter through an interpreter named Juan Lopez de Mexia we

learned the names of the other English to be Gillermo Miches,

Roberto Pons, Gillermo Guilens, David Bonnett and another called

LLimens Reitter who was from the city of Trinidad and had joined

the English.

All of the above-named were on the large balandra which also

seized this testifier. During the time of one and one-half months

they placed this testifier and 3 or 4 others on the smaller

English balandra and went on to the Real of the Almiranta at the

Real of Ayz. The English also robbed and looted ports on this

island (meaning Cuba). I swear this to be the truth and am 18

years of age, etc.”

                                               Signed- Geronimo Rodriquez

AUTO: This letter was written as a command for Juan Lopez de

Mexia to act as' official interpreter and to take the confessions

of the English at this jail.

Confession of Juan Carpenter: This confession repeats almost

word for word the declarations of the Spanish prisoners,

corroborating the Spanish side of the story. I'm sure the

English had other things to say but this is all the officials

transcribed.

Testimony of Don Miguel de Ayala, Major Scribe for the Government

and the City of La Havana: "At 8 AM on 15 February in the Plaza

de Armas next to La Seiva where the gallows is located I

witnessed suspended from a rope the sight of the corpse of Juan

Carpenter with the head cut off and laying in a basket (cage)

suspended from said gallows. Also I witnessed Joseph Bonnett who

was likewise hung from the neck in the same manner. From all

appearances both men are quite dead. This execution took place

by the verbal command of the Governor of Cuba and La Havana on 15

February 1717. This is the truth and I sign it."

                                                               Miguel de Ayala.

The following men were sentenced to serve 10 years in the

Galleys; Gillermo Guilen, David Bonnett, Gillermo Miches, Roberto

Pons, Gillermo Reitta, Juan Xarett, LLimens Bro, and Janei

Balvodel. The following were sent to Spain for disposition of

His Majesties Royal Council of the Indies; Phelipe Chapel,

Ricardo Miguel, Jorge Parkes, and Gillermo Parsons.

AGI SEVILLA, INDIFERENTE 51-

This is a condensed version of a letter written at La Havana by

Don Joseph Prem y Castro to his brother Don Francisco Prem y

Castro on 30 October 1715.

"I have news from our brother in a letter written at Palmar de

Ayz on the 10th of October which advises that he is in good

health and that Fernando is employed in the salvage of the

Capitana. They have found the main hull in two brazas of water

and so far have removed from it 949 boxes of silver coins and

from the Almiranta 600. According to what our brother has

written to the Deputy Don Alonso de Armenta they will conclude

the salvage effort very shortly on the Capitana. Further, he

states that according to what has so far been taken from the

water very little remains of that which was originally

registered. We all desire that Our Senor the King will happily

gain it all. I am sending a longer account with this notice

which sails for Vera Cruz shortly."

I did not find this longer account; possibly it is in GAN at

Lecumberi in Mexico City. More work needs to be done here!

The next is a condensed version of a letter written by Captain

Don Francisco de Soto Sanchez, whose ship went as Patache of

Ubilla's Flota. It is dated 29 October 1715, from Havana.

"From the salvage of the Capitana they have recovered 940 boxes

of Reales out of a total of 1300 registered, and from the

Almiranta more than 736 out of a registered 990. All of this

silver has been conducted to this city (Havana) to be protected

until the salvage work can be concluded, and is to be entered

into the account of the rightful owners. According to the

salvage records some boxes were broken.

As soon as I arrived to this city I bought a balandra to go and

salvage the hull of my ship to see if anything can be recovered

from it. Because I have made arrangements for all of this and

because I now desire to return to the Kingdoms of Spain.

I leave all my interest in this, including the wealth under my

command, in the power of Don Manuel de Mirallas, citizen of

Havana which whom I have left orders for him to return all he

salvages to the rightful owners.”

               Signed Don Francisco de Sotosanchez, 29 October 1715

INDIFERENTE GENERAL 2648- 1715 Fleet:

SOBRE= Cadiz, To the Senor Excellency Don Francisco de Varas y

Valdes, Councillor; Expressing that having had notice of the

arrival to this city different persons who embarked in the

Warship of France named El Grifon which sailed from Havana in

convoy with the Flota (New Spain), that their declarations were

taken to be entered into the Council (of the Indies) from the day

on which the Flota left Havana and that in the said Grifon they

separated from the other ships of the Flota and those (Galleones)

of Don Antonio de Echevez.

The result of the declarations is that they left Havana on 24

July (1715) and the Grifon navigated along with the Flota and

the ships of Echevez for three days, then they separated in the

Canal de Bahama with good weather, and the Grifon followed it's

course to Brest (France) and the Flota and other ships sailed

with favorable winds toward these Kingdoms. That they have not

arrived could be due to the many calm spells encountered such as

occurred traveling from Veracruz to the Havana which lasted 52

days. In all the voyage they never encountered another ship and

in all this time after leaving Havana until arriving to this port

they only encountered one Frigate of the Contract of Negro and

that the Flota is composed of five warships (Navios) and the

ships of Don Antonio de Echeverz are six (in number).

Letter to Don Diego de Morales y Velasco from Don Francisco de

Varas on 27 Oct 1715;

My Dear Sir:

I give notice to Your Lordship how I have had notice of the

arrival to this city (Cadiz) of different persons who were

embarked on the warship named El Grifon which sailed from the

Havana in convoy with the Flota of Don Juan de Ubilla and arrived

to those ports of France. They came in at three of the expressed

day, and having taken their declarations 1 place them in the

hands of Your Lordship as I am doing and also I will make the

contents available to the Council (of the Indies). These

declarations cover the day when they left Havana until they

separated from the Flota and the other ships of the fleet under

Don Antonio de Echeverz. I remain to serve Your Lordship whose

life God will Guard for many years..Cadiz 27 Oct 1715.

AUTO: Written by the President of the Royal Council of His

Majesty and Royal Judge in the House of Trade at Sevilla Don

Francisco de Varas y Valdes. In this he tells of the arrival of

the French ship El Grifon which went with Don Juan Ubilla's Flota

out of Havana and arrived at a port in France (Brest). This ship

carried on board several Spanish people, among whom were Don

Francisco de Carrasco, Don Francisco Garvia, and Don Francisco

Bazan. The Grifon left Vera Cruz with the Flota of Ubilla and

went on to Havana, then departed with the Flota and became

separated in the Canal de Bahama. Don Joseph Bravo was ordered

to take their declarations.

Declaration of Don Francisco de Carrasco:

Sworn to tell the truth, etc., he said, "It has been about two

hours since arriving to this Port (Cadiz) in company with Don

Francisco Garvia and Don Francisco Bazan and other passengers

with whom I sailed from the French Port of Morales. We left

Havana on the French warship El Grifon on 14 July 1715 and the

Captain was Monsieur Dare.

We were in the convoy of the Flota under General Don Juan de

Ubilla and the warships under Don Antonio de Echeverz. The Flota

was made up of 5 ships: The Capitana of Ubilla, the Navio of Don

Miguel de Lima which came as Refuerzo, the Almiranta of Don

Francisco Salmon, The Patache of Don Francisco de Sotosanchez,

and a small frigate which the General bought in Havana.

Traveling with us also were 6 ships under Don Antonio de

Echeverz: 4 of which were recruited at Havana, and the other 2

were prizes seized on the high seas.

For three days we sailed together and then we became separated in

the Canal de Bahama with good weather. We then followed a

course for Brest, where we arrived on the 2nd of September. We

left the said Flota and Galleons sailing with favorable weather

for these Kingdoms.

It appears to this declarer that the reason the Flota and

Galleons have not yet arrived is due to the many calms which

prevail enroute, like those which we encountered coming from Vera

Cruz to Havana. This crossing took us 52 days.

We spent one month in La Havana and In all this voyage from

Havana to Brert Havana to Brest no ships were encountered, either

friend or foe. At the time we were leaving Havana a Balandra was

entering which contained an Asiento de Negros (Slaves).

This declarer is 30 years of age and signs this as the truth,

etc.”

                                       Signed Don Miguel Francisco Carrasco

Taken by Francisco Crespa, Royal Notary Escribano.

The declarations of Garvia and Bazan are essentially the same.

AGI SEVILLA, ESCRIBANIA DE CAMARA 1058C-

The first part of the letter is not relative to the destruction

and salvage of 1715 Fleet so I shall begin with folio 7V:

"The day 24 July 1715, at 8 AM we sailed from the port of Havana

with our Flota comprised of five ships; Capitana, Almiranta,

Refuerzo (supply ship), Patache, and a small frigate which our

General bought in Havana. At the same time, the Squadron of Don

Antonio de Echeverz sailed in our company. His group was

comprised of six vessels. We navigated with little sail and

scant winds in order to effect incorporation with the said

Squadron of Echeyerz, which remained separated from us from the

time we left port.

After three days we arrived to the point we recognized as the

mouth of the Canal de Bahama, and at nightfall we sighted Los

Roques (Cay Sal). At sunup the next morning we were off Los

Martires, near the headland of La Florida. We continued sailing

along the Cayos de Florida and mainland Florida, always with

light and changeable winds, still holding reduced sail for the

same motive of incorporating the Squadron of Echeverz which

continually maintained itself at a distance from us. Sailing

along in this manner we were set upon by fresh winds from the ENE

and, upon taking a sounding, soon found ourselves in 50 brazas of

water depth. A cannon was fired as a means of advising this fact

to the rest of the Flota. We then put on sufficient sail to take

us away from the coast of Florida and to gain deeper water but we

were unable to do this due to the currents which kept us close

to shore.

By now the winds were very strong, making it impossible to sail

against (away from the mainland). At sundown the wind got even

stronger out of the east and east northeast, building up a heavy

sea. The winds forced us relentlessly shoreward and constantly

into shallower water. Finally, the winds reached hurricane

proportions and the seas were of an immeasurable size, hammering

us with repeated blows. We were now in such shallow water that

even the larger and stronger ships could not be kept cruising

along the coast. We ultimately reached a state where we could

not maintain any sail to keep steerage, for the winds blew them

away as fast as we could raise them. For this motive we were at

the mercy of the winds and currents, always going on into the

coast with all the spars stripped from the masts. We all

grounded upon the coast from midnight of the 30th to 10 AM of the

31st of July. Most of the ships were divided into sections upon

grounding. Mine was the only exception and it remained intact

throughout the storm. It was only after 30 days after grounding

that the hull was destroyed by fire in order to try and take

advantage of salvaging what lay below the decks in the main hold.

Due to the fact that God's mercy spared my ship from coming apart

like the others, we were able to salvage the major part of the

supplies at a cost of great effort. With these we were able to

sustain not only my own people but those of the Patache which lay

two leagues away. From this ship, which came apart like the

others, not one biscuit was saved. We were also able to help the

other survivors and we gave supplies to Admiral Salmon and his

people. At the same time we gave help to the people off the

Capitana which grounded at a distance of ten leagues from my

camp.

Although we were with great shortness we were able to stay alive

until help and supplies arrived from the Havana, 31 days after we

wrecked. I regulated the food by giving each man four ounces of

biscuit and some meat each 24 hours, along with some sweets and

fruit that the sea tossed up on the beaches in small boxes. In

this manner we were able to maintain life in the spirit that goes

along with being cast upon a dry and deserted beach.

Finally God permitted and we found water enough to drink, through

the foresightedness of a man of excellence, which we called

Casimbas. Adding to all of this were the strong and continuous

storms of wind and rains which swept over us, the ceaseless sun

beating down on us, and the numbers of mosquitoes which plagued

us. There was much more but I won't tire Your Excellency with

the details for I know you possess the foresight and intelligence

to imagine our situation.

As I have already relayed, Sir, the work we undertook resulted in

the recovery of much of the cargo of fruits, less some boxes and

casks which lay between decks on my ship. All of this amounted

to little and had been greatly damaged for the reason of having

been below 1 1/2 codos of water from the day we first grounded.

Because we were unable to cut away the foremast, this resulted in

the ship constantly being worked by both seas and Winds, opening

up part of the hull to the seas and letting water into the main

hold. All of this calamity prevented me from being able to

completely unload the cargo for 11 hours, resulting in some

damage.

Throughout all of the storm, the grounding, and the rest my ship

remained upright which is ultimate proof of its great strength

and fortitude. We pray God will permit in all this disgrace and

calamity that the hulls of the Capitana and Almiranta be found.

Since You Lordship has personal accounts of all the salvage

efforts I won't repeat them here.

At this moment we divide our time between the balandras which are

conducting the treasure to this city (Havana). This coast is

fraught as a rocky road and a terrible place to be cast away, but

up to now there has been no mishap in the conduction of the

silver and we expect this condition to prevail until we have

salvaged it all and terminate this work.

The boxes which Your Excellency placed in my charge for the

Queen, Our Lady, and others are now on shore at my Real (Royal

Camp) and are going out on board the first balandras to leave

this place. However, Sir, they have been very badly damaged and

are thoroughly wet as a result of the ships wrecking and the

trips through heavy surf in a very small boat, and the loading

and unloading necessary to get them ashore. However, after

dispatching our two Launches for help we had nothing else to work

with. The one Launch was from my ship and the other from the

Capitana, and these were dispatched to the Havana with notices of

our loss.

Likewise, after we placed the goods ashore the constant rains

damaged them more, even though we tried to cover them with

whatever sailcloth we could salvage. Little of this sailcloth was

found and we were unable to shelter our people or defend

ourselves from the constant downpour of the rains. Consequently,

without the means for erecting shrouds in a short time things

became badly damaged even though we periodically inspected thing

to improve their quality.

There was never sufficient time to do all the things we wanted so

that with only the convenience of the covering from the heavens

afterwards we were able to separate what was good from that which

was bad. (Goes on with a lot of obsequious excuses, etc.)

In the service of Your Excellency we all give life and health

while in this place more than 1,500 of us face death daily. We

mourn the loss of our General Ubilla, Sandoval, Peralta, Don

Joseph Delgado, Don Massoney, the Reverends Figuersa and Loyola,

the Marques de la Penuela Don Miguel de Barros, the First Pilot

Carranza and his assistants, and lastly, Sir, the more than 80

cabin class passengers on the Capitana. Only 7 of these escaped

with their lives, all the rest perished. All of the others, such

as the major part of the crew and soldiers including those from

the other ships, shared similar fates. However, my ship lost

only 30 men who were killed from the falling rigging which was

dislodged by the blows of the seas. These men were trapped in the

ship's waist prior to our grounding.

As for the navio Grifon which sailed the same day as we did,

always maintaining her voyage with full sails not waiting for us,

it is estimated that when the storm struck us she was well past

Cape Canaveral. It is possible, according to some notices from

La Florida (St Augustine) that this is the ship which is referred

to when telling of some large ship fragments which washed ashore

south of the said port. With the many reefs offshore of this

coast it is feared no One escaped. This may have suffered a

similar fate as the Concepcion which grounded Off said Cape

Canaveral and from which only seven men escaped by floating in

the water on a piece of the ship for three days prior to reaching

shore. This area has many shallows and reefs which run to seaward

from the Cape some 8 to 10 leagues. However, the loss of the

Grifon still needs to be confirmed with other notices. The

certainty of it is, Sir, that the storm was a very bad one and

the Grifon was known to be very heavily loaded with cargo. In

this ship went Don Pagore and Don Zuniga, Governor of Cartagena,

and other notables. God permit they have escaped, however within

the populated region of La Florida the storm wrought great

damage, tearing apart the great wall of the Presidio Castle

according to a letter written to me by the Governor of said

place.

If Your Excellency will excuse my prolonged digression, which

flatters my shortcomings and lack of descriptive ability, I pray

that the Lord Our Senor guard the person of Your Excellency for

many years, as you desire and need. Your Faithful Servant, Don

Miguel de Lima y Melo".

Written to The Duque de Linares, Viceroy of New Spain.

CONSULADO DE CADIZ 853

This legajo, which is located at Archivo General de las Indias in

Sevilla, Spain, contains all the letters, declarations, and

warrants dealing with the costs of salvage of the 1715 Flota and

Tierra Firme Galleons which were lost on the coast of Florida in

the place called Palmar de Ayz. I had only a short time to go

over this legajo and would like to return as it contains a lot of

good information on the 1715 fleet losses.

AUTO: Written on the order of the Governor of Cuba Don Laureano

de Torres (Marques de Cassatorres).

Havana 16 Aug 1715: "It now being 2 AM a launch has entered into

this port commanded by Captain Nicolas de Ynda, Principal Pilot

of the Almiranta of Captain General Juan Ubilla's Flota. He said

to the Royal Officials that on the 31st of July the referred

Flota was lost along with the squadron of Tierra Firme commanded

by Don Antonio de Echeverz Y Subisa, as a result of a furious

storm which began on the 30th and continued through the 31st. In

this storm the General was lost along with his Captain and all

the ships of the Flota and most of those of the Tierra Firme

Squadron. The French ship (Grifon) has not appeared, along with

3 others in the Tierra Firme Squadron for their having different

courses. This notice was provided by His Lordship Admiral Don

Francisco Salmon in his letter dated 4 Aug 1715 at the bar of

Ayz.*

Likewise, the Deputy Don Alonso de Armenta by his letter of 5 Aug

1715 made similar information. These were turned over to the

Royal Officials by the said Captain Nicolas de Ynda".

He then called for the officials to get together and provide the

necessary provisions and aid in the best interest of His Majesty

and the Private Merchants, etc.

*Two things are apparent here; 1) all the. ships of Ubilla are

accounted for and 2) the Bar of Ayz is the whole barrier island

next to the Indian River (Hutchinson's & Orchid Islands).

DECLARATION OF CAPTAIN NICOLAS DE YNDA

"On 30 July 1715 the ships of the Flota were at 28d plus latitude

when a strong storm came upon them which continued through the

next day. During this storm the major part of the sails and

rigging were lost but the Mizzen mast was retained. The winds

and seas drove the ships aground and the Captain general Don Juan

Esteban de Ubilla, his Captain, and most of his officers and

passengers were drowned. In the Capitana, some 200 men lost

their lives. This same fate was shared by the Almiranta and the

majority of the rest of the ships. They were all grounded from

27d 15m to 27d 50m latitude.

There is no way (at this time) to tell how many have perished or

what has been saved. The day before the storm the fragata of Don

Antonio Echeverz Squadron named San Miguel became separated from

the rest. Two days before the storm the Frenchman named El

Grifon, commanded by Monsieur Daire, became separated. The ships

were placed on the same beaches and the Admiral Don Francisco

Salmon and the Deputy Don Alonso de Armenta took charge of the

situation.

This declarer went in a launch belonging to the Capitana of the

Flota along with 18 men to carry the news to Your Lordship, along

with letters from the referred Admiral and Deputy. This was done

to ensure prompt dispatch of ships and supplies, for it is very

necessary since up to now little has been salvaged due to the

continuous strong winds, and to the fact that upon arrival most

of the ships were totally destroyed.

This is what this declarer knows and swears and signs ..he is 33

years of age, etc.."

NDTE: Since Ynda was chief Pilot his land taken position sights

or latitudes are probably quite good (within 5 minutes or so).

This assumes he managed to save some navigation instruments, and

apparently he did. Note, also, that the winds continued to blow

for days after the storm. One can well imagine the distribution

of flotsam and jetsam (boxes, bales, suitcases, cases, etc.) up

along the beach. No wonder things are found all the way to the

Cape!

LETTER FROM SALMON TO GOVERNOR OF CUBA

"My Dear Sir;

We have few ships to give Your Lordship notice of our total

hardships. My General drowned in his Capitana with all it's

officers except 3 cavalry captains. I find myself on an island

in the direst necessity with nothing to eat along with others of

the Flota and Galeons. We all shipwrecked without being able to

save anything and we await the great benignity of Your Lordship.

For the best service to Our Senor the King we anxiously await the

sending of food and equipment and ships to transport our people

and to recover what treasure we can of His Majesty and of the

private merchants, which went in the main part of the hull of my

Almiranta.

It first assaulted against the sand in 4 brazas (about 22') and

we have salvaged nothing from it except that which was in the

staterooms in some boxes and trunks that washed ashore. However,

little of the baggage which was in the staterooms (quarteles) has

come ashore. I am sending my Principal Pilot to Your Lordship to

inform you of everything.

God Guard Your Lordship ..from the Bar at Ayz..4 Aug 1715.

NOTE, All those boxes and trunks, suitcases, etc., probably

washed clean up to Melbourne and beyond which is why he couldn't

find them where he was. The scatter distribution of the treasure

on these ships must have been tremendous, much greater than most

people realize. People who look for wrecks right off shore where

treasure is washing up on the beach are really wasting their

time! However, treasure could be found in the close reefs just

off shore of these beach finds!

A letter from Deputy Don Alonso de Armenta was also included

here, but it simply repeats what the Admiral wrote with the

exception he signs it from Lima's ship at 27d 10m Latitude, 5

August 1715.

Ynda himself may have taken this sighting and it may be very

close to the final resting place of Lima's Urca. Through the ages

there has been a fixation on the idea that Lima's ship is off the

mouth of old Fort Pierce inlet, but I found no data to

substantiate this in the documents in Spain. He simply said he

was at the mouth of a river..why not St Lucie's, it all fits!

A letter from the Admiral authorizes Don Raphael de Elisa (who

was on Lima's ship) to act in his behalf in approving various

movements of people since the Admiral was 10 leagues away and

could not do it himself. When one subtracts 27d 50m (Salmon's

Real) from 27d 10m (Lima's Real) one gets 40 nautical miles which

at 3.4 nautical miles to the degree places the distance at close

to 12 leagues. This is reasonable when considering Salmon may

have been using 27d 15m for Lima's latitude; this would be 35

nautical miles which would be even closer to the 10 leaque

estimate. Therefore, it is easy to see how Salmon arri~ed at

this number.

The next letter was written by Don Antonio Echeverz and is bylined

from the Real of Nuestra Senora de la Popa. This may have

been the Dutch ship nick-named "La Holandesa". This letter is

dated 24 Aug 1715 and is filled with excuses, and complaints,

typical for the period.

Another letter to the Governor of Cuba was written by Don Domingo

de Aranjo, who was Deputy Receiver of the cargo on Lima's ship.

He calls this ship Santisima Trinidad. This pertains solely to

what he placed on Lima's ship and is not too informative.

Following this are many letters written which confirm what the

various rescue and salvage balandras (one-masted sailing sloop)

had on board when they went up to Palmar de Ayz. The names of

some of these little ships were; Nuestra Senora de la Leche,

Jesus Nazareno, El Ave Maria, etc. These balandras drew about 5

to 8 feet of water depending upon loading, and were ideally

suited to travel back and forth to Cuba since they could hug the

shore staying out of the strong northward moving currents. The

Spanish kept two heavily armed balandras in the upper Keys/Miami

area all during the salvage operations, no doubt to thwart pirate

attempts by the English and others.

The general tone of the various letters is that of complaint,

concerning the fact they don't have enough small boats to perform

dragging operations for the main hulls of the various lost ships;

that people are stealing valuables, doblones, etc,; and that the

coast is very bad to work once the bad weather of winter sets in.

One balandra with 50,000 pesos in salvaged treasure was caught in

a storm in the Bahamas, probably the Cay Sal area, and was forced

to go into Matanzas and this caused a great clamor among the

officials in Havana. Lots of declarations taken, etc. They

plainly did not trust each other when it came to treasure.

On the 9th of Sept 1715, Deputy Alonso Armenta writes the

Governor:

“My Dear Sir;

In reply to Your Lordship, the brevity with which this balandra

will be here does not permit me to write excessively on the

subject, but with the roughness of this coast that from one

instant to the next carries peril to whatever treasure is

embarked, I have hurriedly embarked 200 chests plus some talegos

(Cloth Money Sacks) and pieces of eight. As of this date, 400

chests have been sent from the Almiranta. Although I expect to

recover the majority, the costs are great and the security is

impossible with the many perils. No effort has been made to date

to find the remains of the Capitana for lack of small boats and

men and the knowledge of where it is. It is now close to

Winter.. etc"

                                       Signed Alonso Armenta

NOTE, As of the 9th of September the Capitana had not been found

and very likely little effort had been made to do so since the

Admiral wanted his ship salvaged first. This left a lot of time

for various fragments and pieces from the ship to work their way

further up the coast and into hidden places.

In a letter of 10 Sept 1715 from Don Joseph Clemente Fernandez,

one of the salvage Heads, to the Governor of Cuba,

"As of 10 Sept 1715 some 450 chest of coins have been salvaged

from the Almiranta, more or less. Some of these appear to be

cemented into the sand bottom. The weather is bad and the water

always dirty, like ink. If God would give us a few good days we

could finish up and So on to the Capitana to discover it's hull;

the location of which at this time is in total doubt by all.

However, I have the faith in God that we shall find it. To speed

things up, I have commanded my son to this City (Havana) to get

10 or 12 slaves and a few Indian Divers, for the white divers are

all sick from the heavy work. In addition, we need two dugout

canoes to help find the Capitana".

Signed from Palmar de Ayz, 10 Sept 1715, Don Joseph Clemente

Fernandez.

One of the more interesting declarations comes from Pedro de la

Vega who was traveling from San Agustin to La Havana and who

stopped at the various salvage camps (Reales) while en route.

The name of his launch was San Nicolas de Vari y San Joseph:

"Today makes 12 days since this declarer left San Agustin. Two

days after leaving we arrived at the salvage camp of Palmar de

Ayz where it is known the diving for treasure of the lost Flota

is taking place. After being here for one half hour a packet of

letters was entrusted to this declarer by the Commander of the

Real, with orders to throw it into the sea if enemy ships

threatened to capture them. This precaution was taken since two

enemy balandras are known to be prowling the waters between here

and Havana. We left the Real at 7 PM and arrived at the Real of

the Patache of Sotosanchez at 3 AM where we encountered two enemy

English Balandras. As per orders, the packet of letters was cast

into the sea. This declarer recognized that there were 35 men

and 4 cannon on the one balandra, and 20 men and 4 cannon on the

other.

They stayed at this Real for about 16 hours, during which the

people of the balandras searched through this declarer's launch.

They took a few minor things, for what reason it is not known,

and asked a lot of different questions about the state of the

Real of Ayz, about it's strength, number of men, etc. This

declarer responded that he was unable to answer these questions

due to the short time the launch lay off shore.

They left the Real of Sotosanchez and navigated all through the

night until about 8 AM the next day when we arrived at Cayo

Bizcayno and came across two more English Balandras. Upon coming

up to them, it was observed that the one had 12 cannon and 100

men and the other had 6 cannon and 80 men. Soon after this

encounter, this declarer and our men were transferred to these

ships, and the English took command of the Launch.

Altogether now, we headed back to the Real at Palmar de Ayz.

The next day at about 1 PM we arrived off the Reals and at about

2 AM 150 men were put ashore between the Reales of the Capitana

and Almiranta. The following day one of the people was heard to

say they had captured the Real of the Almiranta, but this

declarer is not sure of the truth of this rumor. However, that

morning this declarer saw 150 Englishmen march from the Real of

the Almiranta toward the Real of the Capitana by way of the

beach, all of whom were fully armed.

Before arriving to the Real of the Capitana I saw a man come out

of the Real, whom I could not recognize for the great distance,

with a white flag of truce, and he came up to the English troops.

After they had stayed there a brief time they all marched

together for the Real of the Capitana. A short time afterward

some shots were heard, as though done in a festive mood.

Afterward a launch was seen coming toward the balandra of this

declarer and in this launch it was said were between 80,000 and

100,000 pesos in reales which had been found buried on shore at

the Real of the Capitana. After all this, the English gave this

declarer back my Launch and we continued on our way to Havana."

To add to this he stated; "When the English troops marched for

the Real of the Capitana this declarer saw 10 or 12 men flee the

camp in a SOUTHERLY direction*, and it was noted that the English

carried 14 divers in one of the balandras; between whites and

blacks, and if there were any more I know not of them.

Also, the night we were first imprisoned the English Captain of

the Balandra showed them a paper saying it was a patent that had

been issued by their Governor in Jamaica to come to the Reales to

pick up whatever they Culd discover in the search for treasure.

The English stole two 8 Escudos gold coins from us and some of

our clothing, but they failed to find 1200 pesos which we had

dove up and hidden.

Having sailed from Palmar de Ayz in prosecution of our voyage to

Havana, I saw nothing around the cayos (Florida Keys) or any more

enemy.”

                       Signed Pedro de la Vega who is 46 years old.

NOTE: *The fact that the Spanish fled the Real of the Capitana

in a southerly direction, when considering the English ship was

between the two Reales, shows the Capitana's Real was south of

the Almiranta. Evidence that the Almiranta may be the Cabin Site

and the Capitana is probably the one called Corrigan's.

Another declaration follows which gives some more details and it

does reiterate that it took 8 hours to sail from the Real of

Palmar de Ayz to the Patache of Sotosanchez (Corrigan's to Jensen

Beach?) Since they could make about 4 to 5 knots, this is not

unreasonable. Of course, this is of limited help since the wind

and currents are not known, although they did say it took them

from 2 to 3 days to come from San Agustin, depending upon which

declarer you listen to. Even so, I think it safe to assume that

a sloop of this sort could make 4 knots with little difficulty.

It is interesting to compare this declaration with that of a

diver who was at the Real of the Almiranta at the time of the

English attack. His declaration follows.

Declaration of Antonio Peralta, diver and resident of Jamaica:

"Under permission with the commerce of Havana, this declarer went

to dive on the hulls of the lost Flota. I left in the company of

Don Francisco de la Porta, one of the Deputies of the referred

commerce, and with the infantry for the security of our persons.

We set sail and were accompanied by another balandra. The

balandra of commerce was commanded by Captain Bias and the other,

the Maricaybo, was commanded by Captain Ygnoro. The departure

for the Reales was on 1 Dec 1715. Upon arriving at the Reales we

salvaged 14 boxes of silver coins at 3000 to the box, 20 talegos

(Cloth Sacks) of 1,000 pesos to the talego, one half dozen silver

bars, 8 tejos (discs) of gold, and about 1000 pesos in doblones.

We also picked up gold chains, and a cedar box lined with white

silk and filled with silverware of varying quality. All of which

is in the balandra of commander Don Francisco de la Porta.

At 8 AM two balandras appeared, and at 11 AM they anchored off

the Real about 3 shots of an artillery piece distant.

The referred balandras flew Spanish colors, therefore from the

Real the same were hoisted. The balandras crews made no move to

come ashore so we fired a shot without ball, which signal called

upon them to do the same. They still did not come ashore. Near

nightfall we saw another smaller balandra coming convoying

another with it which turned out to be a launch like the ones

which come from San Agustin. This launch now joined the people in

the two balandras and they all got into three dugout canoes and

came ashore SOUTH of the Real.

At daybreak they came for the Real and called out saying they had

come for the 'seja de monte' (translates as mountain of wealth).

They were in three squads, each carrying a drummer and flag and

all very well armed. They stood there at more than a musket shot

distance held high (extreme range, maybe 300 yards) and finally

made their way into the Real where they proceeded to take what

they wanted, threatening any who stood in their way. They spiked

three iron cannon and took with them four bronze swivel guns,

along with 50 copper ingots shaped like loaves of bread.."

The rest deals with how the English mis-treated the Spanish, etc.

No other really pertinent details are in this declaration. It is

interesting to note that the testifier in the previous

declaration never mentioned the cannon fire from the Spanish Real

or any of the other details. Shows that you have to read them

all!

The next declaration involves a Spanish ship which was captured

by the English, and it's crew was forced to dive on the ships

along with the English divers. It is interesting, since they

start out at the hull of the Patache of Sotosanchez. Seems to be

the starting place for all salvage expeditions.

Declaration of Augustin Castellanos, citizen of Havana;

"By virtue of the order given by His Lordship and Superiors

(Presumably the Governor of Cuba, et al) left Havana with

Gergorio Perez and went to salvage the sunken hulls at Palmar de

Ayz. We were operating under the jurisdiction, order, and

license of Don Manuel de Mirallas. After arriving at the hull of

the Patache of Sotosanchez, we anchored over it. Soon there also

appeared at this place two balandras and a schooner, whose

Captains were Simon Boros, Tomas Rast, and Jorge Roberto.

All of these men were English and they put over a canoe in which

one or two of them came over to where this declarer's launch was.

After coming alongside, they explained they were carrying Orders

from their commanders to learn who we were and where we had come

from. This testifier went in the canoe, along with another of

the companeros of the launch who understood English, to talk with

the English Captains.

We explained that we, along with Gregorio Perez and the other

members of our crew, had just come from Havana with a license and

permission to salvage the hulls. The English claimed that they

also had permission from their Governor in Jamaica and from the

one in Providence Island to salvage the hulls. By force of

numbers and arms the English made us prisoners and ordered the

other members of the launch to accompany them and we all left to

go dive on the hull of the Almiranta of the Flota.

In the 4 or 5 days we were here over this hull we salvaged 5

chests of coins at 3000 pesos to the box. Two of the chests were

intact, and 3 of them partially so. About 2000 pesos from the

partial chest were entered into the launch of this declarer and

the 2 full boxes of His Majesty's the English entered into their

balandras.

From here we went to the hull of the Capitana and although we

dove one and one half days we found nothing. Two of the

balandras with Tomas Rast and Jorge Roberto went back to the hull

of the Almiranta, warning before they left to beware of Simon

Boros for he might rob us. No sooner had they left when Boros

pulled alongside them with his schooner and robbed them of the

2000 pesos. He left saying it was his right and he was only

reaping his just rewards. With this the launch sailed for this

city to give account to Your Lordship."

                               Signed ….Augustin Castellanos

NOTE, Here again is proof that the Almiranta lies North of the

Capitana. The two balandras departed and went back to the

Almiranta but they would not have done so if they were going

south to the Almiranta; they would have taken the Spanish launch

with them to that point. Simon Boroughs obviously didn't want his

fellow English to know he had robbed the Spanish, even though the

English suspected he would and warned the Spanish of this.

The next declaration of interest is that of Bartolome Carpenter,

whose residence was in Jamaica, but who was a citizen of Havana.

He was seized by the English and corsairs while loading salt

aboard his launch at Cayo de Siedras. The corsair captain's name

was Francisco Fernandez, and he was a Mulato who sailed under the

flag of Spain.

Bartolome Carpenter's Declaration follows:

"Say I, Bartolome Carpenter, that I am 26 years old and that on

the 2nd of February 1716 while loading salt on board my launch at

Cayo de Siedras I saw a balandra drop anchor here which was

commanded by Francisco Fernandez, a Mulato, who from what I could

learn had commission from the Governor of this Isle (Cuba)

against robbers and his ship carried the flag of Spain.

After he launched his dugout canoe to the water, he came to where

I was. In his dugout was his quartermaster, one called Joseph

Lenan, natural from the Island of Grand Canary and living in Port

Royal. He seized my launch and took me on board his balandra

where I stayed 8 days. During this time I was transported to one

Don Juan de Guevara, Factor of the French Asiento (a Slave

Dealer) who assisted in Vera Cruz. He came in the balandra named

Nuestra Senora del Belen, and his Captain was Don Manuel de

Aramburu. They seized the Mulato Corsair and, along with my

launch, we all went to Havana. I was brought along to show the

places where the lost Flota lay on the coast of Florida..”

He goes on to some other details which are extraneous then

says .."We anchored over the hull of the Urca of Don Miguel de

Lima, and we dove there all afternoon. We found two pieces of

silver, worth about 60 pesos each. We left here and went in

search of the other hulls. Enroute we encountered a balandra

called "La Revenche" (Revenge?). The owners of this incorporated

themselves with us and we went on to the hull of the Almiranta.

At nightfall, 5 cannon were fired, one of which was discharged

from the balandra I was on. The next day they sent the dugout

canoe ashore with a letter, from what I could learn, offering to

sell clothing and provisions which we had on board. At the same

time, they asked permission to dive on the hulls of the lost

ships...this letter passed on to the Commander of the Real of the

Capitana whose name was Don Juan de Ayala, Captain of Infantry of

San Christobal de Havana. His reply was that we had to go to

Havana and request a license to perform salvage on the hulls for

without one we could not be permitted to dive on the wrecks.

Since the Corsairs had no license but were flying Spanish colors,

the following day they made another insistence and the reply now

was that we could not even come ashore and, that we must leave the

area.

The balandra I was on, and the other, were resolved to this and

we returned to Providence were we stayed 18 days ....The Corsairs

mustered their forces together and once again sailed for the

Reales, arriving at the one of the Capitana. They placed most of

the men in a small balandra and came in close to shore, embarking

some 400 men. The Spanish at the Real of the Almiranta fled and,

seeing this, the Corsairs went on to the Real of the Almiranta

(Note: he said ON not BACK) and finding no silver proceeded to

burn all the huts in the camp. They then spent the rest of the

day searching the Real of the Capitana.

The next day they sent a letter to the Admiral, saying they would

cause him or his people no harm, and that they only wanted the

silver. The Spanish Commander responded that there was no silver

left on the hulls and that all had been taken ashore and that if

the English presumed to use force they (Spanish) would defend it

with their lives. To learn the truth of this by inspection all

the people marched to the Real of the Almiranta and the fleet of

balandras followed and anchored here in the said Real and fired a

cannon into the Real.

In the meantime, the Spanish transported the silver which they

had to the other side of the lagoon (Indian River) in their

dugout canoes. The English stayed over the hull of the Almiranta

4 days and salvaged 4 boxes of coins at 3000 pesos to the box,

and a lot of fabricated silver and a box marked with the Arms of

the King Our Senor. I immediately declared this to be the King's

property and the Mulato Corsair replied that he was King and that

the one in Spain had no more right to it than him, and besides he

had found it.

In this time all the buildings were set on fire in both Reales.

The next day a frigate appeared on the horizon, accompanied by 3

balandras which the Spanish had sent up from Havana to gather up

the salvaged silver along with fresh supplies for the Reales. At

the sight of them the English fled, and the Spanish chased them

until nightfall. With this they all returned to providence..etc.

Signed on 24 June 1716, Bartolome Carpenter.

Echeverz' Galleons and Ubilla's Flota Registry Data

Echeverz Capitana Nuestra Senora del Carmen (alias Hampton Court)

was grounded in front of the Rio Mar Golf Course in Vero Beach

Florida. It lies about 250 yards from shore in about l8' of water

under sand. The following is a partial listing of that ships

registry:

47 leather bags of cocoa weighing 310 arrobas (7750 pounds)

300 quintales of brazilwDod (300xlOO=30,000 pounds)

4,695 pesos 6reales in 3 gold bars and doblones (Two Escudo

coins).

3,002 pesos 2 reales in two gold bars

1,530 pesos 1 1/2 reales in one gold bar

2,139 pesos 5 reales in one gold bar & doblones

18 marcos (9 pounds) 5 1/2 ounces of raw silver

175 pesos 8 reales in plata doble

5,283 pesos 1 1/2 reales in four gold bars and doblones

2,000 pesos in 8 reales coins

1,000 pesos in doblones of two escudos

1,000 pesos in plata doble (two reales silver cobs)

400 pesos in doblones

1,150 pesos in doblones

100 pesos in doblones

210 pesos in doblones

One gold chain of 20 carats weighing 50 pesos 4 tomines

Another of 21 1/2 carats weighing 85 pesos and 1 tomin

A small gold chain of 10 castellanos 3 tomines weight

Echeverz Almiranta Nuestra Senora del Rosario, located off Sand

Point two miles south of the Capitana:

50 quintales of brazilwood

20 leather sacks (at about 160 pounds each) of cocoa

One chest (God knows what was in it!)

325 whole leather hides (complete cow)

650 half leather hides

4 chests of chocolate

3 more leather sacks of cocoa

One chest of regalos (gifts)

Two chests of tortoise shells

Two small chests and one jar for the Fiscal Real de las Indias

4,695 pesos 6 reales in 4 gold bars and doblones

3,546 pesos 6 reales in two gold bars and doblones

2,000 pesos in doblones (presumably all doblones are two escudos

gold coins unless stated otherwise, i.e. doblones de quatro or

doblones de ocho escudos).

75 crudos medios

Three chests of ropa (clothes)

6 barrels of coperas (glassware)

The only other registry ship in Echeverz squadron was the San

Miguel, which sank somewhere up off Nassau sound.

Therefore, one can see these ships of Echeverz were not the rich

prizes that Ubilla's ships were. Ubilla's ships had some 6

million pesos on board, and a lot of it on the Capitana was in

gold. On Ubilla's Capitana and Almiranta the King's registry was

about 1,220,825 pesos. The Particulares (private merchants) had

about 4,600,000 pesos. The Patache and Refuerzo, ships of Lima

and Sotosanchez) held the remainder.