Florida's Golden Galleons: The Search for the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet - Softcover

Robert F. Burgess; Carl J. Clausen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0912451076 ISBN 13: 9780912451077

Publisher: Florida Classics Library, 1982

Synopsis

On July 24, 1715, a Spanish treasure fleet sailed from Havana, carrying a cargo of 14 million pesos in gold, silver and jewels. In the Florida Straits, near present-day Cape Canaveral, the fleet ran into a hurricane, with the disastrous loss of ten ships and 700 lives. Little was salvaged at the time. For more than two centuries, sand and sea held their secrets well. Occasionally, however, tides and storms tossed blackened silver coins up on the beaches, tempting would-be treasure hunters. Among the most successful was the Real Eight Company, contracted by the state of Florida to recover the valuable treasure and historical artifacts under the supervision of state underwater archaeologist Carl J. Clausen. Spurred by the unique finds on the ocean floor and curious about the full story behind the tragic event that had scattered this fabulous treasure along Florida's east coast, he and Robert F. Burgess determined to record the history of the ill-fated fleet. In writing their book, the authors needed the answers to hundreds of questions. What was it like to cross the Atlantic in the eighteenth century? What precautions were taken against pirates? What caused the delays that led to sailing at a particularly treacherous time of the year? What really happened the night of the hurricane? How much treasure was lost? How many people survived? The authors discovered that pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle lay scattered all over the world. They examined hundreds of documents recovered from dusty archives: official statements, depositions, royal court orders, private and public letters, and ships' manifests. After ten years of research, the authors finally had all the facts, which enabled them to reconstruct the story. Florida's Golden Galleons is that stunning story, meticulously detailed and excitingly told, of the sinking of the great fleet and of the successful modern-day efforts to bring its treasure once more to the light of day.

About this title

About the Author

Robert F. Burgess is the author of over 20 books on ocean related subjects such as sharks, shipwrecks, treasure hunting and underwater archaeology. Mr. Burgess works closely with anthropologists, archaeologists, oceanographers and marine biologists to create accurately the material he writes about. His magazine articles, books, and photographs detail major research work in these fields. To gain material for his writing, he has dived on ancient treasure wrecks, photographed the unique beauty of Florida's underwater caverns and documented the scientific recovery of 12,000 year old Early Man remains from deep Florida springs. Recently he spent time in Europe revisiting Hemingway's Paris haunts and backpacking into the Spanish Pyrenees researching Ernest Hemingway's early years there for his most recently published book, Hemingway's Paris and Pamplona, Then and Now. He lives in northwest Florida.
Carl J. Clausen is a marine archaeologist whose principal interests lie in colonial-period shipwreck sites. He has served as Adjunct Professor of North American Archaeology at the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology, as well as a university lecturer and a consultant to private firms. Appointed Florida's first state underwater archaeologist, by governor Farris Bryant in 1964, his duties called for inspection of historical period shipwrecks and numerous dives involving observation and supervision of the activities of commercial salvagers working under leases and contracts with the State of Florida.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"In a few short hours the hurricane took its terrible toll on the Spanish treasure fleet of 1715. Eleven vessels, more than 14 million pesos of registered treasure, and seven hundred lives were lost in one of the worst sea disasters in history. Of the twelve ships that sailed from Havana, only one escaped-the French frigate Grifón, whose captain, Don Antonio Darié, had slowly pulled away from the fleet and was sailing so far to the northeastward at the time of the disaster that he was out of the hurricane's path. In fact, when he reached Europe, he was unable to report that there had even been a storm! When the fleet failed to appear off the Carolina Capes where it would sail east for Spain, Darié, who had waited several days at that latitude, thought the ships had simply been delayed by a 'prolonged calm.'"

"I told you you had better stay," chided Bob. "The day after you left, our diver, Bob Luyendyk thought he had found another beer can bottom but it turned gold on him. It was a fully dated 1712 8-escudos Royal!" I think I yelled into the phone something like "Wowee!" The perfectly struck, round Royals were still so rare that in 1987 they could bring up to $70,000 or $80,000 apiece! "Wait! Wait! You haven't heard everything!" Weller shouted excitedly over the phone. "Margaret found another Royal just nine days later!' It was a 1711 4-escudos gold Royal this time valued at $40,000 (Why oh why did I go home?) I had to get Margaret on the phone to congratulate her. "I clutched it so tightly when I brought it up," she told me, "I was afraid I would bend it!"

About this edition

• Publisher: Florida Classics Library
• Publication date: 1982
• ISBN 10: 0912451076
• ISBN 13: 9780912451077
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240