TheSpanish treasure fleet, orWest Indies Fleet (Spanish:Flota de Indias, also calledsilver fleet orplate fleet; from the Spanish:plata meaning "silver"), was aconvoy system of sea routes organized by theSpanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linkedSpain with itsterritories in theAmericas across theAtlantic. The convoys were general purpose cargo fleets used for transporting a wide variety of items, including agricultural goods,lumber, various metal resources such assilver andgold,gems,pearls,spices,sugar,tobacco,silk, and other exotic goods from the overseas territories of theSpanish Empire to theSpanish mainland. Spanish goods such asoil,wine,textiles,books andtools were transported in the opposite direction.[1][2]
The West Indies fleet was the first permanent transatlantic trade route in history. Similarly, the relatedManila galleon trade was the first permanent trade route across the Pacific. The Spanish West and East Indies fleets are considered among the most successful naval operations in history[3][4] and, from a commercial point of view, they made possible key components of today'sglobal economy.[5]
Spanish ships had carried goods from theNew World sinceChristopher Columbus's first expedition of 1492. The organized system of convoys dates from 1564, but Spain sought to protect shipping prior to that by organizing protection around the largest Caribbean island,Cuba, and the maritime region of southern Spain and theCanary Islands because of attacks by pirates and foreign navies.[6] In the 1560s, the Spanish government created a system of convoys in response to the sacking ofHavana by Frenchprivateers.
The main procedures were established on the recommendations ofPedro Menéndez de Avilés, an experienced admiral and personal adviser of KingPhilip II.[7] The treasure fleets sailed along two sea lanes. The main one was theCaribbeanSpanish West Indies fleet orFlota de Indias, which departed in two convoys fromSeville, where theCasa de Contratación was based, bound for ports such asVeracruz,Portobelo andCartagena before making a rendezvous atHavana in order to return together to Spain.[8] A secondary route was that of theManila Galleons orGaleón de Manila, which linked thePhilippines toAcapulco inMexico across thePacific Ocean. From Acapulco, the Asian goods weretranshipped bymule train toVeracruz to be loaded onto the Caribbean treasure fleet for shipment to Spain.[9][7] To better defend this trade, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés andÁlvaro de Bazán designed the definitive model of thegalleon in the 1550s.[10]
Spain controlled the trade through theCasa de Contratación based inSeville, a river port in southern Spain. By law, the colonies could trade only with Seville, the one designated port in the mother country.[11]Maritime archaeology has shown that the quantity of goods transported was sometimes higher than that recorded at theArchivo General de Indias. Spanish merchants and Spaniards acting as fronts (cargadores) for foreign merchants sent their goods on these fleets to the New World. Some resorted tocontraband to transport their cargoes untaxed.[12] TheCrown of Spain taxed the wares and precious metals of private merchants at a rate of 20%, a tax known as thequinto real or royal fifth.[13]
By the end of the 16th century, Spain became the richest country in Europe.[14] Much of the wealth from this trade was used by the SpanishHabsburgs to finance armies to protect its European territories in the 16th and 17th centuries against theOttoman Empire and most of the major European powers. The flow of precious metals in and out of Spain also stimulated the European economy as a whole.[15]
The flow of precious metals made many traders wealthy, both in Spain and abroad. As a result of the discovery of precious metals in Spanish America, Spain's money supply increased tenfold.[16] The increase in gold and silver on the Iberian market caused highinflation in the 17th century, affecting the Spanish economy.[17] As a consequence, the Crown was forced to delay the payment of some major debts, which had negative consequences for its creditors, mostly foreign bankers. By 1690 some of these creditors could no longer offer financial support to the Crown.[18] The Spanishmonopoly over its West and East Indies colonies lasted for over two centuries.
The economic importance of exports later declined with the drop in production of the American precious metal mines, such asPotosí.[19] However, the growth in trade was strong in the early years. Numbering 17 ships in 1550, the fleets expanded to more than 50 much larger vessels by the end of the century. By the second half of the 17th century, that number had dwindled to less than half of its peak.[20] As economic conditions gradually recovered from the last decades of the 17th century, fleet operations slowly expanded again, once again becoming prominent during the reign of theBourbons in the 18th century.[21]
The Spanish trade of goods was sometimes threatened by its colonial rivals, who tried to seize islands as bases along theSpanish Main and in theSpanish West Indies. However, the Atlantic trade was largely unharmed. The English acquired small islands likeSt Kitts in 1624; expelled in 1629, they returned in 1639 and seizedJamaica in 1655. French pirates established themselves inSaint-Domingue in 1625, were expelled, only to return later, and the Dutch occupiedCuraçao in 1634. Other losses to foreign powers came later. In 1713 as part of theTreaty of Utrecht after theWar of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish crown was forced to make concessions which included granting trading privileges to Britain that ended the previous Spanish monopoly on legal trade to its colonial holdings.[22] In 1739 during theWar of Jenkin's Ear,[22] the British admiralsFrancis Hosier and laterEdward Vernonblockaded Portobello in an attempt to prevent the return sailing of the treasure fleet. In 1741 Vernon'scampaign against Cartagena de Indias ended in defeat, with high losses of men and ships. Spain dealt with the temporary British seizures ofHavana andManila (1762–4), during theSeven Years' War, by using a larger number of smaller fleets visiting a greater variety of ports.
The end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713 marked the beginning of the rule of the Bourbon dynasty over the Spanish Empire, which brought with it theBourbon Reforms. These reforms, designed to halt Spain's decline and increase tax revenue, resulted in a series of changes to the fleet system throughout the 18th century.[22]Philip V began the reforms by sending investigators to report on conditions in Spanish America, who brought back evidence of fraud.[22] He and following Bourbon kings, notably includingCharles III, would make a concerted effort to centralize the administration of Spanish America and more efficiently tax profits from overseas trade.[22] One of these reforms was the granting of trading monopolies for certain regions to trading companies ran bypeninsulares, such as theGuipuzcoan Company.[22] Another involved the increased use of registered ships, ornavíos de registro, traveling solo outside the fleet system to transport goods.[23] These reforms gradually decreased reliance on the escorted convoys of the fleet system.[22] In the 1780s, Spain opened its colonies to freer trade.[24] In 1790, theCasa de Contratación was abolished, bringing to an end the great general purpose cargo convoys. Thereafter small groups of naval frigates were assigned specifically to transferringbullion as required.[25]
Every year, two fleets left Spain loaded with European goods in demand in Spanish America; they were guarded by military vessels. Valuable cargo from the Americas, most significantly silver fromMexico andPeru, were sent back to Spain. Fleets of fifty or more ships sailed from Spain, one bound for the Mexican port of Veracruz and the other for Panama and Cartagena.[26] From the Spanish ports of Seville orCádiz, the two fleets bound for the Americas sailed together down the coast of Africa, and stopped at the Spanish territory of theCanary Islands for provisions before the voyage across the Atlantic. Once the two fleets reached the Caribbean, the fleets separated. TheNew Spain fleet sailed toVeracruz in Mexico to load not only silver and the valuable red dyecochineal, but also porcelain and silk shipped from China on theManila galleons. The Asian goods were carried overland fromAcapulco to Veracruz by mule train.[27]
TheTierra Firme fleet, or galeones, sailed toCartagena to load South American products, especially silver fromPotosí. Some ships went toPortobello on the Caribbean coast of Panama to loadPeruvian silver. This had been shipped from the Pacific coast port ofCallao and transported across the isthmus of Panama by mule. Other ships went to the Caribbeanisland of Margarita, off the coast ofVenezuela, to collectpearls which had been harvested from offshore oyster beds. After loading was complete, both fleets sailed forHavana, Cuba, to rendezvous for the journey back to Spain.[28]
The overland journey by mule train, as well as supplies provided by local farmers to prepare the fleets for long ocean voyages, invigorated the economy of colonial Spanish America. Preparation and the transport of goods required porters, innkeepers, and foodstuffs to help facilitate travel.[27] However, in Mexico in 1635, there was an increase of thesales tax levied to finance the fleet, the Armada de Barlovento.[29]
Between 1703 and 1705 Spanish corsairAmaro Pargo began to participate in the West Indies Fleet. In this period he was the owner and captain of the frigateEl Ave María y Las Ánimas, a ship which he sailed from theport of Santa Cruz de Tenerife toHavana. He reinvested the benefits of the Canarian-American trade in his estates, devoted to the cultivation of the grapevines ofMalvasía andVidueño, whose wine products (mainly Vidueño) were sent toAmerica.[30]
Walton[31] gives the following figures in pesos. For the 300-year period thepeso orpiece of eight had about 25 grams of silver, about the same as the Germanthaler andDutch rijksdaalder. A single galleon might carry 2 million pesos. The modern approximate value of the estimated 4 billion pesos produced during the period would come to $530 billion or €470 billion (based on silver bullion prices of May 2015). Of the 4 billion pesos produced, 2.5 billion was shipped to Europe, of which 500 million was shipped around Africa to Asia. Of the remaining 1.5 billion 650 million went directly to Asia from Acapulco and 850 million remained in the Western Hemisphere. Little of the wealth stayed in Spain. Of the 11 million arriving in 1590, 2 million went to France for imports, 6 million to Italy for imports and military expenses, of which 2.5 went up theSpanish Road to theLow Countries and 1 million to theOttoman Empire. 1.5 million was shipped from Portugal to Asia. Of the 2 million pesos reaching the Dutch Republic in that year, 75% went to the Baltic for naval stores and 25% went to Asia. The income of the Spanish crown from all sources was about 2.5 million pesos in 1550, 14 million in the 1590s, about 15 million in 1760 and 30 million in 1780. In 1665 the debts of the Spanish crown were 30 million pesos short-term and 300 million long-term. Most of the New World production was silver, butColombian mines produced mostly gold. The following table gives the estimated legal production. It necessarily excludes smuggling, which was increasingly important after 1600. The crown legally took one fifth (quinto real) at the source and obtained more through other taxes.
| From | To | 1550 | 1600 | 1700 | 1790 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | Havana | 1,650,000 | 8,000,000 | 4,500,000 | minor |
| Colombia | Havana | 500,000 | 1,500,000 | 1,500,000 | 2,000,000 |
| México | Havana | 850,000 | 1,500,000 | 3,000,000 | 18,000,000 |
| Havana | Spain | 3,000,000 | 11,000,000 | 9,000,000 | 20,000,000 |
| Europe | Asia | 2,000,000 | 1,500,000 | 4,500,000 | 7,000,000 |
| Peru | Acapulco | – | 3,500,000 | ? | ? |
| Acapulco | Philippines | – | 5,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
Despite the general perception that many Spanish galleons were captured by foreignprivateers andpirates, relatively few ships were lost to Spain's enemies in the course of theflota's two and a half centuries of operation; more flota galleons were lost to hurricanes. Only theDutch admiralPiet Hein managed to capture an entire fleet, in theBattle in the Bay of Matanzas in 1628, after which its cargo was taken to theDutch Republic.[32] The English admiralRobert Blake twice attacked the fleet, in theBattle of Cádiz in 1656 and in theBattle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1657, but he captured only a single galleon and Spanish officers managed to prevent most of the silver from falling into English hands.[33]
The West Indies fleet was destroyed in theBattle of Vigo Bay in 1702 during theWar of the Spanish Succession, when it was surprised in port unloading its goods, but the Spanish sailors had already unloaded most of its cargo, including all of its silver.[34] None of these attacks took place in open seas. In the case of the Manila galleons, only four were ever captured by British warships: theSanta Anna byThomas Cavendish in 1589, theEncarnación byWoodes Rogers in 1709, theCovadonga byGeorge Anson in 1743, and theSantísima Trinidad in 1762. The attempts to take theRosario in 1704 and theBegonia in 1710 were foiled.[35]
Wrecks of Spanish treasure ships, whether sunk innaval combat or, as was more usually the case, by storms (with the ones which occurred 1622,1715, 1733 and 1750[36] being among the worst), are a prime target for moderntreasure hunters. Many, such as theNuestra Señora de Atocha and theSanta Margarita, have beensalvaged.[37] In August 1750, at least three Spanish merchantmen ran aground inNorth Carolina during a hurricane. TheEl Salvador[38][39] sank nearCape Lookout, theNuestra Señora De Soledad went ashore near present-dayCore Banks and theNuestra Señora De Guadalupe went ashore near present-dayOcracoke.[40]
The wreck of the Spanishmerchant shipEncarnación, part of theTierra Firme fleet, was discovered in 2011 with much of its cargo still aboard and part of its hull intact. TheEncarnación sank in 1681 during a storm near the mouth of theChagres River on the Caribbean side of Panama. TheEncarnación sank in less than 40 feet of water.[41][42] The remains of theUrca de Lima from the1715 fleet and theSan Pedro from the1733 fleet, after being found by treasure hunters, are now protected asFlorida Underwater Archaeological Preserves.[43]
TheCapitana (El Rubi) was theflagship of the 1733 fleet; it ran aground during a hurricane nearUpper Matecumbe Key, then sank. Three men died during the storm. Afterward, divers recovered most of the treasure aboard.
TheCapitana was the first of the 1733 ships to be found again in 1938. Salvage workers recovered items from the sunken ship over more than 10 years. Additional gold was recovered in June 2015. The ship's location: is 24° 55.491' north, 80° 30.891' west.[44][45][46]
TheSan José wassunk in 1708 by British forces near Colombian's coasts. Its wreckage was discovered in 2015 and is believed to contain the record 17B US$ in gold, silver, and other precious stones. Its place is a national secret.[47] In November 2023 the Colombian government are looking to recover the treasure.[48]
TheNuestra Señora de las Maravillas (de) (English:Our Lady of Miracles) which had collided with another ship in the fleet suffered damage to its hull and sunk into a coral reef off theBahamas in January 1656.[49] The ship's cargo with almost 3.5 million items was recovered between 1650s and 1990s, while latest discoveries would be exhibited at the Bahamas Maritime Museum.[50]
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