Spanish Treasure Along Florida Coast

Above, shipwreck artifacts savaged displayed at the Key West
Shipwreck Treasures Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before Florida became a state, ship disasters took place along the Florida eastern coast involving Spanish treasure ships en route from Cuba to Spain when hurricanes hit.

To this day, treasures wash up on shore and are found by beachcombers.

Disasters would happen even into the 1800s. There is an interesting shipwreck museum in Key West with artifacts for those eras.

Above, a silver bar from a 1656 shipwreck. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Citrus County Chronicle has an interesting article on Spanish treasures that found their way onto the ocean floor.

They begin it with:

In Havana, Cuba, July 1715, 11 Spanish treasure ships and one French warship were preparing to sail to Spain carrying over 15 million pesos in gold and silver. King Philip V of Spain relied on the riches of the new world to pay the bills and was in dire need of the money.

The route was the same one taken for over 100 years. The fleet catches the Gulf Stream north of Cuba, sails north along Florida’s east coast, then turns eastward across the Atlantic Ocean to Spain.

Lacking the Weather Channel, the admiral of the fleet was unaware of a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic, planning a rendezvous with the ships off the eastern coast of Florida. A major maritime disaster was imminent.

Above, the Reap The Wild Wind movie display at the Key West
Shipwreck Treasures Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At the Key West Shipwreck Treasures Museum, there is a display of Reap The Wild Wind movie memorabila. The movie was about shipwreck salvors starring John Wayne, Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard.

To read more, go here.