1715 Treasure Fleet

8 Reales Mexican Silver cob full date 1715 recovered from the 1715 fleet.

The 1715 Treasure Fleet was a Spanish treasure fleet returning from the New World to Spain. In the evening of July 30, 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 plate).[1] 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.

Rare 8 Escudos Lima dated 1710 recovered from the 1715 Fleet.

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." Bold textAn exhibit was set up with a grand opening on May 1, 1967 at the First National Bank of Satellite Beach, Florida.

The Museum of Sunken Treasure in Cape Canaveral, Florida, housed this treasure. Underwater archeologist Bob Marx designed many of the exhibits, as well as providing additional treasure to the collection.

In 1987, another ship in the fleet, the Urca de Lima, became the first shipwreck in the Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves.

In popular culture

In the movie Fool's Gold, the protagonists are searching for the location of one of the sunken ships of the treasure fleet (along with its treasure).

The treasure fleet was used as the backdrop for a scene in the video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The main character, Edward Kenway, is aboard one of the ships in the fleet as a prisoner, and manages to escape with the help of his future quartermaster, Adéwalé, recruiting other captive pirates as a crew. The pirates eventually manage to escape the fleet and the hurricane by stealing the twelfth ship, the brig El Dorado, which Edward keeps and renames the Jackdaw, becoming the player's ship for the rest of the game. Edward later makes reference to the event when Blackbeard inquires as to how he got the Jackdaw, and the latter then suggests visiting the site to salvage some of the lost treasure.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1715 Plate Fleet, Page 10" (PDF). Brevard County Historical Commission. Retrieved 29 July 2013.

External links