(Map of the Treasure Fleets route through the Caribbean to go with the text
below.) On the 14th Feb 1503, Queen Joan of Spain issued a decree that all ships from the West Indies, Canary Islands and other yet undiscovered places shall deliver their merchandise to the Casa de Contratacion (House of Transactions) in Seville. This was the first step in the evolution of the Treasure Fleets. This simple declaration meant that all shipping had an almost fixed destination, though while stopping at the Canary Islands they could instead be ordered to Lisbon depending on the state of naval warfare at the time.
By 1502 shipping returning to Seville via the Gibraltar straits began experiencing significant attacks by both Berber and French corsairs. To counter this the Spanish armed the flotillas and was supplemented in 1505 by armed ships sailing from Seville to escort the fleets in. This was supplemented again in 1507 with 2 armed caravels being sent to escort the fleets. This was supplemented again in 1512 with 2 ships being sent as far as the Canary Islands to escort the fleets in. Once war broke out between France and Spain in 1521, the Spanish were forced to man permanent fleets to guard the incoming merchant ships from the French corsairs.
In August 1521, Hernan de Cortez and his band of Spaniards won their seige of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, and the hoard of the Aztec Empire that fell with it. He claimed the land for the Spanish crown, and the treasure for His Catholic Majesty, Charles V. Among his booty was gold and silver jewelry, jade figures, pearls, ceremonial costumes, masks, headdresses and exotic animals, some of which he promptly laid aboard three caravels and despatched to Spain for the marvel and glory of his king.
Unfortunately for the Spanish king, these caravels fell into the hands of French corsairs led by Jean Fleury of Hornfleur in 1522, who came across the small fleet near the Azores. Years later the booty was displayed amongst great opulence in Paris.
From this time, the wars between Spain and France spread as far as the Caribbean and the Spanish flow of treasure to Spain was often intercepted by French privateers.
In 1535, France and Spain were again at odds, and French privateers were moored off the coast of Spain intercepting the ships returning from the Americas. War broke out the next year, and the privateers were so successful that no Spanish shipping took to off the Americas at all.
By 1538 the French were in the West Indies causing trouble, and the merchant ships carrying gold and silver at Santo Domingo Santiago were ordered to wait until a large fleet turned up to escort them back to Spain.
In what seemed a perfectly logical idea at the time, the king introduced the convoy system, and the Treasure Fleet was born. While the ships were more secure, the convoy system inflated the prices of goods returning to the Caribbean, which in turn encouraged the struggling communities to illicitly trade with foreign ships, which also instilled an underlying sense of both tolerance and understanding for piracy. The flourishing illegal trade was also a serious burden on the mind of the king.
In 1566 at the conclusion of the latest Franco-Spanish war, the Spanish issued a decree that any one within their colonies caught trading with foreigners would be put to death and their goods confiscated.
Goods and passengers travelled twice yearly from the Caribbean to Spain. They were also the only sanctioned method of travel which was aimed at restricting the amount of trade occuring outside of Spanish control and maintain the Spanish monopoly. In 1564 the Spanish compelled merchants to travel with the two yearly fleets. These fleets sailed to New Spain (Mexico) and Tierra Firme (Central America). Each convoy was protected by the special naval squadron called the 'Armada de la Guarda de la Carrera de las Indias', which consisted of heavily armed galleons.
By 1650, the treasure fleets were a shadow of their former selves. Their peak was between 1580 and 1620 carrying upto 25,000 tons of riches per year. Ageing and unsafe ships left late in the sailing season, or failed to leave at all. The silver trade resurged in 1670, but fell apart after the war of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). Convoys to Mexico and Tierra Firme ended in 1736 and 1737. The treasure fleets sailed between Spain and four Caribbean harbours. At Cartagena, the fleet stopped for gold, emerald, and tropical products from Colombia and Venezuela. Silver was picked up at San Juan de Ulua, the harbour for Vera Cruz. Silver was taken to the city of Panama, transported across the isthmus, and collected at Nombre de Dios or after 1594 at Portobelo. On the return voyage to Europe, ships assembled and resupplied at Havana, Cuba.
(Map of the Treasure Fleets route through the Caribbean to go with the text
below.)
The two convoys had set schedules but were often delayed.
At its height the Central American fleet (popularly called the 'Galleons') brought together from 30 to 90 merchant vessels and was guarded by 8 or more warships. Leaving Spain about August, the convoy usually entered the Caribbean between Trinidad and Tobago. It then sailed along the Venezuelan coasts, dropping off merchant ships at various ports. The fleet stopped at Cartagena for a month or more, and arrived at Peurto Bello in November or a little later. It left Panama in March, returned to Cartagena, and reached Havana during the summer.
The Mexican convoy (called the 'Flota') contained 15 to 20 merchantmen. Protected by two galleons, the ships left Spain in April or May. They passed between Guadaloupe and Dominica and sailed south below Hispaniola and Cuba, with ships leaving along the way. The convoy reached San Juan de Ulua in late summer, remained over the winter, and headed for Havana in March or April. Upto 1633 two other warships sailed with the convoy at times on a different route.
The Mexican and Central American convoys might return to Spain seperately or together in one giant fleet when pirate attacks were severe. The ships made their way through the narrow channel betwen Florida and the Bahamas. At the Carolinas, they caught the westerly trade winds across the Atlantic.
The convoy system accomplished its main goal of safeguarding the king's silver. Every year pirates prowled the seas looking for these ships. As long as the ships stayed together, they were protected by the galleons sheer size and armament. One attacker claimed 200 shots against a galleon and it was still contentedly holding them at bay. Few ships of the treasure fleet were captured. The main killers were storms and naval fleets.
An entire fleet was only captured 3 times, each time by a large naval fleet. The Dutch in 1628, and the English in 1656 & 1657. However, in 1657, the Spanish managed to rescue the treasure prior to capture.
Pirates followed the fleet, hoping to pounce on stragglers or those crippled by storms. Even singly the treasure ships were difficult targets. The only successful pirates to capture ships were in fact Atlantic based, the Caribbean pirates never captured a treasure ship. They instead prefered smaller, less rich but easier targets. Some years they were so successful almost no ships sailed unmolested between the Spanish towns. With the majority of Spanish interest on the fleets, less interest was paid to defending the towns of the Caribbean. Again, these were only successfully attacked by large groups with an adventurous leader. The treasure fleet ports were especially rich, and bold commanders attempted to intercept the mule trains as well.
Francis Drake seized a silver mule train at Nombre de Dios in 1573. Portobelo was sacked in 1601, 1668 and 1680. Henry Morgan captured Panama in 1671. Laurens de Graf and 7 other captains raided Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulua in 1683. Cartagena was plundered in 1697 by a fleet of French naval and pirate ships.
In May 1685, Edward Davis and his pirate crew, including William Dampier, joined a buccaneer fleet 40km out of Panama city. Their goal was to take the treasure fleet from Lima. They misjudged the defence of the prize. The fleet was protected by 6 warships, two fireships, six smaller vessels and several large canoes, plus 3000 men. The buccaneers had 960 men in 10 ships, only two of which had cannon. The pirates attacked on the evening of May 28, but the Spanish kept their distance, and although some shots were exhanged, nothing serious occured. During the night the Spanish outsmarted the pirates by using some false lights to confuse their ships positions, and by morning light the pirates were surprised by the Spanish ships bearing down on them with the morning breeze. The pirates broke and fled in a long flight, with minor casualties on both sides.
Governor Phips of Massachussetts, a former sloop captain, talked the King of France into a treasure hunt for a storm wrecked Spanish treasure galleon in 1697. The ship went down in 1641, and somehow he had general directions. His commission of the find was 16,000 pound, the King of France got 20,000 pound.
On 28 May 1708, a British naval sqaudron attacked the fleet just out of Cartagena. One ship was captured, one driven ashore, but the ship carrying most of the treasure, the 'San Jose', blew up and went to the bottom.
In 1715 the twelve galleons of the annual plate fleet were sunk in a hurricane off the coast of Florida. The estimated value of the cargo was 14 million pesos. The viceroy of Havana sent a salvage fleet to rescue the treasure, working from a base on shore. It was not long before the pirates of the region heard about the Spanish disaster and were busy amassing for a raid on the salvage base. When they landed, the Spanish guards fled, leaving the pirates to loot 350,000 pesos worth of rescued treasure.
Text on mule trains
3/1/1573 - Flota arrives in Nombre Dios commanded by Don Diego Flores de Valdes.
In 1589, George Clifford leads a fleet of English ships to intercept the fleet, but upon hearing news of his expedition, the fleet remains in port over the winter.
In 1590, The flota remains in Havana after the English are found to be spying out where it will return. The treasure is instead shipped via 4 frigates to Viana and taken overland through Spain to Seville (using 1125 mules!)
In 1591 the English attempted to intercept the fleet again with 2 hunting fleets under Clifford and Howard (Naval fleet), but were foiled by the Spanish navy.
In 1592 the English tried again to intercept the fleet with two hunting fleets under Frobisher and Norton. Only one ship from the treasure fleet was captured, yielding 150,000 pound of booty.
In 1594 Cumberland intercepted the Portugese galleon Cinco Chagas.
In 1595 and 96 Cumberland tried to intercept the fleet but failed.
To counter the continual English attempts, the Spanish embarked on a uniformity process for the fleet, and also set about designing purpose built ships - the galleons.
11/1595 - The flagship of the Tierra Firme fleet, under Sancho Pardo Osorio, had been dismasted and was lying at Puerto Rico. It carried 2million pesos in treasure. Francis Drake attempted to capture the town and ship, but was beaten off. The gold weas returned to Spain in 5 frigates sent to escort the galleon home.