Santa Margarita (shipwreck)
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The Santa Margarita was a Spanish ship that sank in a hurricane in the Florida Keys about 40 miles (64 km) west of the island of Key West in 1622.
Specifications and Cargo
Santa Margarita was a Spanish galleon of 600 tons, armed with twenty-five cannon. In 1622, as part of a fleet of 28 ships, she was voyaging to Spain with a significant cargo of New World treasures. The registered wealth included 166,574 silver “pieces of eight” treasure coins, more than 550 ingots of silver weighing approximately 10,000 pounds, and over 9,000 ounces of gold in the form of bars, discs, and bits. Additionally, there was a large amount of contraband treasure smuggled on board to avoid a 20 percent tax to the Spanish king. The ship also carried copper, silverware, indigo, and personal possessions of officers, passengers, and crew, including medical tools, navigational instruments, gold coins, and precious jewelry.[1]
The 1622 Hurricane
In September 1622, the fleet departed from Cuba but was soon overtaken by a rapidly developing storm. The Santa Margarita, along with five other ships, was wrecked near the Marquesas Keys in the Florida Straits, resulting in the loss of 550 passengers and crew, including 142 from the Santa Margarita. The loss of the treasure was a significant setback for Spain, whose colonial power relied heavily on wealth from the Indies.[2]
Early Salvage Efforts
Captain Gaspar de Vargas initiated the first salvage attempt shortly after the wreck, employing pearl divers from the island of Margarita. In 1624, Havana politician Francisco Melian obtained a royal salvage contract and utilized a diving bell to aid in the recovery efforts. Despite some success, salvage operations were frequently interrupted by weather and Dutch sea forces, and eventually ceased, leaving much of the treasure buried in the Florida Straits.[3]