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.
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.
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. == Modern recovery ==