Shipwrecks

Scattered around the coasts of the United States of America and the Bahamas there are thousands of Spanish shipwrecks that once sailed their waters from the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 19th century. A shared history comprising tales of exploration, colonization, globalization and battles which take place in seas and oceans, facing natural hazards and extreme weather conditions.

More than 150 ships that belonged to the Tierra Firme and the Nueva España fleets, the Manila Galleon route, or ships that sailed alone between the various Spanish ports, ended up sinking in US waters.

Fortunately, the Spanish bureaucratic machinery left detailed records of the loss of each and every one of these ships, their cargoes, crews and passengers, and even of the complex diving operations carried out at the time of the shipwrecks.

Thanks to the information kept in Spanish and American archives, today we can reconstruct these events: we know the year when they were shipwrecked, which ports they departed from, which fleets they belonged to, who were their captains and admirals, the goods they were transporting, the circumstances that led to the shipwrecks, how many people died and what happened to the survivors.

The archaeological remains of these historic shipwrecks are part of a unique cultural heritage that must be researched, documented, interpreted and preserved for future generations.

In this section

10 notable shipwrecks

Of the more than 150 shipwrecks contained in these pages, we would like to highlight some that deserve special mention because of their dramatic end, the loss of human lives, the difficulties encountered and the suffering of the shipwrecked or the mistakes made.

Ship types

In transoceanic quests, naval technology and the evolution of the methods used in the construction of the ships that were sent on such maritime voyages played a fundamental role. In this section you will find a description of the ships that made navigation possible.