Rodrigo de Torres’s fleet (1733)

On Friday, July 13, 1733, the Nueva España Fleet, under the command of General Rodrigo de Torres, left the port of Havana bound for Spain.

The fleet consisted of 4 escort galleons, 16 merchant ships and 2 small ships that transported supplies to the Presidio of St. Augustine.

The Rubí Segundo, armed with 60 guns, was the Capitana of the fleet, commanded by Baltasar de la Torre; while the 64-gun galleon Gallo Indiano, was the Almiranta, commanded by Bernardino de Maturana. The escort galleons were the 60-gun Nuestra Señora de Balavaneda, aka El Infante, and the Africa, with the same number of gun ports. These armed galleons protected the merchant ships: San Pedro, San Francisco, San Ignacio, El Sueco, San José y las Ánimas, Tres puentes, San Felipe aka El Terri, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Poder, Nuestra Señora del Carmen aka Chaves, Nuestra Señora de Belén y San Juan Bautista, Nuestra Señora de Belén y San Antonio de Padua aka El Herrera, Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, San Fernando, the frigate Floridiana, a Spanish cutter and a pingue, or pink, called Nuestra Señora del Pópulo.

The following day, as they sighted the Florida Keys, the wind speed and course direction changed drastically and the wind began to blow strongly from the east. Fearing an approaching hurricane, Rodrigo de Torres ordered the ship to return to the port of Havana, but it was too late. At nightfall on July 15, with the storm raging over the keys, most of the ships that made up the fleet were pushed westward; some of them ended up colliding with the shallows or sinking hopelessly.

Only four of the ships managed to return to Havana, among them, the Nuestra Señora del Rosario. A fifth ship, the escort galleon Africa, managed to advance and rescued the crew of the Nuestra Señora del Pópulo, which had run aground to the north, near present-day Elliot Key, and continued on its course until reaching Spain.

In the weeks following the disaster, Spanish cutters were sent to help from Havana, to try to locate the wrecked ships and to tow to port those ships that could still sail. The galleons that could neither be refloated nor towed were set on fire so that divers could access their holds more easily.

The coast of the 1733 shipwrecks. From Long Key to Elliott Key

Sueco

Sueco, under the command of Captain Juan José de Arizón, sank off Conch Key. She ran aground on a sandbank, and her remains, reduced to a large pile of ballast stones, are currently about 9 feet deep. The people on board managed to save their lives, and most of the cargo, consisting of silver, Chinese porcelain, indigo, cochineal and tobacco, was recovered.

Nuestra Señora de las Angustias

The wreck of the 300-ton Nuestra Señora de las Angustia, is at the bottom of the Long Key channel, formerly known as Cayo Víboras, about 500 yards south of the viaduct bridge, an area of turbid waters and strong currents. She was captained by Francisco Sánchez Madrid and, as with other ships of the fleet, all of her crew and most of her cargo were saved. This shipwreck became famous because of the poems written by one of the passengers, José Ignacio Toca Velasco, about the storm and the fate of the ships and their castaways.

Gallo Indiano

The Capitana of the fleet, the galleon Gallo Indiano, one of the ships that carried the most silver, also ran aground on Cayo Víboras. All of her cargo, consisting of silver, copper ingots, indigo, cochineal, vanilla and ceramics, and passengers, except for four people, were saved. The ballast remains, which mark the wreck site, and part of the galleon’s keel are now about 14 feet deep.

Nuestra Señora del Rosario, San Francisco Javier y San Antonio de Padua

The galleons Nuestra Señora del Rosario, San Francisco Javier y San Antonio de Padua, aka San Francisco, of 264 tons, was owned by Cristóbal de Urquijo, who was traveling on another merchant ship he owned, the San Ignacio, on board which he died. The San Francisco sank near the Capitana, in Cayo Víbora, present-day Long Key. She ran aground in shallow water and her people and part of her cargo, mainly silver, were saved. However, the cochineal and indigo she was carrying were lost. Underwater you can still see the ballast stones marking the wreck site, at a depth of 6-9 feet, and some wooden remains of the ship’s frames and keel.

San Felipe

The San Felipe aka El Terri, nicknamed after its former owner Guillermo Terry, sank east of Lower Matacumbe Key, resting on a sand flat. She was built in England and had a tonnage of 486 tons. She was a merchant ship that transported wine between Spain and England until she became part of Rodrigo de Torres’s fleet, under the orders of Captain José del Villar y Andrade.

San Pedro

The 287-ton, Dutch-built galleon San Pedro was owned by Gaspar de Larrea and captained by Gaspar López de González. She transported silver, cochineal, indigo, wild indigo and Chinese porcelain. The wreck lies off Lower Matacumbe Key, south of Indian Key, in 18 feet of water. Currently, it is one of the most frequently visited wrecks by divers in Florida, as it is part of the Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park, although, some of the cannons on the site are modern replicas and the iron anchor is from a more modern ship.

Nuestra Señora de Belén y San Antonio de Padua

The 242-ton Nuestra Señora de Belén y San Antonio de Padua, aka El Herrera, owned by Luis Herrera, carried silver, indigo, cochineal, sugar, tobacco and hides. With water pouring in through several gashes, she sank near Upper Matacumbe Key, off Whale Harbor. The ballast remains in the middle of a white sandy stretch, at a depth of about 20 feet, mark the location where she sank.

Tres Puentes

The merchantman nicknamed Tres Puentes, which could either be the 212-ton Nuestra Señora de Belén y San Juan Bautista, or maybe the 296-ton Nuestra Señora de los Dolores y Santa Isabel, carried silver, indigo, sugar, tobacco, hides and fruits. The vessel struck a rocky shoal in the area known as Islamorada and sank to a depth of about 19 feet. All that remains of the wreck is a pile of ballast stones and some scanty remains of wood from the hull.

Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Antonio de Padua y Las Ánimas

The 220-ton merchant ship Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Antonio de Padua y Las Ánimas, aka Chaves, was one of the smallest ships in the fleet. She ran aground on a shoal off Windley Key, and fortunately, all the people on board and much of her cargo could be saved. Useful parts of the hull and rigging were disassembled and what was left above the water was burned to remove the nails and other elements. Her very little remains, visible at about 8 feet below the surface, consist mainly of ballast stones.

Rubí Segundo

The Capitana of Rodrigo de Torres’s fleet, the galleon Rubí Segundo, on which he was traveling, carried most of the King’s wealth; more than two thousand crates with coins, silver bars, gold bars and copper bars. In addition, she also carried indigo, cochineal, vanilla, cocoa and tobacco. She crashed violently into a reef and three lives were lost. The remains of the armed galleon are located off Upper Matacumbe Key, Tavernier Key. Right there, on dry land, Torres ordered a fort to be built to protect and keep a record of what was recovered from the sunken galleon. Divers from Havana worked tirelessly to salvage almost all of the gold and silver crates on board.

Between 1938 and 1940 the wreck of the Rubí was located and explored by Art McKee, at a depth of 27 feet. He managed to extract pieces of artillery, coins, jewelry, religious medals and medallions, weapons, navigational instruments and pieces from the rigging of the galleon.

San José y las Ánimas

The 326-ton galleon San José y las Ánimas, aka El Duque, was built in New England in 1728 and later purchased by José del Duque, who changed her name and assigned her to Rodrigo de Torres’ fleet in 1732. Her captain was Cristóbal Fernández Franco. She was loaded with a cargo of silver coins and Chinese porcelain. The vessel managed to avoid the reefs and sank on a sandy bottom near the shore, so the people on board were able to save themselves by making rafts from the ship’s timbers and rigging. However, much of the cargo was difficult to recover because of the depth at which it was located. Her remains, consisting of ballast stones, 23 guns, two anchors and hull timbers, lie on a sand flat on Tavernier Key in about 30 feet of water.

Nuestra Señora de Balvaneda

The 400-ton, 60-gun galleon Nuestra Señora de Balvaneda aka Infante was built in 1724 in Genoa, and then purchased by Philip V, who sent her to sail across the West Indies trade route. She sailed under the command of Captain Domingo de Lanz, carrying crates of silver, cochineal, indigo, brazilwood, vanilla, Mexican ceramics and Chinese porcelain. The remains of the ship, consisting of ballast stones and hull timbers such as the keel, some of frames, spars and lining strakes, lie about 20 feet deep.

Nuestra Señora del Pópulo

The wreck farthest north was that of the Nuestra Señora del Pópulo, which sailed close to the Capitana. She was a small 200-ton pingue, or pink, armed with 8 or 12 guns, carrying cochineal, indigo, hides, brazilwood and tobacco. Her remains are located about 30 feet below the surface, in a sandy stretch of seabed, surrounded by a coral reef, within Biscayne National Park.

Ships assigned to this fleet

Nuestra Señora de Pópulo (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She carried hides and skins, tobacco, dyes, citrus fruits and indigo. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Nuestra Señora de Balvaneda, aka Infante (1733)
Galleon which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. This ship captained by Domingo de Lnz carried coins, eastern ceramics, mexican ceramics, hides and skins, vanilla, citrus fruits and dyes. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
San Pedro (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She carried coins and eastern ceramics. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
San José & Las Ánimas, aka El Duque (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Antonio de Padua y Las Ánimas, aka Chaves (1733)
Ship of unknown type which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. Captained by Antonio de Chaves. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Sueco de Arizón (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She carried hides and skins, eastern ceramics, tobacco, silver ingots and dyes. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Nuestra Señora de las Angustias (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
El Gallo Indiano (1733)
Galleon which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She carried coins, copper ingots, dyes, vanilla and eastern ceramics. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Nuestra Señora del Rosario, San Francisco Javier & San Antonio de Padua, aka San Francisco (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Spain. She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She carried silver ingots. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Tres Puentes (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
San Felipe, aka El Terri (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Rubi Segundo (1733)
Galleon which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. This ship captained by Baltasar de la Torre carried gold bullion, vanilla, tobacco, dyes, silver coins and indigo. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
Nuestra Señora de Belén & San Antonio de Padua, aka El Herrera (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. This ship captained by Luis Herrera carried sugar, silver coins, tobacco, indigo and hides and skins. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
San Fernando (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.
San Ignacio (1733)
Merchant ship which departed Havana (CUB) bound for Cadiz (ESP). She sunk in Florida in 1733 due to a hurricane. She belonged to The Nueva España Fleet.