A hurricane swallowed a Spanish treasure fleet off Florida
On this day · 31 July 1715
In 1715 a July hurricane sank eleven silver-laden Spanish ships off Florida, creating the coastline now called the Treasure Coast.
Early on the morning of 31 July 1715, a Spanish treasure fleet sailing home from Havana was caught by a fierce hurricane as it cleared the Bahama Channel. Eleven ships were sunk or driven onto reefs along Florida’s east coast, scattered from present-day Fort Pierce to Wabasso, north of Vero Beach.
The loss was staggering. The convoy, nicknamed the Plata (Silver) Fleet, was carrying silver coins and bullion bound for the Spanish crown. Of roughly 2,500 sailors and passengers aboard, around 1,000 perished, including the fleet’s commander, Captain-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla.
A single French frigate, sailing farther out to sea, survived to reach Europe.
The disaster gave Florida its enduring nickname, the Treasure Coast, and a salvage saga that never quite ended. Coins still wash up after storms, and modern divers keep recovering gold and silver — in 2015, the 300th anniversary year, one team found millions of dollars in coins off Vero Beach.
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