San Miguel (1551 shipwreck)
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
San Miguel may refer to either of two Spanish galleons which sank in the sixteenth century off Santo Domingo.
The San Miguel (which?) is believed to be one of the richest treasure galleons ever lost at sea, with a cargo of Inca and Aztec treasures looted by Spanish conquistadores.
A fleet of nine ships left San Juan de Ulúa on March IS. 1551. By April 29, the San Miguel had wrecked off the north coast of Santo Domingo. No lives were lost. Some of the registered treasure appears to have been salvaged in the following months and was sent back to Spain. The ship was 200 toneladas and considered to be an excellent vessel, the best of the fleet. It would have been about 23 meters long, with a keel of nearly 15 meters.
Many have searched for the remains of the San Miguel, The search was mentioned in the final chapters of Robert Kurson's New York Times Bestseller "Pirate Hunters" (2015).[1] The search is ongoing in the treacherous waters of the Dominican Republic.[2] [3] [4]
Names of interest
Diego Garrido, pilot of the ship had been part of the expedition under Hernan Cortés. Diego fell ill on the return trip and a passenger. Juan Lopez took over. Salvador Garrido, brother of Diego, was the maestre of the ship. Viceroy Luís de Velasco was the owner and his son Pedro Castilla was captain.
Francisco Montejo (known as El adelantado to distinguish him from other people of the same name) is associated with another ship of the same name which was wrecked in the 1540s.[5] One of the original conquistadores who travelled with Cortés, he became Governor of Yucatán. By 1550 complaints about him were received in Spain and he was recalled to be investigated by the Council of the Indies. He died in Spain in 1553.
See also
References
- ^ Kurson, Robert (2015). Pirate Hunters. Random House. ISBN 9781400063369.
- ^ Marx Robert F., Shipwrecks of the Western Hemisphere(1971) Western Publishing ISBN 0679505652
- ^ Marx Robert F., Shipwrecks of the Americas (1974,1975,1987) Dover Publications ISBN 0-486-25514X
- ^ Marx Robert F., The Worlds Richest Shipwrecks (2009) Ram Books ISBN 0-9818991-1-0
- ^ Gaetan, Algoet. "San Miguel (+1542)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 30 December 2014.