Nuestra Señora de Atocha facts for kids
Cannon from Nuestra Señora de Atocha at the Archivo General de Indias, Seville
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 Spain |
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| Name | Nuestra Señora de Atocha |
| Owner | King Philip IV |
| Ordered | 1620 |
| Builder | Havana Shipyard |
| Acquired | early 1621 |
| Commissioned | 1621 |
| Stricken | 1623 |
| Fate | Wrecked at sea in a major hurricane on 6 September 1622 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Galleon |
| Masts: | 3 |
| Foremast: | 2 square-rigged |
| Mainmast: | 2 square-rigged |
| Mizzenmast: | 1 lateen-rigged |
| Other masts: | Spritsail off bowsprit |
| Tons burthen | 550 toneladas |
| Length | 34 m (111 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 10 m (32 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) |
| Complement | 90 |
| Crew | 110 |
| Armament | 20 heavy guns plus 4–8 versos |
| Notes | Hull constructed (rather poorly) from mahogany rather than traditional oak |
The Nuestra Señora de Atocha (meaning "Our Lady of Atocha" in Spanish) was a famous Spanish treasure galleon. A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used for war and trade. This ship was the most well-known vessel in a group of ships that sank during a powerful hurricane. This happened off the Florida Keys in 1622.
When the Atocha sank, it was carrying a huge amount of valuable cargo. This included copper, silver, gold, tobacco, gems, and indigo. These goods came from Spanish ports like Cartagena and Porto Bello (in what is now Colombia and Panama). The ship was headed for Spain from Havana, Cuba. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was named after a holy place in Madrid, Spain. It was a heavily armed ship that served as the "almirante" or rear guard for the Spanish fleet. This meant it sailed behind the other ships to protect them from attacks from the back.
Much of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha's wreckage was found by American treasure hunters in 1985. After a long legal fight with the State of Florida, the people who found the treasure were allowed to keep it.
Building the Atocha
The Atocha was built for the Spanish Crown in Havana in 1620. It was a large ship, weighing about 550 tons. It was 112 feet (34 meters) long, 34 feet (10 meters) wide, and had a draft of 14 feet (4.3 meters). The ship had three masts: a square-rigged foremast and mainmast, and a lateen-rigged mizzenmast. This type of rigging helped it sail well.
Like other Spanish galleons from the early 1600s, it probably had a high back part (called a sterncastle). It also had a lower middle section and a high front part (called a forecastle).
The Ship's Sinking
The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was delayed in Veracruz, Mexico. It was supposed to meet other ships of the Tierra Firme (Mainland) Fleet in Havana. The treasure it was carrying was so massive that it took two months to record and load it onto the Atocha. This treasure arrived in Panama City by mule.
Because of these delays, a convoy of 28 ships did not leave Havana for Spain until September 4, 1622. This was six weeks later than planned. Each ship in the convoy carried crew members, soldiers, passengers, supplies, and treasures. These treasures came from all over South America. The Atocha alone carried cargo worth an estimated $250 to $500 million. This included silver from Peru and Mexico, gold and emeralds from Colombia, and pearls from Venezuela. It also had common goods like silverware, tobacco, and bronze cannons.
On the second day of its journey from Havana, a hurricane hit the convoy. This happened in the Florida Straits. By the morning of September 6, eight ships had sunk. Their remains were scattered from Marquesas Key to the Dry Tortugas. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha lost almost everyone on board. Only three sailors and two enslaved people survived by holding onto the mizzenmast. Among those who died was Bartolomé García de Nodal, a famous explorer. All of the ship's treasure sank with it, about 30 leagues (140 kilometers) from Havana.
After the surviving ships brought the bad news to Havana, Spanish officials sent five more ships. Their goal was to salvage, or recover, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha and the Santa Margarita. The Santa Margarita had also run aground nearby. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha had sunk in about 56 feet (17 meters) of water. This made it very hard for divers to get any cargo or guns from the ship. A second hurricane on October 5 of that year made things even worse. It scattered the wreckage of the sunken ship even more.
The Spanish tried to salvage the ships for several years. They used enslaved Indigenous people to help. They managed to recover almost half of the recorded cargo from the Santa Margarita. For recovery, they used a large brass diving bell with a glass window. An enslaved person would ride to the bottom, grab an item, and be pulled back up. This method was often deadly, but it worked. The deaths of enslaved people were recorded as a business cost by the salvage ship captains.
Losing the 1622 fleet was a big problem for Spain's trade. It forced the Spanish king to borrow more money to pay for its role in the Thirty Years' War. They also had to sell several galleons to raise funds. The Spanish worked hard and recovered most of the Santa Margarita's treasure over the next ten years. However, even after 60 years of searching, the Spanish never found the Atocha.
Finding the Atocha Today
Starting in 1969, an American treasure hunter named Mel Fisher began searching for the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. He worked with Finley Ricard and a team of divers. They were funded by investors and a company called Treasure Salvors, Inc. Their search lasted for sixteen and a half years. In 1970, Fisher had found parts of the cargo from the Atocha's sister ship, the Santa Margarita.
In 1973, silver bars that seemed to be from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha were found. Then, in 1975, Fisher's son, Dirk, found cannons with markings that confirmed they were from the Atocha wreck. After this, a large part of the remaining cargo of silver, gold, and emeralds was discovered. It was Fisher's other son, Kane, who sent the exciting news to Treasure Salvors headquarters. He radioed from the salvage boat Dauntless.
The recovered coins, both gold and silver, were mostly made between 1598 and 1621. However, many older coins were also found, some from the 1500s. Before this discovery, many of these coins were very rare or unknown to experts. Experts believe that the sterncastle (the back part of the ship) is still missing. This part of the ship would have held most of the gold and rare Muzo emeralds. These valuable items would have been kept safe in the captain's cabin at the back of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha.
After the discovery, the State of Florida said the wreck belonged to them. They made Treasure Salvors, Inc. sign a contract giving 25% of the treasure to the state. Treasure Salvors fought this, saying the treasure should be theirs alone. After eight years of legal battles, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of Treasure Salvors on July 1, 1982. This meant they had the rights to all the treasure found from the ship. Mel Fisher passed away on December 19, 1998.
In June 2011, divers from Mel Fisher's Treasure Salvors found an old emerald ring. It is believed to be from the wreck and is worth about $500,000. The ring was found 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Key West, along with two silver spoons and other items. In 2014, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha was added to the Guinness World Records book. It was recognized as the most valuable shipwreck ever found. It carried about 40 tonnes of gold and silver, and 70 pounds (32 kilograms) of emeralds.
See also
In Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Atocha para niños
