Urca de Lima facts for kids
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Urca de Lima
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 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
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| Location | St. Lucie County, Florida, United States |
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| Nearest city | Fort Pierce, Florida |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000529 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | May 31, 2001 |
The Urca de Lima is a famous Spanish shipwreck that sank in 1715. It lies near Fort Pierce, Florida, in the United States. This ship was part of the 1715 Treasure Fleet, which was a group of ships that regularly sailed between Spain and its colonies in the Americas.
The wreck is located just north of Fort Pierce Inlet. It is about 200 yards (183 meters) from the shore, near Jack Island Park. In 1987, it became the very first Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. This means it's a special protected area underwater where people can visit and learn about history. Later, on May 31, 2001, it was also added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
What's in a Name?
The ship's original name was Santísima Trinidad. But it became known as Urca de Lima. This nickname came from two things:
- Urca is a Spanish word for a type of cargo ship.
- Miguel de Lima y Melo was the ship's owner.
Some old records also call it Nao de Refuerzo. This might mean the ship was made stronger for long trips across the Atlantic Ocean. The Urca de Lima was a Dutch-built merchant ship. It weighed 305 tons and was used by Spain to carry goods between Spain and its colonies in the Americas.
The Ship's Journey and Sinking
In 1712, the Urca de Lima joined a fleet of eight ships. This fleet was led by Juan Esteban de Ubilla. Their mission was to sail from Spain to the Americas to pick up valuable goods and much-needed bullion (gold and silver).
The fleet arrived in Veracruz, Mexico, in December 1712. But because of different problems, they didn't leave until the spring of 1715. In January 1715, Ubilla became the captain of the Urca de Lima. The ship got new masts and its hull was cleaned. Some smaller ships were even taken apart to fix up the rest of the fleet for the trip back across the Atlantic.
In May 1715, the four remaining ships finally set sail for Havana, Cuba. These ships were the Nuestra Señora de la Regla (Capitana), Almiranta, San Cristobal de La Habana, and Santísima Trinidad (the Urca de Lima). They had a tough journey but reached Havana in early July.
The Hurricane Strikes
After more repairs and delays, Ubilla's fleet left Havana on July 24, 1715. They were heading for Cadiz, Spain. The fleet had grown bigger, with six more Spanish ships led by Antonio de Echeverez. A French ship called El Grifón also sailed with them for protection from pirates.
The Spanish ships were carrying many goods from the Americas and East Asia. They also had a huge amount of gold and about 14 million pesos of silver. However, the Urca de Lima was different. It wasn't carrying any gold or silver for the Spanish king. Instead, it mostly carried things like cowhides, chocolate, sassafras, incense, and vanilla. It also had a few chests of private silver belonging to individuals.
Just a few days after leaving Havana, the fleet sailed into a terrible hurricane. The storm pushed the ships towards the Florida coast. All but one ship either sank or got stuck on the seabed. The French ship El Grifón had sailed ahead and escaped the storm without knowing what happened to the rest of the fleet.
More than half of the fleet's 2,000 men died in the storm. Many survivors later died from hunger, injuries, and sickness. The Urca de Lima was luckier than the other Spanish ships. It managed to steer into a river inlet near Fort Pierce. There, it got stuck on a sandbank, but its hull stayed in one piece. Because of this, most of its cargo and food were saved. This food helped feed the survivors in the days after the storm.
Salvage and Pirates
Admiral Francisco Salmón organized the survivors on the beach. He also managed the salvage operations, which continued until April of the next year. A few men used a small boat, saved from the wreckage, to travel north. Within a week, they reached St. Augustine and told the Spanish leaders about the lost 1715 treasure fleet.
By the end of August, rescue ships from Havana arrived at the site of the sunken fleet. After the Urca de Lima's cargo was saved, the ship was burned down to the waterline. This was done to hide its location from privateers and pirates from other countries, who had also heard about the sunken treasure.
In December, pirates Henry Jennings and Charles Vane captured a Spanish mail ship. They learned the exact location of the main Spanish salvage camp and the Urca de Lima from the ship's captain, Pedro de la Vega. The pirates surprised the camp with a larger force. Admiral Salmón had no choice but to give up the rest of the treasure that was still in the camp. The pirates got away with about £87,500 worth of gold and silver.
Finding the Shipwreck Again
The Urca de Lima shipwreck was found again in 1928 by William J. Beach. It was close to the shore near Fort Pierce. However, the river inlet where the Urca de Lima first got stuck no longer existed because the coastline had changed over time.
In 1932, the city council gave the first permission for someone to try and salvage (recover) things from the wreck. The last permissions were given in 1983 and 1984. But not much was found during these salvage operations. This is because the Spanish had already saved most of the cargo back in 1715. Only one silver bar, two silver wedges, and a few cannons were recovered.
The city council decided to turn the wreck into an archaeological preserve. To do this, archaeologists studied and mapped the wreck in 1985. Then, in 1987, Florida's first underwater archaeological preserve was opened. It was the first of what are called Museums in the Sea. In 2001, the wreck was also added to the National Register of Historic Places.
See also
In Spanish: Urca de Lima para niños
