"Urca de Lima" - the fiction of the director of "Black Sails" or a real ship?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

XVIII century is the time of pirates, sailboats and legends about countless treasures. It was then that the thirst for gold pushed people to robbery on the high seas, and it was in those early years that a ship with the beautiful name "Urca de Lima" sailed the sea …

Black Sails series

Probably, before the release of the sensational series Black Sails, only historians specializing in European colonies of the 18th century knew about the existence of a Spanish galleon called "Urca de Lima". Everything turned upside down when the film's gripping plot was revealed, where notorious pirates chase Spanish gold for a better life.

So was there really a galleon with treasures that could have become the richest man in the New World?

The true story of the Spanish galleon

It was 1715. Spain, financially exhausted by the War of Succession, needed money more than ever. Regular attacks by pirates made it impossible to freely transport gold and other valuables from the Spanish colonies of the New World.

But there was simply no other choice, and in the summer of 1715 fromHavana left a caravan of 12 ships under the command of General Juan Esteban de Ubilla. The holds of the ships were filled to overflowing with gold, silver and colonial goods. The total value of the cargo, according to historical data, was about 14 million pesos.

The Spanish fleet had been slowly moving along the east coast of Florida for the fifth day, when suddenly a wind blew from the southeast, the sea became restless, and experienced sailors who sailed more than once in these deceptive waters did not bode well. These were the first heralds of a powerful tropical storm, which in a few hours will send 11 out of 12 Spanish ships to the bottom or smash on the reefs, including the Urca de Lima galleon.

The only ship spared by the hurricane was the merchant ship Griffin. A few days after the disaster, he reached the shores of Cuba, and the sailors were able to tell about what had happened. The rest found their last refuge near the Florida coast, about a thousand people survived that terrible storm.

The fate of the treasures of the sunken ship

The Spaniards have been looking for their sunken gold for about 3 years. A special bell was used to raise valuables from shallow water. They managed to return to the treasury about a third of all the money transported then to Europe. Pirate raids in search of easy money really took place, so the creators of the series relied on historical facts.

After the departure of the Spaniards, many local residents, together with American treasure hunters, equipped expeditions for a long timeto the crash site, some were lucky, some weren't.

The wreckage of the galleon "Urca de Lima" was discovered only in 1987, near the modern Fort Pierce. According to on-board records, all cargo was moved ashore just after the hurricane. This was possible because part of the ship remained above the water after the crash.

"Urca de Lima" - a ship, the photo of which after the release of "Black Sails" is not so difficult to find on the Internet, thanks to this film it seemed to be resurrected. The name of the ship that sank over 300 years ago is once again heard by millions of viewers around the world.