San Esteban (1554 shipwreck)

About

San Esteban was a Spanish cargo ship that was wrecked in a storm in the Gulf of Mexico on what is now the Padre Island National Seashore in southern Texas on 29 April 1554. San Esteban was one of a flotilla of four ships carrying treasure from New Spain (Mexico) to Cuba. Three were wrecked in the storm, including San Esteban. Many of the three hundred sailors and passengers drowned while trying to reach shore. About thirty took a boat to seek help. Almost all the others died of thirst or starvation, or were killed by hostile local Karankawa Indians during their attempt to walk back to safety. The Spanish sent a salvage expedition, but recovered less than half of the cargo and treasure. One of the wrecks was rediscovered in 1964. A private company, Platoro, Ltd., began to excavate the Espíritu Santo wreck in late 1967, which caused public outrage and the passage of new laws to protect wrecks on the Texan coast. The remains of San Esteban were found in 1970 and excavated in 1972–73. Many artifacts have been recovered and are held in the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, including the world's oldest mariner's astrolabe with a confirmed date.

San Esteban left Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, on 4 November 1552. It was part of a fleet of 54 ships under the command of Captain-General Bartolomé Carreño that included an escort of six well-armed ships with 360 soldiers. The escorting ships and 18 vessels were destined for the mainland of South America. Ten ships were heading to Santo Domingo and four to other parts of the West Indies. Sixteen were bound for San Juan de Ulúa ( Veracruz ) in New Spain (Mexico).

The fleet had a difficult outbound voyage, suffering from bad weather, accidents and skirmishes with pirates. Eight vessels were lost and the rest scattered. All the New Spain flotilla arrived safely at Vera Cruz during February and March 1553. The plan was to scrap eleven of the vessels and keep only five to make the return journey. This was typical. Ships from the Americas to Spain carried a much smaller volume of cargo than ships traveling in the other direction, although the shipments to Spain included valuable gold and silver.

In September 1552, Vera Cruz had been battered by a hurricane. The harbor facilities had not yet been repaired. The ships were unloaded and refitted slowly, and only one was prepared to sail for Havana to join the fleet for the return journey to Spain that year. The other four waited for over a year at Vera Cruz for the next fleet. These were the San Esteban, with Francisco del Huerto as master, Espíritu Santo, Santa María de Yciar and San Andrés with Antonio Corzo as master. Eventually the four decided not to wait longer and sailed for Havana without an escort. Antonio Corzo was named captain-general of the flotilla.

Location of the wreck in the Gulf of Mexico Oral tradition holds that a priest in Mexico predicted that there would be a disaster before the ships set sail, but that his warning was ignored. The four ships left Vera Cruz on 9 April 1554, carrying over 400 people and valuable treasure and cargo. The passengers included wealthy citizens, merchants and former soldiers, but there were also a few prisoners and five Dominican missionaries who had decided to return to Spain. The ships carried barrels holding over 85,000 pounds (39,000 kg) of silver coins and disks that had been minted in Mexico City. The total cargo was worth more than two million pesos, the equivalent of almost US$10 million in 1975.

Due to prevailing winds and currents, the best route from Veracruz to Havana ran along the shore of what became Texas and Louisiana. The four vessels took this route. On 29 April 1554 the ships were nearing Havana when they ran into a severe storm. Three of the ships were blown back to the west and wrecked on the Padre Island sandbars. Only San Andrés escaped. Santa Maria de Yciar sank about 42 miles (68 km) north of the Rio Grande 's mouth, where the Mansfield Channel is today. Espiritu Santo sank about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north of this point and San Esteban was wrecked 2.5 miles (4.0 km) further north again.

There were about three hundred people on the wrecked vessels, of whom perhaps 100–150 escaped drowning. Many women and children were among those who reached shore. Francisco del Huerto, the master of San Esteban, was able to salvage a boat. He made his way back to Vera Cruz with 30 men to get help. The other survivors tried to walk south along the shore, not realizing that the nearest Spanish outpost was Tampico, 300 miles (480 km) away. They met local people who seemed friendly and offered food, but later a fight broke out. The Spanish escaped but the Karankawa Indians followed them, picking off stragglers with arrows. The Spanish made driftwood rafts to cross the Rio Grande. They lost their crossbows when the unstable rafts tipped.

The Indians seized two men, took their clothes and then released them. The other Spaniards thought that perhaps the Indians only wanted their clothes, and stripped naked before going on. The women and children walked ahead to protect their modesty, and were ambushed and killed. Almost all of the men died of thirst or starvation, or were killed. There are records of only two who reached safety. One, Brother Marcos de Mena, was left for dead after receiving multiple arrow wounds. He recovered and managed to reach Pánuco with the aid of friendly Indians. The other, Francisco Vazquez, left the group early on and went back to the dunes facing the wrecks. He hid there until help arrived. The event came to be called the "Wreck of the Three Hundred".

Francisco del Huerto managed to reach Vera Cruz and tell of the tragic event. A rescue mission was dispatched by sea under Ángel de Villafañe. His small body of troops arrived in June. He guarded the site against looters from the Spanish settlements of Tampico and Pánuco until the salvage expedition arrived, and remained during the salvage operation from 23 July to 12 September.

The main salvage crew dispatched from Vera Cruz to try to recover the treasure was under García de Escalante Alvarado (a nephew of Pedro de Alvarado ). Alvarado bought six vessels to recover the Emperor Charles V 's coin and bullion, and the other cargo. There were 102 sailors, including eleven Spanish divers. The masts of San Esteban could still be seen. Salvage of San Esteban began at once. She had sunk in just 12 to 18 feet (3.7 to 5.5 m) of water, so could be thoroughly explored. The salvage team dragged a chain along the bottom to find the two other ships. Santa Maria de Yciar was located on 20 August. Her hull had split and the cargo was scattered around the wreck.

Alvarado recovered over 29,000 pounds (13,000 kg) of silver as well as 22,000 pesos. The salvage crew also recovered personal items and cargo. This included resin, cochineal, sugar, wood and hides. The salvage crew found about 41% of the total value of the cargo. 51,600 pounds (23,400 kg) of precious metals, coins, jewelry and religious artifacts were lost. After that the island was rarely visited by Europeans for the next 200 years.

San Esteban left Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, on 4 November 1552. It was part of a fleet of 54 ships under the command of Captain-General Bartolomé Carreño that included an escort of six well-armed ships with 360 soldiers. The escorting ships and 18 vessels were destined for the mainland of South America. Ten ships were heading to Santo Domingo and four to other parts of the West Indies. Sixteen were bound for San Juan de Ulúa ( Veracruz ) in New Spain (Mexico).

The fleet had a difficult outbound voyage, suffering from bad weather, accidents and skirmishes with pirates. Eight vessels were lost and the rest scattered. All the New Spain flotilla arrived safely at Vera Cruz during February and March 1553. The plan was to scrap eleven of the vessels and keep only five to make the return journey. This was typical. Ships from the Americas to Spain carried a much smaller volume of cargo than ships traveling in the other direction, although the shipments to Spain included valuable gold and silver.

In September 1552, Vera Cruz had been battered by a hurricane. The harbor facilities had not yet been repaired. The ships were unloaded and refitted slowly, and only one was prepared to sail for Havana to join the fleet for the return journey to Spain that year. The other four waited for over a year at Vera Cruz for the next fleet. These were the San Esteban, with Francisco del Huerto as master, Espíritu Santo, Santa María de Yciar and San Andrés with Antonio Corzo as master. Eventually the four decided not to wait longer and sailed for Havana without an escort. Antonio Corzo was named captain-general of the flotilla.

Location of the wreck in the Gulf of Mexico Oral tradition holds that a priest in Mexico predicted that there would be a disaster before the ships set sail, but that his warning was ignored. The four ships left Vera Cruz on 9 April 1554, carrying over 400 people and valuable treasure and cargo. The passengers included wealthy citizens, merchants and former soldiers, but there were also a few prisoners and five Dominican missionaries who had decided to return to Spain. The ships carried barrels holding over 85,000 pounds (39,000 kg) of silver coins and disks that had been minted in Mexico City. The total cargo was worth more than two million pesos, the equivalent of almost US$10 million in 1975.

Due to prevailing winds and currents, the best route from Veracruz to Havana ran along the shore of what became Texas and Louisiana. The four vessels took this route. On 29 April 1554 the ships were nearing Havana when they ran into a severe storm. Three of the ships were blown back to the west and wrecked on the Padre Island sandbars. Only San Andrés escaped. Santa Maria de Yciar sank about 42 miles (68 km) north of the Rio Grande 's mouth, where the Mansfield Channel is today. Espiritu Santo sank about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north of this point and San Esteban was wrecked 2.5 miles (4.0 km) further north again.

There were about three hundred people on the wrecked vessels, of whom perhaps 100–150 escaped drowning. Many women and children were among those who reached shore. Francisco del Huerto, the master of San Esteban, was able to salvage a boat. He made his way back to Vera Cruz with 30 men to get help. The other survivors tried to walk south along the shore, not realizing that the nearest Spanish outpost was Tampico, 300 miles (480 km) away. They met local people who seemed friendly and offered food, but later a fight broke out. The Spanish escaped but the Karankawa Indians followed them, picking off stragglers with arrows. The Spanish made driftwood rafts to cross the Rio Grande. They lost their crossbows when the unstable rafts tipped.

The Indians seized two men, took their clothes and then released them. The other Spaniards thought that perhaps the Indians only wanted their clothes, and stripped naked before going on. The women and children walked ahead to protect their modesty, and were ambushed and killed. Almost all of the men died of thirst or starvation, or were killed. There are records of only two who reached safety. One, Brother Marcos de Mena, was left for dead after receiving multiple arrow wounds. He recovered and managed to reach Pánuco with the aid of friendly Indians. The other, Francisco Vazquez, left the group early on and went back to the dunes facing the wrecks. He hid there until help arrived. The event came to be called the "Wreck of the Three Hundred".

Francisco del Huerto managed to reach Vera Cruz and tell of the tragic event. A rescue mission was dispatched by sea under Ángel de Villafañe. His small body of troops arrived in June. He guarded the site against looters from the Spanish settlements of Tampico and Pánuco until the salvage expedition arrived, and remained during the salvage operation from 23 July to 12 September.

The main salvage crew dispatched from Vera Cruz to try to recover the treasure was under García de Escalante Alvarado (a nephew of Pedro de Alvarado ). Alvarado bought six vessels to recover the Emperor Charles V 's coin and bullion, and the other cargo. There were 102 sailors, including eleven Spanish divers. The masts of San Esteban could still be seen. Salvage of San Esteban began at once. She had sunk in just 12 to 18 feet (3.7 to 5.5 m) of water, so could be thoroughly explored. The salvage team dragged a chain along the bottom to find the two other ships. Santa Maria de Yciar was located on 20 August. Her hull had split and the cargo was scattered around the wreck.