September
28
/ 2014
The Tierra Firme flota, which was made up of twenty ships, left the Havana port of Cuba on their way for Spain on September 4 th, 1622. These ships carried the wealth of an empire along with crew, soldiers and passengers. The next day, the fleet was hit by a hurricane as it entered into the Florida straits. By the next morning eight of the ships were on the ocean floor scattered from the Marquesas Keys to the Dry Tortugas. The Nuestra Senora de Atocha (“Our Lady of Atocha”), a heavily armed galleon, sailed as Almirante (rear guard). For added protection, the Nuestra bore the name of the holiest of shrines in Madrid. The Atocha was carrying a vast treasure
