Between 1566 and 1790, Spain used cargo fleets to transport an astonishing array of trade goods and luxury items including lumber, agricultural wares, pearls and gems, books, tools, sugar, spices, precious metals, and exotic animals. Many of these ships met with disaster; here, we’ll take a closer look at the story of just one such ship: Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario.
The Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario - A Fascinating Discovery
There were two main galleon routes; the transatlantic route and the Portuguese route. In 1622, a fleet of galleons encountered a terrifying hurricane. While 20 of the fleet’s ships recovered and ultimately made their way back to Spain, a total of eight ships laden with huge quantities of treasure went down in an area located near the Dry Tortugas off the Florida Keys. While many of the sunken ships were discovered during the latter part of the twentieth century, and while many items were recovered and salvaged, technology at the time did not allow for recovery of treasure from the Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario, which was located at a depth of about 400 meters. Now deep sea archaeologists from Florida’s Odyssey Marine Exploration company are working to map the wreck site and recover treasure.
Sean Kingsley, a marine archaeologist who is studying the wreck, said that it is “the most important Spanish galleon to be found. Its loss broke the Bank of Madrid at a time when there was 300 percent inflation in Spain, and when Spain was in serious debt for its endless wars. Spain never recovered.” In effect, the loss of the Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario delivered a death blow to the imperial power that was Spain, and it signaled the end of the Golden Age of Spain.
Among thousands of items removed from the wreck so far are over 6,000 pears, some of which were harvested when they were about the same diameter as an American nickel. These pearls are known to have come from a Venezuelan oyster species which was overexploited to the point of extinction by the middle of the 17th century. Long gold chains, silver coins stamped with Spain’s imperial insignia, and bars of gold bullion stamped with official marks to certify purity and record taxation status were recovered; less glamorous items retrieved include a selection of ceramic jars and tableware used to store and serve food items onboard the ship.
Of particular interest were two bird skeletons which are believed to have come from blue-headed parrots. A peek into the history of pet birds reveals that humans have kept parrots as pets for thousands of years. In 500 BCE, for example, Persian people are known to have kept talking birds; Europeans first wrote about talking parrots as early as 397 BCE. King Henry VIII is known to have kept an African Grey parrot as a pet, and in 1493, Columbus brought Queen Isabella of Spain a pair of Cuban Amazon parrots. By the 1600s, bird shows had become common throughout Europe, so it is very likely that the parrots who were lost with Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario were destined to become prized pets in an aristocrat’s home.
Excavations at the site of the wreck are ongoing, and no matter where you are, you can actually view many of the artifacts taken from this ship at the Odyssey’s online museum; many of the artifacts are also part of a traveling exhibit called “Shipwreck!” which showcases items from 2,000-year old Roman wrecks, U-boats, and others. While Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario isn’t a wreck you’re likely to dive, technology and hard work on the part of the Odyssey team has made it accessible to everyone.