Shipwreck [ILLUSTRATED] (Mass Market Paperback)

by Dave Horner (Author) "Within a hundred years after Columbus discovered the New World, Spain had become a great power..." (more)
Key Phrases: Juan de Hoyos, Don Diego, Los Mimbres (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Some people dream of buried treasure. Some read about it with fascination. A rare few take a deep breath and jump in after it. Dave Horner does all three." - Charlottesville Weekly; "Recommended reading for maritime experts and the layman with an interest in history and the culture of the [17th century]." - Today's Librarian

Product Description

In 1654, Padre Diego Rivadeneira sets out for Spain from Peru in a small armada led by the immense galleon La Capitana, "Queen of the South Sea," carrying ten million pesos in silver coin and bullion. Late one night, off the coast of Ecuador, the Capitana hits a reef and begins to sink. Abroad his own ship, Padre Rivadeneira watches in horror.

A year later, still attempting to travel to Spain, his ship, in a freak collision, is lost on the wild shoals of Los Mimbres, Bahamas. Lost are also 600 people and five million pesos in treasure. Unable to swim, the padre clings for his life to a floating hatch cover. He is one of only forty-five survivors.

After more trials and tribulations, he finally has Cadiz in sight when the English Fleet attacks. His ship explodes, Padre Diego finds himself in the cold Atlantic Ocean. He is rescued but taken prisoner.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: I Books (May 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743444957
• ISBN-13: 978-0743444958
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #572,125 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well researched and historically informative work, October 25, 1999

By	John de Bry (archaeology@historicalarchaeolog... (Melbourne Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shipwreck: A Saga of Sea Tragedy and Sunken Treasure (Hardcover)

Set in Virginia, Florida, Ecuador and the Bahamas, there are no clear winners in this story, and Horner aptly entitles one of his chapters "Treasure is Trouble", something befitting the 17th-century Spaniards who met a tragic fate on the waters of Ecuador and the Bahamas, as well as the modern-day treasure hunters whose greed has brought them nothing but "trouble". The exception remains Dave Horner whose goal was clearly the quest for historical truth and the dissemination of valuable historical and archaeological data, something he achieved with eloquence. A captivating book and a lesson to be learned... again

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The unluckiest Padre ever?, September 29, 2002

By	A. J. Watson "Bones" (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shipwreck: A Saga of Sea Tragedy and Sunken Treasure (Hardcover)

Immaculate research and superb translations from Spanish archive material turn this into both a scholarly research vehicle and a concise history of the Spanish colonies and the Treasure Fleets.
A good part of the narrative is in the words of a Spanish Padre sent out to Chile to minister to the colonists; this tells us first-hand of the vast mountains of silver that were being exported from South America, and of the nepotism, greed, dishonesty and cowardice that seems to be the product of any get-rich-quick scheme - and Spain had more than its fair share in the 16th & 17th Centuries. The rest of the story is supported by quotes from sailors and court officials, while Mr.Horner fleshes out the story with historical facts and some surmise - the many notes are detailed as appendix and are not intrusive, while there is other useful information contained in other appendices.

Our Padre seems unusually unlucky in being shipwrecked twice, and on the way home the fleet is ambushed in sight of Cadiz and he, along with two ships and 4 million pesos (38 cartloads!) are captured in a brilliantly described battle that Hornblower would be proud of.

However, he lives to tell the tale; his memoirs are so detailed that we have a better idea of the actual wealth contained in the treasure fleet than the manifests admit - also the position of the wrecks is so well decribed that Mr.Horner was able to locate the sites and recover valuable artifacts (and of course, silver).

As a bonus, we are treated to a superb description of the daringly successful 1657 British attack on the treasure fleet holed-up in Santa Cruz, in which the whole Spanish fleet was destroyed, with the loss of no ships and only 60 men on the British side. This effectively crippled Spanish hopes of sea-rule and bankrupted Seville.

The final chapter warns us of the perils of dealing with the red-tape and gung-ho journalism that inevitably accompanies any salvage, not to mention the thievery when there is treasure involved.

A very worthwhile read. ****

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well researched and historically informative work, October 24, 1999

By	John de Bry (archaeology@historicalarchaeolog... (Melbourne Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shipwreck: A Saga of Sea Tragedy and Sunken Treasure (Hardcover)

A well researched and historically informative work about two 17th-century Spanish treasure galleons, their tragic history and fate, and the story of the modern-day treasure hunters who found and salvaged them. Dave Horner did an excellent job in researching the background history of the two vessels in Spanish archival repositories, and writes passionately yet objectively about the men who lived and died on the high seas in their futile attempts to bring New World riches back to Spain. Horner also writes extensively on the modern-day saga of the finding and salvage of the two wrecks. The story told is one of intrigues, greed and deceit. Tragic as it may seem to some, one cannot help but smile as the events surrounding the search and discovery of the Jesús María de la Limpia Concepción, a.k.a. la Capitana, unfold. Set in Virginia, Florida and Ecuador, there are no clear winners, and Horner aptly entitles one of his chapters "Treasure is Trouble", something befitting the 17th-century Spaniards who met a tragic fate on the waters of Ecuador and the Bahamas,as well as the modern-day treasure hunters whose greed has brought them nothing but "trouble". A lesson to be learned... again.