Check out this map of the routes taken by Spanish treasure fleets in the 17th and 18th centuries. The red marks indicate where the fleets were sunk by hurricanes - all around the southern tip of Florida.
Click here for an interesting and detailed account of the 1715 fleet disaster which befell the squadron of Tierra Firma, under the command of Captain-General Don Antonio de Escheverz y Zubiza, off the eastern coast of Florida. The location is the furthest right of the three red marked areas.
A second Spanish treasure fleet was wrecked in another storm in 1733 and today, the remains of two of the ships - the Urca de Lima from the 1715 fleet and the San Pedro from the 1733 fleet - are protected as Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves. These ships are time capsules from a bygone era and can reveal much about the history of the mighty maritime system that helped shape the Americas.
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