"Presents the tale of several vessels in a Spanish convoy wrecked by a hurricane along the Virginia/North Carolina coastline. Solidly grounded in the most current academic trends such as transnationality, international relations, pirates and their booty, disaster and its aftermath, and compelling personal stories of survival."--Sherry Johnson, Florida International University"At its basic level, this is a history of a neglected and important event in colonial Latin American and British North American history. Yet it is also a powerful story of personal survival and demonstrates how a seemingly isolated August 1750 hurricane impacted the diplomatic relations of Spain and Britain, with legal consequences stretching into the twenty-first century."--Gene Allen Smith, Texas Christian UniversitySpanish flotas (convoys) traversed the Atlantic throughout the colonial period, shuttling men and goods between the Old and New Worlds. In August 1750, at the height of hurricane season, a small convoy of seven ships left Havana for Cadiz.A fierce storm scattered the ships from North Carolina's outer banks to Maryland's eastern shore. Spanish merchants, military officers, and sailors struggled to survive, protect their valuable cargo, and, eventually, find a way home. They faced piracy, rapacious English officials, and discord among crew and passengers (including dozens of English prisoners).Two and a half centuries later, the discovery of the wreckage of the convoy's flagship, La Galga, set off a legal battle between Spain and American treasure companies over salvage rights.


James A. Lewis, professor of history at Western Carolina University (retired), is the author of Neptune’s Militia and The Final Campaign of the American Revolution.