San Esteban (1554 shipwreck)
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | San Esteban (1554 shipwreck) | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | archaeological site, shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Storm or weather | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Sea / ocean | Gulf of Mexico | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | United States | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 16 km from land |
| Position | 26.5533, -97.4253 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
San Esteban was a Spanish cargo ship that was wrecked in a storm in the Gulf of Mexico on what is now the Padre Island National Seashore in southern Texas on 29 April 1554.
San Esteban was one of a flotilla of four ships carrying treasure from New Spain (Mexico) to Cuba. Three were wrecked in the storm, including San Esteban. Many of the three hundred sailors and passengers drowned while trying to reach shore. About thirty took a boat to seek help. Almost all the others died of thirst or starvation, or were killed by hostile local Karankawa Indians during their attempt to walk back to safety. The Spanish sent a salvage expedition, but recovered less than half of the cargo and treasure.
One of the wrecks was rediscovered in 1964. A private company, Platoro, Ltd., began to excavate the Espíritu Santo wreck in late 1967, which caused public outrage and the passage of new laws to protect wrecks on the Texan coast. The remains of San Esteban were found in 1970 and excavated in 1972–73. Many artifacts have been recovered and are held in the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, including the world's oldest mariner's astrolabe with a confirmed date.
Diving & visiting
Francisco del Huerto managed to reach Vera Cruz and tell of the tragic event.
A rescue mission was dispatched by sea under Ángel de Villafañe.
The 1554 wrecks were well documented and were shown on maps from 1646.
Location
- Recorded position: 26.5533, -97.4253 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Gulf of Mexico
- Nearest coast: United States
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article San Esteban (1554 shipwreck) (revision 1350731374), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage”, “Rediscovery and Espíritu Santo excavations”, “Preservation and display”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
Browse more: North America wrecks · wrecks off United States · Gulf of Mexico