<p>On July 24, 1715, a Spanish treasure fleet sailed from Havana, carrying a cargo of 14 million pesos in gold, silver and jewels. In the Florida Straits, near present-day Cape Canaveral, the fleet ran into a hurricane, with the disastrous loss of ten ships and 700 lives. Little was salvaged at the time. For more than two centuries, sand and sea held their secrets well. Occasionally, however, tides and storms tossed blackened silver coins up on the beaches, tempting would-be treasure hunters. Among the most successful was the Real Eight Company, contracted by the state of Florida to recover the valuable treasure and historical artifacts under the supervision of state underwater archaeologist Carl J. Clausen. Spurred by the unique finds on the ocean floor and curious about the full story behind the tragic event that had scattered this fabulous treasure along Florida's east coast, he and Robert F. Burgess determined to record the history of the ill-fated fleet. In writing their book, the authors needed the answers to hundreds of questions. What was it like to cross the Atlantic in the eighteenth century? What precautions were taken against pirates? What caused the delays that led to sailing at a particularly treacherous time of the year? What really happened the night of the hurricane? How much treasure was lost? How many people survived? The authors discovered that pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle lay scattered all over the world. They examined hundreds of documents recovered from dusty archives: official statements, depositions, royal court orders, private and public letters, and ships' manifests. After ten years of research, the authors finally had all the facts, which enabled them to reconstruct the story. Florida's Golden Galleons is that stunning story, meticulously detailed and excitingly told, of the sinking of the great fleet and of the successful modern-day efforts to bring its treasure once more to the light of day.</p>

Florida's Golden Galleons: The Search for the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet

History

Robert F. Burgess

Carl J. Clausen

World

Florida Classics Library

Becalmed in the mullet latitudes: Al Burt's Florida

Burt, Al

Travel

Florida, my Eden

Arts & Photography

Stresau, Frederic B.

Architecture

1988 St. Augustine Historical Society trade paperback, Jacqueline K. Fretwell (Kingsley Beatty Gibbs and His Journal of 1840 - 1843 ). The history of the Florida town controlled by the Union during the Civil War.

Civil War Times in Saint Augustine

ed. Jacqueline K. Fretwell

Florida's Ashley Gang

Ada Coats Williams

Chronicles Mel Fisher's frustrating sixteen-year search for the wreck of the "Nuestra Senora de Atocha," a seventeenth-century Spanish galleon, a hunt marked by delay, danger, tragedy, and, ultimately, the discovery in July 1985 of the treasure ship

Treasure Hunt: The Sixteen-Year Search for the Lost Treasure Ship Atocha

Sullivan,George

The Flame Tree: Florida in the Fabulous Days of the Royal Poinciana Hotel

Theodore Pratt

The Big Bubble: A Novel of the Florida Boom

<p>Anyone reading this book will develop a working understanding of nearly every major Florida environmental issue from the last twenty-five years. The author, a former Florida state senator, uses twenty-two fictional short stories, each constructed around an actual environmental issue, to illustrate the challenges facing Florida as it tries to preserve a rural way of life that is threatened by population growth. Magnificent artwork by the great artist Paul Schulz complements the copy perfectly, making the book as enjoyable to look at as it is to read.</p>

Under the Panther Moon

Rick Dantzler

Literature & Fiction

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