About the San Roque 1605s Tierra Firme armada.

[Claudio]

About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

It is already time that many lies about Spanish shipwrecks and others are discovered and exposed.
During years it has been said that the four missing galleons in 1605 are in Serranilla bank. This is a mistake!
I found a lot of documentation in 1616 until 1625, 1672 and 1683 about these shipwrecks. The San Roque shipwrecked in Swan islands (Honduras). In 1611 a Flamish pilot shipwrecked in the island and he found the remains of the galleon, a treasure in land of approximately 1 million pesos that was buried in the island.
All this relates it, with abundant and irrefutable scientific documentation in my the new book (for the time being only available in Spanish) Galeones con tesoros. (Galleons with treasures).
The times have ended where ghastly characters diffused news about ghost shipwrecks. Now it is necessary to demonstrate it as I do it in my book.
All the fans of the maritime history and the galleons with treasures are welcome to have an exchange of ideas and opinions.

http://www.mmoya.com/america/titulos/galeones/index.html

 

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[old man]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio,
I understand that you are an accomplished researcher. I also understand that the 4 lost ships of the 1605 treasure fleet all carried bronze cannons and were all heavily laden with treasure. How did you come to the conclusion that the ship that wrecked on Swan Island was the San Roque ? I was under the impression that there were no survivers . Just wondering.

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

In 1610 or maybe 1611 a Flamish pilot called Simon Zacarias shipwrecked in the island with other two French sailors.
This is the transcription and translation of a document of the AGI, section Indiferente General, bundle # 1859:

... of the galleons that in 1605 they got lost, it has been said here that it is true that in the coast of Honduras one has been, that is the capitana (San Roque) that it beached on shore with the storm and it was made pieces.....
...... and people jumped on land in an uninhabited island where they had not eaten and all died from hunger.
..... in a cabin they found a dead man, sat down, with a Christ and our lady's image and the royal banner so that understood that is the general..... (Luis Fernandez de Cordoba)

Zacarias drew the islands indicating where he left the buried money. These are two images. The island seen from an airplane and the other of the drawing of Zacarias. There are also more than 400 pages of declarations about this matter. Zacarias repeats in several occasions that the opposing galleon fit in some rocks, it was the capitana of 1605.

The Spaniards attempted for three times to arrive at the island with Zacarias, but they were not able to also reach it because Zacarias feared for its life he deceived them.. In fact for these declarations and for the drawings made by the Flamish it is understood that shipwrecked in the Swan island. There is much more details that come in my book and where there is not doubt that the place is the Swan islands.

Maybe the most significant is that Zacarias declared that there was natural gold, and in a map of Honduras 1971, it is marked a mine in the Great Swan, being able to see in the air views that there were mining works.

On July 2003, an Italian underwater archaeologist declared officially in Roatan the discovery of an old jetsam in the island with some bronze cannons.

 

[FISHEYE]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio,

If you are trying to sell a book here in the USA,wouldnt it be wise to publish it in english too? As well as your website.

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Well, I am looking for a publisher for the English edition !
May be Nigel Pickford will help me.

 

[old man]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio,
Interresting translation. I would really like to see an English version and buy a copy.
The one point that I don't get is this. If Zarcarias was shipwrecked with 2 flemish sailors and survived. How did the survivors of the San Roque die of starvation ? I've seen pictures of the Island. It doesn't look like any ship would survive after hitting the east coast of the island. There are coconut tress on the island and there was brackish fresh water in the 1600's. As well as a good concentration of crabs on the island. I'd really like to get a copy of your book in english, to fill in the blanks.

 

[rgecy]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio,

Good to have you back. Its been a while!

I have seen a copy of your book, but my Spanish is very poor. I would like to have an english version as well. Keep us up to date and I look forward to your post.

Robert

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

In the island there is military from Honduras, but the water and the food comes from mainland. The United Fruit had a plantation of coconuts and it is possible that for this reason now there are coconut trees. It's necessary not to forget that the galleon took more than 400 people and surely was not so much food. Zacarias and the two French sailors built a small ship with the remains of their own shipwreck. They were in the island short time.
Also, the name of Misteriosa bank, to the north of Swan islands, it is linked with this history, because in 1673 Gaspar de los Reyes Palacios, the second pilot of the Nuestra Senora de las Maravillas (Bahamas, 1656) he had a secret mission: to recover the loads of several shipwrecked galleons. He received order to looking for the Misteriosa island where a rich galleon shipwrecked. The drawings that I found refer to the Cisne islands (Swan in English) as the Misteriosa island. Gaspar never found it.

 

[old man]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio,

You are a wealth of information. Thank You.

 

[signumops]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio;

I did a translation of your summary page for your book at your web and determined that I would like to get a copy of it in English. I would consider helping to do that and possibly get it to press in a limited edition here in the U.S. as I am sure that you could make some sales here. I am only talking about a softback edition that can be printed by smaller printing presses through computer file format. I could do some marketing and sales through www.abebooks.com. and www.signumops.com.

I recently finished Tommy Gore's book, "The Rainbow Chasers", and produced it in a softback edition for him. I would have to rely upon online translation services such as Altavista Babelfish to make the translations, but I bet we could do it that way first, and then make it complete by hand!

Terry Armstrong sends

 

[signumops]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio:
I just got a copy of your book from www.abebooks.com

Bookseller:

Hijazo Libros
Capitán Cortés, 3
Logroño (La Rioja), .
Spain, 26003

I don't know if they had any more copies. It will arrive here in about 2 weeks.

Terry Armstrong sends

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Old man, all for the maritime history and to solve some amazing mysteries.

 

[Salvor6]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Hello Claudio,
I always knew the 1605 fleet did not wreck on Seranilla Banks. Many other researchers also knew it after Pacific Geographic's expedition there in 1992. Roger Dooley pointed in the right direction, either Swan Is. or Mysterioso Banks. Thanks for the info and I look forward to purchasing the english version of your book. It will be a best seller!

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

The mystery is: why changed to call Cisne (Swan) from Santanilla. Seemingly Charles Swan didn't navigate for those seas. It's this mystery to solve.
The historians from Honduras ignore the reason.

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Little Swan island and Zacarias draw

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio:
I see the chart and wonder from what source did that come from? I also note the chart depicts a Rio del oro, yet the 1605 fleet was carrying mainly silver. Isn't that true? Were they also carrying gold?
Don....

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Zacarias escaped from the shipwreck of the ship where he came embarked with other two French. One had been mining and he discovered gold in the Great Swan island.
In the picture, to the right there is a stream that drags silts to the sea. This is the "Rio del oro" (river of gold) of the map of Zacarias. In a map of Honduras 1971, is marked a mine in this island and it is where appears a kind of "U", just where Zacarias said to have found the mine.

There is a very detailed description of the treasure that Zacarias buried and gold items appears.
The Spanish galleons transported a lot of gold, and it was the favorite metal for the smuggling.

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Hello Claudio:

As we know, the Swans, like the Serranillas and other islands were 'guano' islands and territories of the US. I think Swan was 'given' to the Hondurans in about 1972. Prior to that year, and for decades, phosphates were mined from the island. I'm wondering if the mine indicated on your chart of that year indicated the location of a phosphate mine versus a gold mine??

It should be noted that Swan is not a place one can just 'go visit'. The Hondurans have a military presence on the west side of Big Swan, all the islands are in a protected bird santuary, and the US 'company' has a large R and R presence on the rest of Big Swan. Little Swan may still be unihabited. Periodic C-5s were the transportation of choice a couple of years ago; perhaps still today.

I note a US company is advertising a resort developement for the islands. I wonder how their developement plan is proceeding.
Don....

 

[Claudio]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Don, the official version is that they were "returned" to Honduras in 1970. Swan and Santanilla are the same islands. Santanilla comes from Santa Ana which is the day of the saint that were discovered by Chistopher Columbus.
Suddenly, in the cartography of 1690 they began to call Swan. It is possible that they refer to the corsair Charles or Wafer Swan
The Institute of Mining of Honduras ignores what kind of mine there was in the island and in the current mining charts there is not indication of mines. I verified it in Tegucigalpa.
The truth is that in Honduras a little is known about these islands, because they are very far from mainland. Good example is that nobody knows from where or why comes the name Swan.

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: About the San Roque 1605's Tierra Firme armada.

Claudio:
Actually, the record reflects at least 6 names given to "Swan Islands" over the years. My money is on Swan being named after the commercial captain turned pirate: Swan. Prior to his appearance, the island was not named Swan. It may be interesting to some that his vessel, the Cygenet, is a word used to describe a baby swan in its first year of life.

By the way, that report of a treasure ship being found several years ago off Swan might be bogus. One reason is the lat/long disclosed by a source indicated a position far off the west side of Big Swan, not really a location where one might suspect as a potential wreck site. Another indication of it being bogus: No report from any source that I can find as to further information. Yes, it could still be true, but I doubt it.

As to Swan being returned to Honduras, I have to laugh since I recall the then President of Honduras making a speech (perhaps with tongue in cheek), that if the US did not contract it back to Honduras, that country would take it by force. (Yeah, right).
Don....