AH-WR-1319

Conde de Tolosa

Spanish Galleon · Spain · Lost August 1724, during a hurricane · Cuba & the Greater Antilles

A mercury-carrying Spanish galleon lost with hundreds aboard in a 1724 hurricane in Samaná Bay, alongside her fleetmate Guadalupe.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Conde de Tolosa sailed as part of Spain's 1724 Flota de Azogues, carrying mercury to New Spain for use in silver refining. Caught by a hurricane approaching Samaná Bay, she sank with catastrophic loss of life, while her fleetmate Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ran aground nearby. The wreck lay undisturbed until located in the 1970s, and it now anchors the Guadalupe Underwater Archaeological Preserve, the Dominican Republic's first underwater shipwreck museum.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Spanish Crown, Flota de Azogues

Loss

Date: August 1724, during a hurricane
Cause: Storm
Location: Bahía de Samaná, Hispaniola
Water: Bahía de Samaná / Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Cádiz, Spain → Veracruz, New Spain
Cargo: Approximately 3,000 quintales of mercury
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 600
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 65 ft
Condition: Site includes an iron anchor and cannon; hull remains largely disarticulated
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1976
Protection: Part of the Guadalupe Underwater Archaeological Preserve, a Living Museum of the Sea