AH-WR-0943

El Infante

Armed Galleon · Spain · Lost 1733 · The Florida Keys

One of the largest ships of the 1733 Spanish treasure fleet, wrecked on the outer reef off Plantation Key and still visible as a broad ballast mound today.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

El Infante, built in Genoa in 1724 and purchased by the Spanish Crown, was among the largest vessels in the 1733 New Spain flota, reinforced against shipworm and armed with up to 60 cannon. Driven onto the outer reef off Plantation Key by the July 1733 hurricane, she flooded to her decks; her crew escaped on makeshift rafts. Spanish salvors recovered nearly all her registered silver, and her exposed hull remains a popular dive site within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Vessel

Built: 1724
Builder: Not established
Yard: Genoa, Italy
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 400
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: King Philip V of Spain

Loss

Date: July 15, 1733
Cause: Storm
Location: Outer reef off Plantation Key
Water: Atlantic Ocean, Hawk Channel
Voyage: Veracruz, New Spain (via Havana) → Cádiz, Spain
Cargo: Brazilwood, cochineal, Guadalajara ware, Chinese porcelain, leather hides, indigo, vanilla, citrus, 186 boxes of silver coin
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Casualty figures are not stated in the sources reviewed.
Master: Don Domingo de Lanz

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20 ft
Condition: Large scattered ballast mound with exposed lower hull timbers, including keelson and frames
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Plantation Key, Florida
Region: The Florida Keys

Sources describe the site as roughly four miles offshore Plantation Key at about 20 feet, without a published decimal position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Precise beam, casualty count, and coordinates are not established in the sources reviewed.

Biscayne National Park / Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 1733 Spanish Galleon Trail
Build history, cargo, loss narrative, salvage history, site description.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places
NRHP listing confirming site name, county, and location.