AH-WR-0936

Henrietta Marie

Merchant Slave Ship · England · Lost 1701 · The Florida Keys

An English slave ship wrecked off Key West in 1701, its recovered shackles and bell now among the most direct physical evidence of the transatlantic slave trade in American waters.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The Henrietta Marie was an English merchantman that carried enslaved Africans to Jamaica before wrecking on a reef near Key West in 1701 while sailing home to London. The wreck lay undisturbed for over 270 years until treasure divers working for Mel Fisher located it in 1972. Excavations recovered iron shackles, ballast, trade beads, and a ship's bell cast with the vessel's name, confirming its identity. It remains one of the few positively identified slave ship wrecks in United States waters and a focal point for public education on the slave trade.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 60 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 120
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: London merchant syndicate involved in the transatlantic slave trade

Loss

Date: June 1, 1701
Cause: Storm
Location: New Ground Reef, near Key West, Florida
Water: Straits of Florida
Voyage: Port Royal, Jamaica → London, England
Cargo: Ship's stores; iron shackles and ballast
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: No reliable casualty figures are recorded in the sources reviewed
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 10-40
Condition: Scattered debris field; hull long since disintegrated, with iron shackles, ballast stones, and a ship's bell recovered
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1972
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: New Ground Reef, near Key West, Florida
Region: The Florida Keys

General reef location known; a precise published position was not identified in the sources reviewed

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (70/100)

Exact loss date, number aboard, and casualty figures are not established in the sources reviewed; identification rests on recovered artifacts including the inscribed bell.

NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Wreck location, general history, and significance
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum
Discovery date, salvage history, and recovered artifacts