Spanish Treasure Fleets Timeline

The Spanish found Nombre de Dios in Panama.

The Spanish found the city of Panama.

Veracruz, Mexico is founded by Hernán Cortés.

Spanish treasure fleets transport the riches of the Americas to Spain.

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan falls into the hands of Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés.

Jean de Fleury (aka Florin) captures three Spanish treasure ships off Cape Vincent.

The first Spanish galleons come into operation.

Francisco Pizarro takes the Inca capital of Cuzco.

Captain-General Pedro Menendez de Avilés begins a system of large and escorted convoys for the Spanish treasure fleets.

The French privateer Jacques de Sores brutally attacks Havana.

The Manila galleons each year take eastern trade goods from Manila to Acapulco (and return with American silver).

Francis Drake explores Panama and seizes a Spanish silver mule train.

Francis Drake captures the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (aka Cacafuego).

Sir Francis Drake attacks Spanish vessels and ports in the Spanish Main.

The English privateer Thomas Cavendish captures the Manila galleon Great Saint Anna (actually a carrack).

John Hawkins and Francis Drake lead an unsuccessful expedition against Spanish ships and settlements in Panama and the Caribbean.

Portobelo replaces Nombre de Dios as the chief Atlantic port in Panama.

Buccaneers operate in the Caribbean and attack both ports and ships along the Spanish Main.

The Nuestra Señora de Atocha Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the Florida Keys.

A Dutch force led by Admiral Hein captures the entire New Spain treasure fleet on its way to Havana.

A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan attacks and captures Portobelo on the Spanish Main.

A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan attacks and captures the port of Panama on the Spanish Main.

The Nuestra Señora de Encarnación Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the coast of Panama.

Laurens De Graaf leads a buccaneer attack on Veracruz on the Spanish Main.

The conquest of the Maya Civilization completed by the Spanish conquistador Martín de Ursúa.

The last great buccaneer operation captures Cartagena on the Spanish Main.

The English privateer Woodes Rogers captures the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación Disengaño.

The Manila galleon Covadonga is captured by a Brtiish naval fleet near Manila.

A British fleet commanded by Admiral Cornish captures the Spanish Manila galleon Santísima Trinidad.

The last Manila galleon, the San Fernando, arrives in Acapulco.