Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas

The final voyage

Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas sailed as almiranta (vice-flagship) of the 1656 Tierra Firme fleet. She left southern Spain on 10 July 1654 and reached Cartagena that August, but a planned silver shipment from Peru never arrived — it had been lost with the galleon Jesús María de la Limpia Concepción (La Capitana) off Chanduy, Ecuador, on 27 October 1654. Maravillas wintered in Cartagena, eventually took on the silver salvaged from that wreck along with her own fresh cargo, and finally sailed for Spain. [1](https://www.bahamasmaritimemuseum.com/maravillas)[2](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/inside-the-race-to-preserve-treasures-from-a-legendary-17th-century-shipwreck-in-the-bahamas-180980492/)

Passing through the Bahama Channel near midnight on 4 January 1656, the fleet's capitana, Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, collided with Maravillas due to a navigational error. Already damaged, Maravillas then struck a coral reef off the western Little Bahama Bank and sank within about thirty minutes. Of roughly 650 people aboard, the majority drifted away on debris and were never recovered; about 150 clung to wreckage overnight, and only about 45 ultimately survived. [1](https://www.bahamasmaritimemuseum.com/maravillas)

What was aboard

No single surviving manifest for the final, combined cargo (the ship's own treasure plus the salvaged La Capitana silver) is cited in the institutional sources used here. Cargo description below reflects historical salvage records and the Bahamas Maritime Museum/Allen Exploration research program.

Silver bars and coin: The bulk of the documented cargo; an estimated five million pesos' worth was recovered by Spanish and other salvors between 1656 and 1683.

Salvaged La Capitana silver: A quantity of silver originally intended for the 1654 shipment, transferred to Maravillas in Cartagena after La Capitana's loss.

Gold jewelry and personal items: Gold chains, pendants, and other high-status personal belongings documented among modern Allen Exploration finds.

Ship's fittings and ceramics: Structural fittings and ceramic material documented across the debris field by modern survey work.

How to collect

Distinguish historic from modern recoveries: Material recovered in the 1970s–1990s predates today's licensing regime; ask specifically which salvage phase and operator produced a given piece.

Look for Bahamian government licensing: Current work is conducted under an Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation license to Allen Exploration; unlicensed 'new' finds should be treated with suspicion.

Understand the mixed cargo: Because Maravillas carried both her own treasure and the salvaged La Capitana silver, coin dates on genuine material may predate 1656 by several years.

Expect heavy sea-effect on silver: Given the reef environment and centuries of exposure, silver from this site is typically heavily corroded or fused; pristine claims warrant scrutiny.