List of major marine casualties in the 16th century

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This list of serious marine casualties in the 16th century records ship accidents with fatalities or high property damage between 1501 and 1600.

Ship accidents between 1501 and 1600

date Surname dead Course of events
November 1511 Flor de la Mar 400 The flagship of the Indian lieutenant governor and Portuguese naval commander Afonso de Albuquerque , the Flor de la Mar , ran into a reef in November 1511 due to a navigational error on the return journey from Malacca to Goa in the Strait of Malacca between Indonesia and Malaysia and sank. The Flor de la Mar's cargo consisted of diamonds, rubies, 60 tons of gold and gem-studded statues from a raid through Malaysian principalities and is considered to be possibly the most valuable cargo of all known shipwrecks from all time. However, historical sources say that the wreck was looted shortly after the ship sank.
1521 San Anton ? The Spanish merchant ship San Anton under the command of Gonzalo Rodríguez with about 100 tons was lost on the coast of the Florida Keys on the voyage from Cuba to Spain .
1525 ? 200 In 1524 an expedition squadron under Don Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, coming from Spain, sailed into the waters off Florida. A caravel was lost off Cape St. Helen. All of the survivors were massacred by indigenous people.
July 19, 1545 Mary Rose 500 The English warship Mary Rose , one of the largest ships of its time, which took part in a naval battle on the Solent , sank without being affected by the war. The center of gravity of the ship had been changed so unfavorably after numerous modifications that the warship was listed after a turning maneuver and water flowed in through the gun ports.
October 18, 1562 Spanish galley squadron 4,000 A Spanish squadron consisting of 28 galleys got caught in a strong hurricane off the Spanish coast near Málaga . 25 galleys capsized and sank in meter-high waves, with around 4,000 seamen, marines and rowing slaves drowning. Don Juan de Mendoza, the squadron commander, was among the dead. Only three galleys later reached the port of Malaga.
July 28, 1566 Danish-Luebian fleet 6,000 By a storm sank several ships before Gotland lying danish - Lubeck fleet. A total of eleven Danish and three Lübeck ships sank, with around 6,000 seamen and soldiers being killed. Of all 14 ships, only 82 survivors could be saved.
1588 Spanish Armada 13,000 Around 40 of a total of 130 ships in the Spanish Armada were lost in a series of shipwrecks, especially along the coasts of Scotland and Ireland , after the attempt to invade England had been abandoned. On the way back to Spain around the British Isles, the ships, some of which had already been damaged by fighting, were hit by severe storms. Wrecks of the fleet are still scattered on the sea floor from the French coast to Iceland, the total cargo of gold ducats and works of art is considered the greatest sunken treasure in history. In addition to the 40 ships that were lost due to shipwreck, around 25 ships were previously destroyed in battles with the English fleet, so that a total of around half of all Spanish ships were lost. An estimated 13,000 people, including 9,000 marines, were killed.
October 15, 1596 Spanish squadron 2,000 A Spanish fleet consisting of 43 ships, which had supplies and troop reinforcements for the beleaguered Catholics in Ireland, got into a severe storm in the Bay of Biscay and lost about 2,000 men and 13 ships. The company was then canceled.

See also