Mysterious 18th-Century Shipwreck Off Mexico Points To Possible Involvement In Caribbean Smuggling

Archaeologists have pieced together the final movements of a ship that sank more than 250 years ago off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

The shipwreck, known as the Ánimas de la Victoria, lies in Espíritu Santo Bay in Quintana Roo. The site contains 19 cast-iron cannons and four anchors spread across the seabed.

The wreck is inside the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, about 4.25 kilometres from the coast near the fishing camp of La Victoria. The area is remote and has no roads.

It is also the only documented 18th-century shipwreck found in the bay so far.

Wreckage Spreads Across 200 Metres

The remains are spread over about 200 metres of seabed. The trail runs from east to west, following the direction of the waves breaking over the reef.

The depth of the site varies from about 7 metres to just 1.5 metres.

Researchers believe the position of the objects may show the different things the crew tried to do before the ship was lost.

The four anchors offer some clues.

The smallest, Anchor 1, has straight, V-shaped arms. Its design is similar to British and French anchors. Its proportions are closer to a French design from 1731.

Researchers believe it may have been a small kedge anchor used to help move the ship around the bay.

Anchor 2 was found below the first one. It has curved arms linked to the Early Modern period and was probably used in calmer waters.

Anchor 3 is much larger. Its shank is 4.70 metres long. Its proportions are more common in anchors from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Researchers believe the anchor may have been made decades before the ship sank and kept in use.

Based on British naval tables from the period, the anchor would have weighed about 1,650 kg.

This helped researchers estimate that the ship had a gross tonnage of between 650 and 700 tons. Its size suggests it may have been a merchant frigate or, more likely, an armed merchant vessel.

The fourth anchor was found farther west. Its shank is clearly bent. Researchers say the damage suggests the anchor may have become stuck while the crew was pulling it back aboard.

19 Cannons Found Under Coral

The wreck site also contains 19 cast-iron cannons. Much of the material was covered by thick coral.

Researchers cleaned the cannons by hand using a hammer, chisel and wire brush.

A raised letter “C” was found on the trunnions of two cannons, known as C8 and C10.

The mark may be linked to the Le Creusot foundry in Burgundy, France, or the Conster foundry in Sussex, England.

Conster made cannons between 1700 and 1760 and was known to supply weapons to British vessels.

Researchers also examined a separate four-pound cannon that local fishermen had previously removed from the wreck. The cannon is now privately owned.

Its features appear to match British casting standards from the middle of the 18th century.

Ship’s Location Raises Smuggling Possibility

The location of the wreck is one of the main clues behind the smuggling theory.

Spanish ships usually did not travel through these reef-filled waters. The area was far from the Crown’s regular routes through the Yucatán Channel.

Spain also had only a limited presence along the eastern coast of Yucatán. There were no large ports or settlements there. Bacalar was the main Spanish outpost nearby.

Navigation records also show how isolated the area was.

Even in 1810, the Practical Guide to the Antilles Islands did not provide navigation instructions for waters north of the Belize River. It also warned ships about the reefs.

Researchers say this makes smuggling the main explanation for why the ship was in Espíritu Santo Bay.

Research Into the Shipwreck Continues

The study was published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology and was led by researcher Helena Barba-Meinicke.

Research on the Ánimas de la Victoria is continuing.

The site could provide more information about maritime activity in the northwestern Caribbean, including the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and Belize.

References: clickpetroleoegas, dailygalaxy