Spanish Treasure Fleet System

Timeline

1. 1651–1654Seville–New Spain/Peru route · Spain-Americas routeBetween 1651 and 1654, the two annual escorted fleets (the New Spain fleet and the Peru fleet) maintained basic operations, carrying Potosí silver mine output and Mexican silver to Seville. However, mine production had declined steadily from its 1590s peak, and the total silver reaching Seville was less than a third of its height; royal revenue fell sharply and the imperial fiscal deficit widened further.
2. 1655–1656Jamaica, Caribbean Sea · Greater AntillesIn 1655, Cromwell's English Commonwealth 'Western Design' fleet captured Jamaica and brought it under British control, breaking Spain's strategic closed system in the Caribbean. English ports became forward bases for privateers attacking Spanish treasure fleets, and in 1656 British admiral Robert Blake even intercepted Spanish silver ships off Tenerife, causing major losses.
3. 1657–1660Seville, Casa de Contratación · AndalusiaEscalating British threats and royal fiscal pressure prompted the Casa de Contratación to reexamine the escort system; some officials proposed increasing warship strength and reforming the goods declaration system, but corruption and smuggling made reforms difficult to implement. Meanwhile, the Treaty of the Pyrenees did not fundamentally improve Spain's Atlantic trade position, and the fleet system continued in an inertial mode until being thoroughly reformed only in the early eighteenth century.