Silver Fleet Route

Timeline

1. 1651–1654Portobelo · Colón ProvincePotosí silver bars were carried overland across the Andes to the port of Callao, then by Pacific fleet north to Panama City, and by mule train across the Darién isthmus to Portobelo on the Caribbean coast. This transfer node was the most vulnerable link in the entire Silver Fleet route, with piracy and customs corruption causing large losses of silver. The annual fair held regularly at Portobelo was one of the most important trading fairs in the Americas.
2. 1653–1656Port of Havana · Havana ProvinceThe Flota de Nueva España from Veracruz and the Galeones de Tierra Firme from Portobelo assembled at Havana, formed into convoy under escort of royal warships, and crossed the Atlantic eastward. Havana's harbor had well-developed dry docks and supply facilities, making it the key logistical hub of the entire route. Each crossing lasted several weeks, and the hurricane season (June–October) made the time window extremely limited.
3. 1657Santa Cruz de Tenerife · TenerifeIn April 1657 Commonwealth admiral Robert Blake led a fleet in a surprise attack on the Spanish Silver Fleet anchored at Santa Cruz on Tenerife, sinking or burning several Spanish warships and merchant vessels, with most of the silver aboard lost or destroyed. This was a major engagement of the Anglo-Spanish War (1655–1660), dealing a heavy blow to Spanish royal finances and profoundly affecting how the convoy system was organized in subsequent years. Blake himself died of illness at sea on the return voyage.
4. 1657–1660Seville / Cádiz · AndalusiaAfter the Atlantic crossing, the fleet entered Sanlúcar de Barrameda at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River and then sailed upriver to Seville. Silver was registered and warehoused there by the Casa de la Contratación, and after the quinto real (royal fifth) tax was levied it was distributed to royal creditors, noble lenders, and foreign bankers. Because the river channel was shallow and silting, large galleons increasingly docked directly at Cádiz, and by the mid-17th century the dual-port arrangement was clearly established.