INAH book contains a tragic case from the maritime history of New Spain

From the Editorial Staff

La Jornada NewspaperTuesday, February 25, 2025, p. 3

The book Memoirs of a Shipwreck: The Story of the Galleon of Nuestra Señora del Juncal, published by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the publishing house Mar Adentro, exposes one of the most tragic cases in the maritime history of New Spain.

The work, the first title in the Ariles de la Mar collection, was coordinated by Roberto Junco and the historian Flor Trejo Rivera, who together with the archaeologist Carlos León Amores narrates the sinking of the galleon Nuestra Señora del Juncal, which occurred on November 1, 1631 on the coast of the Sonda de Campeche, after enduring a storm that caused its tragedy.

Some 350 sailors were shipwrecked in the accident, of whom 39 survived. A prodigious cargo was left under water, consisting of more than a million silver coins and reales, a thousand and a half arrobas of fine grain, a little more than a thousand arrobas of wild grain and another 4 thousand of indigo, 2,500 pounds of silk, 405 quintals and 26 boxes of chocolate, just to mention some of the products. Each arroba consists of 12.5 kilograms of cargo.

30 years after the start of the investigation

The book, which compiles essays by more than 20 specialists, was presented last Saturday at the 46th International Book Fair at the Palacio de Minería; it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the investigation of the shipwreck by the Subdirectorate of Underwater Archaeology (SAS) of the INAH, headed by Roberto Junco Sánchez, who, alongside historian Flor Trejo Rivera and archaeologist Carlos León Amores, explained to the public gathered in the Galería de Rectores that Nuestra Señora del Juncal was first mentioned in 1971 in Shipwrecks of the Western Hemisphere, 1492-1825, by Robert Marx, becoming one of the most coveted shipwrecks.

Furthermore, it was clarified that “by the end of the 20th century, the Juncal was one of the most sought-after ships. However, the decision to form a project to locate it demonstrated the importance it had for Mexico, as it was located in our territorial sea, and for Spain, as it was a warship of that nation,” explained archaeologist Junco Sánchez.

The last moment

The search was made official in 2014 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding for scientific collaboration to study the fleet of New Spain between 1630 and 1631, which allowed an exhibition to be held at the General Archive of the Indies in Seville from 2021 to 2022, which attracted more than 100,000 attendees and whose catalogue brought together the essays now presented in the book, along with a nautical infographic and illustrations of that exhibition.

Flor Trejo said: When I first read the story of the shipwreck, it made my skin crawl. In a way, you are seeing the last moment of a story that later led to the search .

Researcher Matilde Souto said that only 39 crew members survived the tragedy after 17 days of navigation. The ship sank due to a broken hull, the result of a series of errors, such as excessive loading, sailing in bad weather, the modifications it received when it was adapted to be used as a warship and the wear and tear of having been stranded for so long in the port of Veracruz. Even the death of the ship's general and captain, Miguel Echazarreta (who was replaced by Andrés de Aristizábal, with whom it sank), was seen as a bad sign .

The director of the National History Museum, Salvador Rueda Smithers, said that the book deals with topics of great interest in submarine exploration, such as naval technology, artillery and trade in the 17th century, daily life on board the galleons that made the Carrera de las Indias, and their place in the politics and economy of the Spanish empire and its viceroyalties.