The Spanish Flota, Galleons and naval squadrons in the New World as described by William Douglass in 1760

Thanks to the fact that nowadays more and more books are digitized we are able to read books that are some times for decades no longer available for the public for several reasons. That’s quite a pity while these books contains useful information while the archives are destroyed, incomplete or nor accessible.

P. 73: “All the trade from Old-Spain to New Spain does not employ exceeding fifty ships (a small nursery for navigation). The Spaniards have generally a squadron of king’s ships at Carthagena, a small squadron at Callao, the barcadier of Lima; a ship or two at La Vera Cruz, called the Barleventa armada, being generally one fifty gun ship and one snow; they set out from La Vera Cruz of Mexico, in December, with money to pay the judges, clergy, and troops in the Havana, St. Domingo, Porto-Rico, and Comanas, a private ship is hired to carry the pay to St. Augustine. The ships at the Havana are only occasional: the armada does not touch at Carthagena, it being the barcadier of St. Fe, the capital of Terra Firma, which produces much gold.

P. 74: There is yearly a licence from 4000 or 5000 ton of dry goods to be shipped for New-Spain from Cadiz, annually, but alternately by the Flota for La Vera Cruz, and by the Galeons for Carthagena, the barcadier of St. Fe or Terra Firma, and for Porto-Bello the barcadier for Panama and Peru. The indulro or duty to the king upon shipped and registered gold, silver, cochineal, &c. is from seven to fourteen per cent. The galleons from Porto-Bello may, at a medium, bring home twenty-five millions pieces of eight, the flota from La Vera Cruz about sixteen millions, besides what is shipped off in the register ships. N. B. The council of state in Holland, anno 1708, made a report that Spain brought from the West-Indies, during the course of the last century, about twenty millions dollars per annum.”

Source

William Douglass. A summary, historical and political, of the first planting, progressive improvements and present state of the British settlements in North-America. London, 1760.