Treasure of the San JosT Death at Sea in the War of the Spanish Succession

Award for Excellence in World History and Biography/Autobiography, Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division, American Association of Publishers Sunk in a British ambush in 1708, the Spanish galleon San Jos was rumored to have one of the richest cargos ever lost at sea. Though treasure hunters have searched for the wreck's legendary bounty, no one knows exactly how much went down with the ship or exactly where it sank. Here, Carla Rahn Phillips confronts the legend of lost treasure with documentary records of the San Jos 's final voyage and suggests that the loss of silver and gold en route to Spain paled in comparison to the loss of the six hundred men who went down with the ship. "It sounds like the title of a boy's own adventure tale or an Errol Flynn movie, and rightly so: The Treasure of the San Jos has a swashbuckling spirit and contains all the elements for an old-fashioned romance: sea battles, suave adventurers and sunken treasure. But it also displays the kind of detail and precision that comes from shrewdly plundered archives. Carla Rahn Phillips is clearly an assiduous historian with an eye for an extraordinary story." -- Wall Street Journal "Not just another maritime disaster drama, this history of a Spanish galleon sunk by the English in 1708 offers fascinating glimpses into Spain's American empire... By plumbing the dashed hopes of those invested in the success of the San Jos , Phillips endows her narrative with a foreboding poignancy." -- Booklist "For Carla Rahn Phillips, the sinking of the San Jos is significant beyond the terrible tragedy and can be used as a lens to view complex themes in a changing Spanish Empire." -- American Historical Review "The human element is never forgotten as she probes the lives and careers not only of viceroys, but of lesser officials and soldiers, and even the humblest seamen and their families." -- Bulletin of Latin American ResearchPhillips, Carla Rahn is the author of 'Treasure of the San JosT Death at Sea in the War of the Spanish Succession', published 2007 under ISBN 9780801885808 and ISBN 0801885809.