The Story of the Maravillas, its sinking, and the fall of Spain ...by Hara/Lambos Forward

This is the first installment in a series of background pieces on the wreck of the Maravillas. We begin with how such tremendous wealth came to be in transport aboard the Maravillas, what these treasures represented to Spain, and why the ultimate demise of the Spanish Armada and the end of Spain's Dominance would result from the sinking of this ship.

............CHAPTER I ............King Philip's Maravillas

At the turn of the 17th century, in the year 1605, a man of royalty was born. This royal infant was the single most important possession of his father and mother, King and Queen of Spain. These were times of immorality, and the Kingdom of Spain was fertile ground for the seeds of the devil.

At the age of sixteen the regal young heir became Phillip IV, King of Spain. His reign lasted 44 years. He was the father of the last of the Hapsburgs, the reigning descendants of Spain.

During the 1600's the morals of the Capital and the lush ostentatious Court would have made all the forefathers and kings blush. Even the foreign dignitaries were shocked at the attitude and conduct of the young King's court. Scandal could be found everywhere, including the highest and lowest parts of the Kingdom.

Also at this time in history the Spaniards appropriately called the women of the night "Public Women." Respectable women were forced into seclusion as they shunned their lower class and immoral sisters. By the middle of the century there were at least 80O houses of ill repute in Madrid alone, not to mention all of Spain and her colonies.

King Phillip IV was a pleasure-loving king. Due to his young age he appointed the Duke of Olivarez to head all of his councils. This made the Duke the real ruler of Spain and her possessions. Ripples of scandal and discontent affected everyone for the 2O years that the Duke of Olivarez remained in power.

An illustration of the immorality in the King's Court can be seen in the case of three important Court grantees scaling walls to enter chambers of Court maidens to have affairs with them, only to be caught and banished; yet, at the same time, servants of the maidens were also carrying on illicit love matches with these gentlemen. There was no respectability among the women of the high Court. In 1657, Carcion, the Jesuit, stated in his contemporary novel, El Criton: "As long as there are men in our society, there is no need to contribute all the evil to women."

In this cesspool of moral corruption, life in Spain was false to everyone. The beauty, the happiness, the world, the sky--all of God's creatures took on a cast of disillusionment. This was reflected in man's thoughts at that time as seen in the philosophy that man's destiny was only ultimate "death on the physical earth;" the only true life was "life hereafter." Caldorone, who was a philosopher at this time, believed that "the whole of life is a dream and dreams themselves are but dreams."

It was at this time that the true story of the "Golden Madonna" begins. This story stretches across time's boundaries and projects itself through three centuries to our modern day.

King Phillip had reached the age of fifty-one. Mired in the mud of moral decay, he became unworldly, desolate and saddened by both the death of his first-born son, who was to be King after him, and the untimely death of his beloved wife, Queen Isabella. He went deeper into depression with feelings of guilt and remorse that caused him to sink in to nonreproductive days of silent comas and thoughtlessness. His inner torment drove him to religion. His new-found faith led him to the acquaintance and influence of Sister Maria from the Convent de Agreda. To her he confessed in writings, letters, and long talks all of his errors in life. This was a very unusual way for a King--royal master of Spain and crown heir by divine providence of God--to react; their friendship lasted for nine years, until his death.

King Phillip wanted to exemplify his change of heart and prove his return to God's laws. In his discussions with Maria de Agreda a way to accomplish this became clear to him. They decided that he would prove his devotion by sharing his wealth with the Catholic church. He would create a piece of art of unmatched value in history, an art creation of wealth to exceed any produced by all the Kings of all the empires of past history. Appropriately it would be in the form of the most revered Virgin Mary: The Madonna and her Christ child. It would be cast in solid gold, life size, with a realistic look and manner. To further increase its untold value, the Madonna and Child would have two crowns placed on their heads to signify their exaltedness to heaven and God above. These crowns and statues would contain the crown jewels of the kingdom. The value of this work of art would be unparalleled in history. Not the treasures of King Tut of Egypt, nor of Alexander of Greece, nor of King Solomon's mines could compare with its enormous value.

It would be most fair to you, my reader, to relieve you of any guilt you might be feeling at this time. The noble king who had this change of heart did so rather suddenly. The year before his renewal of loyalty to Rome--the ecclesiastical headquarters of Christianity--he managed to sire thirty illegitimate children. All this was going on while the King of Spain was managing a war with Northern Europe, holding together what remained of the Christian World, with Rome the central influence of the west and Constantinople the leader of the entire Eastern Christian Civilization. The Golden Madonna was his symbol of holding Christianity together. This was not only an inner feeling of rectification of his evil ways but the obvious answer to the crumbling away of the Spanish Empire. He would stop at nothing for a final victory.

Though his motives were now honorable, his kingdom was not always so. Usually leaders reflect the society and its values and, in terms of morality, the overall health of the citizens. His kingdom, however, had not yet caught up to its King in reform. Phillip was determined to win at all costs: men, gold, sacrifice. He was fighting for himself, kingdom, soul, all. But like all wars, it cost M*O*N*E*Y. Philip's financiers were the ancestors of our present day banking system monsters, for example, the Rothschilds of today and the World Bank of tomorrow's wars. The King's loans were all due at the bank and he was overdrawn in his checking account, and he needed to get things straight in a hurry. How? First, win the war, for the good of the county, then place a statue for all time to see the symbolism of his unselfish contribution to mankind. Most leaders are not so noble in their actions of reparations. The King at least was going to finance his personal wars from his own coffers. Most leaders of today gouge the citizens with taxes for the wars. Not Phillip. He was going to be honorable to the end. Do it, pay for it. One problem: he forgot that selfish motivations begin in men's hearts. Phillip forgot to persuade his adversaries with the LOVE. If he had, history would have been different in the matter. Antagonized by his self-centered goals, his peers became leery of his intent to carry on. Furthermore, they did not share his enthusiasm for reform in both spirituality or government. Sound familiar? Anyhow, parapsychological forces or Satan..., something contributed action into this affair, and destructive force or entropy was significant.

Spain, worth millions because of all the gold wealth in the new world, fought the battles to the end. King Phillip had to make the payments this particular year, to regain credibility, because he was slipping in the Gallup polls of his day. He wanted to be sure of support in the northern provinces. His commands were a matter of fact in any case, as long as he was alive. He surely wasn't going to be the first Hapsburg King to lose a war for Spain, worse still lose the war for all of Christianity and its unity in the West. The life-sized Golden Madonna and Christ statue was to be his saving gift. Unfortunately, although he was born-again, he failed to understand that he really needed nothing that money could buy. Only the free gift: LOVE. Had he loved his subjects, he could have won his worthy goals. All without a shot being fired. History would probably be dull to read if all were like that, however. So the story of King Philip's Madonna becomes extremely interesting and full of adventure. His plan was simple. The statue, the Golden Madonna, would be expensive and priceless, religious in design and created by the greatest artist of the day.

To further increase its worth he sought his friend, Velazquez, the royal court' s in-house artist, and convinced him of the magnitude of importance this would be to all Spain, the Church and the Spanish people. Velazquez accepted, and the King commissioned him to the project. Velazquez' plan was simple. He, at the age of 3O, was already Europe's most famous artist. His decision was to make three-dimensional models of his paintings, "The Immaculate Conception" and "Adoration of the Magi" , which were acclaimed the greatest in their own day. From this model would come the life-sized Golden Madonna. These paintings in all their greatness never forsook the realism that was an essential part of artistic style of the day. Copies and example sketches, along with secret orders from the King, went to the Nova lndies, the New World. Their secret contents said approximately this:"To the Governor of Gallao, Peru. Have a life-sized statue sculpted into a model from Valezquez' painting sketches and specifications, detailed exactly as he shows, even to the crowns on their heads. Make it from solid marble stone of Peru, smooth for all to believe it almost alive and real. Send it down the mountains from the Potosi mines to the coastal city of Arica, then by ship to Gallao. Let no one see or rest their eyes upon it unless they are of the work force. The Armada of the South Seas is to further the journey on to Panama City. To prevent any piracy, the route will then be over land by mules to Mexico City. There it will be delivered to the Governor of Mexico."

(Seal of Spain)

KING PHILLIP IV

Thus even today the artist/sculptor remains unknown. Whether the King had him silenced or not, we do not know.

The King's second secret orders to the Governor of Mexico read like this. "You will receive by land a life-sized stone statue of 'our Lady.' Take your- best heirs of Montezuma and make clay molds, as perfect as they may be. Cast the likeness in solid gold, the purest we have in all the Nova Indies. Destroy the molds thereafter; they are never to be duplicated again. Let no one in the court know of this. I have commanded the Terra Firma Flotas to leave this season early (1656). On board will be a bumper cargo of gold and treasure for Mother Spain. Placing this precious cargo on the Admiralanta Nuestra D E Senora ' Maravillas" (the King's admiralty ship) will be your specific responsibility. The House of Trade will prepare the usual manifest of the ship, with triplicates as always. Her Captain, Admiral Mathias De Orellona, will then be the party responsible to me only. I repeat, no one is to know of the gold casting or the cargo but those appointed by my hand. Let the imbeciles who cast the statue be destroyed forever. These are my unalterable instructions.

(Seal of Spain)

KING PHILLIP IV

Upon reaching the Indies, the Admiral General of the Fleet opened his instructions for the 1655 Terra Flota. They read: "My Dear Admiral General Mathias; You are no doubt perturbed at my unusual insistence for secrecy this Flota Year. Our enemies are all about us. England, France, all very well know our desperate need this particular year to have a bountiful and safe return of treasure to Spain. The war is in bad need of additional payments, in order to continue successfully. I have in your safe keeping the symbol of our struggle. You are commissioned officially, with the utmost urgency and obligation to the crown, to meet the Governor of Mexico's envoys at Vera Cruz. There with secrecy you will place the secret cargo, the Golden Madonna and Child, on board in this manner: Carefully remove the crown jewels from their heads and place in lambswool covers. All must be placed in one of our eight foot metal treasure chests. Place the lambswool at the bottom of the chest for the statue's protection. Lock by rods to the mizzen mast above in your personal quarters on the poop deck. The major lock will have three keys: mine, the captain general's and yours. The manifesto will also contain her presence. " Your life is ne! There is no failure. My key will unlock the box when you reach Cadiz, Spain. Place the box and secure it till you feel certain it will be safe in any weather. The admiranta Maravillas is our newest galleon serving Spain. This cargo with God's blessing and speed be with the Armada. We pray for your safe return with additional piety in God's kingdom, Hispanol. All ships including the Capitania (the Captain General of the fleet) are expendable for the Maravillas' welfare, the King's Flagship."
KING PHILLIP IV

*(There were three copies of the ship's manifest on all voyages. Everything listed treasure and supplies. The Spanish were exacting and kept intricately accurate written records. After all, this was their business. Each year to mine, all year long, bring by land to one central locale all treasure items. Even from as far away as China they brought priceless jade and porcelain. From Cartegena, a city in Central America, the fleet proceeded to Havana for the last leg of the journey until the final departure to Spain. For safety's sake they left with war galleons as well as cargo ships, guarding thousands of pounds of gold, gems, and silver that were worth a billion plus on today's market. This system worked extremely well.)

After Philip's elaborate plans were complete, he felt a return of calmness in his soul and some relief from the strangling guilt he had experienced. Interestingly, however, even though he was somewhat relieved of the burden of guilt, he still managed to sire 3O illegitimate children in the process of being "born again," and this caused an intensification of his spiritual depression.

All went well for a while with the 1655 fleet and its arrival in the new world. The Maravillas accomplished her loading of the precious cargo. The vessels also arrived from Nombre de Dios and Margarita Island. Their precious cargoes were pearls, emeralds, more gold from Peru, thousands of pounds of silver bars from the Potasi Mines, and diamonds from Bogota. Secretly meeting at sea, avoiding English and Portuguese man-o-wars, they proceeded to Havana, Cuba. There they loaded the final shipments of supplies for the last stage of the trip home. They were concerned, too, with preparations for ocean storms. Protection from severe weather was not a small matter. Hurricanes have caught many of the Armadas on record and have sunk not less than 250 ships in Havana harbor alone. This 16S5 trip was delayed by storms and pressure was increasingly applied by the King's messenger ships arriving to convey the orders, "Sail at once regardless of circumstances of danger.'' Spain needed the treasure early that year. The King's financiers were nervous about his financial status. Consequently, the 1655 Flota became more fearful than usual and flaring tempers were an everyday occurrence among the crews. The men's hearts and spirits were broken daily and many wound up chained in the bowels and bilges of the war galleons. Some of them were destined never to see daylight again. This ill-fated voyage was to be the last for many of the Armada. Catholic Mass was said and holy communion given to all who were sailing. Anyone not attending was punished for fear of retaliation by God. (This was an odd custom, yet understandable, since the seamen from the Admiral General on down believed that sins forgiven would mean a safe journey, and that any unforgiven sinner might doom them all.) The true documented account of the sailing to Spain from Havana, according to the archives of Madrid, is as follows:

January 1,1656. Ship's log.
"Mass has been held at the great cathedral: all is ready. Some ships are in dire need of repairs, but the order of "Sail" is at hand.... We left port at noon and today is January 4. The lookout on the Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas has discovered we are suddenly in shallow water. (T he Maravillas was the lead ship for the Armada.) They have fired a cannon to warn all the other ships of the dreaded sand bars. All have headed away from this danger--all, except one. There is confusion ensuing. What is happening? They are going to ram to Admiranta. The pilot thinks he has passed the Bahama Channel. He has told the Captain of the galleon that they are in open ocean. God, they are going to ram the Maravillas even though she has fired warning cannons. Veer, veer, are the orders, now that the deep darkness of the night has allowed some vision of a ship outline. Why doesn't the Maravillas light a warning flare? Can't veer enough: IMPACT. She is hit below the waterline. They are manning all six of the pumps. Men are diving overboard to stuff everything they can inside her wound. She is sinking fast. The weight of her cargo is too great. She cannot be doomed; please, God, save her. Admiral Orelleona is resetting her course to safer waters. No. Why back there near the reef?

ON BOARD THE MARAVILLAS:

"Man the pumps forward for buoyancy. We must reach Devil's Rock. There are sand bars and rocks. Admiral, are you giving up? Yes, we must sink where we have a chance to salvage cargo in the future. Are you sure we will sink? Yes, the wound is mortal. Satan has won over us, Spain, the King, all Catholics of Europe. We must save what we may, God willing." (Less than thirty minutes after the collision, the galleon struck again violently on the reef, backsliding onto thirty feet of sand bottom water. Not 300 yards from deep safe water, the Gulfstream was at least 1 mile deep.) The Maravillas sank rapidly.

OBSERVlNG VESSEL: (Remaining to aid survivors)

"No sooner had our lead ship sunk, strong southwestern cyclone winds began to appear, blowing enormous waves in this shallow water. The ship is breaking apart! Huge pieces are ripping off like splintered wood. Poor souls, all 650 of them. What can we do? Those large pieces are floating away to the shallows with the wind. Poor devils, they will all drown. Never will they be seen again. God rest their souls. If only we could reach those few 150 or so that are clinging to the remnants of this great ship. If only dawn and light would come." (It did and the evidence remaining showed that sharks and exposure had killed all but 45 men.) "What is that? God, we have hit a reef ourselves! What now? The Captain is crying, 'Leave her be, only the rudder gone; let her drift a league or so north of the Admiralanta. Anchor -- fine, we are safe until morning.' Captain Juan de Hoyos is a hero. We are in the company of a brave Captain. Repair the rudder. Leave the buoys on the wreck site. All survivors on board and now it is on to Spain. No part of the Maravillas is now visible above the sea.

The buoy marked an infamous place on this globe. The King lost all his ships in 1656. The payments never reached Spain. Some ships were wrecked off Bermuda because of a hurricane, an English squadron sank and looted the remaining crippled ships off Cadiz. No payments, no financing, no money, no mercenaries to fight Spain's wars for her. All was lost: the Maravillas, the Golden Madonna, the war with the northern defectors, and most important, the symbol of united Christiandom.

The war was lost for King Phillip. He signed the Treaty of Westphalia in 1657, allowing the Reformation group to form their own sect, away from Rome's ruling ecclesiastical hierarchy. The Christian religion received its most divisive blow which formed another great schism that would last for three hundred years into the twentieth century, now. lt. was now more than a division of East and West. More doctrine of truths and falsehoods causing further division was the course of things. Satan has caused still another division, making this all a harder task. He will guard well his bounty aboard the Maravillas and ensure by his best "Leviathan" that this site is undisturbed for eternity. This area is today the apex of a large triangle geometrically determined by Bermuda as the top, Florida's low coast as the southern tip, and the Bahama Islands area north of Grand Bahama as the apex, on "Memory's Rock," all together, as the "Devil's Triangle." or BERMUDA TRIANGLE" Man has continued throughout history to relate events that mark this area. All the resulting stories are as true as life and will be exposed if they are fantasies or conjectures or opinions. ***Look for a follow up piece next month on other historical contributions of the BERMUDA TRAINGLE