Caribbean and Sargasso Seas
An Overview
Europe's discovery of a new world, far to the west across the Atlantic Ocean, brought about many new opportunities, and some with unforgiving consequence. Uncharted waters and land never set foot upon by European men became a centralized focus. Feuds over the land and its riches quickly escalated between foreign nations and native populations. The Caribbean and Sargasso Seas are one of the most well-known areas in the world to find lost treasures. A new era in human history began as Spain discovered a provocative endless bounty of the Caribbean; and from here, settlers could conveniently run expeditions into North and South America. When news broke shockingly across Europe on Spain's return, several inspired countries followed the path, and it was just a short amount of time before serious conflict between foreign reigns would strike the Caribbean region.
Countries courageously fought to wit's end for a piece of this paradise for their own. Beautiful, warm weather, tropical sustenance, and gold attracted kingdoms and empires with a shining promise of prosperity. Much of the area was inhabited solely by native populations, some who were even willing to share with foreign explorers. For the indigenous people, however, arrival of Eastern countries in search of wealth and land meant the eventual destruction of entire civilizations and vast amounts of knowledge. Precious metals and gems were pillaged in the process, funneled to trading posts, and loaded on ships for transport back to home lands. Foreign expeditions were business ventures aiming to prove kingdoms could expand to the west and profit.
Weather in the Caribbean also has a say in the matter as an uncontrollable dynamic that present danger to any treasure ship in the region. Low pressure systems moving west from the African coast mix with warm Caribbean waters to create tropical storms and cyclones. These storms tend to travel north, up to the Sargasso Sea, above the Bermuda archipelago. Spanish expeditions charted trade routes paralleling island coastlines throughout the Sargasso and Caribbean Seas. In the years after, these trade routes ultimately crossed paths with strong tropical weather systems, subjecting entire fleets to their wrath such as in the following articles:
- Treasure of Cortes
- A Mixed Armada
- Revenge of Queen Anne
- Torres Hurricane
- Tucker's Cross
- Ships of a Gold Rush
- Captain's Lost Fortune
- Margarita and Atocha
- Morgan's Treasures
Even the most astute buccaneers were tested to the limits by hurricanes and unpredictable seas. Colonizing the west presented several new challenges for European countries to overcome. Sailors with an uncanny rebellious nature were liberated by conquering territories and securing large amounts of wealth. Prosperity, privateers, and pirates were born through these new world expeditions, and hostile weather, a routine part of the deal.