The Spanish Ship Case

By Bruce P. Stark

On the night of November 24, 1752, a damaged Spanish ship, the Saint Joseph and Saint Helena, on a voyage from Honduras to Spain, anchored near New London harbor. She carried gold, silver, and merchandise valued at 400,000 Spanish dollars. The vessel when anchored probably could have been easily repaired. But by the time she docked in New London, she had twice been run on the rocks, had one of her masts cut away, and was damaged beyond hope of repair. It seems likely, therefore, that the pilots deliberately wrecked the ship in order to steal the cargo. Responsible citizens in New London realized that the Spaniards were in danger of being robbed of their cargo. Accordingly, Gurdon Saltonstall (1708-1785) asked Governor Roger Wolcott (1679-1767) that he be appointed agent for the Governor and Company in order to protect Spanish property. Wolcott quickly directed Saltonstall to keep all goods from the ship in his custody and appointed him his agent to deal with the Spaniards.

The supercargo of the ship, Joseph Miguel de San Juan, fell under the influence of two dishonest New Yorkers, Henry Cuyler, Jr. and Henry Lane, who were only interested in profiting at the expense of the Spaniard. San Juan refused to accept Saltonstall as agent and tried to replace him with Cuyler and Lane. The Connecticut governor, however, refused to accept this decision. After much delay and threats of lawsuits against the colony, Wolcott decided at San Juan's request to release the cargo and, contrary to the latest wish of the Spaniard that the goods be delivered directly to him, mistakenly appointed Lane as agent to receive the Spanish cargo. Henry Lane thereupon made off with the silver, and it was also discovered that the gold had been stolen. In January 1754, therefore, a rumor began circulating that Governor Wolcott and Lane had conspired to rob San Juan. Many Connecticut freemen believed the story and were afraid that if it were true the colony would be forced to pay damages amounting to one million Spanish dollars. As a result, Governor Wolcott was defeated for reelection and Saltonstall lost his seat in the Upper House, their careers destroyed by the Spanish ship case.

Wolcott was replaced by Old Light Thomas Fitch (c. 1796-1774), the man who would lead Connecticut through the French and Indian War and the Stamp Act crisis. The Spanish ship case slowly faded from view, and neither Wolcott nor the colony were held culpable for their actions.

For Further Reading

Hooker, Roland Mather. The Spanish Ship Case: A Troublesome Episode for Connecticut, 1752-1758. New Haven, Connecticut, 1934. Tercentenary pamphlet XXV.

* Entry under revision.