By 1712 AD Spain was desperately in need of funds (pretty much like today) due to the War of Succession that had seen Phillip V take the throne. To solve this problem the Spanish assembled one of the richest treasure fleets. Come 1715 it consisted of five ships of the Nueva EspaƱa (Mexico) fleet and six ships of the Tierra Firme (Main Land) fleet. Significant amounts of silver (plate), gold, pearls, jewels (emeralds) and other precious items were loaded at Vera Cruz, Cartagena, Nombre de Dios and Portobello. A further ship, a French merchantman, the Griffon, also joined the convoy. As a further defence against pirates and privateers the fleet waited until just before the hurricane season before setting off from Havana. This was a mistake and a storm destroyed the fleet just seven days after leaving Cuba.