The
Spanish treasure fleet, or
West Indies Fleet from Spanish
Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet (from the Spanish
plata meaning "silver"), was a
convoy system adopted by the
Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, linking
Spain with its
territories in the
Americas across the
Atlantic. The convoys were general purpose cargo fleets used for transporting a wide variety of items, including agricultural goods,
lumber, various metal resources, luxuries,
silver,
gold,
gems,
pearls,
spices,
sugar,
tobacco,
silk, and other exotic goods from the
Spanish Empire to the Spanish mainland. Passengers and goods such as textiles, books and tools were transported in the opposite direction. The West Indies fleet was the first permanent transatlantic trade route in history. Similarly, the
Manila galleons were the first permanent trade route across the Pacific.