sentences:  Drowned were 550 passengers and crew, 142 from the Santa Margarita.Lost was a king's ransom in treasure, a serious setback for Spain, whose supremacy in the world was upheld by the wealth of the Indies.Margarita in Greek means pearl, and the first attempt to find and salvage the Santa Margarita and other fleet casualties was undertaken almost immediately by the Spanish mariner Captain Gaspar de Vargas, who, knowing of their skills, sent for pearl divers — from the island of Margarita — to aid in the search.