Wreckers

Wreckers were coastal communities that salvaged cargo and material from ships stranded on their shores, a recognized practice along coasts such as Cornwall, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas. Lawful wrecking meant claiming goods washed ashore from a vessel lost by misadventure, governed in England by the law of wreck and the Crown’s droits. The folklore that wreckers lured ships onto rocks with false lights is largely unproven; documented wrecking was opportunistic salvage of genuine casualties, later licensed in places like Key West.