£1bn in treasure
Colombia finds galleon with £1bn in treasure
The San Jose was the main ship in Spain’s gold fleet, carrying precious metals from the mines of South America to Spain
The wreck of a Spanish galleon carrying gold worth more than £1 billion at
today’s prices has been found three centuries after it was sunk by British
warships off Colombia.
“This is the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity,” President Santos said, announcing the discovery of the wreck of the San Jose near the Rosario islands, south of the colonial port of Cartagena.
The San Jose was the main ship in Spain’s gold fleet, carrying precious metals from the mines of South America to Spain. It was loaded with an estimated 11 million gold and silver coins, as well as jewels, when it was sunk by a squadron of English warships in June 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Only a few of the 600 crew survived the sinking.
The wreck was found by remote-controlled submarines and was identified by its unique bronze cannons, which feature engravings of dolphins.
The discovery was not without controversy: in 1982, an American salvage company called the Sea Search Armada said it had found the remains of the ship — but the Colombian government refused to grant it a 50 per cent cut of the treasure, as is stipulated under maritime law. It said it would reduce the finders fee to 5 per cent, triggering a lengthy legal battle. An American court finally ruled in Colombia’s favour two years ago.
Mr Santos, who said he was sworn to secrecy regarding the exact location of the wreck, said it had been located on November 27 “in a place never before referenced by previous research”.
The search team discovered five other wrecks while scouring an area of Caribbean coastline littered with as many as a thousand sunken ships, though only a few are believed to hold significant amounts of treasure.
“This is the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity,” President Santos said, announcing the discovery of the wreck of the San Jose near the Rosario islands, south of the colonial port of Cartagena.
The San Jose was the main ship in Spain’s gold fleet, carrying precious metals from the mines of South America to Spain. It was loaded with an estimated 11 million gold and silver coins, as well as jewels, when it was sunk by a squadron of English warships in June 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Only a few of the 600 crew survived the sinking.
The wreck was found by remote-controlled submarines and was identified by its unique bronze cannons
The wreck was found by remote-controlled submarines and was identified by its unique bronze cannons, which feature engravings of dolphins.
The discovery was not without controversy: in 1982, an American salvage company called the Sea Search Armada said it had found the remains of the ship — but the Colombian government refused to grant it a 50 per cent cut of the treasure, as is stipulated under maritime law. It said it would reduce the finders fee to 5 per cent, triggering a lengthy legal battle. An American court finally ruled in Colombia’s favour two years ago.
Mr Santos, who said he was sworn to secrecy regarding the exact location of the wreck, said it had been located on November 27 “in a place never before referenced by previous research”.
The search team discovered five other wrecks while scouring an area of Caribbean coastline littered with as many as a thousand sunken ships, though only a few are believed to hold significant amounts of treasure.
Colombia treasure-laden San Jose galleon 'is found'
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