Colombia: the treasure of the legendary Spanish galleon San José soon brought to the surface

Colombia announced Friday the start in April of the extraction by robot of objects of “invaluable value” from the wreck of the legendary Spanish galleon San Jos&eac;, sunk three centuries ago in the Caribbean with its holds filled with gold and precious stones.

The vessel, one of the largest in the Spanish armada and worth billions of dollars, was sunk by the British fleet during the night of June 7, 1708 near the Rosario Islands, off the coast. from Cartagena de Indias, in the northwest of Colombia.

In the midst of the War of Succession in Spain (1701-1712), the ship transported gold, silver and precious stones from the Spanish colonies in America to the court of King Philip V. Only a few crew members, out of the 600 on board, survived the sinking.

The Colombian navy ship ARC Caribe in the port of Cartagena, Colombia, February 23, 2024 © AFP – Luis ACOSTA

Seven years after the discovery of the wreck, the Colombian authorities will begin to reassemble the objects visible around the old ship, “without modifying or damaging the wreck”, such as pieces of ceramics, Culture Minister Juan David Correa told AFP.

The aim is to see how these objects “behave when coming out (of the water) and to understand what we can do” to recover the rest valuable pieces, he explained aboard the navy ship ARC Caribe, the sea base for future operations.

He did not specify whether during this first phase some of the most valuable objects could be extracted.

The work, costing $4.5 million, will be carried out using a robot capable of descending to a depth of 600 meters, there where the wreck is located.

The San José galleon © AFP – Gustavo IZUS, Gabriela VAZ

Its exact location is, however, kept secret, in order to protect from pirates and other malicious treasure hunters, which is considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in history.

The Colombian army revealed previously unpublished images of the wreck in 2022, after four observation campaigns.

On these, we could distinguish cast iron cannons, pieces of porcelain tableware, pottery, apparently gold pieces and part of the ship's bow covered in seaweed and shells.

-ownership of the wreck-

Since its discovery in 2015 by researchers and members of the Colombian naval force, the ownership of the galleon has been the subject of disputes. However, some disagreements could be nearing resolution.

< img alt = "Colombian Presidency" src = "https://img-4.linternaute.com/dogufj6lg0q6ly0ij2ae_vwg-ss=/600x/smart/e64ae0aa5e3e4ac9b8ba5e4b08a34295/ccmcms-lintern .jpg " /> Image taken from a video released by the Colombian presidency, on June 6, 2022, of a cannon from the wreck of the Spanish galleon San José, off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia © Colombian Presidency – –

Spain claimed ownership based on a UNESCO convention to which Colombia is not a party, and indigenous Bolivians claimed the ship's riches had been taken from their land.

The government of President Gustavo Petro, in power in Colombia since 2022, wants to use the country's sole resources to recover the wreck and ensure that its precious cargo remains in the country.

But the Spanish ambassador to Colombia, Joaquin de Aristegui, said Thursday that he had received instructions to propose to Colombia a “bilateral agreement” on the protection of the wreck, without further details, however.

Since Thursday, he has participated with representatives of the Bolivian indigenous people and experts in a symposium on operations extraction to come.

Minister Correa assured for his part that the indigenous peoples of Bolivia had said they were “ready to collaborate” with the Colombian government in this matter.

The idea is “to stop considering that this is a treasure for which we must fight as if we were in colonial times “, he emphasized.

< img alt = "Colombian Presidency" src = "https://img-4.linternaute.com/ch7lua6uycqjzmvazrkhuo-jq=/600x/smart/811284247544444c19cabf1506b9ac928/ccmcms-lintern G " /> Image taken from a video released by the Colombian presidency, June 6, 2022, of objects from the wreck of the Spanish galleon San José, off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia © Colombian Presidency – –

The announcement of the upcoming expedition, however, coincides with a new controversy, a dispute between the Colombian State and the American company Sea Search Armada, based in the United States, before the Permanent Court of United Nations arbitration.

The company, which claims to have discovered the ancient vessel first, more than 40 years ago, claims rights to half of the treasure, the value of which is estimated in this procedure at 20 billion dollars.

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