Treasures of the galleon of San Jose: Colombia classified the treasure

The times of colonial development of America still hold many secrets. Countless ships with gold and emeralds carried looted wealth to Europe. But, as often happened in the Middle Ages, they did not always reach the port of destination and disappeared without a trace along with their precious contents. About one such ship called "San Jose" we will tell today.

The galleon "San Jose", which belonged to the Spanish military transport flotilla, sank off the coast of South America more than 300 years ago, in 1708, but interest in its searches has not quenched to this day. Of course, the matter is not so much in the historical value of the find as in the huge amount of gold, silver and jewelry that were on the ship.

In the era of colonial conquests of America, the leading role in the development of the continent belonged to the Spaniards and the Portuguese. But Great Britain did not want to stay away from the conquest of promising territories. The magnificent three-masted Spanish ship "San Jose", equipped with 62 guns, with a large number of people on board sailed from Peru without the usual escort. Great Britain took advantage of this to settle accounts with her sworn enemies at sea. The Spanish ship took battle in the Caribbean, near the Colombian port of Cartagena, where it was sunk by the British squadron.

From a team of more than 600 people, only 11 crew members managed to escape. According to reports, in the holds of the ship was gold, silver, emeralds and other valuables totaling from 4 to 17 billion US dollars. Private search companies, the government of Colombia, as well as single enthusiasts all these years did not leave hopes to find a precious cargo. And in 2015, the Colombian authorities announced that the galleon was discovered at a depth of 600 meters with the help of the Colombian research vessel ARC Malpelo. But its exact location is not reported for obvious reasons.

To the aid of the Colombian government came scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Oceanography, who conducted a study of the shipwreck using a deep-sea apparatus. Specialists were able to identify the ship buried under a layer of silty sediments, thanks to the guns found, since they have distinctive engravings of dolphins

Now that the exact location of San Jose has become known, the Colombian government has yet to determine the fate of the treasure. This is a rather sensitive issue, since, besides Colombia itself, Spain has declared its rights to the San Jose treasures. But in any case, the contents of the holds of this ship will become one of the most ambitious treasures ever found on the seabed.