Colombia has taken a step towards recovering a long-lost Spanish wreck and its fabled riches, however it could be a tough experience as Spain and native Bolivians have additionally staked claims to the booty. Maritime specialists contemplate the wreck of the San Jose to be the "holy grail" of Spanish colonial shipwrecks.
Lengthy the daydream of treasure hunters worldwide, the wreck of the San Jose galleon was first situated off Columbia's coast in 2015, however has been left untouched as the federal government determines guidelines for its restoration.
Colombia was a colony of Spain when the San Jose was sunk, and gold from throughout South America, particularly modern-day Peru and Bolivia, was saved within the fort of its coastal metropolis, Cartagena, earlier than being shipped again to Europe.
The Colombian authorities considers the booty a "nationwide treasure" and needs it to be displayed in a future museum to be in-built Cartagena.
Based on a presidential decree launched Thursday, firms or people keen on excavating the ship must signal a "contract" with the state and submit an in depth stock of their finds to the federal government in addition to plans for dealing with the products.
The uber-loot, which specialists estimate to incorporate no less than 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds, shall be a degree of pleasure for Colombia, Vice President and high diplomat Marta Lucia Ramirez stated in a assertion. The treasure might be value billions of dollars if ever recovered.
"The sums of wealth are invaluable, and the duty of the protégés has already been extracted, contributing to the historical past of Colombia, the Caribbean and the world," she stated.
Lengthy the daydream of treasure hunters worldwide, the San Jose galleon was sunk by the British Navy on the night time of June 7, 1708, off Cartagena de Indias.
The San Jose was on the time carrying gold, silver and treasured stones which had been to be delivered from the Spanish colonies in Latin America to the court docket of King Philip V.
Just a few of the San Jose's 600-member crew survived the wreck.
"It makes it very sensitive as a result of one just isn't alleged to intervene in battle graves," Justin Leidwanger, an archaeologist at Stanford College who research historical shipwrecks, advised Reside Science in 2015. "Are you able to pluck treasure off the seabed with out disturbing a battle grave? I doubt you possibly can. However these are the type of discussions that shall be had."
On the finish of 2015, then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos introduced the invention of the precise location of the wreck, which was confirmed by the ship's distinctive bronze cannons with dolphin engravings.
Colombia has stated it can value about $70 million to hold out a full salvage operation on the wreckage, which is at a depth of between 2,000 and three,200 ft.
Spain says the wreck is its personal, as a ship of state; and an indigenous group in Bolivia, the Qhara Qhara, says the treasure belongs to them, since their ancestors had been pressured to mine it from what was within the 1500s the world's largest silver mine.
