When the wreck was discovered, then Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos lauded it as "the most precious treasure ever found in the history of the world." Spain insists that the bounty is theirs since it was aboard a Spanish ship, while Bolivia's Qhara Qhara nation says it should get the treasures as the Spanish forced the community's people to mine the precious metals. It was heading back from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain.Īt the time, it was laden with treasures estimated to be worth billions of dollars at current rates.īefore its discovery in 2015, it was long sought after by treasure hunters.Įxperts believe it contains at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds.Ĭolombia considers wrecks found in its territorial waters to be part of its cultural heritage, meaning the contents cannot be sold. Only a handful of its 600-strong crew survived. The San Jose galleon was owned by the Spanish crown when it was sunk by the British navy near Cartagena in 1708. When that happens, though, Colombia will face a challenge from Spain and an indigenous group in Bolivia to determine who keeps the bounty. He said the wreck was "kept intact and protected with a view towards a future retrieval." "Thanks to the technological equipment and the Colombian navy's work, we managed to capture images with a level of precision that's never been seen before," said President Ivan Duque. ![]() These missions, carried out by the navy under the supervision of the culture ministry, found the galleon untouched by "human intervention."Ĭannons partially covered by mud are visible alongside porcelain crockery, pottery, glass bottles and also gold pieces.Ī part of the bow can be clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull.Īuthorities said they had also discovered two more shipwrecks during their observation mission - a colonial-era galleon and a schooner from the post-colonial period. Colombia's army has shared unprecedented images of the legendary San Jose galleon shipwreck, hidden underwater for three centuries and believed to have been carrying riches worth billions of dollars in today's money.įour observation missions using a remotely operated vehicle were sent to the wreck at a depth of almost 950 meters (3,100 feet) off Colombia's Caribbean coast, the army said in a statement late Monday.
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