Whilst there aren’t many treasures these days marked on a map neatly annotated with a red cross, there are several lost riches out there still waiting to be found. Of all the locations, our oceans and seas probably harbor the largest collection of them. The United Nations has estimated at least three million shipwrecks are lying across our ocean floors. Some of those wrecks could be of immense historical significance and even contain monetary treasure.
Flor de la Mar
The Holy Grail of shipwrecks said to be the ‘richest vessel ever lost at sea’, is a large 16th-century Portuguese ship. One of the finest vessels of its time, it was put to use across the Indian Ocean. Over the years, its seaworthiness deteriorated and before repairs could be conducted, the Flor de la Mar was summoned to assist in the Portuguese conquest of Malacca (modern-day Malaysia). Upon her return after the campaign in 1511, the leaky ship sank in a storm off the coast of Sumatra. She was said to be laden with riches equivalent to over $2 billion for the Portuguese king.
The Merchant Royal
Known as the ‘El Dorado of the Seas’, the Merchant Royal was an English 700-ton galleon built in the early 17th century. Captained by John Limbrey, the ship was on its way back from trading with the colonies in the New World when it stopped in Cadiz, Spain, for some well-needed repairs. Whilst there, Limbrey saw an opportunity to make more money and agreed with Spanish authorities to transport treasure to pay 30,000 troops garrisoned in the Belgian city of Antwerp. The Merchant Royal was then believed to have been loaded with ‘100,000 pounds in gold and as much value in jewels’.
1715 Treasure Fleet
In the summer of 1715, eleven Spanish ships laden with treasure from the Americas, set sail from Havana, Cuba, heading for home. Needless to say, they didn’t make it after encountering a hurricane off the coast of Florida. All eleven sunk and over 1,000 lives were lost at sea. Other ships, including those operated by pirates, swarmed in afterwards to salvage as much of the hoard as they could.
Cinco Chagas
The Portuguese ocean-going ship known as Cinco Chagas was sunk during the Battle of Faial Island in the Anglo-Spanish War in 1594. Faial Island is an island of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean belonging to Portugal. When the Cinco Chagas went down, it was rumored to be carrying 2,000 tons of treasure, including 22 chests filled to the brim with diamonds, rubies and pearls.
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Source: Historycouk
