In 1708, the Spanish galleon San Jose sank 1,000 feet under the Caribbean waves, near the coast of modern-day Cartagena, Colombia. She was on her way to Spain, bringing a hoard of treasure to fund the Spanish throne against their British enemies in the War of the Spanish Succession.
However, as the San Jose was sailing off of the coast of Colombia, a British warship caught up with her and sent the ship, her vast treasure and the majority of her 600 crew to the bottom of the sea.
The actual location of the wreck has remained a mystery until now. On December 4, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced on Twitter that a joint team of international experts with the country's navy and archaeological society had finally found the remains of the treasure-laden San Jose near the island of Baru.
Understandably, he would not give the actual location to safeguard the site from privateers.
Officials say this discovery is the "Holy Grail" of shipwrecks because of the massive wealth of gold, silver, coins, gems and jewelry aboard. The Colombian government plans to build a museum to house and display the precious artifacts, which experts estimate are worth anywhere between $4 and $17 billion.
The ship was hauling the bounty from Spanish colonies to Spain in order to help fund the Spanish in their war over the Hapsburg territory following the death of Charles II. The British, Spain's main adversary, planned to capture the San Jose, cut off the money supply to Spain and use the treasure for their own financial advantage.
However, just before the British could overtake the ship, an explosion ripped through the San Jose and sent the ship to its watery grave. The English got their wish in cutting off money from going to Spain, but both countries lost the immense treasure. It seems that what Spain and Great Britain lost, Colombia has gained.
However, this actually isn't the first time the San Jose has been found. In 1982, U.S. company Sea Search Armada announced it had found the wreckage, but has been fighting with the Colombia government over their share of the wealth. According to established maritime law at the time, treasure-hunters would share half of their reward with the government and keep the rest as profit.
Colombia decided they didn't want to share the treasure and, two years later, overturned the law to instead give the company just a small 5 percent finder's fee, instead of half of the wealth. The Sea Search Armada filed lawsuits in both the U.S. and Colombia to try to get their claim back. The U.S. dismissed the case while Colombia's Supreme Court says the treasure needs to be recovered before anything can be settled.
Regardless of who gets the treasure, the main point is that we've found the wreckage. Now let's just get it to the surface so we can see what marvels the sea has been hiding from us.
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