Thomas Catan in Madrid
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to The Sunday Times
Spain demanded the return of sunken treasure worth an estimated half a billion dollars yesterday, accusing Odyssey, the deep-sea exploration company that discovered it, of looting its shipwrecks.
Spanish archaeologists said that they had determined “with complete certainty” that the record haul had come from the Spanish colonial-era galleon Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, sunk by a British fleet off the southern coast of Portugal in 1804.
“The mystery is over,” said James Goold, a Washington-based lawyer for the Spanish Government. The treasure “belongs to the Spanish Armada”. Since announcing in May 2007 that it had found 500,000 gold and silver coins somewhere “in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean”, Odyssey has fought hard to keep details of the haul under wraps.
The Florida-based company, which uses underwater robots to search for shipwrecks, had refused to divulge the exact location of the find that it codenamed “Black Swan”. It also argued that because the haul included Spanish coins, it did not necessarily mean it had come from a Spanish ship.
However, Mark Pizzo, a US judge, ruled against Odyssey last month, ordering it to share information about the find with the Spanish. Yesterday Spain said that coins from the haul were documented to have been on the Mercedes, while the location of the find also indicated that it came from the galleon.
“The sinking of the Mercedes was a pivotal event in Spanish and European history, and the site and its contents are the inalienable historical heritage and patrimony of Spain,” the Government said in court papers due to be filed today as part of a continuing trial to determine who owns the treasure. It added that it never authorised Odyssey to disturb the “gravesite of hundreds of Spanish sailors and their family members” who died when the ship sank.
The haul has been at the centre of a fierce international fight between the Spanish Government and the small, publicly listed company, run by a flamboyant former public relations executive who once served as Bob Hope’s fixer. The Spanish Government has accused Odyssey of modern-day piracy and plundering its archaeological sites for profit.
Odyssey has responded that such sites would never have been explored by the Spanish Government, which had effectively abandoned the shipwreck. It claims that under the “finders’ keepers” provision of international maritime law, it has the right to the treasure.
Yesterday, however, Spain said that it was irrelevant that the ship sank in international waters. “We do not lose ownership by being in international waters if we’re talking about a warship,” Mr Goold said. “The 14 tons of coins were not transported on a commercial ship.” Spain’s lawyer accused Odyssey of engaging in obstructionism and behaving in an “illegal and immoral” manner. Odyssey had no immediate comment on the allegations by the Spanish.
The battle over what could be the largest treasure trove yet found turned particularly ugly last year, when the Spanish Government forced Odyssey’s two exploration ships into port, using warships as they tried to leave Gibraltar. In October Spanish police arrested the Odyssey Explorer’s captain, Sterling Vorus, for disobeying orders. He was released the following day.
Odyssey has accused the Spanish Government of bullying its staff and is claiming damages for losses relating to the case.
Spanish experts said yesterday that the coins, held at an undisclosed location in Florida, included gold doubloons, or “pieces of eight”, minted in 1803 in Peru — then the financial centre of Spain’s Latin American colonies. That raises the possibility that the Peruvian state may want to make a claim of its own.
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Peru was at that time a PART of the Spanish state
- so the coins were and stil are the property of the Spanish state
- the ship beeing a war ship was is and will be the property of the spanish also
The US based company did ALL the work but IT DID IT WITHOUT SPAIN AGREEING ..
Radu Alexandru, Bucharest, Romania
The odessy should pay for its criminal action. This treasure should have stayed in the sea at its historical place, not in pirates hands. From the spanish point of view that is not just illegal but a back step to pirate culture. Should Spain novelty have retained aztec treasures?
Marcos, Seville, Spain
If the Spanish government succeds it taking the gold, then Odessy should still be awarded a reasonable recovery fee, at least comparable to the percentage that a bill collector gets for recovering a bad debt, 25 - 50 percent. Odysessy's investment in locating and salvaging the wreck is substantial.
Chuck Nixon, Gamerco, NM,
It should be in a museum. Odyssey would sell it to the highest bidder. Peru might try to sell it as 500 million USD would be a lot of money to them. I think we can pretty sure Spain would put it in a museum - maybe the Prado (it already has a substantial collection of coins).
bill, Chicago,
if such logic ontinues, Britain can then reclaim their rebellious colonies in North America too...ummhhhh
paul, peterborough, cambs
Actually, the money doesn't belong to Spain, it belongs only to the sovereign, Juan Carlos I, and should be for his personal use. Since the money originally was ownbed by the previous king of Spain, it belongs to his descendent, not the parliament and not the country.
I
Lee, Sterling, USA
If the British navy sank the galleon in the first place surely the british government could stake a claim too - spoils of war and all that!
Neil W, Redruth, Cornwall, UK
The law of the sea does not allow salvage from soveriegn vessels, civilain yes but govermental vessels noso comparisons with titanic are not valid.
The date shows that it was likely mined by the spanish in peru, since most countries are the result of conquest even England or Austria its fair enough
Peter, London, England
I wonder how often Odyssey has stretched the truth as regards the location , so they could pilfer gold and valuables from other wrecks ?.
Jose, Madrid, Spain
Yeah, the Conquistadors, the priests who followed, and the governors of South and Central America were real sweethearts.
Bob E, Medina, USA
What about all the gold Julius Caesar nicked from Spain?
Can they have that back as well?
Lictor Jones, Newcastle, UK
to all of you american writters please be very careful when talking about Genocide. Spain has been the only country to have mixed with the local communities. Unlike them who have wiped out all the Indians, just take a look at how many natives there are in South America and how many in USA.
jorge, madrid, spain
Finders = keepers... they have earned it through their ingenuity and no doubt considerable investment. Hopefully the law of the seas will prevail.
The Spanish Government could not be bothered over centuries to go find it themselves, so back off Pedro!
Charly, Brussels,
Answer to Wayne Mitchell; The same for your country New Zealand, does it belongs to you or does it belongs to the natives? This case must lead us to to have a international law. You speak about invaders, how do can explain what happened in your country. Apply your own idea to your case.
César Álvarez, Segovia, Spain
Spain claimes the treasure is theirs. ALL the treasure recovered was mined by Peruvian-Bolivian Indians, from their own land ... creating much of it into fabulous sculptures ... which the Spanish invaders melted down. Descendants of the Indians should receive the bulk of the treasure.
Wayne Mitchell, Orewa, New Zealand
Wait a minute! Wouldn't the loot be awarded to Mexico or Peru? Shoúldn't they be suing? That was native gold.
Armando, Lima, Peru
The problem is: probabitiy of winning the case multiplied by estimated value of the treasure equals spain's maximum expenditure on legal fees to get the property handed over. Unfortunately the first term in the equation, due to well enshrined maritime law, is zero. On the high seas, finders keepers!
Bill, London,
The great mistake Oddysey made was to bring the loot back to America, because it is now in the hands of the lawyers who will drag this one out for years until they have milked most of the money away into their own pockets.
peter dykes, Taipei, Taiwan
Sir
if I were an angloamerican I would be very careful when accusing Spain of "genocide", "looting" and so on. The historic record demostrates that Spain had a far more human colonial policy -given the times- than England. The anglosaxons are simply a bunch of hypocrites.
Aranda, vienna, Austria
gold from Peru but galleon and coins spanish.
English anda americans Pirates (Oil - Iraq/ Gold -Spain).
Stop piracy and illegal wars!
Ana, A Coruña, Spain
How can they be spanish property, when the coins themselves were looted from Perú?
Vanessa Carr de Elera, Chachapoyas, Amazonas, Perú
doesn't salvage rights apply to any sunken vessel? im sure the titanic will never be claimed by the british as having ownership. the spanish are only demanding becouse of the money, it was most likely sank by a british warship that means its spoils of war! does that mean its ours????
steve, blackpool, united kingdom
The bitter irony of this situation is that the Spanish military brutally enslaved indigenous peoples in South America, forcing them to mine these minerals...and they still work these mines! The wealth should be returned to them, the real victims of theft.
JEFF G., Colorado Springs, USA
Grave robbers make me sick.
Pat O, Bloomington, USA
The only piracy was by the16th century royal Spanish regime. No one should help Spain reclaim the loot to which is the fruit of imperialist aggression. If the finders can not keep all of the cargo, it should be given to the government of Peru - but never to Spain!
Edward P. Allen, Pinole, California, USA
Surely the salvage laws mean that they can claim all the gold, considering that it sank hundreds of years ago? And maybe the spanish should give it back to South America as that is where they stole it from in the first place.
Rob, Singapore,
Yes, Spain wants their gold back. The gold they stole, pillaged, plundered and raped from Latin America while they contributed to genocide of an inferior human race. We all have our demons don't we? This socialist government needs cash, so give them back their blood money borne from the dead.
Pete's opinion, Changwon, USA