The Colombian government is preparing an expedition to investigate the San José galleon, also known as the “Holy Grail of shipwrecks”. The galleon is thought to have carried a load worth 20 billion dollars when it sank, therefore whoever manages to actually reach the treasure aboard will have a true goldmine at their disposal.
The San José galleon was first launched in 1698 and was part of the Spanish Armada de la Guardia de la Carrera de las Indias. Sadly, it didn’t last long as the ship came to a sad ending in 1708 during a battle off Barú Island, south of Cartagena, brought down, according to historians, by a British squadron which didn’t just destroy the ship but also killed all 500 people aboard.
Anno 2024, however, historians and, with them, the people from all over the world, are mostly interested by what material goods the ship was carrying at that moment. The San José was travelling from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain, allegedly filled to the brim with treasures from the New World, including over a hundred chests full of emeralds, gold and silver coins.
In 2015, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution managed to locate the remnants of the once mighty galleon, but the Colombian government is keeping the exact location a secret, saying it is protecting it from amateur treasure hunters. Meanwhile, oceanographers are studying its surroundings as to determine the best way possible to explore the shipwreck and submerged robots will do an attempt to retrieve part of the wreck in April and May.
The Colombian government is investing 4.5 million dollars in 2024 alone to fund the exploration mission, but Colombia isn’t the sole nation to claim the treasure. It has to compete with Spain, on the grounds that the ship was theirs to begin with, Bolivia, saying the treasure was mined by the indigenous people of the Qhara Qhara nation under Spanish colonial rule, Peru and Panama, claiming the goods were stolen from their lands.
Only time will tell if the treasure will eventually be found and if so, which country will be able to claim it. Anyway, according to Juan David Correa, Colombia’s minister of culture, it’s not about the financial worth of the contents but about their historical meaning. “History is the treasure,” he told the Associated Press.
