300 years ago, a Spanish galleon sank off the coast of Colombia. Aboard the ship, called 'San José,' are valuable materials, like emeralds, gold, and silver that are collectively worth between $7 billion to $18 billion.
Unfortunately, since its discovery, the said valuable materials are still subject to legal ownership battles.
According to BBC, there were claims from both Colombian and Spanish governments, indigenous groups, and a salvage company from the US. All claims are still currently under review by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, although historians and experts believe that finding a solution that will satisfy everyone is impossible.
For archeologists, the San José shipwreck and others of its kind would remain undisturbed where it is because of its historical importance. Besides valuable materials, 600 lives were buried at the site when the ship sank.
Who Can Claim Treasures from the San José Ship?
History states that the San José ship sank in 1708 at Cartagena, Colombia, after setting sail from Panama. A British warship took it down to capture its treasure but was unable to, as the ship sank within minutes.
Since the 1980s, it has been on the ocean floor, until a US salvage company called 'Glocca Mora' (now called Sea Search Armada) found it. They partnered with Colombia to recover the treasure and share the profits from found materials, but disagreement arose after the country claimed it found the wreck alone.
Then, the Spanish government intervened, asserting that both the ship and its cargo belonged to the state. But Indigenous groups, from Bolivia and Peru, believe it's theirs more because the treasure was stolen from the lands during the Spanish colonial era.
Per The Guardian, Sea Search Armada's lawyer listed the treasures found in the San José ship, which included 7 million pesos, 30 million gold coins, and over 116 chests filled with emeralds—earning the title of the biggest treasure in the history of humanity.
Some are skeptical about these valuations, with historians believing modern monetary values can be different from what is aboard and that the usage of exaggerated figures could further worsen the legal dispute.
Ownership of the San José treasure will possibly be unknown for a long time since it's just one of the many million sunken ships around the globe, all of which never had ownership and salvage rights to their name. Currently, the UNESCO Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention is still clarifying laws and rules when it comes to exploring and owning treasures found underwater.
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