Emily Chan
During the War of Spanish Succession in 1708, the British navy sunk the San José, a majestic Spanish galleon that held a crew of around 600 men and had a substantial fortune on board.
It is believed that the ship had been hauling a cargo of valuable treasures, including 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds from Panama.
The ship had nearly reached its destination when it was ambushed by the British near Cartagena, a Colombian port.
Over 300 years later, the wreckage and all its riches are still sitting at the bottom of the sea. The contents of the wreck are valued to be about $20 billion.
So, it’s no wonder that the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, is in a hurry to collect the precious bounty from the ocean’s depths before his term is up in 2026.
For centuries, the location of the San José was a mystery. But, in 2015, the Colombian government discovered the shipwreck.
Two years later, an expedition down to the ship’s remains was announced, but the process isn’t going as quickly as the president would like.
According to Juan David Correa, the Minister of Culture, Petro has pressured officials to “pick up the pace.”
In 2022, footage of the wreck was released, showing that the hull of the ship was still intact. The sea floor was littered with gold ingots, coins, and pottery. Additionally, there was a Chinese dinner service and Spanish cannons dating back to 1655.
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