The recent archaeological discovery comes from a sea area off the coast of Florida. There, researchers discovered the wreck of an old Spanish silver galleon that likely sank there in 1715. It was loaded with exactly what its name suggests.
Recent Archaeological Discovery: This Silver Remained in the Americas
Following a recent archaeological discovery, researchers recovered over 1,000 Spanish silver coins, known as ‘reales,’ from an expedition to the shipwreck. The currency of that era was so rich in silver that the coins collectively hold a value exceeding one million dollars today. In fact, a single ‘real’ can be worth well over $1,000. Remarkably, there is still much more treasure waiting to be recovered from the site.
As 1715treasurefleet.com explains, the site is where a whole series of silver galleons sank. In 1715, a summer storm on July 31 caused most of the fleet to go down. Experts suspect that the collective value of the treasures scattered on the seabed there could easily reach half a billion dollars.
But if amateur divers think they can make some easy money here, they’re going to be disappointed. The excavation of the treasure is only permitted under strict state supervision and is reserved for professional teams of archaeologists. Moreover, the discovered coins are not meant to be sold, and they will be preserved, as well as, displayed to the public once the work is complete.
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How the Silver Got to this Place
Therefore, it really isn’t hard to explain how the archaeological find got there. The Treasure Fleet, part of which sank here, had been sailing its route from the New World to Spain for about two hundred years by 1715. This development followed the violent and genocidal colonization of South and Central America by Castile, Spain, and Portugal. The peoples living there were missionized, enslaved, and forced to work in the mines.
Although millions died in this cruel practice (current estimates suggest up to 80 percent of the population of the Americas before the arrival of the Spanish), the silver and gold mines were extraordinarily productive. The silver extracted from South and Central America financed Spain’s rise to a world power and ensured that the country could maintain the largest army and fleet in the 16th and 17th centuries, which secured its power. But the recent archaeological discovery also shows that even the Treasure Fleet was not immune to sinking. Just like Spain’s power, it eventually came to an end.
Sources: 1715treasurefleet.com
This article was translated with the help of AI and carefully reviewed by our editorial team.