The find is thought to be centered around 49°25´N and 6°00´W with a radius of 5 nautical miles.
HISTORY Of The MERCHANT ROYAL The 700-ton MERCHANT ROYAL was built in Deptford, London, in 1627. She was owned by English merchants when she set sail from the Spanish colonies of San Domingo, in the West Indies, captained by John Limbrey. In January 1637, armed with 32 bronze canons, she arrived successfully in Cadiz, southern Spain, where she rested until 1640. But during that time she began to leak badly and underwent extensive repairs. The following summer, a ship employed to transport Spain´s colonial loot - silver coins, ingots and gold - caught fire. The bullion had been put aside to pay for Spain´s 30,000 strong army, which were stationed at the time in Flanders. Captain Limbrey volunteered to take the gold to Antwerp, on his way back to London. The MERCHANT ROYAL set sail in late August 1641, trailed by her sister ship, the Dover Merchant. But during the journey she began to leak and rescuers were unable reach her in time. Eighteen men drowned and 40 crew, including Capt Limbrey, had to be rescued by the Dover Merchant. The loss of the treasure made headlines. Back in 1641, the ship´s hold was equivalent to one-third of the national exchequer. Samuel Pepys refers to the event in his diary and proceedings in the House of Commons were interrupted for the news to be announced. Several salvage teams have sought to recover her treasure over the years but all have failed until now. There was confusion as to where she had actually gone down, with conflicting eyewitness reports. Original papers relating to her final resting place state that witnesses on another ship calculated that it sank ten leagues (around 35 miles) from Land´s End. Odyssey Marine hunters have already recovered 17 tons of 17th-century gold and silver coins from the wreck - codenamed the Black Swan - worth at least £250million Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?14252
No comments:
Post a Comment