Concepción: In Search of Shipwrecked Treasure - 2

in #history5 years ago

When the repaired ships attempted their luck against the storms again on September 28th, disaster struck the fleet. They were scattered to the wind, with many taking severe damage from the hurricane. The Concepción drifted for weeks under what could be salvaged of the sails, with the sailors forced to man the hand-powered pumps on continuous shifts to keep her afloat.

Just north of Hispañola on the present day Dominican Republic side of the island, the Concepción finally ran aground against the reefs, a month after the storm on October 31, 1641. Lost under the waves on that remote reef, the treasure would remain until 46 years later, when an enigmatic figure named William Phipps would supposedly find and salvage a portion of the lost riches. Phipps, who is half-heartedly sold as a rags-to-riches character, seemed to have deep connections in the aristocracy, and was later directly responsible for setting up the Salem witch trials before becoming a knighted governor and holding court with the British Crown.

We will have to come back to Phipps, because that story deserves more attention of itself, and this researcher is under the impression that he was a clever hoaxter and agent from the start. All we really know about the sunken riches of the Concepción is that as the rumors and legends spread, many an adventurer tried and failed to locate them, from the Colonial period up until the 1970's. Included in the list of would-be discoverers is the famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, who made expeditions starting in the 1969. The case would finally be cracked in 1978 by the combined efforts of historian Jack Haskins, treasure-hunter Burt Webber, a team of divers and a whole lot of investment money and time.

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Man, the amount of treasure that is probably still buried at sea is baffling to think about. So many ships had gone down in the past. I know that there are full time treasure hunters who make their living off finding such treasure. Well at least that's what the movies tell me hahaha. This William Phipps character sounds like an interesting fellow. I look forward to reading more about him.

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Thats a long period of time that the treasure remained hidden - from the 1600s to 1970s. Very interesting. I really like stories about treasure. I look forward to learning more.

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As I have said before, it is amazing to think about all of the treasures and riches out there that have yet to be discovered. Some of them may never be discovered. I look forward to reading the next part of this story!

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