A Shipwreck Was Found In An African Diamond Mine, And On Board Lay A Staggering Cache Of Treasure

How would you react if you find out some hidden treasures one fine morning? It would be thrilling, right. The story goes like this. In 1533, during a spring morning, a fleet of ships laden with trade goods and treasures were set to sail for the Indian Ocean. The trade goods and treasures would be used to exchange spices like nutmeg, clove, and pepper from India. Bom Jesus was one of the ships that was supposed to reach the Indian bay to carry on the trade. However, little did anybody know that the ship would never be able to reach its destination! During that time, the Portuguese were the only people who had the maritime expertise to make this expedition possible. They first started with smaller ones, but as the trade expanded and the distance traveled started increasing, there was a need for better and bigger vessels. Their unique navigational skills along with bigger vessels took them to places where others couldn’t even imagine. Now back to the story of Bom Jesus. This ship was supposed to reach eastern destinations while traveling through Cape of Good Hope in Africa. The ship met with a fatal accident just before the coast at Namib. The ship sank close to the coastline when it accidentally hit the rocks. At present, the place where the wreck was found is a restricted place; where a diamond mining company De Beers along with the Namibian government works hand in hand in mining diamonds. In 2008, a geologist from De Beers found a sphere rock. When further investigated it was discovered that it is ingots of copper and it belonged to the 16th century most prominent European financier, Anton Fugger. These types of ingots were used for spice trades and this was enough to make him realize that there was shipwreck underneath, that would divulge many stories from the past. The weight of 44,000 ingots helped the ship to stay put; else the storm would have washed it away without leaving any traces behind. Alongside, 2000 gold coins of different origin, valuing almost $12 million were also found. The historians were sure about the identity of the ship when they discovered the Portuguese coins. Those coins were in action from 1525 to 1538, after which King John III melted down the coins. Apart from the ingots and gold coins, archaeologists also discovered cannons, swords, muskets, and elephant tusks. It was said that there was 300 crew onboard, but in the wreck only one human remained and that too the toe has been discovered. What happened to the other crews remains a mystery. Moreover, the coins discovered couldn’t enlighten us on the history of that period as it remains locked in the vault because the government doesn’t have enough money to preserve the coin or do the research.