Pirate shipwreck may hold key to fate of $210 million in treasure

News.com.au

16 hours ago

A pirate shipwreck discovered off the coast of Madagascar may hold the key to the fate of $A210 million in treasure.
Researchers from the Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation have published a new study into the identity and contents of a wreck in a small bay on the remote island of Nosy Boraha (Ile Sante-Marie). This was once a hide-out of the famous 18th-century pirates Olivier Levasseur (La Buse) and John Taylor.
They now believe the remains of a ship discovered there in the 1990s is that of the Portuguese treasure galleon Nossa Senhora do Cabo, which was seized while carrying a cargo home from India in 1721.
Lead researcher Brandon Clifford says it was one of the richest pirate plunders in history.
Aboard the galleon was a royal fortune in gold and pearls, and a hoard of holy artefacts. And among its passengers were a Portuguese royal viceroy, the Archbishop of Goa and 200 slaves.
The viceroy was only released after a steep ransom was paid by the Portuguese government.
The fate of the Archbishop and slaves is lost to history.
As is that of much of the treasure.
But the ship itself was repaired, rearmed and rebuilt into Levasseur's flagship.
Levasseur, nicknamed La Buse (The Buzzard), soon after retired to Nosy Boraha (Ile Sante-Marie). He gave up piracy. But he refused to surrender his treasure.
Eventually, in 1729, he was recognised and arrested.
Legend says the famous French pirate told his gaoler: 'With what I've hidden not far from here, I could buy the entire island'.
'Find my treasure he who can!' he shouted as he threw an encrypted document into the crowd while being led to the gallows.
Attempts to decipher what is alleged to be this cryptogram have thus far been unsuccessful.
Under the weather
The Cabo was initially built as a 72-gun Dutch man-of-war. Later, it was repurposed as a heavily armed Portuguese treasure galleon.
But, in April 1721, the ship's luck ran out.
It encountered a severe storm as it headed for the Cape of Good Hope, marking the transition of the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic.
It had departed the port of Goa on India's southwest en route to Lisbon, Portugal, only weeks earlier. But accounts from the time suggest heavy weather had toppled its masts. And its crew had tossed many of its heavy cannons overboard in an effort to keep the ship afloat.
Their efforts were successful.
The Cabo found refuge at Reunion Island. There, many of the crew went ashore to cut wood for repairs.
But, on the morning of April 20, two sets of sails appeared on the horizon. They belonged to pirates Levasseur and Taylor.
The galleon was in no state for an effective fight.
The Cabo was seized after a brief exchange of shots. It was then taken in tow.
The ship, its crew and passengers were taken to Îlot Madame, near the Nosy Boraha (Île Sainte-Marie) settlement off Madagascar's east coast. There, the loot could be safely divided and stored.
'Gold and silver bars, coins, silks, religious artefacts, and an extraordinary array of precious stones (110 diamonds, 250 emeralds, 20 rubies, 20 sapphires) are recorded as having been taken from the ship's cargo,' the study, titled From Goa to Sainte-Marie: An Archaeological Case for the Identification of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo, reads.
'The pirates divided the treasure among themselves, with Levasseur reportedly taking the famed Flaming Cross of Goa, a massive gold artefact encrusted with precious stones that took three men to carry,' the study states.
But untangling myth from legend, and legend from history, will be necessary before any such trove is discovered.
The fate of the Cabo is part of that story.
She was to be Levasseur's final flagship. After being repaired, modified, and rearmed, Levasseur renamed the galleon Victorieux (meaning 'Victorious').
And her final resting place has been a matter of debate for centuries.
X marks the spot?
'Our interpretation of the site as the Cabo … overturns contradictory narratives about the fate of the vessel,' the researchers write.
'For example, one account reports how the ship was wrecked at Cape Amber. Rather, our investigations align with competing recollections that (indicate) the vessel was eventually abandoned, and likely partially burned, at Sainte-Marie.'
The Historic Shipwreck group has been exploring wrecks that sat under the guns of a small fort the pirates had built to protect their provisions, spares, and loot. Geophysical scans, side-scan sonar imaging and seabed investigations have so far identified several closely clustered wrecks in the shallows.
Île Sainte-Marie was a stronghold of the Golden Age of Piracy (1650 to 1725). Among its most notable occupants were Henry Avery, William Kidd, and Olivier Levasseur.
Up to 10 wrecks are believed to be in the surrounding waters.
One wreck, measuring 30m by 10m (the same as an 18th Century Portuguese galleon), has been found to contain Chinese porcelain, ivory and timber carvings, 13 gold coins, cowrie shells and nutmeg.
What makes this wreck significant, the researchers add, is the number of religious objects found there. These include a Madonna statue, an ivory statuette of Jesus, and a piece of ivory marked INRI (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum - Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews), a traditional top piece to large crucifixes.
Is this from the fabled 'Flaming Cross of Goa'?
'Primary records cast doubt on the existence of such an artefact, but documentary evidence does suggest the Viceroy of Goa aboard the vessel did possess a golden cross, most likely hanging on a necklace,' the study argues.
But its presence is, however, significant.
'These devotional artefacts, often carried by high-ranking clergy or nobility, strongly align with the undisputed historical accounts that the Nossa Senhora do Cabo was transporting the former Viceroy of Goa and the Archbishop at the time of capture,' the study states.
'The presence of artefacts bearing Catholic iconography, unique among known pirate vessels in the region, suggests that this was not a typical pirate ship but rather a vessel captured by pirates.
This distinction is crucial, as it situates the wreck not merely as a pirate-operated craft, but as a seized prize, temporarily operated or scuttled by figures such as Olivier Levasseur and John Taylor.'