Spain demands return of $500 million treasure

Source: MSNBC

MADRID, Spain - Spain is demanding a U.S. deep-sea exploration firm turn over the entire $500 million treasure it salvaged from a shipwreck, saying Thursday it has determined the vessel is definitely Spanish.

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Spain also argues the entire treasure should be returned as it was never really abandoned.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24521046/

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So the thief is suing, claiming ownership rights to lost stolen property? If Spain wins, then doesn't it seem like Mexico and other Latin American countries should sue Spain?

in the Vatican.

And at the same time burned heretics at the stake

They are the personification of evil

A historian once told me, in the 1500 and 1600s if he had a choice he would have lived in Spain rather than in England. In Spain you had the Spanish Inquisition, which demanded FACTS before executing you. i.e. they had to convict you of being a heretic and needed statements from living people as to those heresy before they would even torture you.

In England, and most of Northern Europe, at the same time period, you had Witch Trials, where "spectral" evidence was permitted in (As in the Salem Witch Trials). Given the choice, I prefer to go with a system that demanded as least REAL evidence that I was doing something illegal to a system where reports form evil spirits were permitted in.

As the Witch trials slowly disappeared over Northern Europe, the Inquisition lost power in Spain. The Last Inquisition Trial was in the 1830s, but even then FACTS had to be produced that the Defendant was breaking the law. The Inquisition had lost much of its power in the 1700s, but revived during the Napoleonic wars (As a reaction to the Conquest of Spain by Napoleon).

One last comment, do NOT use today's standards to previous centuries actions. Look at those periods with at least an understanding of what was going on during that time period. Taking Gold from weak groups was perfectly legal in that period. The US actual made a historical jump when we accepted that fact that the Native Americans had a right to this land and we had to pay them for it. We did NOT pay full value and stole a good part of it, but at least we LEGALLY said we had to pay something. When England in Canada, Australia, New Zealand made no such claim (till recently i.e, since the 1990s NOT the 1690 when it already was the rule in what was to become the United States).

oy, the irony.

Who ever finds it I demand you return it to me.

:P

you merry old soul. :)

edit - oh yes, we sunk it !

The company that found the treasure should tell them to pound sand.

Especially the descendents of the mine slaves.

losers weepers

A pure or merit salvage award will seldom exceed 50 percent of the value of the property salved. The exception to that rule is in the case of treasure salvage. Because sunken treasure has generally been lost for hundreds of years, while the original owner (or insurer, if the vessel was insured) continues to have an interest in it, the salvor or finder will generally get the majority of the value of the property. While sunken ships from the Spanish Main (such as Nuestra Señora de Atocha in the Florida Keys) are the most commonly thought of type of treasure salvage, other types of ships including German submarines from World War II which can hold valuable historical artifacts, American Civil War ships (the USS Maple Leaf in the St. Johns River, and the USS Monitor in Chesapeake Bay), and sunken merchant ships (the SS Central America off Cape Hatteras) have all been the subject of treasure salvage awards. Due to refinements in side-scanning sonars, many ships which were previously missing are now being located and treasure salvage is now a less risky endeavor than it was in the past, although it is still highly speculative.

It pretty much means "finders keepers"

And most of the booty came from Latin America in the first place. It was being hauled back to Spain.

Europe has so much to atone for when it comes to this type of thing that to even ask is ridiculous....

Spain, Britain especially, and other colonial master countries should all commit to returning their stolen goods to colonies that have since become stable democracies....there is no question India is going to be going after the UK on this when the time is right....and rightfully so.

I'da thunk they had enough post offices and corner shops already. You might need to be english to understand that.

Good thing oil can't be returned :P
otherwise the USA and Europe will be in big trouble
with many regions of the planet currently being
looted by transnational oil cos.

The issue is going to come down to insurance and who got paid. Also the fact that the ship was sunk during battle will come into play. Mel Fisher went through this back in the 70s when he found all the gold from the Atocha and several other Spanish Galleons that sank during a hurricane in the Straits of Florida. He fought a long battle with both the US and Spanish government, but he eventually won. However several members of his family died during the salvage and he died shortly after winning the verdict. Many people felt that the fight killed him. If you are ever in Key West go to the Mel Fisher museum.

might be more appropriate.

They've been trying to get back the bust of Nefertiti (from Germany) and the Rosetta Stone (from Britain) for decades. Along with many other antiquities that were stolen or given away.

The longtime ruler of Egypt in the 19th century, Mohammed Ali, liked to give away priceless antiquities, especially when he was trying to get loans from Western nations. Those loans eventually led to Egypt becoming a British colony for 70 years.

I'm writing from Alexandria, Egypt, about 30 km from Rosetta (or Rashid, to most Egyptians). A reproduction of the Rosetta Stone is displayed at Ft. Julien, where the original was found. Multi-lingual placards note, rather frostily, that the British grabbed the original and won't give it back.

A more amazing sight at Ft. Julien: walking up a stone stairway built by Napoleon's soldiers. Look down at your feet, and you'll notice you are treading on ancient hieroglyphics. The French soldiers just grabbed anything lying around and used it for building materials when they were reinforcing the fort.

They might have done that with the Rosetta Stone, but fortunately somebody noticed the Greek letters on it and pulled it out of a scrap heap.

they weren't doing anything that the Egyptians hadn't been doing for a long time.

Reduce, reuse, recycle . . .

(I know, I know - I'm being glib . . .)