"The Galleons of Vigo Bay" was the title of a chapter of one of Jules Verne's most popular works. The heroes of the novel landed from the fantastic submarine "Nautilus" and took a walk along the bottom of the bay, where in 1702 Spanish ships with jewelry from the New World were sunk, intended by the Spanish King Philip V to his grandfather Louis XIV - King of France for the war with Austria, Britain, Holland and the German principalities for the Spanish inheritance. It seemed to the great science fiction writer that the water at depth was as transparent as air, so his heroes easily found the sunken riches that the mythical captain Nemo used as his treasury.
A caravan of 19 ships with a huge cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, spices and incense under the command of de Velasco was supposed to deliver the cargo to Spain, escorted by the allied French convoy Admiral Chateau-Renaud.
The ships took refuge from the Anglo-Dutch fleet in Vigo Bay on the Atlantic coast of Galicia in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula, famous for its complex rugged terrain, rocks and reefs. For a long time it was impossible to hide such a number of ships in a winding but narrow bay, and the enemy fleet caught them there - an unprecedented battle for those times with the participation of many dozens of ships, boarding battles, the participation of coastal batteries and landing troops lasted 30 hours. Part of the galleons was flooded by the Spaniards themselves to prevent capture by the enemy, the British managed to capture a few and, satisfied with the victory, sent to Britain. To celebrate, at the exit from the bay, they landed on the reefs the largest captured ship with treasures, which sank there. And the galleons flooded in the bay, as it was believed, with innumerable riches, immediately became the subject of searches.
13 official expeditions are known, not counting the search for the local population and secret "black diggers", some of which were accompanied by real finds of great value, but none of them paid back the considerable funds invested in the search.
Apparently, the Spaniards managed to unload before the start of the battle, and the French - to take out most of the wealth to France, which they preferred not to talk about. Soon after the battle, Chateau Reno was promoted in rank, apparently, the king of France did not consider the battle unsuccessful for himself. However, in 1713, France still lost the war for the Spanish inheritance, and the “treasures of Vigo Bay” began to symbolize the unfulfilled dreams of treasure hunters.
A caravan of 19 ships with a huge cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, spices and incense under the command of de Velasco was supposed to deliver the cargo to Spain, escorted by the allied French convoy Admiral Chateau-Renaud.
The ships took refuge from the Anglo-Dutch fleet in Vigo Bay on the Atlantic coast of Galicia in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula, famous for its complex rugged terrain, rocks and reefs. For a long time it was impossible to hide such a number of ships in a winding but narrow bay, and the enemy fleet caught them there - an unprecedented battle for those times with the participation of many dozens of ships, boarding battles, the participation of coastal batteries and landing troops lasted 30 hours. Part of the galleons was flooded by the Spaniards themselves to prevent capture by the enemy, the British managed to capture a few and, satisfied with the victory, sent to Britain. To celebrate, at the exit from the bay, they landed on the reefs the largest captured ship with treasures, which sank there. And the galleons flooded in the bay, as it was believed, with innumerable riches, immediately became the subject of searches.
13 official expeditions are known, not counting the search for the local population and secret "black diggers", some of which were accompanied by real finds of great value, but none of them paid back the considerable funds invested in the search.
Apparently, the Spaniards managed to unload before the start of the battle, and the French - to take out most of the wealth to France, which they preferred not to talk about. Soon after the battle, Chateau Reno was promoted in rank, apparently, the king of France did not consider the battle unsuccessful for himself. However, in 1713, France still lost the war for the Spanish inheritance, and the “treasures of Vigo Bay” began to symbolize the unfulfilled dreams of treasure hunters.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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