Mel Fisher had to go to the US Supreme Court to prevent the State of FL from stealing part of the Atocha’s treasure.
Florida Dept. of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc., 458 U.S. 670 (1982)
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/458/670/
I loved that documentary — I wonder if it’s on stream somewhere.
They had a copy of the ship manifest from Seville, and it listed the cargo items, including the serial numbered gold bars with their respective weight. I just got a cold chill thinking about it again — they weighed one of the numbered bars, and it had the exact weight listed in the manifest.
That’s how the Atocho wreck was positively IDed.
So gold mined through slavery has paid the lawyers in this case?