So if they stole it from the Mayans (or the Aztecs, or whomever they stole it from), it's theirs forever?EXCELLENT POINT!
I'm of the opinion that the Spanish Government has no more right to the salvage as do the salvagers. Maybe the next find will find its way back to Peru, and then let the Spaniards try to get it again.
So if they stole it from the Mayans (or the Aztecs, or whomever they stole it from), it’s theirs forever?
If the wreck were from 1574, this point would be valid, but 230 years later the metal was almost certainly mined and not stolen. Given the expenses involved in administrating colonies, the government needed something in return just to break even (or rather, not lose as much as they otherwise might).