Posted on 05/11/2008 7:15:26 PM PDT by blam
He’d never get away with it today.
Naval and coin experts say they have proof that the treasure, now held in a warehouse in Florida, came from the Mercedes. The coins included gold doubloons, or pieces of eight, minted in 1803 in Lima, Peru, bearing the image of Spain’s King Carlos IV, ministry coin expert Carmen Marcos said.
If this is true and salvage laws do not apply, it wouldn’t matter if it were the Mercedes, the coins with the kings image on them prove they were Spanish. What’s the problem?
What does it say about us, recalling a comedy routine from what, fifty years ago?
He could always tell a camel from other animals by the jump on its back.
Slavery for Gold Reparations? Tack on a torture tax and a wrongful death suit for the Conquistadores and you have the makings of a wonderful court battle.
Salvage laws would certainly apply if it were a privately owned ship, but they might not if it is a navy ship.
I hate to admit that such an idea actually has merit.
The US Navy asserts ownership to its lost vessels regardless
of passage of time under US and International law. Spain
is well within its rights to hold likewize, and a salvor would have an uphill battle in a US court. If the vessel is
a Spanish naval vessel, there is precedent to hold that it and its cargo remain the property of Spain.
http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-7h.htm
"Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes"
Very well done LOL!
Exactly. If it were me, I would say we are bringing it to you after a round the world voyage, and take a stroll over the Marianas Trench where it would accidentally fall overboard.
Put a handfull of US troops to guard it..and invite the Spanish army to come get it!
I think Spain has undergone a few government changes since the early 1800’s. I wonder how that would affect this case if at all?
Except that she was lost in combat with the Royal Navy. If she struck her colors before the explosion, then I would think that the British could lay claim that she had become an English prize of war and that the vessel and her cargo was subject to disposition by an English Prize Court.
Ah, but one thinks that had she struck colors, she would
have been boarded and seized as prize at the time.
Without effectively seizing the vessel (and cargo), any RN
claim would seem to be moot. Plus its status as a war grave
gives the site protection under international law. It was
unwize for the salvors to invest in the project without at
least coming to some agreement with the Spanish.
The Admiralty bar will undoubtedly rack up billable time on that question!
Ah, but one thinks that had she struck colors, she would
have been boarded and seized as prize at the time.
Without effectively seizing the vessel (and cargo), any RN
claim would seem to be moot. Plus its status as a war grave
gives the site protection under international law. It was
unwize for the salvors to invest in the project without at
least coming to some agreement with the Spanish.
The Admiralty bar will undoubtedly rack up billable time on that question!
That is the question we are asking ourselves in Spain. Why the treasure was plundered and how they thought to circumvent international law, the same law which protects, by the way, the secrets of two sunken American nuclear submarines.
Who did they know to carry out such a plan?
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