Cartagena Colombia)/Colombia embarked on one of the greatest scientific challenges in its history: the investigation of the Spanish galleon San José, sunk by English privateers off the coast of Cartagena de Indias in the 18th century and found in 2015 at a depth of more than 600 meters. .
The authorities undertook this work with great enthusiasm, for which different institutions such as the Ministry of Cultures, the Navy and the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (Icanh) were coordinated.
“Associated with archaeology, culture and heritage, it is the first time that we have made such a great effort and in this Government, particularly, believing in the institutions and the ability we have to do something to show the world is a special challenge” The head of Maritime and River Interests of the Colombian Navy, Rear Admiral Hermann León, told EFE.
That institution put the ARC Caribe ship and all its technological capacity at the service of this purpose to “be able to go down to 600 meters of depth.”
That institution put the ARC Caribe ship and all its technological capacity at the service of this purpose to “be able to go down to 600 meters of depth” to observe the wreck, a task to which only Colombian specialists will be dedicated.
For the investigation, which will be in six phases, the Colombian Government has also already made a decision that will facilitate its work: declare the area where the galleon is located as a Protected Archaeological Area of the Nation, whose coordinates are kept secret to prevent treasure hunters from arriving there. that they can steal what was in the San José.
“This is the first protected archaeological area in Colombia in the underwater space, it is the first in America at this depth. Colombia is carrying out a research project as has not been seen before under the universal principles of heritage protection and they should be calm about that this is a scientific project to bring the best of that knowledge to Colombians,” added the rear admiral.
The San José, built in 1698 in Guipúzcoa (Spain) and belonging to the Spanish Navy, was sunk on June 8, 1708 during an attack by a fleet of English privateers when it was heading to Cartagena de Indias loaded, according to chronicles of the time , with nearly 11 million eight-escudo coins in gold and silver that he had collected at the Portobelo fair (Panama).
Spain claims ownership of the galleon because it is “a state ship” with its flag
Spain, protected by the rules of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), claims ownership of the galleon because it is “a state ship”, with its flag. The Colombian Government, which declared the San José “an asset of submerged cultural interest”, does not rule out collaboration with that country to treat the wreck as shared heritage.
The director of Icanh, Alhena Caicedo, explained to EFE that the investigation of the galleon is the result of “an intention to transform what the history of Colombia implies, to transform the assessment of archaeological heritage and to give the galleon San José a sense of national identity”.
“The idea is to remove that somewhat mythological nuance that has turned it into a rather controversial treasure, in which people are trying to see if there is gold, if there is silver, if there are precious metals and not if there is an archaeological text that can tell us give some very interesting answers about what the history of Colombia and the Caribbean has been,” said Caicedo. For this reason, the focus is on protecting the archaeological heritage, on “guaranteeing cultural value” for Colombia in order to show a more local than European story.
For this purpose, the Icanh director explained, the research is fueled by the voices of different actors, ranging from indigenous people who claim their rights over the wreck to academic experts in heritage issues. “We want to guarantee through this high-level scientific research that there are multiple voices, multiple ways of thinking about history and memory, multiple stories, if you will, that allow us to complicate the readings that we sometimes have about the past in order to have a much more interesting reference for the future,” he added.
