Guilty. Beginning in the 16th century, the Spanish treasure fleets (or West Indies Fleet from Spanish Flota de Indias) transported various metal resources and agricultural goods, including silver, gold, gems, spices, tobacco, silk, and other exotic goods, from the Spanish colonies to Spain. Here is one version of many that are floating around the Internet, with spaces guessed at to help make it a little more readable:-. This capture turned out to be one of the greatest single pirate hauls in all of history, literally writing the story of the Legend of Olivier Levasseur while he was still alive. The government owns the land, so they are entitled to 50%, which is the law, he said. Levasseur had amassed a fortune of 90 million gold French francs from his raids on heavily laden mercchant vessels. Oak Island is noted as the location of the so-called Money Pit, a site of numerous excavations to recover treasure believed by many to be buried there. But there was a small precondition in order to receive the Royal Pardon: He would have to turn over his treasure to the French government. It would appear, that escaping justice, wasnt in the hand he was dealt. And the question always with people is Why do you treasure hunt? The pirate then disappeared and is believed to have hidden his treasure on the Seychelles island of Mah. Hornigold was an Englishman and refused to attack English vessels. The Mysterious Man from Taured Evidence for a Parallel Universe? Had it been planted there by some joker? Who was the Babushka Lady at JFKs Assassination? From 1721 onwards he committed his raids from his base on the island of Saint Mary's, off the Madagascar coast. 2013. As of today in 2022, it hasnt. Famous Pirate Treasure: Tales of great hoards of treasure hidden by Pirates are certainly persistent. Needless to say, The Flying Gang was a force to be reckoned with, and everyone knew it. During his time sailing as a privateer, he spent most of his time in the Caribbean. No one except Levasseur now knew its location. The Lemminkinen Hoard, if found by the team, would be valued above 15 billion, making it the most valuable treasure trove ever discovered. And with this, in one quick motion, he ripped the necklace from his body and threw it into the crowd of onlookers and exclaimed: Find my treasure, the one who may understand it!. The Stories Behind Seven of the Worst Massacres in Ancient History. In 1721, Levasseur and his associates then with 750 pirates over three ships came across a Portuguese galleon flying British colours, Nossa Senhora do Cabo, in the port of La Runion, then called Bourbon Island. Incidents include 115 vessels boarded, 11 attempted attacks, 5 vessels fired upon and 1 vessel hijacked. Since 2009, hes been doing preparatory work on the site, repairing rock armouring walls, building footpaths to get equipment in and working on measurements, clues and other data to get this right. So, what are your thoughts? A fierce pirate of yore has stashed a huge Portuguese treasure ship of loot somewhere in the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles. After turning down the pardon, Levasseur decided it best to go into hiding to avoid punishment for the multitude of crimes he had committed. To this day, his son John, is still actively seeking the treasure. In 1730, the French pirate Olivier Levasseur was sentenced to hang. It is protected by tides and requires damming to hold the waves back. The treasure buried at Bel Ombre, a district in the north of Seychelles' main island Mahe, is believed to be that of pirate Olivier Le Vasseur also known as La Buse ,who stole it from the Portuguese ship the Virgem do Cabo a week after Easter Sunday in April 1721. That would most likely make people suspicious and blow his cover. Most people accept the fact that there arent millions of dollars worth of pirates booty buried on beaches across the world. Apart from some old guns, coins, and a pirate sarcophagi, no treasure ever came from his efforts. La Buse Cryptogram. Also it is to be approached from the North.. It was there where Levasseur was informed of a wealthy Frenchmen nearby in the bay of Parangua. But the cryptogram, which has been tested to be genuine parchment from the 18th-Century by the British Museum, just looks like 17 lines of jumbled symbols to the untrained eye. . Numerous ships were captured, and Levasseur was voted to be captain of a ship again in 1719. Note also that Charles Baudelaires (1845) translation of the Gold Bug rendered this as Un bon verre dans lhostel de lvque dans la chaise du diable quarante et un degrs et treize minutes nordest quart de nord principale tige septime branche, whereas a 1933 translation rendered Poes seat as sige. If you liked this story,sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newslettercalled "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". Canadas Spotted Lake: The Most Alien-Looking Lake on Earth, 10 Shocking Facts about the Ancient Romans, The Secret Tomb of the First Chinese Emperor Remains an Unopened Treasure, Archaeological Treasure Trove! Interesting history topics are just a click away. La Buse was sailing a 22-gun merchant ship that he named the La Louise, on the way to the South American coast. VPULEZPLVSPRENEY2LETCASSESURLECH With this, the gallows opened and the life of Olivier Levasseur came to an end. Levasseur was an intellectual, a Greek and Latin scholar who was versed in masonic symbology. And that what he did for the next couple of years. Whatever the truth, funds ran out, but news of the finds spread far and wide. But there, Levasseur learned of an opportunity to turn his fortunes around: a wealthy French trader was anchored in the adjacent Paranagua Bay. Are there millions of dollars worth of pirate booty buried on beaches? He seized the entire payload from them, but did not rob them individually or kill them. His nickname was apparently La Buse (The Buzzard), because he would swoop down with the speed of a bird of prey. Seychellois man tormented by treasure hunt. (TheLastBrunnenG/ CC BY SA 4.0 ). He started from three cryptogram and two . 2005-2023 Look and Learn - All rights reserved, Olivier Levasseurs treasure remains hidden. The treasure chamber is somewhere underground and must be approached carefully, to avoid being flooded. Hey! Various tasks, reflecting Herculess Labors, were to be completed in a precise order to access the treasure chamber. This became an iconic symbol of pirates, especially in todays pop culture. His time on the Seychelles islands was short lived though, and he decided to move to Madagascar. He continued capturing enemy ships right up until the end of the war in 1714. Except for a sprinkling of gold dustless than one ounce so farno treasure has been found aboard the vessel likely piloted by Edward Teach, the British-born pirate known as Blackbeard. Of course, the cryptogram could be just another fake committed around the same time when the Palmer-Kidd maps and Guayacn ciphers appeared, both forgeries. In 1730, Levasseur was captured and sent to Saint-Denis, on the island of Runion, where he was hung for piracy. Hope you could get them! . But no treasure was found. The Hawk's Cryptogram: The Hidden Treasures of the Pirate. He died in 1977 before he could break the last piece of the code. An old jar, which bore the name of a Bordeaux chemist, a rusty flint-lock pistol and a broken wine glass were amongst the many odd things which turned up deep below the surface. His biggest success was the conquering of the Portuguese vessel Nossa Senhora do Cabo (The Virgin of the Cape), which was full of gold. After a close shave against HMS Scarborough under Captain Hume, he fled to the Caribbean in a smaller sloop with much of his remaining treasure. After William Moody was ejected from command by his disgruntled crew in late 1718, they elected Levasseur as captain in Moody's place. Based on what he uncovered, he believed the bounty was buried according to a complex riddle inspired by the 12 Labours of Hercules, and, after many years identified the treasure to be in the stunningly beautiful area of Bel Ombre on Mahs northern coast, surrounded by turquoise sea, lush vegetation and huge smooth granite boulders sculpted by the waves. Maybe it was the freedom. From Cousteaus Rediscover The World series.]. One of his more famous prizes was a slave ship from Angola, taken off Brazils southern coast with its live cargo. They all have an opinion on the story, from the taxi driver who drove me to Bel Ombre, to the lady who runs the guest house where I was staying. He then abandoned 240 stolen slaves on an island off Macae (next to Rio de Janeiro) before a Portuguese armed boat gave him chase. What was the Deadly Cocoliztli Disease that Decimated Aztec Society? However, the stories have to come from somewhere, and sometimes there are tales which match the fantasy. Whilst Levasseur was a notorious and much-feared pirate during his days, his greatest legacy is the alleged treasure that he had hidden. Today, Levasseur Rum perpetuates the mystery around the character, Olivier Levasseur, and especially his lost treasure that is said to be found somewhere on the island of Seychelles. La Louise rounded on the prize, pursuing her in open water, but was trapped in a storm off Cotinga Island and was lost with 80 of his crew, sinking on March 9, 1718. 7 Legendary Cryptids that Turned Out to Be Real! Eventually, probably tired of his life as it was, he joined the Benjamin Hornigold pirate company in 1716. This, they will claim, shows where some fabulous treasure is buried, the secret hiding place of which they are prepared to reveal at a price! find it who may. These were the dramatic words shouted out to the crowd gathered around the foot of the gallows on the Isle de Bourbon known today as Reunion as the noose tightened around the neck of a notorious French pirate. The Scarborough was a 32 gun Royal Navy vessel that hailed from England, and sailed with a crew that had a thirst for pirate blood. LENENDELAMERDEBIENTECJEETSURRU They thought my father was crazy. 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