Description

When the English fleet met with the Spanish fleet returning from Peru loaded with coins, no state of war existed between the two nations. What would follow would change that, and the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes would explode before finding her resting place at the bottom of the ocean. The story of the cargo of her coins was far from over though, and it would turn into a whole new international battle, though this one was fought in the courts.

Ship Name: Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes

Launched: 1786

Nationality: Spain

Sank: 1804

Reason for sinking: Exploded during the battle of Cape Santa Maria

Lives Lost: 250

Sources:

https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/mnarqua/en/colecciones/yacimientos/ns-mercedes.html

https://www.seeker.com/black-swan-shipwreck-ordeal-comes-to-end-1765662614.html

https://coast.noaa.gov/data/Documents/OceanLawSearch/OdysseyMarineExploration_CaseSummary_PDF.pdf?redirect=301ocm

http://www.spainisculture.com/en/propuestas_culturales/tesoro_patrimonial_fragata_mercedes.html

https://english.elpais.com/arts/2020-06-22/spanish-archaeologists-recover-new-treasure-from-famed-mercedes-shipwreck.html

https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Amiens-1802

http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h34-np4b.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20171115173230/http://www.shipwreck.net/blackswan.php

https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/case-law-doc/traffickingculturalpropertycrimetype/usa/2012/case_shipwreck_mercedes.html

http://www.oceantreasures.org/pages/content/famous-wrecks/the-explosion-and-foundering-of-the-spanish-galleon-nuestra-senora-de-las-mercedes.html

http://fmercedes.fundacionmuseonaval.com/index.php/el-expolio-del-odyssey

https://elpais.com/cultura/2015/01/14/actualidad/1421265607_906473.html

Cannon Sound Effect Attribution: https://freesound.org/people/daveincamas/sounds/368270/