[OPE] Odyssey and the Peruvian treasure

On May 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration announced the discovery of 500,000 coins of gold and silver in a sunk vessel on international waters. The coins were minted in Lima with Peruvian gold and silver under the rule of the Spanish Crown. The company said that the vessel is the Black Swan, but the Spanish government said that it was “Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes” (Our Lady of Mercy), a Spanish frigate sunk by a British battleship at the beginning of the XIX century. Spain sued the exploration company for stealing its cultural heritage and violating the eternal resting place of Spanish sailors. So far neither Peru nor any other Latin American country had pronounced on the Spanish claim of the treasure, which is the product of colonial plundering during the Spanish rule of South America. Finally, Peru has reacted claiming rights upon at least part of the treasure, mainly because it was plundered by the colonial power.   This is a cause that deserves attention.   The complete news in Spanish at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/misc/newsid_7877000/7877662.stm   Regards,A. Agafonow

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Received on Mon Feb 9 03:13:11 2009