Just as the "Golden Fleet" was about to pass through the last and most dangerous sea area, a huge British-Dutch joint fleet suddenly appeared in the Azores Sea. Facing the 10 Anglo-Dutch fleet composed of 150 warships, the "Golden Fleet" decided to sail to Vigo Bay for temporary shelter.
At that time, the wisest thing to do was to immediately unload the gold and silver treasures from the "golden fleet" and transport them to Madrid by land. It will be much safer this way. However, at that time, the Spanish authorities stipulated that all goods shipped from South America must be inspected in Seville first. Therefore, items cannot be unloaded from the "Golden Fleet". However, under the special order of Queen Mary Desava, the gold, silver and jewels of the king and queen were unloaded and transported to Madrid by land.
After the "Golden Fleet" quietly moored in Vigo Bay for more than a month, on June 265438+1October 265438+1October, 150, the British-Dutch joint fleet suddenly launched an attack on Vigo Bay under the command of Admiral Luke. 30,000 British and Dutch soldiers, under the cover of 365,438+065,438+05 cannons, quickly wiped out the defenders along the harbor and destroyed the battery and obstacles. It is said that in the face of such a large number of gold, silver and jewels, the fighting capacity of the British-Dutch Coalition forces has suddenly increased by 10 times. In less than a few hours, the Spanish army collapsed across the board. Belasco, commander-in-chief of the "Golden Fleet", made a desperate decision and ordered the galleon loaded with gold, silver and jewels to be burned. Burning galleons and other hit warships ignited Vigo Bay. The British-Dutch Coalition forces that soon took control of the battlefield tried their best to put out the fire. They rescued and towed away several large sailboats, but most of them were buried in the sea.
On the third morning, British divers began to venture into the bottom of the sea and salvage some trophies. However, under the fire of Spanish ground commandos, the British and Dutch Coalition forces had to give up the salvage work. According to Admiral Chacon, who was arrested by Britain, 4,000 ~ 5,000 carriages of gold sank to the bottom of the sea, which is the treasure left by the "Golden Fleet".
For nearly three centuries, groups of treasure hunters have been looking for these treasures. Some people have salvaged some empty sailboats, while others have salvaged some boxes containing pure emeralds, amethysts, pearls, black amber, Long Xianxiang and other jewels and jade.
Today, people still use modern technology and equipment to continue to look for these amazing treasures. Because it is rumored that at least half of the gold in the 4000-5000 wagons is still sunk under the sediment in the waters of Vigo Bay. However, with the passage of time, not only the waves and tides have already wrapped these gold and silver jewels in layers of sediment, but also various rumors have infiltrated into historical records, so that it is no longer an easy task to find these heavy treasures at the bottom of the sea near 1000 nautical mile.
According to historical records, it is estimated that at the order of Queen Mary, nearly 65,438+0,500 gold wagons were unloaded from the "Golden Fleet". Part of this treasure was also taken away by robbers on the way to Lugo, Spain as planned. It is said that this Spanish royal treasure is still buried in the mountains of Ponte Vidra, Spain, and still lies in an unknown place.