Tanneyhill
Full Member
- #1
Thread Owner
Has there been much written about wrecks of the period of the looting of the treasures of the Aztecs in 1521 (fall of Tenochtitlan) and subsequently Inca in 1533 (execution of Atahualpa) and the immediate years following?
My main interest is gold ornaments and jewelry hence my past posts re: Manila galleons returning from Manila pre-1630. With regards to Aztecs and Inca treasure, I reckon in the early years after the conquest and looting much of the transport would have been in the form of ornaments, jewelry, and ceremonial artifacts before wide spread melting of metal began.
In Book IX, Chapter 91, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva Espana), Bernal Diaz del Castillo recounts the initial gifts (from Moctezuma to Cortes): “collars, bracelets, and many other jewels, all of fine gold and very rich workmanship.”
After Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire and Atahualpa’s capture and execution in 1533, the Spanish extracted an enormous ransom of gold and silver (estimated at 13,000 pounds of gold and 26,000 pounds of silver), which included many ornaments, jewelry and artifacts. This treasure was shipped from Peru to Panama starting in 1533–1534.
So we have 1520-1522 and 1533-1534 as the start of the period where the Spanish acquired Aztec and Inca treasures. Most of the treasure would have been shipped in its original form before widespread melting began in the years following.
Any literature from these periods about possible wrecks re: Callao to Panama (or Caribbean side of Panama) or Veracruz to Havana? Anyone know of anyone's past pursuits of such wrecks if any?
My main interest is gold ornaments and jewelry hence my past posts re: Manila galleons returning from Manila pre-1630. With regards to Aztecs and Inca treasure, I reckon in the early years after the conquest and looting much of the transport would have been in the form of ornaments, jewelry, and ceremonial artifacts before wide spread melting of metal began.
In Book IX, Chapter 91, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva Espana), Bernal Diaz del Castillo recounts the initial gifts (from Moctezuma to Cortes): “collars, bracelets, and many other jewels, all of fine gold and very rich workmanship.”
After Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire and Atahualpa’s capture and execution in 1533, the Spanish extracted an enormous ransom of gold and silver (estimated at 13,000 pounds of gold and 26,000 pounds of silver), which included many ornaments, jewelry and artifacts. This treasure was shipped from Peru to Panama starting in 1533–1534.
So we have 1520-1522 and 1533-1534 as the start of the period where the Spanish acquired Aztec and Inca treasures. Most of the treasure would have been shipped in its original form before widespread melting began in the years following.
Any literature from these periods about possible wrecks re: Callao to Panama (or Caribbean side of Panama) or Veracruz to Havana? Anyone know of anyone's past pursuits of such wrecks if any?
Last edited:
