48
21 JUL 2023

Tales of treasure

Cocos Island, the Centurion and a Hermit

This episode we go treasure hunting, exploring three stories from around the world focussing on our obsession with greed and wealth. We sail around the globe the wrong way telling an epic tale of survival, visit a tropical island in search of lost treasure and learn about an unusual hermit. Each story is about more than glittering gold and priceless gems, it’s a tale of the lengths man will go to in the pursuit of fame and fortune.

Intelligent Speech 2023

We are delighted to have been invited back to speak at Intelligent Speech for 2023. This year’s theme is contingency, history’s backup plans. There are a lot of amazing podcasts talking again this year and we’re planning a brilliant talk too!

Use the code ‘curiosity’ at checkout for 10% off.

Tickets & vote for us

The treasure of Cocos Island

Anton takes us to the beautiful and enigmatic Cocos island. Long said to the a haunt of pirates looking to bury their ill-gotten gains he starts by covering several of these tales. But not happy with usual stories of treasure join us as he talks about a German couple who give up everything after receiving a map.

Find out more

Philip Saumarez and the Centurion

In our final feature we use the original logs written by Philip Saumarez as he accoumpied George Anson on their round the world mission to ‘annoy and distress’ the Spanish. His first-hand accounts give a detailed look at life onboard a 18th century galleon.

Born in Guernsey 1710, Philip Saumarez’s logs give detailed accounts of the suffering and difficulties that awaited mariners.

A tale of survival against the the elements and the deployable conditions that crews faced, from scurvy and sweltering conditions to ice cold storms and flooding ships the voyage of the centurion puts the biggest Hollywood blockbusters to shame!

Being stationed to look out for islands of ice I had to endure such fatigue from the severity of the weather, that really my life was hardly worth preserving at the expense of such hardships

Philip Saumarez rounding Cape Horn

[We were tasked with] taking, sinking, burning or destroying all their ships and to surprise, or take any of the towns or places belonging to the Spaniards on the coast

Anson’s Pacific mission

Despite all the hardships and massive loss of of life the crew of the Centurion would capture the Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, one of Spain’s treasure galleons. Containing over a million pieces of eight and other treasures worth over £60,000,000 today it is the ‘greatest prize ever captured by a British ship’.

An outstanding officer today a memorial to Saumarez can be found in Westminster Abbey.

Find out more

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated so may contain errors.

Welcome to the of a child. Episode 48. I actually. Wrote it down this time. In Nice big writing, so we don't forget.

This episode we sail around the globe the wrong way, telling an epic teller survival that has a tropical island search of gold and learn about an unusual hermit.

That's right. But before we do that, I've got a couple of quick announcements for you. So first of all, we are delighted to have been invited back to intelligent speech for this year and it's an online history conference by history, podcasters for history fans and what's the theme this time, Anton? Yeah, and contingency plans and there's some really big names talking this year, including us, of course, and history and fire and our fake history. And it's on the 4th of November 2023 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern standard. And if you use the obfuscated curiosity, you get 10% off and you can buy your tickets and urgent speech online.com. And we've got really exciting contingency plan which we're working on at the moment. Well, we're not working on the plan. We're working on the. Tail of the.

Plan. You better buy tickets you have to.

Hey everyone. My name is Sebastian Major and I am the host of the our Fake History podcast.

I'm Rebecca Larson with The Tudors Dynasty podcast. This is Greta harden. I'm the host of the history of American food.

Hi, my name is Benjamin Jacobs. I'm the host of Wittenberg to Westphalia, the wars of the refi.

I'm Anton and I'm Rick. Really curiosity for child podcast.

I'm David Montgomery, host of the secla.

Hi, I'm Bree from pontifex.

My name is Roberto Toro and I'm the host of ZAR Power and the history of Sakartvelo Georgia.

Hello and welcome to frankia. I'm Jamie.

And I'm rob and this is. Letting you know that.

We will be speaking at intelligent speech.

Looking forward to speaking at Intelligent speech 2023.

And I will be speaking at intelligent speech. Online this year.

Mark your calendars for this November 4th intelligent speech, the online conference or history fans by history podcasters.

It's a 3 ring circus of fascinating content, with around 24 hours of live presentations and roundtables happening in four digital rooms.

This year is all about contingencies.

Times when history meets the unexpected.

The topic of my keynote address is no contingencies. Stories of historical figures who did not have a back up plan.

All about the tutors and their contingency plans, because let's be real. They had a lot. Of them.

So what are we gonna?

Be doing. We're telling the story of what happens when you're starving in the city under siege for months throughout by food foods that you can't eat as it's Alice work food that's more important. Than you are.

So go to intelligentspeechonline.com to get your tickets.

We'll see everybody on November 4th.

If you love the broadcast, please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards, go to britishpodcastawards.com/voting. Search for the choice of a child and vote.

Yeah. Thank you very much for doing that. And don't forget to leave a review as well. Wherever you're listening, it helps us. Out just a quick thing, one last announcement in non podcast. News I founded a brand new web and design agency with a couple of my friends and I called you and us and it's something that we have long dreamed of doing. So if you want really amazing design and brilliant development like branding, advertising, web development, check us out at you and us.co.uk, that's UAND USDOT k.uk.

I can vouch for that being.

Good. Thank you mate. They buy.

Us there? No, but it. Is actually good. Yeah, is. Actually, good. Yeah. But yeah, a lot.

Of experience. They're quite old now anyway, so we get on with the show, mate. I mean, what we talking about this time?

We are talking about treasure.

So when you imagine treasure, what kind of things do you think about what comes to mind for you?

I think of pirates, Pirates of the Caribbean, lots of TV shows where they go on treasure hunts.

Yeah, lots of adventures and stories and stuff like that. Actually, pirates do come up a lot. Don't. They there, but in a way, the pirates always seem to be like goodies or quite often the goodies, aren't they? Or the events that you're going on that treasure just matter who it belongs to. I mean. It's yours at the end of the day, if you go to Internet, but we're not gonna start with pirates. No. Now our first story is the tale of a hermit.

And she was.

And it was a very sad account of a man who was obsessed and desperate to discover the balloons. So Are you ready? OK, well, this this story comes from a book called Hairy Men in Caves.

I like that.

Title. It's a really good title and it's all about hermits in America. But before we meet our hermits, we've certainly seen a little bit. It's 1864 and the American Civil War is still raging, and James and John Reynolds, they're members of the Third Texas cavalry, but their brothers become better known as the Reynolds Gang. And they launched. Raids into Colorado from Texas and they. The idea is that we're gonna go and plunder stagecoaches and towns in the area around South Park. There's also lots of gold mines and things in the area. These. Yeah, that that is the same South Park as in the TV show. Not that you've.

South Park.

Ever seen that? Of course, no.

I've never even heard of it.

No, no, you ain't it through the socks that I still wear. The South Park Carters on. Yeah, the brothers. They seen a massive considerable fortune from all the raiding they're doing and they attract the attention of the Union. He sent a force led by Colonel Chivington to capture them. Now, he spotted flickering flames of their campfire on the 31st of July. And see you in a shootout ensued one of the bandits was shot dead, and he had his head severed. And then the Union forces they kept as a trophy.

That's treasure that that is.

The real treasure here, yes. And then the rest of the game, they run for the hills. Then, after several days of hunting, five more of the bandits were captured. But John Reynolds, he managed to escape. The gang leader. The five prisoners they should have been held to await their sentencing, but kennel shipped and he wanted to really make a point here, so he ordered them to be executed. What his men refused, and they actually fired over the heads of these captured men. So the Colonel himself, he shot one the. Men in the head. But then one of his soldiers, who had been robbed previously by the gang, he shot the rest of them dead. It's pretty brutal, but in the official report that kennel shevington raid, he says that they tried to escape. But later on there was some evidence found that they had been tied up around a tree, so that was obviously a fake report that been given there. Just trying to cover up the bad things they've been doing. That's naughty. That's very naughty. But there's no gold or treasure, is there?

Except from the side of the Ted.

Oh yeah, yeah. The big prize. So James Reynolds, seven years later, he was mortally injured in a shootout. And then his deathbed, he drew a map. Given the location of the stash of the treasure that they'd taken when they were gang were eight years earlier. And he also left a letter and on it he wrote. Jim and me buried the treasure the morning before the posse attack on Geneva Gulch. You go up above their little ways where you find one of our horses mired down in the swamp on up at the head of the Gulch, turned to the right and followed the mountain a little further around just above the head of Deer Creek, he found an old prospect hole at about the timberline. There we placed $40,000 in bean bags wrapped in silk, oil, cloth and three cans of gold dust. We filled the mouth of The Cave up with stains and then 10 steps back, struck a butcher knife into a tree about four feet from the ground and break the handle off and left it pointing towards the mouth. The whole. So they've buried the treasure and they've stuck a knife in a tree pointing at the location where it should be. So where's our hermit? I hear you.

Cry. Where's our hermit?

It's the early 1870s and up in the hills a man has built himself a cabin and surrounded it with holes he's mining. He's not very good, but he is enthusiastic. And his name is.

John, hi.

No, he's not a member of the gang.

Is it a present president? Why?

Night. Night.

Is it? I don't know.

His name is Anton. Yes, Anton glassman.

It's Anton. That's my name by the.

Way. How's your name? Yeah, that's why I changed this story during his life. He had married twice and his first wife had died of loneliness and his second wife. Tired of his fruitless gold fever with drink poison and kill herself.

Oh yeah.

Now I think he barely noticed that the women were gone and he grew old and his cabin fell into disrepair, and so he moved into a cave in his land. But he still dug holes. Until one day Anton spayed, hit something. And bending his tired body down to the ground and brushing away the soil, the twinkle caught his eye. It was gold. Excitedly, he took his sign down to the nearby village, explaining that he had discovered the Renault gangs lost gold. And run the locals that they advised him to catch the next train to Denver and hire an attorney so that he could protect his discovery. So he did just that the very next morning. So he had struck gold here after all these years of digging without suffering, he's finally rich finally. So bents double with age. But still with the spring. In his step, he enters the attorney's office and he sinks into the chair and it is fragile. Body is dwarfed by the plush furniture that he's done, and so Antony excitedly tells the story. That he has found the Renault brothers treasure. And then there's a pause, like he takes his last breath, slumps over. Forward, expired.

Ohh dear.

And he never did say where he found his treasure said somewhere in his land. They didn't give the exact position and it said to still be hidden somewhere until this day, waiting to be discovered by another prospector wishing to try their luck.

What are the chances of that?

So so that that's who you're.

Named after is that yeah.

I don't actually know how true that story is, even a bit about the Reynolds gang, because I read three or four different accounts as to exactly what happened.

Well, that was nice, yeah.

So do you have a better treasure story than that, Anton?

I do. I've got the best treasure story.

OK.

So my amazing story is Cocos Island. Cocos Island is situated 550 kilometres southwest of Costa Rica, our favourite place. It's a small island, just 24 square kilometres in size. It is a true paradise with 300 waterfalls and plants and animals found nowhere else in the world whilst writing treasure islands Robert Louis Stevenson. Mentions Cocos Island in her letter, so it's become known as the Real Treasure Island. It was discovered in 1526 by Spanish navigator Juan de Cabezas.

Your gaoling is working there.

Due to its remote location off, the rich Spanish controlled territories of South and Central America, there came a favourite spot for pirates to gather food, water, rest and repair their ships. In the early 1800s, British naval officer turned pirate Captain Bennett Graham is rumoured to have buried 350 tonnes of gold which plundered from Spanish ships. The Portuguese pirate Don Pedro Bonita is said to have buried £300,000 worth of silver, and he also hid 750 gold bars, swords and precious stones in a cave. The exact location of Benito's treasures were lost when he was captured by the British Manor War and he and 81 of his crew were hanged. There are some rumours that Benito was Captain Graham and the British changed his identity to cover their embarrassment. The very treasure is worth millions of pounds, but centuries of treasure seekers have failed to find it. And these are not even the largest fortunes said to be on the island. The biggest is the treasure of Lima. In 1820, the Army of the Jose de San Martin was approaching Lima, so the viceroy asked British trader Captain William Thompson to take the city's treasury to Mexico until the Spanish had regained control. The infantry of the treasure of Lima included 113 gold religious statues, including a life sized Virgin Mary, hundreds of gold bars and silver 1000 diamonds, 200 chest of jewels, 273 jewel swords and more. It was loaded onto Thompson's ship, but with such wealth and boards he killed the guards and cut the throat of the priests, throwing their bodies overboard.

I'd do the same.

Not just cause the Spanish.

Ohh well, nothing else in Spanish.

That might not get into the vodka. Thompson and his men buried the treasure on the Cocos Island, planning to return it to collect it when he was safer, and fortunately for him, they were soon captured by a Spanish warship and all but Thompson and his first mate were hanged. The Spanish took them back to Cocos, the mining to be shown where the treasure was buried, but their escaped into the jungle. Thompson stayed in hiding for 20 years. However, in 1841 he said to have given a map to an Irishman named John Keating, showing the treasures location. When heating the spade gold and drills supposedly from Cocos, the stories soon spread. One man who dreamt of finding the treasure was August Geisler, a German sailor who ran away to sea while living in Hawaii. He encountered A fellow German immigrant named Bartles.

Very good accent.

Thank you. Who showed him the treasure map of Cocos Island? The map indicated that the legendary treasure of Lima was buried at a depth of 6 feet in a small Bay on the North West side of the island. Most have rated by the prospect of immense wealth, guys. The soldiers plantation and embarked on a journey to find the treasure arriving in Costa Rica, he discovered the existence of the treasure, was widely known and many people had already searched for it, including the proposed digging spot.

So I think his treasures gonna be gone then.

Still undeterred, Kaiser remained steadfast in his belief and convinced 14 merchants and dockside workers to join him in forming a company. They chartered a ship called the Willemina and sailed to the Cocos Island in March 1889. Geisler compared the actual surroundings to the details on Bartel's treasure map and began digging, but after a month of unsuccessful searching, most of the shareholders decided to return home. Determined to continue the Quest, Geyser remained on the island with three others. They expanded their search, exploring different areas, but still found no trace of the treasure. Their shareholders returned with supplies, but their renewed efforts proved fruitless as well. Frustrated by their lack of progress, guys have realised he needed to search the entire island systematically. In 1894, the Costa Rican government granted guys to the western half of Cocos Island, where the treasure was assumed to be located. He established an agricultural. Colony, hoping to support himself and his fellow colonists while continuing to search for the treasure.

Itself and that kind of interesting that the government there he sees, he's just moved there because he wanted to really because he's started trying to establish a little settlement there. He's actually just given it. I mean. You can do that these days I.

Don't think, but Costa Rica is. The best place and they're. So nice.

The audience is now protected anyway, sorry.

The colony faced numerous challenges, including poor soil, rats, insects and the island's remote location, which hindered comma. Despite the difficulties, guys have persisted for years. He grew various crops, raised animals and relied on the island's resources for survival. However, the colonies. Prospects dwindled, and eventually the settlers returned to the mainland. Guys and his wife Clara remained on the Islander alone, dedicating their lives to the pursuit of the treasure. Over the years, Geisler made several trips to the mainland to seek financial support, but was largely unsuccessful. On one of these trips, he left his wife saying he'll be back after only six weeks, which ended up being six months. But to make matters worse and guys's return, he found out that Clara had broken her arm the very day he left. She made herself a splint and learned how to set traps and make rope with only one arm. Amazingly, she recovered. Despite this, Geisler explored the island extensively, becoming intimately familiar with this geography and leaving his mark on their lands. However, he never discovered the treasure he sought. In 1905, after years of fruitless searching and the hardships Geyser and Clara left Cocos Island for good. Geyser spent a total of 17 years searching for the treasure, but only found a few gold pieces and an old gauntlet. He settled in New York with his sisters and continued to hold on to his dream, hoping for financial assistance to resume the search. Unfortunately, the treasure remained elusive until the end of his life. Gaiser passed away in 1935, leaving a will that divided his island among various individuals. However, the Costa Rican government. And tested his ownership claim and reclaimed the island for themselves. The Cocos Island treasures still remain a mystery until this day, approximately 400 expeditions visits the island, but no treasure has been found. The island has been designated as National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a national cultural and historical treasure. Permits are now required for treasure hunting, and the island's only human inhabitants are Park Rangers. The fate of the treasure of Lima, and whether it was buried on Cocos Island still remains a mystery.

Well, OK, you're winning these stories of treasure so far. I know that that that was an amazing story. Because we don't even know if the treasure was really buried there. And that's what makes it, yeah, so interesting. And such a mystery as it it might not even be on that island. It might be found by somebody else and taken off already. So it's. Yeah, so many things, but it's going to be. An amazing place.

Yeah, maybe someone took it and kept it a secret. But Geisler, he made boats and stuff out of hollowed out logs. I'm pretty sure. And he used bed sheets as sales and stuff, all the classic stuff like that, but it was really cool. And he. We had some other families to live on the island and they had like, a some farms and stuff and some domesticated hogs, things like that.

Yeah. So whilst he had this obsession with the gold that's been our theme so far, this obsession with finding treasure, it seems like unlike Anton, guys like he really lived with the environment really well and you can actually imagine being an amazing nice star being on this beautiful island out there. OK, you're quite isolated, but they really learned like saying to live with the land. And grow everything they needed to survive there. And yeah, it's almost like a paradise.

Let's see if you can one up me with your story here.

OK, so our final story of this episode is the voyage of the Centurion.

Dun Dun Dun.

Featuring a guaranteed grades. Yes, I've got another game great for you.

I'm excited now.

Yeah. So let us head to Portsmouth on the South Coast of England. It's Christmas Day 1739. So what would you like to do on Christmas downtown?

Eating Turkey. Opening presents and treasure hunting.

And treasure hunting. OK well. This wasn't exactly the case for Guernsey man Philip Sumray and he wrote received my Commission as thirdly, tenant on His Majesty's Ship, St Jorian captain George Anson. Commander repaired immediately aboard and found her fitted out with £22,400.00 of bread, much broken by the driving of the. Buy it and then he goes on to list a few more items. So this is in the morning another 21 packs of beef come on or pecks, as he says, say 3063 items they bring on jars of oil like 300, seven, 138 gallons of oil. They bring on more bread, heads of grapes, barrels of flour. 6 firkins of butter and 9 1/2 heads of.

Vinegar. I like this, but here it says heads of pork.

Yes, that's right, yeah. So they bring on head support.

You just said heads of port.

Did I say port? Yeah. Ohh sorry. Well, they put them out as important. Board as well. So who is Philip I hear? You ask.

Who is Philip?

And Warhead born on 17th of November 1710 on the wonderful island of Guernsey, but he would later study in Jersey and then in Southampton. And we'll actually be using extracts from his logs of the voyage to help tell this story. And he was first introduced to the Royal Navy by his uncle, who was a captain, and this he ran strong in their family with two of his cousins also becoming Admirals, and his nephew, which will do an episode on Monday, was Admiral James Sunray first Baron to samurai, who served with Nelson and also who. Led the Royal Navy's Baltic Fleet aboard HMS Victory. Look forward team.

He is a big guns, he greats.

He is. I know I'm a bit scared of doing him. But why was Philip? Was he joining a Commodore George Anson? And just so you know, Commodore is the rank above Captain. OK. Well, several years earlier, the Spanish had cut off the ear of a British captain while searching his ship and needing not much of an excuse. In those days, the British decided that vengeance was needed. So begone the war of Jenkins ear and the main thrust of the British forces. They were going to be sent up to Caribbean. To do some raiding and stuff there and protect like the British colonies. So Anson wasn't going with those though, so he was he going to be given what was left available in terms of ships and troops and things. OK, the battered bunch. Yeah. Well, it's you're going to be shocked by.

The battered bunch.

This I think, and he had been tasked to annoy and distress the Spanish and the South Pacific. Taking sinking, burning or destroying all their ships and to surprise or take any towns or places belonging to the Spaniards on the coast. And do this, they'd have to round Cape Horn. So that's South America.

That's difficult to get past as well.

It's really difficult to get past. Yeah, there's there's amazing accounts of it coming up. And so, yeah, these waters were relatively uncharted, and they're going to ride up the West Coast of South America. Now, in these days, the Royal Navy is pretty good and the Spanish are not quite the power they once were. But they still have their South American empire and during the mid 1700s when this happened, they were looking at ways to rediscover some of. Their lost prestige. And they were also still sending shed loads of gold and silver from the Americas to Spain, and they a lot of that's going up through the Philippines.

And that way around that was because, like the Incans are soft didn't value gold as currency. They've eyed cocoa beans. I'm pretty sure instead.

And also because it just basically becomes slave labour and exploit it.

And we don't like sleeping.

So they've later this freedom for boats. Yeah, but still gonna be another nine months until they set sail and the flotilla totalled 8 ships in all. So I don't quite know what happened with that. Bread on board? No. Yeah, you don't eat well aboard ships in the 1700s, so the ships that they've got are the Centurion, which was what's called a fourth rate ship of 1000 tonnes, 60 guns and 400 men. And the flagship. They also had the lustre, which was 853 tonnes, 50 guns, 300 men. Then they had the seven, the Paul, which were slightly smaller ships and then they had two really small ones, which were the wager and the trio. And then they had two merchant vessels going along with at the start of the journey called the and, and the industry, which would just be carrying additional supplies for them. So it's not a bad size for. Us is it? No. They've also going to take 559 marines with them to help with the landings and the attacks and the towns and things. But as I said earlier, the main thrust to go up to the Caribbean wasn't it? So and and. He gets basically what's left. So he had men from Chelsea Hospital. So Chelsea Pensioners. Yeah. So soldiers, too sick, old or injured to fight. But still people doing like duties. Yeah.

What's happening there?

That's on there today. Yeah, well.

Ohh today no.

Not not the same then. So many of them are over 60. Well, many of them are over 70. Sorry and sick or memed and some of them even have to be carried on. Stretches down to Portsmouth.

I mean this.

Is a disgusting stain on history that these old men who should be in the retirement have been forced to board the ship.

Ohh dear.

Yeah, now 240 and one of them actually run away. And escape.

Leaves of 240 could run.

Yeah, those are the. Yeah, the.

240 best ones. Bitter run away. So that meant they needed to fill up the ranks with some fresh recruits, many of whom hadn't even been taught how to fire a gun yet. When they were drafted and so a lot of them were was at the press. Ganging where you. Get forced to board the ships and it's been. Said to be 1. Of the worst crews ever assembled.

Where does the treasure come into this? It's definitely not these.

Guys, no, they're old treasures. Anyway, so first they'd sell for Madeira. I'm going to go through some of his logs here. OK, as we turn the story. At 7:00 AM, we may signal to way and made sail with His Majesty ships that lost her seven per wager, and trials Sloop with two merchant ships laden with provisions for our squadron safety September, when he had started in December the year earlier. Now the voyage to Madera took 41 days, and when they got there, the governor reported that had seen 7. Spanish warships as previous. Week so luckily they must avoid those and they spent a month in Madeira taking on supplies and letting the men rest and recover from illness. And then it's time to go out into the Atlantic. Now when you're saying these days, it's really important to go at the right time of year to get all the trade winds and the currents in the right direction. It's during the year as. Remember, what's that baby went on and the Cutty Sark? Yeah. And have that game that you could play where you follow the trade ones. So just picture that as well. Having to go around the world and things the right way.

Yeah, because sometimes. Like going the long what you think is the longer we round, but with the wind is 2 times faster than just going up but slower.

Exactly, yes. OK, so they're sailing out into the Atlantic, resupplied and all the extra weight from the supplies and the ships were actually pushing really learn the water. And that meant that they had closed most of the ports on the sides. So inside. It got really, really hot and stuff in smelly. Each man only had about 40 centimetres for his hammock. So you've got no spaces crowded in there. Must be absolutely awful. So the plan was to sail to the coast of Brazil and head South and round Cape Horn to enter the Pacific. Now a few more counts from his logs here. OK. 26th of November 1740 the whole part of constant moderate Gale with fair weather which appears and invalid deceased 29th of November. It blew a fresh constant Gale and was Gordon and Edward Major Seaman departed this life. 12th of December, 9:00 AM, Robert Weldon, our purser being quite worn out to part of this life. 15th of December. Very uncertain squally weather with rain, David Redman, a marine to part of this. So as they're saving, I think it's quite a common occurrence anyway to get deaths at sea then, but. They're getting quite a few.

Not of all age though.

Numbers, they're not. Oh my God. Now they reached Brazil on the 18th of December and it was a really welcome relief for them. After crossing over the Atlantic. And let's let somebody take over again. 9:30, we passed by an island. The Portuguese governor resides on, saluted the foot of the case with 11 guns. The war on both the island and the constant is excellent and preserved beyond what I've ever observed. After having on board for a short time, it discharged itself. With the green putrid. Scum which subsided to the bottom and left the remainder as clear as crystal. It's a lovely water there if you leave. It, yeah. And I was talking about the island. A little bit. The woods abound with several medicinal and aromatic plants. One may imagine oneself in a druggist. Top as you traverse the winds, the fruits look chiefly the orange, lemon, lime, citron, melons, grapes, guavas and pineapple and many potatoes and onions. Here is a great plenty of oxen with many pheasants inferior to ours. But with abundance and monkeys and parrots all edible, they have a very singular bird called the toucan.

This reminds me a bit of Terry Pratchett books like guards and stuff, where it's not the best bunch of soldiers and stuff. But also. They're saying the water's nice if you leave a bit so that it's sort of nice, but only if you only if you have the right mind to set for it. Yeah, I guess.

In these days that that was nice, though we didn't have nice filtered, sanitised water like we did to. OK. But I like his accounts of when he's explaining the islands and. Things as well, despite sound like a tropical paradise, another 80 men would die on the island during their month long stay there, but luckily there's now starting to get lots of lovely citrus fruit inside them. So obviously need that vitamin C and.

To stop scurvy.

Exactly. Yeah. And actually I want to cover a little bit more about the place he visits, maybe on a bonus episode and look possibly at some of the illnesses you get to see as well.

That disgusting stuff on a bonus episode is that gonna be on Patreon? Potentially in the future, then?

Oh yes, that's a great idea, yes.

If you're not already on Patreon, subscribe to our Patreon. I think there's three tiers. There's like a one pound, five pound £10, the £5 already my preferred 1.

That's the recommended one, but can we stop this advertising please and get on with the story about the treasure?

I'm sorry, it's just built into me.

OK. Yeah. So the Spanish, they were actually aware of this British fleet sailing down and they had sent Admiral Bizarro to hunt them down. And internships, they're still so full of supplies that the many of the gun ports were blocked, so they did end up in battle with the Spanish. They would be able to get their cans out and they'd have to start throwing things over, bought to even be able to fight. And and yeah, with the Spanish feet nearby, they couldn't wait any longer. So they decided now is time to sail around Cape Horn, which, as you said, is one of the most dangerous sea passages in the. Whilst doing this, there's a risk that their ships would become separated so they'd prepare some rendezvous points in case this ever happened, like further around the coast and it wasn't just the Marines or crew who were dying, the officers were to and this included Captain Danny Kid.

Ohh no, at least wait dandy. Kid at least he is a child.

Ohh yeah, Dundee kid. Yes, Captain Dundee, kid. There were children on board, actually. Yeah, so here's captain of the trial.

What 50 year olds?

No young children your age. Yeah. So Captain Dandy kid at the trial. Try all. He said he passed away from an unnamed fever that made him delirious and gave mad during his final hours. Now, this actually led to Phillips. Sunray getting his first.

Cutting's kids.

Death made a revolution by promotion among us, and I was appointed firstly tenant of the Commodore, but by the predecessor, Lieutenant Sanders, to whose commands the Sloop descended at the trial was taken dangerously ill and became incapable of taking possession of his charge, and I was ordered to take command until his recovery. So dandy. It has died. Then the guy who was meant to replacement got too ill to take over, so now some ways in charge of the trial. I keep seeing try all which the trial. It's the old spelling it. Throws me. Anyway, so this is one of the worst times of the year to attempt round in the. Cape and they. Were doing it. Backwards. So against the currents and providing winds now some raisins, little ship, the trial and the little.

Oh Dang it.

Diddy ones they would be actually leading the way because you send the little ship round. Has to sound to see how deep the waters and stuff like that. Yeah. How many fathoms deep it is? Yeah, exactly. And here we lead the way for about 7 weeks in this. So there's lovely picture here of a vessel rough.

Seas. Yeah, thanks very.

Looks rough.

Much so we're gonna begin with storms for a month. And the captain of the power. He actually said that they were the largest ways he has ever seen and that the 1000 tonnes and chorion was thrown around like a toy ship. Another of the Seafair, as he wrote it, was the last cheerful day that the greatest part of US would ever live to enjoy. Yeah. And there's, like, some ways started making the conditions and he said. I was stationed to look out for islands of ice and had to endure such fatigue from the severity of the weather and duty, which the nature of the surface necessarily brought to me that really my life was hardly worth preserving at the expense of such hardships. Our own ships have several miraculous escapes, which in the obscurity of the night and the violence of the weather. Often endangered, floundering, the Sloop to the Sloop. Sloop ship, yeah. It's freezing cold and stuff is being washed over soil or damaged and I mean how they gonna keep without bed dry in that condition.

I know, I know. They don't have heaters or anything there.

Well, they would have a firing.

Board for picking so they have fire on board. These wooden ships. I guess there was like some sort of stains or something around it or ceramic or something like that. Better, just not weird. Yeah. So 23rd of March will be very hard with a large hollow sea. They can continually over us our Marston rigging, all coated and frozen with snow and ice. So that salt water well it's. It's got a lower freezing point. 24th of March the Sleep pooled being half full of water with the seas which had shipped and were obliged to keep bathing and pumping all night. Our pumps often like waves, being very indifferent, being continually choked up with sand. So the boats. Rolls are now filling with water, and they gotta keep pumping it all out. And at this stage, the power and the seven, they were both in town for home and leave the rest of the ships the the merchant ones had left them. Madeira, OK. UM. So not only are the conditions really terrible, but they're navigational charts are actually wrong, sometimes by hundreds of kilometres. It's so uncharted and you could at that time you can measure longitude. So that's going around like the equator. That direction is your longitude.

Ohh dear. One of them definitely have their glasses at home.

Yes. So you actually find that flips and raise Hill mentioned dumpies charts a lot remember Dampier when we covered him and he'll be one of the few people to go around there like 3 times and they'll be making revisions to the charts always continue improving them. And once they're doing this, they will have to keep pumping water out of the holes of the boats throughout all of this. They were also dealing with sickness, fevers, dysentery. And one of the worst outbreaks of scurvy ever recorded. Ohh dear, I've got a beautiful picture here of scurvy.

Now let's let's get past that bit.

It's only a diagram. We took the top pullings off the gratings and hatch ways to air between the decks and clean the ship as much as lay in our power. It really was scarce conceivable what a stench and nastiness are. Poor sick people had caused among each other, and which contributed. To affect those who are struggling against distemper. So I've always described how hot and horrible it was. Now it's cold and horrible when people say sick and there's so little air flow down there that you've got all these dead and dying and all people just festering down there and the death toll will keep rising and somebody's rate for six weeks. They seldom prayed that less than five people a day.

From that old.

Age. It's not just the old age, though. These are the. Young people as. Well mate, and it was so bad that men were actually dying on deck and their bodies were just being left there and nobody had the energy to move them. But despite all of this, none of. The ships were lost. Wow, I know, it's incredible. So these. Proves and even the people who haven't died, they're going to be so weak now and just keeping. How do you keep? Your morale up.

Our guy, OK.

Yeah, he's fine at the moment. Yeah. Yeah. He's still writing his logs. And then one of them, he writes some an.

OK.

Explosion in the height of the school had several violent claps of Thunder before the explosion, which took a quick, subtle fire ran along our decks at which burst and made a report like a pistol, and struck several of men and officers who, with the violence of the blow. Were black and blue in several places. The fire was attended with a strong sulphurous smell. So maybe for religious they might think the devil. Was punishing you as well. Perhaps fire and brimstone? Now mid-april, some way he returned to this insurer and where he found nearly everybody was infected with scurvy. And in his logs, he needed every time they sailed N she tack up and down against the wind. They spirits. The men would improve. But they're not round yet, so they're struggling S again, they're going against the wind, but what often must been a really long, agonising, restless weeks, cold, hungry and all they actually managed to make their way around the Cape. But a few of the ships. Come separated, uh, but as you remember, they had their plans to rendezvous. And there's one place lower down the coast. I'm going to skip over that and go up to Juan Fernandez Island, which is an island of the coast of Chile. And that's where they were scheduled to meet. OK. Now, do you remember the Spanish?

I remember in Spanish.

Bizarre. Yep. In their pursuit around the Cape, they had lost a ship and also half their men to the storms. And they actually turned back. Away from the storms and everything, how do you think the voyage to Wan Fernandez went? Now there in calmer waters?

I'm not sure all.

Good or bad?

40 vasa.

So we find out. Well, that charts are wrong and they couldn't find the island and it's about 300 kilometres further out to. Sea than they thought. And they said the wrong way originally and then had to turn back when they saw the case to the mainland. Because that's all Spanish. You can't get there, and they. And so in those couple of weeks, another hundred men perished due to scurvy aboard the Centurion. What the delay did actually mean they had a.

Oh dear.

Little bit of luck. At length, we arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez in the South Sea after having several imminent dangers of shipwreck on the coast of Chile. We anchored here on the 16th of June 1741, just ten days after the departure of a Spanish ship of war, which was sent by the Admiral of these seeds. So the Spanish, now their their messages travelled across the continent and they're hunting. And this is just as well, because despite being 1000 tonne, 60 gunship, the San Juan only had 72 able crew members left aboard, and that included boys. The rest were sick or dead. That now it takes a 20 minutes they would. Take a couple. Of hours because they just didn't have the strength to do it. So the voyage up until this point has taken them nine months. So remember the Costa Rica packet sailed all the way from London to San Francisco. So even further under 130. One days 130 years later, but this nine months and now other ships from their flotilla, they started to arrive. Although the wager had been shipwrecked and their crew had mutinied. Of the trial summaries relate that a great number of the men had been lost or were sick, and it was impossible to conceive this dense filthiness in. Which the men lay. Say, how are well conditions again then of the bluster, he said I went aboard. Her and found. Her in the most deplorable condition, nearly 2/3 of her men being dead and very few of the rest able to perform their duty.

Honestly, they need to step up their game here.

I think that's a bit of a harsh looking and this treacherous journey. So on, man Fernandez, they would stay for three months recuperating and repairing their ships and really must have felt like paradise to be there, I think. Have some lovely woodcuts. Which one of these sailors did, which I have in the show notes. And this island comma we spoke about in the William Damper episode where he went there as well because it's where Alexander Selkirk had been left maroon for five years and he would later rescued by Dampier and Selkirk. He is the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.

We did mention it. I don't remember if we mentioned the name or not. Read it. Yeah, we did. I remember 1 island.

And yeah, so when Selkirk was left there and he had some gates were left with him. And so that's got a bit of description from somebody on the. Island, now the fish was excellent and eight lake venison, and perhaps might still be the remains of Selkirk's nursery. I shall not attempt a description of this island at present, but only tell you that is the most romantic and pleasant place. Imaginable abound with metal trees and covered with turnips and sorrow, with all kinds of fish seemed calculated for the reception of distressed seamen. Stayed here three months, employed in retrofitting our ships and restoring the health of. Our sick I. Cannot admit to mention the sea lions, which seem as extraordinary a production as any in the creation, and might justly. Serve the observation of an expert naturalist this surprising creature, but takes a double nature. Being truly amphibious, it divides its time equally between land and sea. Now we're gonna skip over a couple of months. OK, but remember that they were meant to be causing a bit of a revolt and havoc all along the coast of South America. Yeah, for the British against the Spanish. But we're pretty much really dead or sick. That's not. Gonna happen. So instead they did manage a couple minor rage in the case and leading second the town of Peter. Where they plundered some money and jewels, or they most have been hidden before they arrived, because you can see the ships coming and they abandoned town. So they set fire to it. The churches and they also destroyed and captured several Spanish ships and they really worked their way up the coast to Mexico from where the Manila Galleon would depart. Now you might remember from Dampier episode if you got there. I think so. It's the treasure galleon which takes all the treasure across the Pacific every year from the Americas to the Philippines, which at the time was a Spanish colony. And so they waited out at sea for several weeks, hoping to catch it. And I think it was important at the time. But eventually they tired of waiting. And on the 6th of May 1742, they left Mexico. To cross the Pacific, not wanting to go around Cape Horn. And by this stage they only had the Centurion and they lost the left. Because they burnt the other ships they captured, or they were just in states of disrepair by that stage, I think they said quite a lot of these Spanish ships, they. Captured weren't particularly. Seaworthy? They're OK. Go up and down the case, but not further out to sea. So back to summary. Here. We left Acapulco on the 6th of May, 1742. And here begins another series of misfortunes. And mortality is passing the first, so we'll ask them first. We had a passage of three months and 1/2 to the Landron Islands, which is generally made in two, yet it was a vogue opinion amongst our people that we had sailed so far past all the land in the world. The length of time and the sadness of the weather rendered both our ships leaky. This joint of our mortality, the scurvy raging amongst us as much as ever. So soon they'll be down to 1 ship. On the 15th of August, these 24 hours, chiefly calm, with extremely hot, salty weather. Lay near to that lustre under foresaw anism in the evening that Lustres longboat came aboard of the 46 sick men most and very ill Three died in getting over the side. So just climbing aboard the other ship. I mean, we're laughing, but it must have been so bad. And yeah, so there's basically no crew left to a man that lost that. Are people employed and clearing the lustre haven't got as much off as our strength and time would permit us. The commander gave us orders to set her on fire. The prospect of our last ship of our squadron blazing within 2 miles of our screen to make us as melancholy as seen as I have ever observed since I've been in the Navy. So yeah, the the down to just this Centurion now, not in a particularly good condition either. There's up to 7 feet of water, so about two metres of water inside the the whole the. Yeah. So they're having to man the pumps all the time.

That's quite a lot.

So much so that apparently even Anderson got involved, was bailing out the water, so they they needed some land desperately and the 1st place that they found was Guam. And I guess you controlled Guam. Spain. Yeah. Spanish. So this was in late August 1742, but it's not actually quite that bad. He's actually hit an island 100 kilometres north of Guam first. OK, when they got there, they basically found undefended and I think there only 21 men on the island and all and outside was saying a little Spanish bait. Here's some ways account. There are about 7 men and her unarmed, two of which were Spaniards. And the others? Indians. These people informed us that the islands. Was uninhabited and was used by the Spanish Garrison at Guam. They were sent by the governor to kill beef and they were preparing it in the sun and they were to then return to Guam. So yeah, London is little Island and it seems like it's a brilliant place for them to have here. After travelling across the Pacific because it's not controlled by the Spanish and it's being used as a larder for Spanish. Currently, 100 kilometres away. It's really, really good. And the. Poland has called Tinian. And we anchored at an island called Tinnion, uninhabited but abound with wild cattle, hogs, fowls and fruits, because not have fallen on a better place, I convinced that had we stayed 10 days longer at sea, we should have been obliged to take to our boats our leak, increasing so fast, and our people being all infirm and disabled, we immediately sent all our sick ashore. And began to hope for better times, feeding plentifully on raised beef. So I think 10 days might have been stretching a bit with. The state. Of their boats now they only had about 70 fit crew and over 120 needed to be carried ashore, and 21 of those died in the places have been carried ashore.

Will be for the rest. Of us.

So they haven't got that desperate yet. They're not. On casting lots. Now they would remain in the.

That's not what I meant, by the way. I meant that you're not gonna eat the corpses now.

Oh, I thought he went into the FIFA. OK. So yeah, so they would remain on this little island for two months repairing this and join as best they can and get their strength back and seems to be. A common pattern here and these gruelling voyages are really taking that hole in them. But it's pretty good on this lovely island. I mean, there are lot must finally. Be turning. Do you think? Yeah, yeah.

And there's long as the island's pretty.

Yeah, this lovely island. September the 18th and rough seized the. Rakes and anchors snapped and the children was blown. Out to sea. With 109 crew aboard. And that included a summary and he ordered that four gun to be fired as an. Alert and that left only 107 men on Tinian, including Anson. So now they've now been separated in the ship in really bad condition. Just been playing out to see the anchors snapped as well, so they can't even stop themselves properly. Yeah, and the ship.

Oh dear.

It's really badly damaged and take out water and its main Marshall quite vulnerable by the state and they had to take down some of the sales because there's risk of them snapping in the wind. So the currents continued to push them further and further. Let's see. And I think they went a few 100 kilometres out to sea with a skeleton crew of unfit people and boys on board and all sorts so and some fearing that he'd never see his beloved Centurion again ordered that the Spanish bark, such the ship that the Spanish has taken over there, be cut in half and then lengthened. So I love the fact you got this right in half and then you're just like. Tickle these extra bits of wooden panels because he wanted to sell the 2 1/2 thousand kilometres to China on that boat.

Ohh dear.

They've also still got the Spanish. They haven't killed them. They're basically prisoners. They're still watching those guys as well. But luckily, somehow 19 days later, some raised in this skeleton crew returned in the Centurion. What? Yes, they must have said.

It back somehow. That's why guns you better.

Yeah. I mean, what legend, but then it. Got played away.

Again, my God.

Only for five days this time. Then on October the 20th, 1740 day still damaged and barely see where they they decided to sell for Macau, and that was, I think it's pretty much the day the ship came back, they thought we. Can't keep it here. We're just going to have to. Grab everything off this side and get on it and sell our waggon. And on the 11th of November, they would arrive in Macau. That's in China. Yeah. And it was a neutral port. And of it's controlled by the Portuguese. And it was only foreign colony on China. He had a lot of Chinese officials and things there as well, and they weren't particularly happy having this man of war, this British warship in port to see many. Merchant trading vessels, but never such a big battle. Up there and it took months and months of negotiations in bureaucratic dealings to just arrange to get the ship repaired and to get food and stuff on. And they're also French and Portuguese agents in the city working against the British and all sorts of cultural classes with the Chinese. They didn't understand what was going on because apparently 1 French captain. He sense that he would attack the Centurion for 40,000 Spanish dollars, but the Spanish turned him down, and then even the British East India Company captains didn't really want them there. But they were worried. What affect it to have in the trap. So everything is against them in the port. As well, the ship's not being repaired until finally on the 20th of January 1743, there's an agreement reached some raised rights. Here, centre shore are beams and spars and cleared our decks of. All our lumber. Since our pinnace to haul us, us your pinnace.

You're welcome, Harry.

Yeah, a penance and Cosa agreed to give $2000 for cleaning and completing this ship. Such the Centurion entirely. This was esteemed, a very extravagant price in these parts. Where Day's labour is extremely cheap. So sounds like today actually may get cheap labour in China, so I'm not going. To cover all. Of the dealings and wranglings with the Chinese, unfortunately the tensions remained. But handsome, being the good British Royal Navy captain that he was, he promised to nothing naughty whatsoever. And they they were going to leave port on the 11th of April. And just sell home after all these years.

OK, I believe.

Him or not, no, he wasn't gonna do that. So once they had left Macau and sail back up to since. It was a long, big river. Estuary that they went up. There, on the 19th of April, he told the crew that they were going to go and attack the Manila Galleon. And this news was greeted with cheers and rejoicing because a lot of the men. Would have recovered by now.

And in the chair, one of them died.

Had a heart attack from the excitement. Yeah, after so much trouble and hardship, the crew wanted something to show for their journey. At the moment they've done itself. So my. Burnt a town. Some confused Spanish ships and they got a little bit of treasure from the towns and stuff, but not a lot to show for them and most of them were dead. So by May they were in position. So they sell back to the Philippines, OK. And they were waiting for the galleon at Cape Espirito Santo. This was the 1st place where the Manila Galleon would make landfall after its epic Pacific voyage. And so they lowered their tops out so they could remain hidden. Play the horizon. Just a single ship with 227 crew, 27 of whom were just boys. Out of the eight ships in nearly 2000, crew who had left England years earlier and they waited. And they waited the end. No, really.

You keep getting.

On the 20th of June, they spotted sails on the horizon and the men were mad with joy. The ship was the nostrils. Senora de Cavedon NGA, and it said that its oak panels on the sides were too thick for any cannonball to Pierce. Let's let summaries tell the story, shall we? Warning this graphic scenes ahead. Uh. At sunrise, we were agreeably surprised with the sight of a sail from the mast head in the Southeastern quarter, a Top Gun and sails appearing half out of the horizon. We naturally concluded it must be one of the galleons. At 11, her whole entirely out of the horizon. At Parsonian, we took in the top gallant sails and hauled up the main sail. And soon after hoisted the broad pendant and colours. And fired such of the chase the ball guns as could be brought to bear. On her the galleon. Immediately returned our fire. His shot were not all directed and generally shattered our rigging. There's a couple of things to note here. They're starting to go into battle, but they're saying that they saw the sale was at what time was it in the morning?

1111 earlier.

Yeah, 10 or something, wasn't it? No. At sunrise at sunrise. So imagine you've been travelling for years, and here's your big prize coming towards you and taking hours and hours. It's like in a film. You got something coming in slow motion towards you. It just takes so long. Imagine the anticipation of everything building there, thinking this is your one chance to do it.

One of them definitely died when they were.

Eating as a beautiful painting here of the battle. It's lovely, isn't they? Light and the colour there. And the water is gorgeous. OK, let's let some race carry on, shall we? Breast of him within pistol shot. The engagement began on both sides.

My God.

That's really nice.

With great risk. Our guns during the whole time being raided with bold and grapeshot made havoc as likewise our tops, which were full of our best marksmen by our enemies and confession grilled them extremely.

The best smartphones are the ones that can see by.

The way? Yeah, well, they've been training a lot before this. And then by the tops, they mean they put their best marchment up on the mass high up. So they could shoot. Down onto the. The enemy ship grape shot, do you? Know what that is?

Yeah, it's like the net with the cannibals on.

It's not no grape shot. Imagine lots of grapes made of lead put into the cannons when you fire it. It's like a shotgun and scatters. So it's it's it's an anti infantry weapon rather than one that's going to like into the ship. Yeah, so. Our fresh broadside had a good effect with both his men and rigging his science staff, amongst other things, were shot away, then they assigned it on fire, but was soon extinguished by them. The enemy on his side kept playing us with his guns and Pedras, which says type little gun. I think I had to look. Up forgotten and the latter being loaded with bags of stains, iron nails and musketball courted. As for the muskets. So again like a strapping like the grape. Shot in the head. After the first discharge of them, they will observe seldom to appear or grape. Scouring the decks very successfully. After nearly two hours engagement from our first gun, he struck his standard. He hoisted the cutter and the Commodore sent knee on board to take possession of her. So somewhere he. Has been ordered to go and capture. He he's gone up from like third in command or whatever it was at the beginning or third rate to 2nd in command now. At my arrival on board, I found them in a state of mind, but the conquered may generally be supposed to be in being doubtful of the treatment they were to receive, and at the same time had no great opinion of our humanity from the different persuasions in religion, having represented us to themselves as a set of cannibals. Their deck afforded such a scene as may be supposed after a sharp dispute being promiscuously covered with carcasses and trows and dismembered limbs. The main hatchway contained likewise several of their dead, which had been thrown down during the action. The ship was surprisingly shattered in her hull, masts and rigging. The main raster was half shot through and few of the shrouds left standing. As to our ship, we received several shots in the hole. The four master bowsprit had likewise ease been shot. From the great guns. In the action, one man was killed at his quarters, another died within an hour of his wounds, and the third, after an amputation of his leg, and the 2nd Lieutenant with 15 member sides were wounded thrust into the engagement. In which if the number of our guns and the weight of our metal be impartially considered, it must be confessed, be engaged with an enemy with great advantages on our.

Right.

So yeah, the casualties were very one sided says he said there they only. Lost one man during the battle and another a couple of hours later and. One with his. Leg and his amputated and 15 men injured. The Spanish lost 76 men with another 84 injured. 60 seconds 67 man. Thank you. That's 76. Now aboard the ship, there were 1.3 million pieces of eight and 34 1/2 tonnes of silver.

Who counted all of those?

Well, no, that's. The funny thing that they kept, they didn't count it reliably at 1st, and in some ways we've been put in charge of this ship, which is the greatest prize ever captured by a British ship at the time. He kept searching it and he'd find all these like these panels, which there'd be more treasure behind. And that they would empty out a cake of flour, and there'd be more treasure at the bottom of that. They literally.

Everywhere, that's the hidden treasure.

So somewhere he's been put in charge of the Manila galley and it's in a pretty bad. Right. And and you got a tiny crew and you just captured the jewel of the Spanish treasure fleet. You're in hostile waters. You're outnumbered by your prisoners. Theatre 1. And So what you going? To go and do.

Sure. Do you wanna go back home?

Yeah, you won't start adding for home, but you're probably not going to get there and you're on seaworthy strips. So let's go. Back to China, because they were so happy to see. Us the first time. OK. The second time they arrived in Macau, the Chinese were even more distressed to see answer than they were the first time with the Centurion towing the Spanish galleon behind it. Yeah, so they tried to say that originally, and it just wasn't. It just wasn't the Chinese. Thank you. The Chinese also can understand why the British have taken so many prisoners and not killed them, so there's a cultural difference, and they they they they're really confused about me by having. Somebody like this ships up. They go out to sea and they make their wealth through piracy effectively rather than trade. And they just, yeah, it's like this bizarre clash and the the main guy, like Chinese guy. I can't remember what they're called. He would never actually meet any of the Westerners in person. He would all work through agents. He had all these. Different competing people and. Whatever's going on, it's really difficult. But Anson? Would get to see him. Because he was a officer of the Royal Navy. He declined to pay the the harbour fees and all sorts like no, we're we're all over, we battleship, we're not going to do this and we will talk to you. And anyway I'm not covering all the details there. So back to the prisoners. I mean, they are being kept. Below decks in really. Really pumped conditions, you know, they said it only had 40 centimetres. I imagine the prisoners had even less.

Than that 35 but.

And they actually said that they were treated better than they expected to. Be they thought they just going to be. And in fact, the captain of the Covadonga, he would later write to you some Ray, thanking him for his kindness. I must write to you only to give you due appreciation for the great zeal you have shown in favouring the persons who are prisoners in this ship. They have received from you special regard and affection. You give me great reason to show my gratitude. The conditions which prevent me from doing so, I thank God have recovered from my pains, although they still remains those in my feet. But by walking I hope to get better soon. In a few days from now, if I'm so fortunate, I hope to see you in port, where we shall be able to speak more at ease. Meanwhile, I pray God God your life for many years, and I beg to remain with respect and affection. That's amazing. So they've lost this massive ship they've had like a big number. Their crew killed, they've been stuck aboard, sailing back for a couple of months or something back to China in horrible conditions. So oh, thank you for looking after. Us say well. Mm-hmm. So I think that shows maybe a bit of respect among the different captains there.

Or it just shows how bad these Spanish ships are.

Well, they have been ordered to put any English to the sword in the South Pacific, so Ansel and Co got captured. Would have had the same treatment anyway. Eventually the centurion. Was repaired and I imagine having lots of silver and gold and stuff and I would have helped smooth out these negotiations and by December they were ready to set sail for home for real this time. And just waiting to be here, what happens in their voyage train? You ready?

I'm ready.

Actually nothing of note. Ah, yes. Nothing. I have tripped again. And so after nearly four years after setting out the anchor in Saint Helens and the Isle of White I home at last just with this entry and now I said sold the Manila Galleon to the Portuguese, I think.

You've tricked me again.

Only 145 of the original 1936 crew returned aboard the single remaining ship. All of the Chelsea mentions died. Unless I think from their command as he held out.

OK.

Until nearly the. Well, not till the end, but he held out. Longest, yeah. Another 500 people had actually survived on, you know, the ships that turned back at the Cape SO500 survived there. And the the way that they wanted me to need some of those. There's a big events there, which we might do haven't read about. It yet, but we might cover that on our bonus. Anyway, so the numbers and the I mean horrible. The Spanish had lost 12 merchant ships and four men of war. And of course the Manila galleon. So I think he half fulfilled his mission and some some ray and the crew were heroes when they arrived back in England. And they may have failed to cause the revolt in South America and had accidentally said and navigated the globe. But they had captured him and illegally and and the treasure was put aboard 32 waggons and prayed it up from Portsmouth. I think it was. And they were cheering. Crowds just pulled through London and taken to the. Of London and today it will be worth 60 million. That's the largest treasure hall ever captured. Why?

Yeah. So is it actually alright?

Then I think the Spanish word in this. Every year. And then Anton, he was invited to meet the king in his later made forced Lord of the Admiralty. He was given £91,000 and his annual pay was generally £719 a year.

Not bad.

And the regular crew they got £300 which is 20 years pay for.

That's not bad either.

So you can see where people went away. Remember when we did our pep episode and how much being that's in the spices was worth. Same thing here. I mean big risk but high reward. Now Philip Sumray, he raised second commander in the voyage, and it's not just due to unfortunate deaths of other officers spotted due to his ability and skill, and at that time he also formed to replace friendship with Anderson and he would be made.

We have the unity left, that's why.

He will be made captain of HMS Nottingham and he'll capture a French warship called the Mars. So he like, really good career ahead of him. I mean, amazing naval officer. And he also designed the first ever Royal Navy uniforms. So what do? You think he did?

That so it's like a lemon pouch to stop scurvy and to hold them up properly and keep them straight so they don't dive all these.

And now it was after their dealing with the Chinese. They thought that they needed a really smart, amazing uniform. So they looked like proper official representatives of the king. Think so? It was one of the reasons why the uniforms were designed so that the officers could really stand out. And look the. Part and all. Professional professional, yeah.

Is that the the classic blue uniforms is are they the same or are they changed or?

They would have changed since then, but the the buttons and the the general old idea that you have today. Was started there.

He is pretty good.

Actually, but unfortunately his life would be cut short and he was killed in battle. He's just 34 on the 14th of October 1747. He was hit. He was hit by a.

Cannonball. Thank you. He was hit by a cannonball. Which isn't it the slightest bit funny, but.

No, no, that's that's not. That's not funny, it's.

It was after this trauma. Not funny and so respected to see that there's actually a memorial to him in Westminster Abbey.

I think if he didn't get hit by that cannonball, really, unfortunately. He would have actually done. A lot more.

He probably would have gone on to. Be an Admiral as well.

One last thing, I think it was a jersey when he shot him getting jealous like, yeah.

Some of his family was from Jersey, his cousins that were the Admirals from Jersey. They're not the enemy. I've told you this before. We had somebody listening jersey the other day.

Ohh, if you're still listening, I take back everything I said. Support our patron? Yep.

That's better. Yes. Peace in our time, we don't want more of this.

Stuff game, right? Come on, there's enough killing this episode.

But I guess you want to know what happened to the Centurion, meaning that talent ship. Well, she was repaired so many times. Was she even the same ship? Just watch that Greek thing where you have one bite and if you're place enough parts to it, is it still the same bait?

Oh yeah, it's you. Remove a plank and replace it every.

Time. Yeah. Yeah. But I think she still was the same ship. Her spirit was there and. She would serve another. 25 years.

Right.

That's not that. And I think even Anson, I don't know if it's a water, but he led her in. A battle where we defeated the French. But we also have French listeners who we love. Really. And the Spanish? Ones, yeah, so that is the voyage of the Centurion.

Ohh and we've.

Got a picture here. Wow, they really got stuck around the keyboard, didn't they?

Did. Yeah, all over the place around there.

I think that's an amazing tale of going and not treasure hunting the same as the 1st 2:00, but still won. The goals was to capture the wealth of Spain and.

Yeah, it's. It's quite a good story as well, and lots of kinds of great, so that 10 times better.

Yeah, I can't believe these Chelsea pensions there. I mean that was dreadful. What's done to them. I know that you are talking about it with a three, but I hope you realise how atrocious it was. I bought these ships. Yeah. And some of these boys were your age, a bit older than you as well. So treasure, I mean, I think. That these stories. All have something in common and that is. Mankinds lost and maybe greed to find wealth and we're going to the ends of the earth at the expense of ourself for other people. Because you've got the story of Anton the. Matt who don't know how true that one was, but it's definitely typical of these sort of stories where you have people in America, you have all the gold rushes there and the gold fever and just being driven beyond anything else.

Yeah. And with guys there as well, there's the obsession or senior 17 years as well and convincing other people to come over. There's not just a few people. There's lots of people, and for this one being of force with because it was more the the. Navy that wanted their goals rather than the actual people themselves this time, so they forced other people to get. The gold.

Yeah. So it's something odd about. Human age, where we just seem to be driven. By breed. And takes a strong man to resist.

That talking about greed support.

That's treasure. Treasure. Treasure. Yeah, so we might touch a little bit more in our bonus episodes, which sounds more tell you about in a minute. But if we do that, if you can't get enough of this wonderful voice of mine, if you listen to episode 84 of the ancient and historic order of the jacket tape. And I read some really bad poetry for them in that episode.

Think it's bad? Well, the the part. She was bad.

Uh, the reading was wonderful. Yeah. And and we'll play the trailer now.

There are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. But there are also unknown knowns. The ancient and esoteric order of the jackalope is a secret society devoted to unearthing and sharing this forgotten knowledge. Each episode we take one of these strange stories and share it with you. No topic is off limits except for the obvious. Available wherever fine podcasts are sold.

Definitely worth listening to. It's nice, good, quirky bits of history and things that they do. Over there. Say Anton, you want to how we can be supported?

We can be supported well. You can reveal us. In fact, I think we got a. Review. We'll do that. Quickly now, yeah. So this is the review A5 Star review, which is good, a charming journey of discovery and learning and entrancing blend of education entertainment. This show captures the essence of a child's inquisitive nature. The hosts bring to life a wide array of topics and provide accessible answers to the most awe inspiring questions perfect for parents and children alike. Their show is about the love for learning and their joy of discovery, a real gem.

I agree wholeheartedly with every word of that. Yeah, although, except for with the children. But when we have some of the carnage on the ships, I think it's more moving into teenager territory now.

Yeah, I I feel like it's not aimed at children, but children can listen to it. It's parental guidance, yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.

At the moment.

So how else can people support us?

Subscribe to our Patreon, which we're really, really really like. You get quite a bit of bonus stuff. Yeah, bonus content.

Content. Yeah, very professional content is actually on the patron episodes. You take charge as well, don't you?

I do you get to. What we do there, and I've written a story called Taka Regima. That's what I'm gonna give away.

Yeah, loosely based on real history, keeping our treasure theme, and we also might share a little bit about our geocaching where we actually went treasure hunting ourselves. Pheasant and I might do a little bit more about some of the logs that somebody wrote when they was and some of these islands and things just to feel it bits and pieces. Because there's some nice description there.

And maybe even the what's it called? Our brains just come like the wager. The wager. The story of that.

Ohh yeah yeah, might do the way. Yeah, might.

Do the wager. That's like a whole other episodes worth for only £5.

That is. That's incredible. Yeah. And also the stuff we've already got there from the last episode. And other features such as us melting metal to make divine penises palaces. Sorry.

Yeah, the kids, but yes.

Anyway, anything else to say, Anton?

We've got our key cards, don't we?

Yeah. So as we had our interview the other day, we had other day months ago now probably with Paul Mays from key cards. We've selected a couple of key cards that fit this episode and I've got the Nuestra Senora the. Yeah, which is very badly pronounced, which is another Spanish treasure galleon. And let's have a quick look at the facts for. So in 1622, the Spanish galleon with that name I just said set sail for Spain laden with gold, silver and powers and other goods from the colonies of present day Colombia, Panama and Cuba. But the galleon soon met the sea floor when a hurricane sank. The vessel near Florida. That's some. Yeah. Wasn't the British thinking here this time, like? Well, maybe it was. Hurricane Britain.

Yes, that one I have got lock a cake or archaic treasure, sometimes known as the Jacobite gold. They lock archaic treasure was a huge sum of Spanish gold sensor financed the Jacobite rebellion. Bonnie Prince. Bali, but by the time the gold arrived in Scotland in 1746, the war was already over. So one has to get off. The gold is said to have been taken by McDonald's, not McDonald's. That's not how they say.

That's the golden arches.

Yeah, yeah. Taken by MacDonald of Barrett Estelle, while the other six caskets of gold are believed to have been hidden in a secret location somewhere at the Loch.

Ohh, there's a lot of treasure still out there. Umm, I mean it's a metal detector.

Yeah, you know what? You know how you can fund our messages? Actor. Join us on.

Picture very well. If everybody joins us on Patreon, we may need a.

Metal detector that be part of the Curious Army. Ohh, actually that's a good idea.

Yeah. Anyway, let's. Yeah, let's say I thank you now. So, yeah, otherwise you can support us. Our following us on social media. Where can you do that? Twitter at Quicken. I've been speaking to you. Curie child pot.

Instagram app.

QA part Facebook. Search the question chart.

We've got a website.

Thank you Super child.com merch store shop.thecursorforchild.com.

I've got a YouTube channel.

The Curious David Gamer on YouTube.

Yeah, well, that's.

That's pretty. I can't speak anymore. That's probably just search for us online and you'll find out all the. Places that you can follow us. Or support us all review us because. We love reviews and we might even send. You some merch? If you do that. I say thank you very much for listening. I think you should all go out treasure hunting now, but share your wealth with people around you not to. Keep for yourself.

I don't know if this is possible, but if the patron, subscriber, well, we know who they are because then we can send them. Some merch.

I'll have their e-mail address so I can talk.

To them, OK, so our Patreon subscriber? Can get some much. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah, well, that. Yeah, we'll choose one, actually. Yeah. So make sure you go in for that and then we'll pick a random one and we'll give you a cool T-shirt or something like that.

We're cheese, but we're cheese one. Yeah, that's a nice idea. Cool. So thank you very much for listening.

We will see you soon. Love you. Bye.

We obviously love you now.

I don't know.

How have I managed?

To use swap back pitch. Oh, this is a back button on the mouse. The side on the.

Blue one. Ohh that's that's a button. OK. Anyway, that's the forecast.

Hello. We're the curiosity of our podcast and I'm.

I'm Anton. Rick, we cover many different stories and topics on our podcast, which is about pretty much.

That's right. And we are delighted to have been invited back to the Intelligent Speech Conference. So when is Anton?

I don't know. I thought you knew.

I thought you knew we're gonna need some sort of backup plan.

So what do we do now? OK. What's their confidence about?

Well, luckily, it's about contingency.

History's backup plans. So what are we gonna be?

Doing. We're gonna be telling the story of what happens when you're starving in the city under seas for months, surrounded by food, foods that you can't eat as it's your life, work, food that's more important than.

You are.

Join us in World War 2. Soviet Russia as we tell the story of the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry and the scientists who gave their lives so the world could. Have a Plan B.

So what's our pamper you going? To be.

And have to edit in how our millions of fans can attend the Intelligent Speech 2023.

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