Hernando de Soto's Treasure Quest

Hernando de Soto (sometimes Fernando or Ferdinando), the Spanish captain and explorer, often, though wrongly, called the discoverer of the Mississippi (first sighted by Alonzo de Pineda in 1519), was born at Jeréz de los Caballeros, in Estre-madura, of an impoverished family of good position, and was indebted to the favor of Pedrarias d'Avila for the means of pursuing his studies at the university. In 1519 he accompanied d'Avila on his second expedition to Darien. In 1528 he explored the coast of Guatemala and Yucatan, and in 1532 he led 300 volunteers to reinforce Francisco Pizarro in Peru. He played a prominent part in the conquest of the Incan Empire (helping to seize and guard the person of Atahualpa, discovering a pass through the mountains to Cuzco, etc.), and returned to Spain with a fortune of 180,000 ducats, which enabled him to marry the daughter of his old patron d'Avila, and to maintain the state of a nobleman.

William "Captain" Kidd and his Lost Treasure

William  Kidd

c. 1645 – 23 May 1701

William "Captain" Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701) was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and 
execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer. Kidd's fame springs largely from the sensational circumstances of his questioning before the English Parliament and the ensuing trial. His actual depredations on the high seas, whether piratical or 
not, were both less destructive and less lucrative than those of many other contemporary pirates and privateers.

Biography
Captain William Kidd was either one of the most notorious pirates in the history of the world or one of its most unjustly vilified and prosecuted privateers in an age typified by the rationalization of empire. Despite the legends and fiction surrounding this character,

Admiral Nakhimov: Sunken Treasure

The Admiral Nakhimov was a pioneering armored cruiser -- an expansion of the idea of the belted cruiser, combining vertical (or hull) armor with an internal armored deck and moderate, but still significant, protection for vital fighting parts of the ship .It was ordered in 1881 as one of the first armoured cruisers, and one of the more interesting naval ships constructed in Russia in the late 19th century. She was modeled after the British Royal Navy Imperieuse class cruisers, which were armed with four 234 mm guns in a rhomboid layout. The Nakhimov was considered a more successful design. Her main armament consisted of 203 mm guns, which were lighter and their number could be doubled.

Almost as soon as the ship was completed

1715 Treasure Fleet

Artistic depiction of the 1715 Ship Wreck

Every year, two fleets traveled between Spain and the Americas; the Esquadron de Terra Firme from Spain to South America, and the Flota de  Nova Espana toward Vera Cruz. Sometimes, these two fleets would travel  together all the way to the Caribbean. The return voyage was more  dangerous. The galleons were fully loaded with precious cargoes of gold, silver, jewelry, tobacco, spices, indigo, cochineal etc.… The crews were tired  and often plagued by health problems brought on by tropical diseases,  malnutrition, and deplorable hygienic conditions on board. These conditions made ships even more vulnerable to attacks by pirates, but the greatest danger came from an uncontrollable element; the weather. The general weather  conditions were more favorable during the summer months. The waters of the Atlantic Ocean were calmer, and the prevailing winds gentler. However, the  very warm waters of the South Atlantic contributed to unstable weather, and  the then unpredictable rapid development of violent and devastating tropical  storms called hurricanes.

Lost Treasure of King John

Where do we start digging?

Um, we don't know. Actually we're not even sure if it was really lost in the first place. The legend of John's lost treasure has been handed down and grown in the telling for 700 years, largely by word of mouth, and anyone brought up in the Fens has heard it from an early age. So here it is, the story of one of England's most incompetent and unlucky monarchs, his missing royal regalia, a mysterious and possibly murderous monk, 3,000 missing soldiers and servants and, perhaps most lethal of all, the sea.