The Flor de la Mar

(A replica Flor de la Mar at the Maritime museum of Malacca)

The Claim

There is over 2 billion dollars worth of treasure next to the island of Sumatra

The Flor de la Mar was a 400-ton Portuguese sailing ship that operated during the early 1500s. The ship undertook numerous trading voyages to Malaysia and the surrounding islands, bringing back spices, textiles, and other goods.

Built in Lisbon in 1502, it was originally intended to be used on the Portuguese India run as its 400-ton capacity made it ideal for the longer voyages. It was one of the finest ships of its day and was used primarily as a trade ship, and secondly as a warship, when it served as the flagship in the 1509 Battle of Diu, a large naval conflict between Portugal, Egypt, and the Republic of Venice.

As for the ship sinking, it was often known to run into difficulties on its return route and suffered damage several times, normally around the coast of Mozambique, where it once had to wait for 2 months for repairs.

On its final voyage, the ship departed from the island of Malacca, which was at the time the largest commercial centre of the East Indies. The Portuguese had just attacked the island and managed to conquer it, which was when one of the Portuguese commanders, Afonso de Albuquerque, decided to use the ship to transport the large amount of treasure plundered from the Sultan of Malacca’s palace back home, due to its large capacity.

The Flor de la Mar left Malacca in late 1511 and sailed north-east along the Sumatran state of Pasé, in the Strait of Malacca. During the night, a storm hit, and the ship ran into some rocks, which cracked the ship’s hull. With such a heavy cargo and no way of saving themselves, let alone the goods, the crew were forced to jump overboard and try to swim to the mainland.

The ship sank in the ocean on the night of 20th November 1511, and most of the crew died in the attempt to reach dry land, though Afonso de Albuquerque made it to safety by using some floating crates as a make-shift raft. He was unable to remember the exact location of the wreck as it was dark and stormy, but even if he could, it wouldn’t have done much good, as there was no such thing as diving gear in the early 16th century.

There’s a couple of billion worth of treasure at the bottom of the ocean. Could that be true?

Not only is it a possibility, but it’s very likely indeed. The treasure that was known to be in the sultan of Malacca’s palace was significant to say the least, as it was the richest city in the region at the time of a booming spice trade.

Many tons of gold, gems, jewellery, and other precious artifacts were taken from the temple when the Portuguese captured it, as it was simply too heavy for the fleeing sultan to take with him. The invaders didn’t leave behind a single coin and loaded the bulk of it onto the Flor de la Mar, which is believed to have sunk off Timia Point in the Kingdom of Aru, Sumatra.

There have been numerous attempts to locate the wreck in the area, with Portugal, Indonesia, and Malaysia not only carrying out searches but also claiming salvage rights to the wreck, should it ever be found.

The amount of treasure and the type that it was would mean the chances of it already being found “quietly” and taken by someone or a government are very unlikely. The gold on board would be worth much more as “ship-wreck” gold, and some of the artifacts and jewels would also have a good historical value added to them, making it worth much more to announce the find and sell it for what it is than hide it away or sell it melted for much less.

This is one treasure that probably isn’t worth finding, as the second anyone came forward with a single piece of the treasure, they would immediately be hounded by 3 countries who all claim the find to be theirs, creating much more trouble than it’s worth.