1641年9月23日，“Merchant Royal”号在康沃尔海岸沉没，船上装载着大量的白银、黄金和其他贵重物品。

虽然它还没有被发现，据说它包含了世界上最珍贵的沉船宝藏之一，几家野蛮的公司试图找到它，但都没有成功。

“Merchant Royal”于1627年在伦敦建造，据说它在沉入大西洋深处时装载了500条金条、50万枚硬币、400块金锭和几颗珍珠和宝石。

这艘700吨的船除了乘客外还有80名船员。船长约翰·林布里(John Limbrey)与西班牙当局达成协议，将黄金和白银运往繁华的港口城市安特卫普，以支付驻扎在那里的哈布斯堡驻军。

这艘船一直在与泄漏作斗争，尽管它在加的斯进行了维修，但问题仍然无法解决。在运送财富的途中，船体开始进水，狂风暴雨的大海和故障的水泵使情况更加恶化。

尽管船员们做出了努力，这艘船还是开始漏水，无法挽救。18名船员被另一艘船救起。

然而，他们无法保存宝藏，甚至无法保存个人物品。这艘船沉没了，带走了当时英国公共资金的三分之一。

2007年，美国奥德赛海洋勘探公司(Odyssey Marine Exploration)在大西洋发现了60万枚银币、几枚金币和其他物品。

有传言说，这是“Merchant Royal”的宝藏，被带到美国。但由于这艘船是西班牙的护卫舰，他们被命令把这些东西交给西班牙。

在几家公司多次试图找到这艘船都失败后，2019年，一艘名为“Spirited Lady”的渔船在康沃尔海岸发现了一个可追溯到1600年至1800年的巨大锚，人们看到了希望。

这一发现缩小了打捞公司寻找沉船财宝的搜索范围。然而，船上的宝藏之谜仍未解开。

▲Image for representation purpose only

英文原文

Merchant Royal was loaded with enormous amounts of silver, gold and other precious items when it sank off the coast of Cornwall on 23rd September 1641.

Though it has not been found yet, it is said to contain one of the world’s most precious shipwreck treasures, and several savage companies have tried to find it but in vain.

Built-in 1627 in London, the Merchant Royal is said to have been loaded with 500 bars of gold bullion, half a million coins, 400 ingots and several pearls and gems when submerged in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

This 700-ton ship had an 80-member crew apart from the passengers. The ship’s Captain, John Limbrey, struck a deal with Spanish authorities to transport gold and silver to Antwerp, a bustling port city, to pay the Habsburg garrison stationed there.

The ship had been struggling with leaks for some time, and although it underwent repairs in Cadiz, the problem could not be solved. While it was on its way to transport the riches, its hull began taking water and the stormy sea and malfunctioning pumps worsened the situation.

Despite the efforts of the crew members, the ship began leaking and could not be saved. Eighteen crew members were rescued by another ship.

However, they could not save the treasure or even their personal belongings. The ship went down, taking with it a treasure worth one-third of England’s public funds during that period.

In 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration, an American Company, found 600,000 silver coins, several gold coins and other items in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was rumoured that it belonged to the treasure of the Merchant Royal and was taken to the U.S. However, they were ordered to give the items to Spain as the ship was a Spanish Frigate.

After many failed attempts by the companies to find this ship, hope was found in 2019 when a fishing vessel called Spirited Lady found a massive anchor dating between 1600 and 1800 off the Cornwall Coast.

This finding has narrowed the search area for the salvage companies looking for the ship’s treasure. However, the mystery of the ship’s treasure remains unresolved.

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