Sunken treasure awarded to Spain

Amazing being that “salvage” rights are a well established bit of maritime law. Why would Clinton do such a thing?

See Post 52 and 56.

In maritime law, there is a difference between salvage rights to a ship that belonged to Acme Shipping Company and a warship that belonged to the U.S. Navy, the Royal Navy, the Spanish Navy or even the Confederate Navy.

Legally and by tradition, warship are considered an extension of the state itself under maritime law, an extensension of "sovereign soil". When the Japanese surrendered in Tokyo Bay aboard USS Missouri, they surrendered on "U.S. soil". That legal state persists even after a warship is sunk and a sunken warship is referred to as a "sovereign wreck."

Only Spain has legal rights to the "sovereign wreck" of the Spanish warship Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, the warship in question.

Likewise, only the U.S. Government has rights to a U.S. "sovereign wreck". As the succeeding sovereign to the Confederate States of America, legally, only the U.S. Government has legal rights to the wreck of the Confederate warship CSS Alabama although it currently lies within French territorial waters.

Personnel aboard the French Navy mine hunter La Circe discovered the wreck of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama in 1984. ..... Announcement of the location of the CSS Alabama led to diplomatic negotiation between France and the United States that subsequently resulted in an executive agreement concerning ownership and management of the wreck. .... As a consequence of requests to continue on-site research, France as the territorial power of the wreck site and the United States of America as the owner of the wreck and its associated artifacts, jointly authorized the Association CSS Alabama to undertake additional investigations at the wreck site in 1988

What a wonderful family history! You are so blessed to know all that. When did your family come to the USA? Did they have a naval tradition here too?

The history of Spain certainly has periods of tragedy. Spain went from the world superpower around 1600 to gradual decline, to catastrophe after the War of the Spanish Succession stripped it of its remaining European possessions.

I did a tutorial with one of my professors on the Golden Age of Spain where we spoke in Spanish and worked with original source materials. Unfortunately, my Spanish is now very rusty after decades of non-use.

Once I got past my Anglophile feelings, it was fascinating to study Spain at the height of its power.

Did you know the first American admiral was descendant of Spaniards?

I certainly knew about Admiral Farragut.

One of his ships at the Battle of Mobile Bay, the USS Monongahela, decades later, caught fire and sank at U.S. Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and I SCUBA dived on it while stationed at there.

However, I never knew that Farragut was the "first" U.S. Admiral. I had never studied the U.S. Navy rank structure that closely prior to Farragut's time. Thanks for the information.

USS Monongahela (1862)

Polybius, my post was tongue in cheek. That being said, while I don’t doubt the present Spanish government declares itself the successor of the 1804 Spanish monarchial government, if you read about the many revolutions Spain has had since then (2 Carlist Wars, deposing King Alfonso in 1931, the 1936 revolt and others) I’d think this declaration is just that—an assertion of power. For that matter, given the notorious infidelity of Queen Isabella II, it’s doubtful the present King of Spain (descended from Isabella) has any airtight claim to being the successor of the King in 1804!

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