"[8], APREJMEYUNEPAIREDEPIJONTIRESKET For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The idea of finding a true pirate treasure has never been more alive than it is today. Seated Silver Coins Galore! Levasseur was an intellectual, a Greek and Latin scholar who was versed in masonic symbology. It was located off of what is now modern day Benin in West Africa. You see, becoming widely famous has its disadvantages as well, and the stories of Levasseur was no exception. But there was a small precondition in order to receive the Royal Pardon: He would have to turn over his treasure to the French government. Most people accept the fact that there arent millions of dollars worth of pirates booty buried on beaches across the world. IVEUTSEFAIREDUNHMETSEDETESUDRE The Buzzard would eventually hang on Reunion, captured in Madagascar in 1730, but by that point all his fabulous riches had been hidden somewhere. The Oregon Meteorite Mystery: Was the Port Orford Incident a Hoax? Whilst attempts have been made over the years to decipher the coded message, and to track down Levasseurs treasure, none of these have actually succeeded. And it all comes back to this story of Levasseur. His time on the Seychelles islands was short lived though, and he decided to move to Madagascar. [4] In 1719, he operated together with Howell Davis and Thomas Cocklyn (who had also served under Moody) for a time. Levasseur left the crew of the ship on their destroyed vessel to die, and brought the 240 slaves to shore on an island off the coast of Macae near Rio de Janeiro. He knew he was close. Source: phopsak / Adobe Stock. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), he procured a letter of marque from King Louis XIV and became a privateer for the French crown. Funds again started to run low when the final blow came: the spring tides rushed in and flooded the workings before any treasure was found. When the war ended he was ordered to return home with his ship, but he instead joined the pirate company of Benjamin Hornigold in 1716. For a start, there are actually two cryptograms in existence today. What Became of Anne Bonny, Irish Pirate of the Caribbean? So, what are your thoughts? . He moved in secret to the Island chain in the Indian Ocean, known as the Republic of Seychelles. Tarchon and Tyrrhenus: The Etruscan Romulus and Remus? Then he leaves on Friday. Read about our approach to external linking. After amassing this substantial wealth, the pirates then began dividing the loot equally with each member receiving 50,000 in gold and 42 diamonds each. To date, Levasseurs treasure has yet to be found. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), he procured a Letter of Marque from king Louis XIV and became a privateer for the French crown. Who was the most feared pirate in history? With the new found fortune the pirates seized in Ouidah, the pirates set up shop off the coast of Madagascar. But theres one final story I want to tell you about his life. Images of a cryptogram allegedly created by the 18th century pirate Olivier Levasseur (often called La Buse, the hawk) accompanied by sensational claims about hidden pirate booty have been circulating amongst the French treasure hunting community since at least 1934. Buoyed up by famous novels such as Treasure Island, or the more recent cinematic Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, our brains are filled with exciting nonsense about daring adventures, hidden treasure and X marking the spot. Olivier Levasseur was born in France in the end of the 17th Century. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. His son, Seychellois history teacher John, is currently still seeking the treasure, concluding that after using state-of-the-art equipment, he needs "to go back to the old method, [getting] into this guy's mind, [claiming he is] ten down, two to go in his Herculean Labours. It would appear, that escaping justice, wasnt in the hand he was dealt. Before his execution, Levasseur supposedly revealed the whereabouts of his buried loot through a cryptogram. $ 22.41 - $ 44.91. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340732038_The_Identification_of_the_Pirate_and_Shipwreck_MAHSNews_Report_Fall_202, https://escales.ponant.com/en/pirate-la-buse-2/, https://goldenageofpiracy.org/pirates/pirate-rounders/olivier-levasseur.php, https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/french-pirate-olivier-levasseur-left-behind-curious-cryptogram-does-it-lead-021725, https://steemit.com/history/@arrrados/the-tales-of-pirates-olivier-lavasseur-la-buse, Im a historical writer & the host of the Podcast and YouTube series Beyond the Harbor. In 1716, he met Benjamin Hornigold who was a founder of the Pirate Republic of Nassau. In one document there are some coordinates, and text in a mysterious alphabet. In fact, the treasure was so huge that the pirates did not bother to rob the persons of the ship's passengers, something they normally would have done. Levasseur's quartermaster at this time was Paulsgrave Williams, who had been Bellamy's quartermaster and fellow captain until Bellamy was killed in a storm off Cape Cod. oliver le vasseurs ,"la Buze", treasure is worth 100.000.000 pounds. His bad eye had become completely blind by now, so he started wearing an eyepatch. From Cousteaus Rediscover The World series.]. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner? She got a copy of olivers code and began braking it. On board was the Count of Ericeira, Viceroy of Portuguese India, and its hold had ~10 years of accumulated treasures - gold, diamonds, jewellery, spices, cloth, fine wood and more. He would keep all the spoils of war for him and his men to enjoy. Making treasure maps is a thriving cottage industry among the Seychelles islanders. Olivier Levasseur was born to a wealthy family in Calais at the end of the 17th century. He received a top education and trained as an architect. This capture turned out to be one of the greatest single pirate hauls in all of history, literally writing the story of the Legend of Olivier Levasseur while he was still alive. La Buse Cryptogram. La Louise rounded on the prize, pursuing her in open water, but was trapped in a storm off Cotinga Island and was lost with 80 of his crew, sinking on March 9, 1718. step by step he broke the code. Born at Calais during the Nine Years' War (16881697) to a wealthy bourgeois family, Levasseur became an architect after receiving an excellent education. DEMIELLEEFOVTREFOUSENFAITESUNEONGAT The booty consisted of bars of gold and silver, dozens of boxes full of golden Guineas, diamonds, pearls, silk, art, and religious objects from the Se Cathedral in Goa, including the Fiery Cross of Goa, made of pure gold and inlaid with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. (Brave Heart/ CC BY NC ND 2.0 ). Olivier Levasseur (born in the late 1680s 7 July 1730) was a French pirate known for his quickness and ferocity in attacking his foes, both with his sword and with his rapier wit. John explained that the fascinating tale of the treasure began in 1716, when Frenchman Olivier Levasseur, also known as La Buse (The Buzzard) because of the speed with which he attacked his enemies, received a letter from the Marquis to act as a private. But within months, Levasseur turned to a more lucrative career of piracy. The trial was a quick one as you might expect. He was given the nickname of La Buse that translates to The Buzzard in his early years as a pirate because of his speed and ruthlessness in the way he attacked his enemies. Over a century ago a cryptogram and a cryptic map, said to be copies of the papers drawn from within his silk shirt and thrown to the crowd by the arrogant Levasseur just before he was hanged, were given to Berthe Morele by her father. Actual American Treasure FOUND Metal Detecting an Old House! Had it been planted there by some joker? He was taken in shackles back to Saint-Denis located on the island of modern day Reunion in the southern Indian Ocean, which was the place at which he plundered the Portuguese ship all those years before. But thats the beauty in the fascination that drives us to continually try to find the answers, to what we have yet to lay our hands on. In 1947, an Englishman named Reginald Cruise Wilkins, Mrs.Savoy neighbors began to study the documents. As the legend says, Levasseur threw into the . 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. 1 Blackbeard. Not bad, Levasseur, not bad. Four people perished on the hunt for this treasure, all while knowing the risk, yet pressing forward. According to researchers and historians, the hoard contains more than 50,000 gems such as diamonds, sapphires, and ancient artifacts. 17th Century British Christmas Ban Led to Civil War, Eight Historic Lies about the Ancient World that will Blow Your Mind, Chicagos Replica Sword is Actually an Authentic 3,000-Year-Old Weapon. The treasure chamber is somewhere underground and must be approached carefully, to avoid being flooded. Sailing under the French flag, his letters of passage technically expired when the war ended, but instead he chose to fall in with pirates. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Had some earlier searchers planted these things there? He is known for allegedly hiding one of the biggest treasures in pirate history, estimated at over 1billion, and leaving a cryptogram behind with clues to its whereabouts. He died on 3 May 1977 before he broke the last piece of code. When the loot was divided, each pirate received at least 50,000 worth of golden Guineas, as well as 42 diamonds each. La Buse and John Taylor spotted a Portuguese great galleon ship called the Nossa Senora Della Cabo - translated as The Virgin of the Cape - that had anchored off Reunion Island to undergo some repairs for storm damage. La Buse was sailing a 22-gun merchant ship that he named the La Louise, on the way to the South American coast. One of the clues in the cryptogram stated that a door would be found and that behind that door would be found a woman. Our virtual escape room/mystery series will test you with quite a few riddles along the way. Stay tuned for the release of Part 1: The Missing Detective in early summer! interesting find at a coinstar last night, THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7, New Book on Amazon. One that is still talked about and discussed, to this day. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. In 1947, Englishman Reginald Cruise-Wilkins studied the documents, but the cryptogram was much more difficult to solve than first believed. One of the most popular and intriguing stories of a pirates hidden treasure in the Seychelles is that of Olivier Levasseur. I can just visualise the hands going up, the fight, to meet the paper in the air, John said wistfully. In a cave, except for old guns, some coins, and pirate sarcophagi, he did not find anything. After a few more years of piracy, which included joining forces with an English pirate named John Taylor, Levasseur made the most lucrative capture of his pirating career: the Nossa Senhora do Cabo. After a year working with Hornigold, the gang parted ways and Levasseur set up his own outfit. He left the crew on board to sink with the ship, but kept the slaves for himself for a short while before abandoning them on a small island just outside of Rio De Janeiro. However, some still find the lure interesting and containing a small nugget of truth. But the cryptogram, which has been tested to be genuine parchment from the 18th-Century by the British Museum, just looks like 17 lines of jumbled symbols to the untrained eye. However, the stories have to come from somewhere, and sometimes there are tales which match the fantasy. Except for a sprinkling of gold dustless than one ounce so farno treasure has been found aboard the vessel likely piloted by Edward Teach, the British-born pirate known as Blackbeard. The Mystery of the Bermagui Five, (In Pics) Six Abandoned Insane Asylums: Dungeons for the Helpless. Time however, was running out. (Oliver La Bouche) or Levasseur. The Great Mughal's heavily armed but also heavily laden pilgrim ships to Mecca sailed these seas. One of his more famous prizes was a slave ship from Angola, taken off Brazils southern coast with its live cargo. Just a couple of years ago in 2020, 10 years after it was hidden, a treasure hunter named Jack Stuef, finally uncovered the location. He then donned a black eye patch to cover his eye. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? It was there where Levasseur was informed of a wealthy Frenchmen nearby in the bay of Parangua. So today, we are going to look at another story of Pirate treasure. The pirates then proceeded with the plan they laid on the slave port city. Levasseur and his men found themselves off the coast of West Africa and decided to carry out their piratical activities there instead. Altogether, the ships loot is estimated at over 4 billion euros (or ~4.8 billion USD or like 3 bitcoins probably). In 1721, Levasseur and his associates then with 750 pirates over three ships came across a Portuguese galleon flying British colours, Nossa Senhora do Cabo, in the port of La Runion, then called Bourbon Island. Since 2009, hes been doing preparatory work on the site, repairing rock armouring walls, building footpaths to get equipment in and working on measurements, clues and other data to get this right. However, Levasseurs actions had brought the attention of the Portuguese authorities and his ship, the La Louise was forced to flee from a Portuguese boat. By this time he was every inch a pirate, with years at sea and a rakish scar across one eye, later covered with a patch. Bellamy and Levasseur sailed together for a little while, but then Levasseur had a change in plans, and wanted to raid the coast of South American coast just off of Brazil. Check out these stories on some of the folks currently searching for this thing: American Robert Graf has been looking for quite awhile, John Cruise-Wilkins is a second-generation treasure hunter searching in the Seychelles. Cc by NC ND 2.0 ) as diamonds, sapphires, and the stories of Levasseur was of. Reginald Cruise Wilkins, Mrs.Savoy neighbors began to study the documents has yet to olivier levasseur treasure found.... Might expect hand he was dealt Detecting an Old House buried loot through a cryptogram than 50,000 such! Did not find anything to meet the paper in the hand he was dealt la Buse sailing. 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