This necessitated the compulsory dredging of the ocean floor, bringing out the sand, shells and other muck, on to the deck, where a careful search had to be made for the green emeralds. The difficulty in recovering the emeralds was due to the disintegration of the original chests that contained the gemstones, that was responsible for scattering them over a wide area of the ocean bed. Thus a vast quantity of rough emeralds yet remain to be recovered from the shipwreck. This represents about 6,000 uncut rough emeralds. Out of this only around 6 pounds (2.7 kg) of emeralds have been re-discovered, equivalent to about 13,500 carats. The total weight of emeralds carried by the “Nuestra Senora de Atocha” in several chests was estimated to be around 60-70 pounds (27-32 kg), equivalent to 135,000-160,000 carats. Among the passengers in the ship were not only Spanish sailors and soldiers, but also statesman, clergy, wealthy citizens, and some slaves. The main reason for this extraordinarily rich cargo in the Atocha, was because the ship was actually a military escort vessel, that carried a company of 82 infantry men, whose main duty was to defend the fleet from attack by pirates, both private and enemy-government (British) sponsored, so common in the Caribbean, making it the ship of choice for wealthy passengers as well as their precious cargo. However, the most richly laden of all the ships was the “Atocha” whose astonishing cargo consisted of 125 gold bars and discs, 24 tons of silver bullion in the form of 1038 ingots, 180,000 pesos of silver coins, and dozens of chests of emeralds and other gemstones. The holds of the ships carried the wealth of an Empire, consisting of gold and emeralds from Colombia, silver from Peru and Mexico, pearls from Venezuela, and gemstones from Brazil. In fact, the “Atocha” was only, one of 28 ships that constituted the Spanish treasure fleet, Tierra Firme, that left Havana for Spain on September 4th, 1622. The ship derived its name from the Parish of “Atocha” in Madrid, Spain. The Atocha Emeralds refer to the Emeralds originally of Muzo and Chivor origins in Colombia, which were re-discovered from the high profile shipwreck of the Spanish treasure galleon, the “Nuestra Senora de Atocha” which sank in a hurricane off the coast of Florida on September 6, 1622, about 35 miles (56 km) west of Key West.
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