13. The Ship La Belle
Value Estimate Present: Unknown
Year Vanished: 1686 Year Found: 1995
The La Belle’s remnants offer an important window into what may have been a pivotal moment in global history. When King Louis XIV of France ruled over the country in the 17th century, he sent out a sailing expedition with the goal of reaching North America and establishing a colony while also discovering the Spanish silver mines.
La Belle, the Ship /wikipedia.org
Leading the expedition, Sieur de La Salle abandoned the La Belle, the final ship still in the group, and sent his troops on foot to find the mouth of the Mississippi. The men were left stranded when a storm caused the ship to sink at this time. The wreckage of the ship contained about 1.6 million artifacts that provided insight into what the French colonists believed was required to establish a new colony.
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