Treasure Tales and Treasure Stories About Georgia from the Archives of Lost Treasure Magazine
Lost Spanish colony
From State Treasure Tales
By Anthony J. Pallante
From page 27 of the August 1996 issue of Lost Treasure magazine.
Copyright ©1996, 1998 Lost Treasure, Inc.
According to Spanish docu-ments, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon established the colony of San Miguel de Guadeloupe near Sapelo Sound on the Georgia coast in 1526.
Like Ponce de Leon's previous effort in southwestern Florida, the attempt was unsuccessful -- probably due to Indian trouble -- and the Spaniards withdrew after a few months. No archaeological trace of San Miguel has ever been found, although some faint evidence of Spanish exploration along the coastline has been discovered. Of course, if San Miguel were discovered, it would belong to the archaeologists.
But wouldn't it be a thorn in the side of treasure hunting detractors if amateurs uncovered what professionals have sought in vain? If you would consider their discomfort the same kind of treasure I would, just make sure of two things before beginning your search:
--You are in strict compliance with all state and federal laws, and
--You have some knowledge of dealing with the media.
The eventual discoverer of San Miguel de Guadeloupe should be hailed as a hero, but it wouldn't take long for some glib academic to paint a hero who lacked the proper credentials as an interloping goat in the popular press.
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