More than 450 years ago, a three-masted ship sank in a hurricane off the coast of Florida, taking with it France's hopes of colonizing the peninsula."If there had not been this hurricane, who knows?"
Wait 450 years and suddenly the sofa becomes an artifact with ownership as well?
If there is historical significance and there is a wish to preserve the item for the public and not let the finder keep the item, the finder should be compensated in cash at fair market value. This is actually done when people find things like viking coins, etc. It’s much more reasonable of an approach.
First of all, the vessel was French and also a warship which qualifies it for the SMCA.
Secondly, there is historical significance. The defeat in Florida resulted in the French colonising Canada. The ship marks the turning point for when Florida was almost held by the French before the Spanish kicked them out.
Finders keepers isn’t legally binding and there’s a vast difference between a company owning a shipwreck and a country, namely that the company will just auction off whatever it finds to private collections or museums for the sake of profit.
There should be a bounty for finding historical pieces but you shouldn’t be able to own them. Just because you found it, doesn’t make you the de facto owner.
I don’t know whether or not France were looking for it but they are within their rights to claim what’s theirs.
Abandoned property is a thing. There should be a reasonable time limit.
Leaving a sofa on your driveway is hardly the same as a 450 year old shipwreck. You can’t claim a historical artefact just because you found it.
Wait 450 years and suddenly the sofa becomes an artifact with ownership as well?
If there is historical significance and there is a wish to preserve the item for the public and not let the finder keep the item, the finder should be compensated in cash at fair market value. This is actually done when people find things like viking coins, etc. It’s much more reasonable of an approach.
Furthermore was Spain actively looking for it??
First of all, the vessel was French and also a warship which qualifies it for the SMCA.
Secondly, there is historical significance. The defeat in Florida resulted in the French colonising Canada. The ship marks the turning point for when Florida was almost held by the French before the Spanish kicked them out.
The crux of it isn’t whether the law applies or not, it’s whether the law should exist or not.
I argue the law is dumb or should have an expriy window of 50 years or whatever.
If they really wanted it, they should have found it themselves.
Finders keepers isn’t legally binding and there’s a vast difference between a company owning a shipwreck and a country, namely that the company will just auction off whatever it finds to private collections or museums for the sake of profit.
There should be a bounty for finding historical pieces but you shouldn’t be able to own them. Just because you found it, doesn’t make you the de facto owner.
I don’t know whether or not France were looking for it but they are within their rights to claim what’s theirs.
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