- 16 minutes ago
Josh joins archaeologists in Panama as they search for the Satisfaction, the sunken flagship of legendary pirate Captain Henry Morgan. But first he must understand the man behind the rum who attacked Panama City looking for treasure. He also searches one of many shipwrecks near Fort San Lorenzo at the reef, where Morgan's ship ran aground.
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00:00We are descending down toward the bottom.
00:12There's a pirate ship down here somewhere.
00:16Whoa, we got a wreck down here.
00:18Big wreck.
00:20This looks like a treasure chest.
00:22It's absolutely unbelievable.
00:30When most people hear the name Captain Morgan,
00:35it conjures up the image of a drunken, amiable pirate
00:38with a leg up on a cask of his namesake rum.
00:41But Sir Henry Morgan was all too real.
00:44He was, in short, the most successful pirate in history.
00:48But in 1671, Morgan steers his flagship, the Satisfaction,
00:54onto a razor-sharp reef off the coast of Panama,
00:57where it sinks and is lost for centuries.
01:00But now, there are reports that it may have been found.
01:05Recently, a team from Texas State University,
01:08led by underwater archaeologist Fritz Hanselman,
01:10located and raised six cannons that may be from Morgan's ship.
01:14Then, they made a truly shocking find.
01:18The remains of an entire 17th-century vessel.
01:21But is it Morgan's?
01:23Inside the hull are nearly 100 unopened chests
01:26just waiting to be brought to the surface.
01:30While I'd be lying if I said I didn't have visions
01:33of pirate treasure dancing in my head,
01:36I'm also hopeful to understand the man behind the rum label.
01:40Who was Morgan?
01:41Does he deserve to be remembered as a daring privateer
01:43or reviled as a bloodthirsty pirate?
01:46The answers, and perhaps his pirate ship, are waiting in the Caribbean.
01:50My name is Josh Gates.
02:00With a degree in archaeology and a passion for exploration,
02:04I have a tendency to end up in some very strange situations.
02:08There has got to be a better way to make a living.
02:12My travels have taken me to the ends of the Earth
02:15as I investigate the greatest legends in history.
02:18We're going to fly. Let's go.
02:19This is Expedition Unknown.
02:22Panama, a sun-soaked sliver of land
02:33dividing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
02:36I touch down in the city of Cologne
02:38and pick up a used but heavily modified jeep
02:41to begin my journey in search of Captain Morgan's flagship.
02:45It's like 30 feet off the ground.
02:47I'm literally going to need, like, a running start
02:49to get into this thing.
02:54I have not one, but two CBs for some reason.
02:59Check, check, check.
03:00Hello, hello?
03:07This is the greatest car I've ever been in.
03:10Even though this is a 340-year-old cold case,
03:13I'm still putting out an APB for my lead suspect.
03:17I'm looking for Captain Morgan's flagship.
03:19Has anybody seen the satisfaction?
03:23A minor programming note,
03:24for those of you watching with young children,
03:26be advised that tonight's program is rated R.
03:31Come on!
03:33A little pirate humor?
03:35Okay, now that I've got that out of my system,
03:37we can move on.
03:40As I make my way outside of town,
03:42I soon pass by the haunting remains of Spanish forts.
03:45To understand why they're here,
03:48we need to step back in time.
03:51Welcome to the 17th century.
03:54Spain is the most powerful country in the region,
03:57controlling nearly all of Central and Upper South America,
04:00Florida, Cuba,
04:02and the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
04:05Spain's power is due, in large measure,
04:07to the seemingly limitless supplies of gold and silver,
04:10which conquistadors are hauling out of Peru and Bolivia in South America.
04:13But in order to get these riches back to Spain,
04:17they need to get them into the Atlantic.
04:21Using slaves to march their riches to Panama,
04:23they establish a new world capital on the Pacific coast, Panama City.
04:27Then, mules bring the loot 52 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic side,
04:32where it's loaded onto galleons in the town of Portobello, bound for Spain.
04:36This is Portobello.
04:41It was actually named by Columbus,
04:42who sailed in the bay here hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
04:46It's a little tumble down today,
04:47but during the 17th century,
04:49this was one of the most critical cities for the Spanish,
04:52and it was the very first place
04:53that Captain Morgan decided to attack in Panama.
04:56Panama is a washing machine of cultures.
05:05The Congo dancers in the streets are the descendants of the Cimarrones,
05:09runaway slaves who won hard-fought freedom from their Spanish captors.
05:13It's part Afro-Panamanian religious revival
05:15and part village people reunion.
05:18Guy in a life preserver, dancing in the streets.
05:21Why not?
05:21But it's at the edge of town
05:25where Portobello reveals its once powerful defenses.
05:29So why did this sleepy port need to be armed to the teeth?
05:33One word, pirates.
05:36The 17th century is the golden age of pirates,
05:39and no man is more notorious than Captain Henry Morgan,
05:43flying under the flag of the English Royal Navy.
05:46Spain has a stranglehold on the Caribbean,
05:48but other European empires are hiring privateers
05:51like Morgan to weaken the Spanish through plunder and havoc.
05:56Captain Morgan's first attack on Panama
05:58took place here in Portobello.
06:00Historian Juan David Morgan has his own take on the legendary pirate.
06:05What's your impression of Morgan, the man, the real man?
06:08Since his early years,
06:10he wanted to become a man of the sea.
06:13Morgan was not a pirate, he was a privateer.
06:15And the difference between a privateer and a pirate
06:17is simply that someone is commissioning you to do this, right?
06:20Just to be clear, privateers like Captain Morgan
06:23were awarded hefty commissions from the Crown
06:25for their life-risking work.
06:27A single seized enemy ship
06:29could earn each crew member a year's wages
06:31or much, much more.
06:32But Morgan was not a good navigator.
06:36And that's why he sunk three boats.
06:38Right.
06:39It's amazing.
06:40We think of Morgan as this swashbuckling pirate out at sea,
06:43but really he wasn't much of a navigator.
06:45He was a commander over land.
06:48Morgan's assault on Portobello was successful
06:51because the Spanish never saw him coming.
06:53In July of 1666, he and his men landed three miles away
06:57and attacked Portobello on foot from behind.
07:01Morgan's next move was unexpected, brazen,
07:04and incredibly risky.
07:06He held the entire city hostage
07:07and threatened to burn it
07:09if the Spanish didn't pay him to leave.
07:11Infuriated but helpless,
07:13the governor of Panama City agreed to pay up.
07:15And in return, Morgan sailed out of the harbor
07:18a free and rich man.
07:20Morgan's attack on Portobello was audacious.
07:23But he was just getting warmed up.
07:26He didn't just want to aggravate the Spanish.
07:28He wanted to destroy them.
07:30To do that, he set his sights just down the coast
07:32on another Spanish fortress,
07:34known as San Lorenzo.
07:36And it's here that Morgan's ship
07:37might be lying in its watery grave.
07:41I'm going to learn the truth about Morgan's flagship.
07:44I have to go find the people
07:45that are actively engaged in looking for it.
07:47I'm meeting with Fritz Hanselman
07:48and his team from Texas State
07:50who are on the cutting edge
07:51of trying to find the satisfaction.
07:55So 17th century, what's going on here?
07:57Why does this fort exist here?
07:59Well, this fort here is what protected
08:01all the gold and silver
08:02that were coming from South America and the Pacific
08:04over to this side in the Caribbean
08:06and then later on to Spain.
08:07So for the Spanish, pretty critical fort.
08:09Absolutely.
08:10And this is what was constructed
08:12to keep out guys like Henry Morgan.
08:13So when Morgan shows up here,
08:16what's his move?
08:17How does he get into this place?
08:19He sends three ships with 470 men
08:21to launch a terrestrial assault.
08:23So they cross this peninsula to the fort
08:25and they attack from the rear.
08:27Our flaming arrow went into the munition stockpile
08:29inside the fort and exploded it.
08:33So he got lucky.
08:34Yeah, I mean, true to the story of Morgan,
08:36he gets lucky in all sorts of different circumstances.
08:39But his luck didn't last forever.
08:42That's when disaster strikes.
08:45And so Morgan ran his flagship,
08:47the satisfaction of ground,
08:48then four other ships followed suit.
08:50So they just kind of had a pileup on these rocks.
08:52Wow.
08:53Five of Morgan's vessels strike the Lajas Reef.
08:56And while he manages to escape,
08:58the ships all sink.
09:01You can see the reef right here.
09:03Right down here where those whitecaps are.
09:04Exactly.
09:05That's the reef where Morgan and the ships ran aground.
09:07So the big question is, where did they end up?
09:10They already recovered a wooden chest and a sword blade.
09:13Their recent discovery of several cannons
09:15was a turning point in recent investigations.
09:19And what's the general hypothesis now of the cannons?
09:22We believe that they're Henry Morgan's.
09:23We've got three that look to be English.
09:25There are markings on them to indicate
09:27that they are mid to late 17th century.
09:30Near the cannons,
09:31the archaeologists also noticed wooden timbers.
09:34And we realized,
09:35it looks like what we have is a piece of ship hole
09:37and there's chests in the ship hole.
09:40And so, you know, of course, we're ecstatic.
09:42Ecstatic is an understatement.
09:44His team found dozens of possible treasure chests,
09:47but they're fragile, badly overgrown,
09:50and have yet to be analyzed.
09:52And with so many wrecks in the bay,
09:53they can't be sure they have the right boat.
09:57I'm thrilled that Fritz has invited me
09:59to join his convoy through the rainforest
10:00and down to the beach to continue their search.
10:04But before we can get there,
10:05we hit a roadblock.
10:07Literally.
10:07That's a big tree.
10:18I'm in Panama,
10:19where I've joined a team of archaeologists
10:21on the search for the sunken flagship
10:23of legendary pirate Captain Morgan.
10:25We're about to dive into the waters
10:27where the ship went down.
10:28But before we can get there,
10:30we run into a minor roadblock.
10:32That's a big tree.
10:35Okay, major roadblock.
10:38There's not exactly an alternate route,
10:40so the only thing we can do
10:41is dismantle this enormous tree
10:43one hack at a time.
10:45This happens a lot here, apparently.
10:46Trees are already really saturated.
10:48It's really humid.
10:48It rains.
10:49Part of the jungle just falls under the road.
10:51It may take a little while to clear.
10:54Unfortunately,
10:55we don't exactly have the best tools for the job.
10:58I have this thing done in no time.
10:59Finally, some reinforcements arrive on the scene.
11:09Ah, ants.
11:13There's a lot of very bitey ants in here as well.
11:17What am I doing?
11:18I have a huge Jeep with giant tires.
11:20Once we've cleared the road,
11:30it's a short drive to the Chagras River
11:32just below Fort San Lorenzo.
11:37I'm hoping to explore the intriguing wreck
11:39where the cannons were recovered.
11:41But first,
11:42I want to see where Captain Morgan's ship ran aground.
11:44So the reef is right there.
11:52So he was coming in toward the fort
11:54and just smashed it right up on the reef.
11:56Yep.
11:57Okay, what's our first move, Fritz?
11:58First thing we've got to do is survey the seafloor.
12:00That's the reef where Morgan lost the ships.
12:02There's got to be something down there.
12:05Unfortunately,
12:06scores of ships have wrecked here,
12:08and the swirling currents
12:09could have carried the satisfaction
12:11nearly anywhere along the coast.
12:13But the team has a high-tech tool
12:15to narrow down their search.
12:17This is a magnetometer.
12:18It detects the ambient magnetic field of the Earth.
12:21And anything that would cause any deviations to that,
12:24anything ferrous, anything iron,
12:26it will detect.
12:27Unfortunately,
12:28I'm only semi-fluent in nerd speak.
12:30All right,
12:31I'm following about 10% of what you're saying.
12:33But basically,
12:34I think what we're saying here is
12:35we throw this torpedo in the water.
12:38And it'll detect iron.
12:39So in other words,
12:40a great way to detect shipwrecks.
12:42Yes.
12:42That I can follow.
12:43Now you're talking my language.
12:45And then back through this cable,
12:46it feeds to a laptop here?
12:47Yep.
12:47This thing is just collecting the raw data,
12:49and we'll just go back and forth
12:50and get the coverage in the entire reef area.
12:53And hopefully,
12:54those iron objects will pop up.
12:56Am I, like,
12:57never going to have kids right now?
12:58Is this...
12:58I've got this right in my crotch.
13:01Let's get this thing in the water.
13:03High levels of iron on the seafloor
13:04can indicate debris from a wrecked ship.
13:07While Fritz's team
13:08has already discovered one wreck,
13:09it may not be the satisfaction,
13:11and they're still looking
13:12for other promising leads.
13:14With the real-time GPS,
13:16it is tracking where we're moving.
13:18Right.
13:18We're that little bird right there,
13:19and we're just going to mow the lawn
13:20on these grid lines.
13:21Back and forth, back and forth.
13:22Yep.
13:23And where's the reef on here?
13:24The reef is right here,
13:25right in front of us.
13:26And we're going to try
13:26to not smash into that?
13:27Exactly.
13:28That's the most important part of the survey?
13:30Certainly much, yes.
13:30Are there other boats
13:35that you know of
13:36that have sank here?
13:37Yeah, absolutely.
13:38We have between 20 and 30 wrecks
13:39that we know of
13:40that have been recorded
13:40having wrecked in this area.
13:42That makes it a lot more complicated.
13:43It does,
13:44especially with all the modern debris
13:45and whatnot.
13:46It's like looking for a needle
13:47in a haystack sometimes.
13:48After dozens of passes
13:50with the magnetometer
13:51and only discrete readings
13:52on the receiver,
13:53we're on the verge
13:54of calling it quits.
13:55We've decided to make
13:56one last pass
13:57along the edge of the reef
13:58before moving on.
14:02Whoa, whoa, whoa.
14:02What's that?
14:03Fritz, what is that?
14:04Right there.
14:04Wow, that's a big hit.
14:06That's a pretty good spike, though.
14:07It's probably well over
14:08a thousand gammas.
14:09Some serious iron objects
14:10down there,
14:10so we need to go check that out.
14:11All right, great.
14:12Let's go dive.
14:14A reading of this size
14:16could signify a shipwreck.
14:18Fritz and I quickly throw
14:19on our dive gear
14:19to investigate.
14:28Visibility doesn't look
14:31very good,
14:32but we are descending
14:33down towards the bottom.
14:39Diving in murky conditions
14:40in an area with a history
14:42of shark attacks
14:42is slightly unsettling.
14:45But it turns out
14:46that visions of lost
14:47pirate treasure
14:47are a pretty decent motivator.
14:51We're at the bottom
14:52and we're heading
14:53toward the anomaly
14:54that we recorded
14:54from the mag.
14:55We've reached the bottom
14:57but haven't found
14:58the source of the hit
14:59on the magnetometer.
15:00Fritz and I fan out
15:01and continue looking.
15:04Yeah, we don't seem
15:05to be picking anything up.
15:07Whatever we saw
15:08from the boat,
15:09we're not seeing down here.
15:10We canvas the area
15:12and are about to abort
15:13the dive operation
15:14when...
15:16Whoa, we got a wreck
15:17down here, Fritz.
15:18Big wreck.
15:19Oh, no, no, no, no.
15:21Finally,
15:22the source of the hit
15:23on the magnetometer.
15:24And it's exactly
15:25what we're looking for.
15:26A massive shipwreck.
15:28We're looking
15:29at the mast here.
15:31Seeing this wreck
15:32is a huge rush.
15:33But now we need
15:34to determine
15:35if this is a boat
15:36from Captain Morgan's fleet
15:37or some other
15:38historic shipwreck.
15:42This appears to be
15:44a huge boiler system.
15:46Obviously,
15:47this is not
15:47Captain Morgan's technology.
15:50Pretty cool.
15:51It's a massive shipwreck
15:52in any event.
15:53This type of modern boiler
15:55wasn't in use
15:56until hundreds of years
15:57after Morgan
15:58sailed the high seas.
16:01All right,
16:02we're just about
16:03out of air here.
16:04Let's head back
16:05to the surface
16:05and make a plan
16:06from there.
16:08With our tanks
16:08running low,
16:09we ascend to the surface
16:10to replenish our air.
16:11Wow.
16:20That is amazing.
16:21Ton of debris down there,
16:23stuff all over the place.
16:24And eventually
16:25led us to
16:26a huge wreck,
16:27but definitely
16:27on a pirate ship.
16:28So,
16:29the search continues.
16:31Fritz's team
16:31recently discovered
16:32another wreck
16:33that could be
16:34Captain Morgan's ship.
16:35As the seas get rougher,
16:37we hurry to the site,
16:38and I'm beginning
16:39to understand
16:39why so many boats
16:40have sunk here.
16:50We're descending now.
16:52Visibility is very bad.
16:54It's just small pieces
16:59of rock and debris here.
17:01Let's just keep exploring around
17:03and see if we can
17:03find something else.
17:05There's a pirate ship
17:06down here somewhere.
17:08We cautiously move forward
17:09in the haze
17:10when suddenly
17:11an amazing sight
17:12comes into view.
17:14Holy f***,
17:15look at this.
17:17Oh my God.
17:19This looks like
17:20a pirate ship.
17:21Nestled on the bottom
17:22is an honest-to-God
17:2317th-century
17:25wooden chest.
17:26And nearby,
17:27there are more.
17:28Lots more.
17:30It's just
17:31thousands and thousands
17:32of chests here.
17:33It's absolutely
17:34unbelievable
17:35to be looking
17:36at wooden chests
17:37of hundreds
17:38and hundreds
17:38of years ago.
17:39It's crazy.
17:41So amazing.
17:42What do you think
17:42is inside it?
17:44We don't know.
17:45That's why we want
17:46to take a look.
17:47It's the next
17:47way the one
17:47that we recovered.
17:49Over time,
17:50the wooden containers
17:50have become encrusted
17:52and are impossible
17:52to open
17:53without destroying them.
17:54Fritz's team
17:55has already moved
17:55one chest
17:56to Panama City
17:57where it awaits analysis.
17:58That's so cool.
18:00Until this boat
18:01is identified,
18:02the rest must remain
18:03on the bottom
18:04to be preserved.
18:05So we've got to comb
18:06the wreck
18:06for other artifacts.
18:08We've got something
18:09over here.
18:10We've definitely
18:11got something here.
18:12I've traveled to Panama
18:19on a mission
18:20to find the satisfaction,
18:22the sunken flagship
18:23of legendary pirate
18:24Captain Morgan.
18:25Whoa, Fritz,
18:26what is that?
18:26Right there.
18:27That's a big hit.
18:29I've joined a team
18:30of archaeologists
18:31who found a wreck
18:32that might just fit the bill.
18:33It's just rows and rows
18:35of chests here.
18:36Hundreds and hundreds
18:37of years old.
18:39It's gone so ugly,
18:40unbelievable.
18:41That's so cool.
18:43And I think we've made
18:44another discovery.
18:46We've definitely
18:47got something here.
18:48Alongside the mule shoe,
19:01we've also found
19:01a heavily encrusted
19:02metal fragment
19:03that we can't yet identify.
19:09Along with these finds,
19:11I'm stunned to see
19:12actual planks of wood
19:13from the hull of the ship.
19:15That this is still
19:16so well preserved
19:17after more than
19:18300 years
19:19is nothing short
19:20of astonishing.
19:25I'm also getting
19:26a crash course
19:27and doing field work
19:28on the ocean floor.
19:30We deploy
19:31underwater metal detectors
19:32to scan the area,
19:33and I even try my hand
19:35at mapping the wreck.
19:44Ceramic sherds like this
19:45are often key
19:46to decoding
19:47archaeological wrecks.
19:49Let's get this stuff
19:50up to the surface.
19:52Despite the challenging
19:52conditions,
19:53it was a successful dive.
19:57The mule shoe,
19:58ceramic sherd,
19:59and the metal fragment
20:00could provide valuable
20:01information on dating
20:02the shipwreck
20:03and determining its origin.
20:04That was great.
20:08Nice sight, huh?
20:10Oh, amazing.
20:12Fritz and his team
20:12will transport
20:13the incredibly fragile relics
20:15to their lab
20:15in Panama City.
20:16We'll analyze them
20:17along with their
20:18other recent finds.
20:21Meanwhile,
20:22I'm continuing my quest
20:23to understand Morgan.
20:25Having survived
20:25his shipwreck,
20:26he carried on
20:27up the Chagras River
20:28toward Panama City,
20:29and I'm following
20:31his route.
20:35I'm headed to meet
20:36a group of Embora Indians,
20:38a tribe native
20:39to this region.
20:41So this is the Chagras River.
20:43This is kind of the
20:43original Panama Canal.
20:45If you were trying
20:46to get goods
20:46either from Panama City
20:48out to the coast
20:48or trying to get inland,
20:49this is the river
20:50that you used.
20:51So Morgan,
20:52after he loses his ship,
20:54puts together
20:54the largest pirate army
20:56ever assembled,
20:571,500 men,
20:58and he goes down this river
20:59toward Panama City.
21:05Along the banks,
21:06just these impenetrable
21:07rainforests
21:08and howler monkeys
21:09and native tribes,
21:10small groups of Spanish
21:12attacking them.
21:12This would have been
21:13a really intense
21:14and difficult journey for him.
21:16While Spain methodically
21:18exploited and enslaved
21:19the native people
21:20in the Americas,
21:21there are very few reports
21:22as to how Captain Morgan
21:24fared against them.
21:26According to accounts
21:28of the journey,
21:29Morgan ordered his men
21:30to make the trip
21:30with very few supplies,
21:32believing he could steal
21:33whatever food or water
21:35they needed along the way.
21:37Over 300 years later,
21:38I'm curious to learn
21:39if Captain Morgan's legacy
21:41lives on in native lore.
21:42These are the Embera,
21:51one of several indigenous tribes
21:52that have roamed Central America
21:54since time immemorial.
21:55Nice to meet you.
22:03Nice to meet you.
22:05Look at this.
22:06Wow.
22:14What a welcome.
22:15Thank you very much.
22:16As the welcome party
22:19turns into a full-blown
22:20dance party,
22:21perhaps I'm getting
22:22more than I bargained for.
22:23And what does the dance signify?
22:25The marriage.
22:27Marriage.
22:27Am I getting married right now?
22:29Yes.
22:29All right.
22:30Well, it's a nice spot,
22:32I guess.
22:33Settle down.
22:34It's using that
22:35when we have a big home,
22:37when it's new,
22:37we celebrate this music for that.
22:41Got it.
22:41Hola.
22:42Hi.
22:44I guess this is my family now.
22:45If this were three centuries ago,
22:53it's likely that I wouldn't have survived
22:55getting out of the boat.
22:58Considering the atrocities
22:59committed to Panama's
23:00indigenous peoples,
23:02the Embera's hospitality
23:03is overwhelming.
23:08In a nearby hut,
23:09I sit down with a village elder
23:11and his son.
23:12Thank you very much
23:13for having me here today.
23:14I really appreciate
23:15your hospitality.
23:17After he wrecked his ship,
23:19Captain Morgan passed through here
23:21on the Chagros River
23:22to Panama City.
23:23How do you look back on Morgan?
23:24We have many problems
23:32with the captain.
23:34The Embera tried not to see
23:37the Morgan like a friend or something.
23:39He's like the enemy.
23:41As an enemy?
23:41Yes.
23:42No different than the Spanish?
23:43No different than the Spanish.
23:45Captain Morgan's plan
23:46of stealing supplies
23:47from the native Indians
23:48backfired.
23:49Not only were they able
23:50to flee their villages
23:51before the pirates arrived,
23:52they bettered them in combat.
23:55Between the natives
23:55and small garrisons
23:56of Spanish soldiers,
23:58more than a hundred
23:58of Morgan's men
23:59died en route
24:00to Panama City.
24:03Today,
24:04I'm thrilled to see
24:05that long after
24:06the Spanish Empire
24:07is gone,
24:08tribes like the Embera
24:09endure.
24:09They even have
24:10a tattoo parlor.
24:11Before leaving,
24:12they insist on giving me
24:13something to remember
24:14my visit.
24:15I'm hoping this guy
24:16does lower back tattoos
24:17as well.
24:18I'm thinking about getting
24:19maybe a dolphin back there.
24:25Back on the Chagras River,
24:27I continue retracing
24:28Morgan's path
24:29to Panama City.
24:30In 1671,
24:32it took his crew
24:33more than 10 days
24:34to cross from the Atlantic
24:35to the Pacific side.
24:39While I'd like to stay true
24:41to the captain's journey,
24:42I need to pick up
24:42the pace a bit.
24:43After all,
24:48I've got a pirate
24:49treasure chest
24:50and other artifacts
24:51waiting to be analyzed
24:52in Panama City.
24:53The results could prove
24:55once and for all
24:56if Captain Morgan's
24:57lost ship
24:57has finally been found.
25:09I'm in Panama,
25:10retracing Captain Morgan's
25:11journey across the country
25:13on his mission
25:13to ransack Panama City.
25:16I was following his trail
25:17by canoe
25:18up the Chagras River,
25:19but I think it's time
25:20to pick up the pace
25:21in a slightly faster vehicle
25:23that covers the same route.
25:29Welcome aboard
25:30the famed
25:31Panama Canal Railway.
25:33While the Chagras River
25:34may have been
25:34the original
25:35transportation system,
25:36this historic rail line
25:38was the backbone
25:39that helped build
25:39modern Panama.
25:40the train basically
25:43slices across
25:44the Isthmus of Panama.
25:46It's pretty incredible.
25:47You start in the Caribbean
25:48on the Atlantic side.
25:49This takes us
25:50all the way across
25:51over to Panama City
25:52and the Pacific.
25:56It's a breathtaking ride
25:58and a great place
25:59to pick up
26:00a little part-time work.
26:01I'm now the bartender.
26:08Get my tip jar out here.
26:10Hot coffee, folks.
26:11Hot coffee.
26:13Is there any booze
26:14back here?
26:16Having retraced
26:17Captain Morgan's route
26:18across the Isthmus,
26:19Panama City comes into view
26:20and it's absolutely stunning.
26:30Welcome to Panama.
26:32Welcome to Panama.
26:34Forget whatever image
26:36you have of the
26:36so-called developing world,
26:38Panama City is the shining star
26:40of Central America.
26:41This steamy tropical boomtown
26:46is crawling
26:47with foreign investors,
26:48expat fortune seekers
26:50and cranes
26:51reshaping
26:51a futuristic skyline
26:53that seems to grow
26:54before your eyes.
26:56Welcome to Panama.
27:00Gracias.
27:01Sir, are you available
27:03to travel with me
27:03all the time?
27:04Huh?
27:04How is it that Panama
27:08is richer than
27:08every other
27:09Central American nation
27:10put together?
27:11Simple.
27:13They have a canal.
27:20Okay, let's see if I can
27:22steer this thing through.
27:26Hello?
27:26Come in.
27:29Think I may have just
27:30broken the Panama Canal.
27:32Thankfully,
27:33I'm only maneuvering
27:33a cargo ship
27:34through a simulator.
27:36We're all fine here.
27:37We're all fine.
27:39How are you?
27:41Welcome to the
27:42Miraflores locks
27:43of the Panama Canal.
27:45This modern marvel
27:46is a jaw-dropping
27:47testament to human spirit
27:48and ingenuity.
27:50This is the Pacific Ocean.
27:51Over there's the Atlantic Ocean.
27:53As ships come into these locks,
27:55they get closed in.
27:56They flood the locks,
27:57raising the ships up
27:58more than 50 feet.
27:59This gate that we're
28:00standing on then opens.
28:02Ship passes into the next lock
28:03and into the next ocean.
28:05Crazy.
28:07In 1902,
28:08the U.S.
28:09began construction
28:10on the most audacious
28:11engineering project
28:12in human history.
28:1420,000 French
28:15and 6,000 American workers
28:16died trying to rejoin
28:18the two great oceans
28:19of the world,
28:20forever changing
28:21international trade.
28:23Boats that once
28:24had to sail
28:24around the treacherous tip
28:25of South America
28:26in the era
28:27of Captain Morgan
28:28could suddenly take
28:29an 8,000-mile shortcut
28:30through the heart
28:31of two continents.
28:34Trophy case, obviously.
28:36This thing wins
28:37best canal every year.
28:39From the Miraflores locks,
28:41it's a short trip
28:42to Panama City.
28:43The nation's capital
28:44is booming
28:45thanks to the canal.
28:46In the shadow
28:47of opulent modern skyscrapers
28:48sits Costco Viejo,
28:50the historic district
28:51of Panama City.
28:52It's a tumble-down maze
28:54of colonial facades
28:55and cobblestone streets
28:56that's still brimming
28:57with activity.
28:59Kids got stuff to do.
29:01Places to be.
29:02Street vendors
29:03peddle regional crafts
29:04and surprising hidden treasures.
29:07We found it.
29:09We're going to sit right here
29:09the whole time.
29:11A lot smaller than I thought.
29:12Episode over.
29:14When visiting Panama,
29:16it's an obligation
29:16to pick up one
29:17of the country's
29:18signature Panama hats.
29:20However,
29:20finding the right fit
29:21can take a little time.
29:24I'm realizing
29:24I have a huge head.
29:29Hola.
29:30Como estas?
29:35Oh, there we go.
29:36Quanto cuesta?
29:37700.
29:40700.
29:40This is a $700 hat.
29:42Why is it made
29:43out of unicorn hair?
29:45Since my salary
29:45won't cover a hat
29:46that costs as much
29:47as a flat-screen TV,
29:48I opt for a more
29:49affordable choice.
29:51Oh, yeah.
29:52That's it right there.
29:54That's the one.
29:55I could pull this off,
29:56I think.
29:58It looks like
29:58Hannibal Lecter, but...
30:02Walking through town,
30:08it's hard to not be struck
30:09by the intersection
30:10of Panama's past
30:11and future.
30:13Though Casco Viejo
30:14looks ancient,
30:15it's actually new
30:16compared to the original city,
30:18of which there is
30:19almost nothing left.
30:21This is the final chapter
30:23of Morgan's brazen raid
30:24on Panama.
30:26When he reached
30:26the metropolis
30:27in 1670,
30:28his dwindling,
30:29half-starved army
30:30actually managed
30:31to overrun the Spanish
30:32on their home turf.
30:34In the aftermath,
30:35the entire city
30:36burned to the ground.
30:37Some accounts blame
30:40Morgan for setting
30:41the city ablaze,
30:43while others believe
30:43the retreating Spanish
30:44were accountable.
30:46Either way,
30:47this is all that's left.
30:49One lone church tower
30:51is the last building
30:52standing
30:52from the original
30:53Panama City.
30:58Here,
30:59I'm meeting with
30:59Tomás Mendezábal,
31:01director of Panama's
31:02Anthropology Museum,
31:03to hear the brutal truth
31:04about Captain Morgan's
31:06final raid on Panama,
31:07and his lasting legacy
31:08for Panamanians.
31:10So,
31:11this is
31:12the original Panama City.
31:14Yeah,
31:15exactly.
31:16Not a lot left.
31:17No, no.
31:17What you see is
31:18what Morgan left
31:19after the attack.
31:21We have this image
31:22of him as this kind
31:23of mythic figure,
31:24this larger-than-life,
31:25kind of swashbuckling guy.
31:26His image in the U.S.
31:27is so ridiculous.
31:29They're so cool.
31:30They're awesome.
31:30He's so cool,
31:31and he's, like,
31:32such a player,
31:33and he's, like,
31:34this good-time frat boy.
31:36Yeah.
31:37What's the local viewpoint
31:39on him here?
31:40In Panama,
31:40everybody knows Morgan.
31:42Pirata Morgan
31:43and Pirata Morgan.
31:43Yeah.
31:44He's everywhere.
31:45But a villain?
31:47For sure, yeah.
31:47I mean,
31:48this attack caused
31:49a lot of death
31:49and destruction,
31:50so, yeah,
31:50for sure,
31:51he's a villain.
31:52Between 3,000 and 4,000
31:53people actually died.
31:55They tortured a ton of people.
31:56He's asking them
31:56for their goal,
31:57squeezing somebody's head
31:58till their eyes popped out
31:59because he wouldn't say
32:00what his treasure was.
32:01If you were a woman,
32:02that was even worse.
32:03That kind of detail
32:04were widely known.
32:06I think his image
32:07would be less
32:08that of a rock star.
32:10The Spanish despised
32:11Morgan for the destruction
32:12of Panama.
32:14But even though his success
32:15was born through
32:16extreme terror and violence,
32:18to the English,
32:19he was a hero.
32:20They even knighted him
32:21and made him
32:21Lieutenant Governor
32:22of Jamaica,
32:23where he died fat,
32:24rich,
32:25and in his own bed.
32:26Almost unheard of
32:28for a pirate.
32:29With a better understanding
32:30of Morgan's
32:31controversial legacy,
32:33I head to the
32:33National Institute of Culture
32:34back in the city
32:35to reunite with
32:36archaeologist Fritz Hanselman.
32:38His team has been working
32:39to prepare the artifacts
32:40from the shipwreck
32:41for analysis.
32:43Jacinto!
32:44How are you?
32:45Welcome to Panama.
32:46Thank you, thank you.
32:47Jacinto is essentially
32:49the godfather
32:49of archaeological artifacts
32:51here in this country.
32:52Very nice.
32:53My pleasure.
32:54Let's take a look
32:54at all the other stuff
32:55we've got.
32:55Along with the items
32:57we pulled up
32:57from the wreck,
32:58he's got some amazing
32:59evidence to share with me.
33:01This is really cool.
33:03Look at that!
33:04Whoa!
33:05That's amazing!
33:12I'm at the National
33:13Institute of Culture
33:14in Panama City
33:15to examine the wealth
33:16of relics found
33:17by Fritz and his team.
33:19This is really cool.
33:21Look at that!
33:22Whoa!
33:23That's amazing!
33:25That's a pirate cannon
33:27right there.
33:28This is one of the guns
33:29that we recovered
33:29from the reef
33:30where Morgan ran
33:31his ships aground.
33:33We have six guns
33:34all together.
33:35Some look to be English
33:36and some look to be French.
33:38But if these were
33:38in the same spot,
33:39most likely they came
33:40from the same vessel
33:41or vessels.
33:42So these are the first
33:43tangible evidence
33:44of Morgan's attack
33:45on Panama in 1671.
33:47It's amazing.
33:49Along with the cannons,
33:51Fritz's team has been
33:52preparing the items
33:53recovered during our dive.
33:55These are the artifacts
33:56that we recovered
33:56the other day
33:57from the shipwreck.
33:58So here we have
33:58our mule shoe
33:59and here we have
34:00the ceramics
34:01with the neck rim
34:02of the jar.
34:04And this we don't
34:04quite know what it is yet.
34:06This concretion
34:06could be a spike.
34:08It could be some sort
34:09of weird conglomerate
34:10of metal.
34:12Along with these
34:12incredible pieces
34:13is the locked chest
34:15salvaged during
34:15an earlier dive.
34:16This I recognize
34:19because we saw
34:19a whole bunch of them
34:20down on the ocean floor
34:21the other day.
34:22I wanted to scoop them up.
34:23There are how many
34:24of them left
34:24on the boat,
34:25do you think?
34:25We have over 100 chests
34:27still on that ship.
34:27And this has never
34:28been scanned?
34:29We don't know
34:29what's in this?
34:30We don't know
34:30what's in this
34:31and we want to see
34:31if we can tell
34:32what's in it
34:32without causing
34:33any damage.
34:34With an x-ray
34:35machine lined up,
34:36all we have to do
34:37is figure out
34:38how to get our
34:38back-breakingly heavy
34:39300-year-old cargo
34:41to the facility.
34:42Easier said
34:43than done.
34:46Man, that is funky.
34:50It smells like pirates
34:51for sure.
34:57After years
34:58at the bottom
34:58of the sea,
34:59these relics
35:00have become
35:00incredibly fragile.
35:04Exposure to air
35:05or drying out
35:06can irreparably
35:07damage these
35:07priceless artifacts.
35:08Good.
35:10Nothing to see here.
35:12Just a couple guys
35:12with a 300-year-old
35:13treasure chest.
35:15Why do I try
35:15to check this thing
35:16with United Airlines?
35:20Good.
35:20Stop, stop, stop.
35:25Oh, my God.
35:26Somebody get me a beer.
35:29With our booty in tow,
35:30we're on our way
35:31with our unusual payload.
35:33All right, so,
35:33the plan now.
35:35Straight to the airport,
35:36crack the chest open
35:38to the Bahamas.
35:39I wish.
35:40What will you say
35:41to the police officer
35:42if we get pulled over
35:43and he looks in the back?
35:44Would you like a cut?
35:46Spoken like a true pirate.
35:53Okay, here we go.
35:55Having never attempted
35:56this procedure before,
35:57the archaeological team
35:58has no idea
35:59what to expect.
36:02What we're trying
36:03to do is
36:03take the x-ray
36:05that works
36:06for the human body
36:07and adapt it
36:08and make it work
36:09for archaeological artifacts.
36:10Right.
36:11First,
36:11we'll analyze the items
36:12we found on our dive,
36:13the mule shoe
36:14and the strange
36:15encrusted item.
36:16I feel like we're
36:17having a baby,
36:18for instance.
36:20Please be a pirate.
36:22Please be a pirate.
36:23Eureka!
36:28Eureka!
36:29The x-ray proves effective
36:31in cutting through
36:31hundreds of years
36:32of built-up coral
36:33and corrosion.
36:34You can see the holes
36:35where they nail it
36:36into the hoof.
36:37That's amazing.
36:38Looks like they're
36:39countersunk.
36:39Countersinking
36:40is a process
36:41where pre-cut holes
36:42allow nails
36:43and screws
36:43to sit flush
36:44with the surface.
36:46In this case,
36:46the technique
36:47might help identify
36:48who made the artifact.
36:50How do you tell
36:50if they're countersunk?
36:51Well, you can kind of
36:51see a little bit
36:52of shadowing
36:53around the edges
36:53of the square
36:54for each of the
36:55various holes,
36:56which is typical
36:57of the Spanish
36:58mule shoes
36:59or horseshoes.
37:00British tend not
37:01to be countersunk.
37:03The encrusted fragment
37:04also reveals
37:05its identity.
37:07This could be
37:08a piece of a sword
37:09that's in a scabbard
37:10or wrapped up
37:11in something.
37:13It's really cool,
37:14though.
37:14when you cut
37:15through all
37:15those concretions
37:16and there's just
37:16like a blade
37:17under there.
37:19Chest time?
37:20I want to get
37:21out of that chest.
37:22Yeah.
37:23Gently.
37:24This thing's too heavy
37:25to not have
37:26some part
37:26or something in it.
37:27Finally,
37:28it's time to scan
37:29the chest
37:29the team salvaged
37:30from the shipwreck.
37:32The contents
37:32of this container
37:33could reveal
37:34once and for all
37:35if we found
37:36the satisfaction.
37:37As we place
37:38the chest
37:38on the X-ray,
37:39my mind is racing,
37:40thinking about
37:41the mysteries
37:41that could be revealed.
37:42Gently.
37:57This thing's too heavy
37:58to not have
37:58some part
37:59or something in it.
37:59not much.
38:14We see the outline
38:15of it,
38:16but it doesn't really
38:17penetrate the chest
38:18at all.
38:18No.
38:19It's disappointing.
38:20It's a little bit
38:20of the surface.
38:21What does he think
38:21the problem is?
38:23It's too thick.
38:25It's the density
38:25of the material.
38:27Hmm.
38:28Huh?
38:28It's too dense.
38:30Frustratingly,
38:31the chest
38:31and its contents
38:32are too dense
38:33for the X-ray
38:33to penetrate.
38:34These are the breaks
38:35when it comes
38:36to the slow
38:36and careful process
38:37of archaeological preservation.
38:40But at least
38:41the other artifacts
38:41we were able
38:42to get a really
38:42good look at.
38:43Absolutely.
38:43I mean,
38:44we've got a lot
38:44of data here.
38:45Next step
38:45is to take that info
38:46and try and figure out
38:48how to make sense of it.
38:50Finding the well-preserved
38:51cargo from a 17th-century
38:52vessel is nothing
38:53short of amazing.
38:55But have we gathered
38:56enough information
38:57from these artifacts
38:57to determine whether
38:59or not they're
38:59from the satisfaction?
39:01After careful examination,
39:02I've asked Fritz
39:03to give me
39:04his expert analysis.
39:06The satisfaction
39:06was a friendship.
39:09Mm-hmm.
39:09So in looking
39:10at this wreck,
39:11what do the photos,
39:13the artifacts,
39:13the X-rays,
39:14what do they tell us
39:15about the origin
39:15of this vessel?
39:16Looking at that
39:17neck shirt,
39:18basically we're looking
39:19at a Spanish
39:20olive jar.
39:21Basically the Tupperware
39:22or the water bottle
39:23of 16th to 18th century
39:25Spanish.
39:26So we're in the
39:27right time period,
39:28but a Spanish
39:29type of ceramic,
39:30not French.
39:31Exactly.
39:32Artifact number two
39:33is the mule shoe
39:34that we recovered
39:34when we were on our dive.
39:35Right.
39:36These are countersunk,
39:37and that's a technique
39:38that only the Spanish used.
39:39English didn't use it,
39:40French didn't use it.
39:41And so, again,
39:42we have another artifact
39:43that we've recovered
39:44from the wreck
39:44that's Spanish in origin.
39:47Okay.
39:48Also significant
39:49as what we are seeing
39:50is what we aren't seeing.
39:52We know the satisfaction
39:52was 120 tons,
39:54and it also carried
39:5522 guns.
39:56And honestly,
39:57we aren't seeing
39:58any guns anywhere
39:59on this shipwreck.
40:00The only weapon
40:00we have are
40:01the few sword blades.
40:02Because the cannons
40:03which were recovered
40:04were taken from the reef
40:05but not found
40:06near the wreck.
40:06Exactly.
40:07The million dollar question
40:09then,
40:09is this the satisfaction?
40:11I can answer that
40:12in one word.
40:12No.
40:15But that's not
40:16the end of the story.
40:17In looking over
40:18all the evidence,
40:19we have made
40:20what is an extremely
40:21exciting discovery.
40:22That's actually
40:23the manifest
40:24of a ship
40:25called
40:25Nuestra Senora
40:26de Encarnacion.
40:27A lot of the chests
40:29match up to
40:30what we're seeing
40:31in the document.
40:32And it sank
40:33just off of
40:34the Chagras River
40:35in the general area
40:36of where the shipwreck is.
40:39The Encarnacion
40:40was the same kind
40:41of vessel
40:41that Christopher Columbus
40:42used when he first
40:44sailed over
40:44to the Western Hemisphere.
40:46That's amazing.
40:47Fritz's analysis
40:48is that this shipwreck
40:49appears to be
40:50the Encarnacion
40:51and not part
40:52of Morgan's fleet.
40:53However,
40:54that does little
40:55to diminish
40:55the significance
40:56of this incredible find.
41:00This pristine
41:0117th century shipwreck
41:02may be the single
41:03best preserved vessel
41:05of its kind
41:06ever found.
41:07In addition,
41:08it offers a glimpse
41:09into the world
41:10of Captain Morgan.
41:11But the question remains,
41:13where is the satisfaction?
41:15We know the reef
41:17that the boat wrecked on.
41:18There's a record
41:19of the boat wrecking.
41:20It has to be there.
41:20Yeah, absolutely.
41:21It just feels like
41:22it is so within reach.
41:24The ships are out there.
41:26I'm sure we're going
41:27to find it eventually.
41:28Thanks for it.
41:28Yeah, thank you, Josh.
41:29Appreciate it.
41:31Morgan was a complex man
41:33living in an unforgiving age.
41:35To some,
41:35he's a hero,
41:36a rum-guzzling renegade
41:38who lived
41:38by his own terms.
41:39To others,
41:41he is an unrepentant killer
41:42motivated by insatiable
41:44bloodlust and greed.
41:47Perhaps he was both.
41:50The stage for his exploits
41:51is a country
41:52with its own
41:53mysterious duality,
41:54at the crossroads
41:55of oceans and continents,
41:57and at the forefront
41:57of a brilliant
41:58economic future.
42:00Speaking of the future,
42:01Fritz Hanselman
42:02and his team
42:03have over a hundred
42:04other potential wrecks
42:05to investigate
42:06off the coast.
42:06And it's only a matter
42:08of time before
42:09Morgan's ship
42:10is found.
42:11And perhaps it's fitting
42:12that the boat
42:13has remained elusive.
42:15The satisfaction is,
42:16after all,
42:17its own buried treasure.
42:18It will take determination,
42:20daring,
42:21and more than a little luck
42:22to find a boat
42:23belonging to someone
42:24as shrouded in mystery
42:25as the pirate
42:26Captain Henry Morgan.
42:29What?
42:29There are also
42:33Taken's ship
42:33and men
42:35in mystery
42:37seem to look
42:38as it's true.
42:44The ship
42:45is��
42:46wet
42:46and
42:47dost
42:47the boat
42:49here
42:49has been
42:50in mystery
42:50where
42:51what
42:52a lot
42:53is
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