Tortuga Island, Haiti and Exploration

[anonymous_]

Hello all! Never posted on here so hopefully this forum is acceptable.

I was doing some reading about the infamous Tortuga Island, Haiti and surprisingly have found little information of archaeological exploration of the island. From what I have read, there was some archaeological work done in the 1940s and 1980s but that appears to be the extent of any excursions to find artifacts.

I have not found much on the legality of searching for lost artifacts/treasure in Haiti. And of course Haiti is extremely unstable politically wise and currently quite dangerous. But Haiti hasn’t always been in the state that it is which brings me to my question I would like to pose. Why has there been no effort to preserve the potentially massive amount of history on this island? From indigenous people, Spanish conquistadors, and the pirate activity, there must be quite a lot of artifacts waiting to be found. I know this is probably the last thing on the Haitian governments mind but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of attempts by outside organizations to go in there and make any finds.

Would love some insight from anyone that has knowledge on the topic.

 

[pepperj]

Hello all! Never posted on here so hopefully this forum is acceptable.

I was doing some reading about the infamous Tortuga Island, Haiti and surprisingly have found little information of archaeological exploration of the island. From what I have read, there was some archaeological work done in the 1940s and 1980s but that appears to be the extent of any excursions to find artifacts.

I have not found much on the legality of searching for lost artifacts/treasure in Haiti. And of course Haiti is extremely unstable politically wise and currently quite dangerous. But Haiti hasn’t always been in the state that it is which brings me to my question I would like to pose. Why has there been no effort to preserve the potentially massive amount of history on this island? From indigenous people, Spanish conquistadors, and the pirate activity, there must be quite a lot of artifacts waiting to be found. I know this is probably the last thing on the Haitian governments mind but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of attempts by outside organizations to go in there and make any finds.

Would love some insight from anyone that has knowledge on the topic.

I would think there's probably a safer place to go to look for treasure.

Haiti Travel Advisory

travel.state.gov

 

[anonymous_]

I would think there's probably a safer place to go to look for treasure.

Haiti Travel Advisory

travel.state.gov

Yep that’s why I already mentioned the clear and obvious issue of political instability at this current time. But why has there been nothing prior to the recent gang violence issues that are currently plaguing the country?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

It is way too dangerous to metal detect Haiti, and has been for decades.

 

[anonymous_]

It is way too dangerous to metal detect Haiti, and gas been for decades.

Interesting! I was in Haiti in 2013 and traveled around the main island. There were certainly issues but didn’t get that idea at the time.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Interesting! I was in Haiti in 2013 and traveled around the main island. There were certainly issues but didn’t get that idea at the time.

Were you detecting? It has been very poor country for decades, it got worse after the earthquake in 2010. I would not go anywhere alone there especially unarmed with the roving armed gangs.

 

[AU Seeker]

Interesting! I was in Haiti in 2013 and traveled around the main island. There were certainly issues but didn’t get that idea at the time.

Just a quick question, are you American, do you look like the people of Haiti, or would you say you stand out from the people of Haiti?

 

[anonymous_]

Were you detecting? It has been very poor country for decades, it got worse after the earthquake in 2010. I would not go anywhere alone there especially unarmed with the roving armed gangs.

No on a humanitarian trip in high school so obviously it was a bit more structured and we had trusted locals apart of the group. And very much agreed. I know to bring a firearm to Haiti it needs to be cleared by the Haitian police which is nearly non existent at the moment.

 

[anonymous_]

Just a quick question, are you American, do you look like the people of Haiti, or would you say you stand out from the people of Haiti?

Good question lol. I am Caucasian so I would certainly stand out. However, I have several acquaintances who I’ve worked with in military/security gigs overseas in not so great countries that would be less likely to stand out.

 

[THE TRUE SEEKER]

The writer, Frederick A. Ober, states the following:

It is known that during the successive occupancies of Tortuga by the various pirate bands great treasure was hidden away in the forest, and in the caves with which the island abounds.

The storied West Indies : Ober, Frederick A. (Frederick Albion), 1849-1913 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book digitized by Google and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

However, many prominent historians are skeptical of the idea of 'pirate treasure'. The following description by Rebecca Simon is helpful:

This may come as a surprise, but pirates generally did not leave hoards of riches and jewels hidden throughout the world. Gold and jewels are heavy and ships had to sail long distances at high speeds. When pirates robbed ships, they were interested in commodities such as spices, silks, alcohol, medicine, and food.[1] They used these items to trade and sell on-shore and this is how they gained their wealth.

Captain Kidd and the Myth of Buried Treasure

Pirates have had a lot of visibility throughout 20th and 21st-century popular culture. When people think of pirates, they often think of eye patches, wooden legs, and or some incarnation of Jack Sp…

web.archive.org