Olivier Levasseur aka La Buse. In 1718, Levasseur narrowly avoided capture by Captain Francis Hume of the HMS Scarborough off the coast of La Blanquilla in the Eastern Caribbean. The skirmishes had taken their toll and his crew were reduced in number with a further ten being murdered at Ubatuba. Incidents include 115 vessels boarded, 11 attempted attacks, 5 vessels fired upon and 1 vessel hijacked. NVOVLENQUILNISEIUDFKUUNEFEMMRQ If youve listened to Episode 04, youve heard the rest of Bellamys story, who is regarded as the most wealthy pirate in history. Henry Everys story deserves an entire episode dedicated to his life story as well. His movements for the next couple of years were silent, though we do know that he was successful in his early pirating career. He persuaded Berthe to let him have a copy of the documents to see if he could decipher them. While this was a deeply profitable raid for Levasseur and company, their biggest haul was still yet to come. Nevertheless, the pirate lost his ship, and with only sixty of his crew left, escaped on a small sloop. Pick up Olivier Levasseur Flag aka La Buse, legendary French pirate. They thought my father was crazy. In recent years, images of a previously unknown second version of the cryptogram began appearing on the Internet: Even though this contains broadly the same seventeen line cryptogram (though with a number of minor differences), it also has an additional five lines that were written using the same cipher system, which can be decrypted to read: Elsewhere on the picture are the words LA BUSE (again enciphered using the same system), along with a drawing of a pirate (presumably La Buse) about to be hanged in front of a church (La Buse was taken to Runion and hanged there for piracy on 7th July 1730), along with a number of pirate-style features a copy of a map of the Caribbean, various pirate ships and prize ships, treasure, powder kegs, and numerous stylized details. His nickname was apparently La Buse (The Buzzard), because he would swoop down with the speed of a bird of prey. He deduced that part of the message stated: The treasure was somewhere underground and must be approached carefully to avoid being flooded. Wikipedia, 2022. Eight years later, La Buse, already thought forgotten, is captured and taken first to Saint Denis and later to Saint Paul by order of the new governor Pierre Benot Dumas, a former pirate himself. POVRENPECGERUNEFEMMEDHRENGTVOUSNAVE Has the Function of the Great Pyramid of Giza Finally Come to Light? In 1724, the king of France, Louis the 15th, would extended an offer of amnesty to all pirates operating in the Indian Ocean. John has searched more than 40 acres around the Bel Ombre area, exploring crevices and caverns, and uncovering what he thinks are pirate markings on rocks. Numerous ships were captured, and Levasseur was voted to be captain of a ship again in 1719. 2013. Who was the Babushka Lady at JFKs Assassination? The story of Levasseur's treasure was featured in the comic book series, Nelson, Laura "Samuel Bellamy and Olivier Levasseur Two Pirates Just Kickin' Around the Caribbean" in Pirates and Privateers, This page was last edited on 7 September 2022, at 15:43. No one except Levasseur now knew its location. The crew didnt know where the treasure chamber would be. But there, Levasseur learned of an opportunity to turn his fortunes around: a wealthy French trader was anchored in the adjacent Paranagua Bay. It limited his vision, and left a nasty scar that was noticeable to everyone who met him. Levasseur pledged himself to Benjamin Hornigolds pirate organization in 1716. And it all comes back to this story of Levasseur. He attacked many boats and ships on his way to the south of Brazil, most notably a slave ship coming from Angola, whose crew was abandoned to sink in their ship after it was robbed and damaged. He buried an estimated 2 million dollars worth of treasure, and wrote up a poem to lead to its location. Vad r farligast hgt vertryck eller undertryck? "It's untouched. With them, in 1924, he took possibly the greatest single prize ever captured by a pirate of the golden age of sail: the Portuguese galleon Nossa Senhora do Cabo. Legend tells of a pirate named Olivier Levasseur who, while standing on the scaffold to be hanged, threw a necklace containing a 17-line cryptogram into the crowd while exclaiming: The necklace has been lost, but the cryptogram has lived on. However, Levasseurs actions had brought the attention of the Portuguese authorities and his ship, the La Louise was forced to flee from a Portuguese boat. Olivier Levasseur (born in the late 1680s 7 July 1730) was a French pirate known for his quickness and ferocity in attacking his foes, both with his sword and with his rapier wit. Eventually he was captured near Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. Read about our approach to external linking. He died on May 3, 1977, before cracking the final code. Hailing form a wealthy bourgeois family, Levasseur attended the best schools and became a naval officer. After hiding out for sometime to let the seas calm, so to say, Levasseur and his crew sailed north to begin preying on easy targets again. In 1730, Levasseur was captured and sent to Saint-Denis, on the island of Runion, where he was hung for piracy. In 1947, Englishman Reginald Cruise-Wilkins studied the documents, but the cryptogram was much more difficult to solve than first believed. To this day, his son John, is still actively seeking the treasure. It is unclear, however, if this was indeed the cryptogram that Levasseur had thrown into the crowd watching his execution, as the deciphered text seems to have little to do with either Levasseur or his treasure. Bipin Dimri is a writer from India with an educational background in Management Studies. Up until this point in Levasseurs life, he had a widely successful career as a pirate. Born at Calais during the Nine Years' War (16881697) to a wealthy bourgeois family, Levasseur became an architect after receiving an excellent education. It is the only. This brings us to April of 1721. (Oliver La Bouche) or Levasseur. La Buse Cryptogram. But first heres the answer to Wednesdays riddles: A cowboy rides into town on Friday. Legend has it that when Levasseur was about to be hanged, he tore a necklace from around his neck and flung it into the throng, shouting Find my treasure, the one who may interpret it!. And this brings to the actual main originators of the legends of buried treasure: Pirates. Olivier Levasseur. Do any of these arrowheada look like theyre of value? The idea of finding a true pirate treasure has never been more alive than it is today. He hurled a piece of parchment into the air, shouting 'My treasure for he who can understand. find it who may. These were the dramatic words shouted out to the crowd gathered around the foot of the gallows on the Isle de Bourbon known today as Reunion as the noose tightened around the neck of a notorious French pirate. . Levasseur was born to a bourgeois family in Calais during the Nine Years War (16881697), his childhood was spent in comfortable surroundings. Shocking Evidence Homo Naledi Used Fire 230,000 Years Ago, The Discovery that Revealed Ancient Humans Navigated the Seas 130,000 Years Ago, Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand, 6 Shockingly Successful Ancient Warfare Tactics, 6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding. Even so, this 17-line cryptogram seems genuine, even if its cleartext is extremely confused and its supposed link with La Buse (and indeed with pirate treasure at all) appears extremely spurious. Check out these stories on some of the folks currently searching for this thing: American Robert Graf has been looking for quite awhile, John Cruise-Wilkins is a second-generation treasure hunter searching in the Seychelles. Top Image: Can you find Levasseurs hidden treasure? For John, who inherited his fathers quest, the search has become his life (Credit: Helen Soteriou). Levasseur, who had no idea what was on the ship, was astonished with the haul. Hey! Copyrights 2020-2023 Alla rttigheter reserverade. Olivier Levasseur (known also by his nicknames La Buse, meaning the Buzzard, or La Bouche, meaning the Mouth) was a French pirate who was active during the 1st half of the 18th century. During that time he hid his treasure, reputed to be 90,000,000 gold French francs and a hoard of other valuables. I can just visualise the hands going up, the fight, to meet the paper in the air, John said wistfully. Since 2009, hes been doing preparatory work on the site, repairing rock armouring walls, building footpaths to get equipment in and working on measurements, clues and other data to get this right. You will find in this video the latest new. But the largest share was reserved for Levasseur. His vision continued to deteriorate until his vision was completely lost. The natural world has many wonders. Beginning in the 16th century, the Spanish treasure fleets (or West Indies Fleet from Spanish Flota de Indias) transported various metal resources and agricultural goods, including silver, gold, gems, spices, tobacco, silk, and other exotic goods, from the Spanish colonies to Spain. Levasseur took sole possession of the incredible solid gold cross, as the entire plan was in fact his idea. step by step he broke the code. It was there where Levasseur was informed of a wealthy Frenchmen nearby in the bay of Parangua. My plans are to recover the treasure. Images of a cryptogram allegedly created by the 18th century pirate Olivier Levasseur (often called "La Buse", the hawk) accompanied by sensational claims about hidden pirate booty have been circulating amongst the French treasure hunting community since at least 1934. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Levasseur, known as La Buse ("The Buzzard") spent years pillaging his way across this corner of the Indian Ocean before settling on the Seychelles. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. It was reported that Levasseur told the executioner something strange during the walk over. According to legend, pirate treasure reportedly worth 100 million is buried on an Indian Ocean island. What if the pirate Levasseur truly left a clue to his very real and very missing treasure, one which has remained undeciphered to this day? According to researchers and historians, the hoard contains more than 50,000 gems such as diamonds, sapphires, and ancient artifacts. Grace OMalley: Irish Pirate Queen of Connacht, Beale Ciphers and the Lost Treasure in Bedford County, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivier_Levasseur, https://cipherfoundation.org/older-ciphers/la-buse-cryptogram/, MV Joyita: The Ghost Ship that Couldnt Sink. The immediate problem with the second cryptogram is that whereas the first seventeen lines are ambiguous and show numerous signs of miscopying and misinterpretation, the last five lines are almost exactly the opposite, in that they are models of clarity and straightforwardness. Questions, comments, and feedback can be left at my website. Olivier Levasseur was a pirate, nicknamed La Buse ("The Buzzard") or La Bouche ("The Mouth") in his early days, called thus because of the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked his enemies. 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