The coordinates of the ill-fated Spanish settlement, Rey Don Felipe, have remained a mystery to the maritime world for more than four centuries. However, archaeologists in southern Chile recently discovered a 440-year-old silver coin that serves as a specific geographical anchor where this ill-fated colony was located.
The coin, which was found using advanced metal detectors, is a “Real de a Ocho” (piece of eight) and is located exactly where 16th-century records indicate a church was built for the city. The discovery also marks the “foundation deposit” that proves the site of Port Famin, where nearly 300 settlers died from starvation and exposure. Thus, it is a physical reminder of an incredibly tragic colonial failure in human history.
A 440-year-old silver coin discovered in a lost Spanish colony
Researchers from the University of Bernardo O’Higgins (UBO) have found a “Real de a Ocho” (piece of eight) silver coin from Potosi (present-day Bolivia) in the Strait of Magellan. The coin is believed to have been deposited during the “founding ritual” of the Rey Don Felipe settlement on March 25, 1584, as mentioned in historical accounts. Often, Spanish explorers and colonists buried a coin under the cornerstone of a new church to consecrate the site, as this coin served as a “geographic anchor” for the entire site.
role King Philip II In southern colonialism
The coin bears the emblems of the Spanish Crown and the Jerusalem Cross, making it a piece of currency from the reign of King Philip II. Marine archaeologists consider such coins important for determining the stratigraphic dates of archaeological sites and confirming their cultural characteristics. As noted in a paper published on ResearchGate, the presence of this silver minted in Potosí is also indicative of the fact that colonists establishing themselves in South America had access to high-value coins created to enable the creation of a permanent economy at the end of the continent.
How extreme weather conditions defeated Spain’s defense against Sir Francis Drake
The coin’s location has been verified to be located in Puerto del Humber. The colony was founded as a way to protect the Strait of Magellan from English pirates, especially Sir Francis Drake. However, the colony was so isolated and subject to harsh climate conditions that the colonists faced insurmountable environmental hostility to survive. Historical records from the Chilean government show that of the 300 settlers who were there, only about five were alive by the time the English navigator Thomas Cavendish arrived at the site in 1587 and found it occupied by a “city of the dead.”
Mapping the ruins provides important information about early European attempts to colonize sub-Antarctic regions of the world.
Balancing discovery with site integrity in southern Chile
These excavations are part of a project funded by the Chilean Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. The research team used high-precision geolocation and non-invasive surveying methods to find soil anomalies before excavating, allowing them to locate this small silver artifact without disturbing the sensitive permafrost or structural remains of 16th-century fortifications found at the site.
As such, the site remains intact for further study of logistical and survival strategies in the colonial period.
