NewsTracker Answers for week of Feb. 26, 2024

Q: Colombia’s government said it will send robotic equipment 2,000 feet below the surface of the ocean to explore the wreckage of the San Jose, a galleon that sank in 1708 with treasure believed to be now worth about $17 billion. Where is Colombia on the northwest corner of South America?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Carrying a cargo of gold, sliver and emeralds, the San Jose sank during a battle with British warships off of Colombia’s northern coast in which body of water?

A. Caribbean Sea

B. Drake Passage

C. Gulf of Mexico

D. Sea of Cortez

A. The San Jose was the flagship of a Spanish treasure fleet sailing to Cartagena on what is now Colombia’s Caribbean coast it was ambushed by a British squadron during the War of Spanish Succession. The Pacific Ocean is on Colombia’s west coast.

Q: It is believed the silver and gold on the treasure ship was mined by forced Native American labor in what is now Bolivia. Like Colombia, Bolivia was part of the Spanish Empire in the 18th Century. Which of Colombia’s modern neighbors was NOT ruled by Spain?

A. Brazil

B. Ecuador

C. Peru

D. Venezeula

A. South America’s largest nation, Brazil was ruled by Portugal’s monarchs from 1500 until its independence in 1825. Spain once claimed much of South and North America, but it had lost all of its New World possessions by 1900.

Q: United Nations officials called on Colombia not to commercially exploit the wreckage of the San Jose. But, Colombia is one of 13 UN members which has not ratified the Convention on the Law of the Sea. What is the largest nation that has not ratified that law?

A. Brazil

B. China

C. Russia

D. United States

D. The United States helped shape the UN Convention, but it objected to rules about mining minerals from the seabed. Colombia is the second-largest nation that has not ratified the Convention, which means it is not required to inform UN officials about its plans for the shipwreck. Overall, the Law of the Sea has been ratified by 168 states.

Q: The location of the San Jose shipwreck is a state secret. In 2015, Colombia located and photographed the wreckage with the help of an underwater autonomous vehicle operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States. Where is Woods Hole?

A. California

B. Florida

C. Massachusetts

D. Virginia

C. Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is the site of several marine science institutions including the Oceanographic Institution, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Woods Hole Science Aquarium, and the Sea Education Association.