Portugal, fully known as the Portuguese Republic, is a republican state located in southwestern Europe, with the Atlantic Coast to its west and south, while portugal's capital is Lisbon. Since the sixteenth century, Portugal has played an important role in the Age of Discovery, once becoming a maritime power at that time, and Portugal in its heyday also had the idea of dividing the world, but in the later course of history, Portugal gradually lagged behind. In the history of the modern West, Portugal became one of the birthplaces of history, and for two centuries after the sixteenth century, Portugal was one of the most influential global empires in the world at that time.
As a maritime power, Portugal has left its mark on many continents and on the seas of the world. Of all the European countries in existence, Portugal is the oldest, with nearly six hundred years of colonial history, covering the territory of fifty-three countries in the world, and even the Portuguese language is the eighth largest prophecy in the world. Today, Portugal has become a highly developed capitalist country and has a certain influence in the world. As a former maritime power, in today's archaeological work, people often find Portuguese shipwrecks in the ocean, and even a little trace of the former maritime power can be found in the sea area of Portugal at night.
Discover ancient shipwrecks in Portugal
Not long ago, foreign media said that an ancient shipwreck was found in the waters near The Portuguese capital Lisbon, which has been wrecked for hundreds of years, but the identity of this ship has not yet been determined. The shipwreck was found twelve feet off the city of Cascais, and according to the latest research data, the ship was supposed to be transporting spices from India to Lisbon. Rough data are also available on the sinking of the ship, which the researchers believe should have been between 1575 and 1625, because a large number of containers containing spices were found on the ship, and it was concluded that the ship may have departed from India.
In addition, local archaeologists also fished out shells from parts of Africa for the slave trade in shipwrecks, as well as porcelain from China's Wanli years. The head of the wreck salvage work said that at this time, "a major discovery once in a decade", and the city near the wreck sea area was also very important to the wreck, and the local mayor also said that the city was one of the most important archaeological discoveries of this century. The discovery of the shipwreck is indeed very important for the local area, whether it is the cultural relics found in the shipwreck, or the shipwreck itself, it has important value.
The dispute over the ownership of the ship's artifacts
After the cultural relics on the ship were fished out, especially the porcelain of the Ming Dynasty in China was fished out of the shipwreck, the issue of the ownership of cultural relics has attracted the attention of many netizens in China. To this day, these porcelains have also been given to antiques, so some people have asked whether Chinese porcelain should be returned, and the ownership of the shipwreck is not conclusive, and more and more people have joined the porcelain and whether it should be returned to China. After the wreck was salvaged, the hull and the artifacts on board were preserved, and the wreck was also used for university students to visit. This move has caused some "hot-blooded" netizens to be dissatisfied, but investigators fang said that they will consult the relevant files with historians to confirm the details of the shipwreck, as for the ownership of the shipwreck, or the ownership of cultural relics, it will not be more accurate until the identity of the shipwreck is clear.
Over 100 million cultural relics belong to Portugal
On the shipwreck, experts found bronze cannons engraved with Portuguese coats of arms and armillary motifs, which can still be seen on the Portuguese flag today, so some statements are firm that the ship should be a Portuguese vessel. According to general practice, the shipwrecks found in the waters of which country, they fished out, should be theirs. And the shipwreck is only Chinese porcelain, does not mean that this is a Chinese shipwreck, these porcelain may also be Portuguese merchants sold in China, and then transported back, but unfortunately sunk in the offshore, so these worth of over 100 million cultural relics, of course, still belong to Portugal, especially the wreck ownership has not yet been determined, everything can not be said too early.