The World’s Greatest Treasure | Olivier Le Vasseur

In today's video, I will be taking you to the height of the pirate age, where legends would be forged. In 1720, such a man existed, and his story would become legendary. So famous was the pirate known as Olivier Levasseur, that a well-loved anime, One Piece, is based off his final words before his death, where he challenges everyone in the crowd before his execution to find his treasure. But more on that later. First, let's delve into the life of this infamous legend. In 1680, a son was born to Paul Levasseur, a French corsair. The boy was named Olivier, and he would grow up without his mother, who died giving birth to him. His father would teach the growing boy the art of navigation. Olivier's family was wealthy, and the boy would receive a fine education, as well as being tutored by his father in how a ship operates. I would like to thank MagellanTV for sponsoring today's video. MagellanTV is a documentary streaming service founded by filmmakers. This has resulted in MagellanTV having the most varied and interesting history content available anywhere. It covers ancient history, modern history, war, biographies, and so much more. On the platform I have personally been watching Tobago 1677, where French and Dutch fleets struggle to dominate the new world. Once the fighting was over, what was left were soldiers and sailors who only knew war and plunder. And so pirates were born such as Olivier Levasseur, who was destined to terrorise the oceans of the world. 15-20 hours of new content is added each week, with a growing collection of 4K high definition content. MagellanTV can also be watched anywhere, at any time, on your TV, laptop or mobile. History Profiles viewers will get a 1 month free trial by clicking the link in description. The annual membership only costs $59.88, so it's only $4.99 a month. So what are you waiting for? Click on the link in the description. He would soon become an architect and would live a normal middle to upper class life. However in 1701, the Spanish War of Succession would ensue, as the death of Charles II of Spain led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs. This would plunge much of Europe into war. Soon enough, Olivier, who at this point was an everyday architect, would receive a letter of marque from King Louis XVI of France. The letter of marque was a government licence that authorised a private person known as a privateer to attack and capture ships who belonged to an enemy nation. Olivier would then abandon his ordinary life and would become a privateer for the French Crown, choosing a life of adventure over a simple one. None of his exploits have been recorded during this time, but it is assumed that he saw a lot of action during the Thirteen Year War. When the war ended in 1714, Olivier was ordered to return home with his ship, but the unpredictable life at sea had become addicting and he could no longer return to his old life after everything he had done and seen. The old Olivier was gone and war had forged him into an unforgiving, bloodthirsty man. He had also sustained an eye injury which limited his sight in one of his eyes. Instead of returning to his life of an architect, he joined the pirate company of Benjamin Hornigold, a famous English pirate. They met up in March 1716. At the time, they counted 140 men between their two pirate vessels. They would seize a merchant ship which was smuggling goods ashore to Cuba when Olivier descended on them unawares. Later that year, Olivier and Benjamin encountered two Spanish ships near Cape Corrientes full of cacao. Olivier and his pirate crew would hold the ships for ransom, but the Spaniards were unable to raise the necessary funds to free their ships and their crews. After letting the captive crews go, the pirates burned both vessels. Olivier would soon earn a savage reputation and would be nicknamed La Buse, meaning the buzzard, for his speed and ruthlessness in which he attacked his enemies. After a year of successful looting, Olivier and Hornigold would part ways. After this, Olivier would partner up with Samuel Bellamy, who would later become known as the Prince of Pirates. Samuel would become the wealthiest pirate in recorded history and the most merciful, comparing himself to Robin Hood. No doubt, much of his success was accredited to Olivier and their partnership. The pair would capture a ship called the Sultana, which became Bellamy's ship, after which the pirates sailed for La Blanquilla, located 100 miles from Venezuela, where the pirates spent Christmas and New Year's Eve in celebration. Olivier and Samuel then parted ways, with the Meech forging their own paths. In April 1717, Olivier had now acquired a new ship of 250 tons and 20 cannons. He wanted to reconnect with his friend Bellamy, having heard of his accumulation of riches, but what he didn't realise is that Bellamy was already dead, having gone down with his ship during a storm. After this, he made his way to Brazil and attacked and robbed many boats and ships, most notably a slave ship coming from Angola, whose crew was abandoned to sink in their ship. He then abandoned the 240 stolen slaves on an island, before a Portuguese armed ship began chasing Olivier and his crew. After some firefights and skirmishes with the Portuguese ship, Olivier himself was caught in the storm, and his ship sank in 1718. 80 members of his men would die, while Olivier would escape with some members of his surviving crew. Olivier would reappear in the Caribbean in June in a smaller ship that he had managed to steal on his way back from Brazil. Captain Francis Hume would surprise the pirates though, on his huge 32 cannon ship called the HMS Scarborough, and nearly captured Olivier and his entire crew. Narrowly escaping, Olivier realised that the Caribbean was becoming less safe for pirates, so he headed for Africa, where he met up with Edward England, an Irish pirate, who like the late Samuel Bellamy, was known for his kindness and compassion as a leader, unlike many pirates at the time. In 1720, Olivier would attack the slaver port of Wida, which was a kingdom on the west coast of Africa, which is now Benin. His guns would reduce the local fortress to ruins. His eye that was injured during his early life in the Spanish War of Succession had now become useless, and he was completely blind in one eye. Due to this, Olivier began wearing an eye patch, which is a typical stereotype of a pirate today. Olivier would soon acquire another ship called the Indian Queen. She could carry 250 tons, and was armed with 24 cannons. His crew numbered 90, but somehow the ship wrecked on the Comoro Islands, which is where John Taylor and his men encountered Olivier. The Irish pirate Edward England then met up with Olivier, and the two would go plundering. They would engage in battle with two Dutch vessels, where Edward England lost 90 men, but his enemy escaped into the jungle on an island. The surviving enemy emerged from the jungle, hoping the pirates wouldn't kill them, and Captain Edward favoured mercy, but his crew and Olivier weren't so forgiving. They would maroon Edward on that island, and voted John Taylor to succeed him as captain. The pirates then sailed to another Comoro Island. Taylor would gift Olivier with a ship named Victory, and the two crews headed for Bourbon Island southwest of Mauritius. Arriving on the 26th of April 1721, Olivier and John Taylor would encounter a 700 ton Portuguese ship that was anchored while her crew tried to repair her, as the ship was damaged during a storm. It was the perfect opportunity for the pirates, and Olivier took full advantage, and sailed in under English flags, so that the Portuguese crew were completely unaware of pirates. As they approached, they struck their English flags, and hoisted their black ones. The Portuguese ship was ill-prepared to defend herself from the battle-hardened and well-armed pirates, who outnumbered them, and outgunned them. Unbeknownst to Olivier, this ship was loaded full of treasure, belonging to the Bishop of Goa and the Viceroy of Portugal, who were both on board. Olivier and John Taylor were able to board the vessel without firing a single cannon. The wealth found on board the ship was immeasurable. There were bars of gold and silver. Dozens of boxes of golden coins, diamonds, pearls, fine Chinese silks, religious objects made from pure gold, encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. It was the richest pirate hall in history. The two pirate ships then sailed back to St. Mary's Island, where they divided the plunder among some 240 pirates. Each man's share included 40 diamonds, as well as 50,000 pounds, which today would be 3.5 million pounds. Olivier himself acquired the fiery cross of Goa, a religious artifact of pure gold, weighing over 200 pounds, encrusted with gems. After the pirate hall, John Taylor became a wealthy officer in command of a pirate hunting vessel. He eventually retired to Jamaica, got married and raised four children. As for Olivier and his men, people heard only rumours. Some say he retired to Madagascar, others say he traded in a lot of his wealth for a pardon, wanting to live as a free man. But these rumours would die in 1724, when Olivier sent a negotiator to discuss amnesty for pirates who wanted to give up their practice. However, the government wanted a large part of their treasure back, and Olivier wasn't willing to part with a single gold coin. So he went into hiding and settled on an island in the Indian Ocean. Six years later, in 1730, he was captured and interrogated, but he never gave up the location of his great wealth. While walking to the gallows, Olivier had a necklace around his neck, containing a cryptogram of 17 lines. Before he was hanged, he threw it into the crowd and said, Many have tried over the years, but so far the whereabouts of the alleged horde remains a mystery. The treasure is estimated to be worth over 1 billion pounds today, but no one has been able to decipher the cryptogram. Do you think you could be the first? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the video. If you did, make sure to like, subscribe and share, and I'll see you all soon for another history profile.