The Treasure Islands of The Indian Ocean

Discovery, Exploration and Buccaneers

These islands, located some one-thousand miles east of the African mainland, were so named after a Minister of Finance during the reign of Louis XV, Vicomte Moreau de Seychelles. There is some evidence that these islands may have been known about or visited in the Middle Ages by Arab traders from the Arabian peninsula and Persian Gulf, sailing to and from ports in East Africa before the Monsoons. The period of Portuguese exploration in the Indian Ocean records the sighting of the Amirantes group by Vasco da Gama on his second voyage to India in 1502 or 1503. Previously, in 1501 or 1502, the island of Farquhar, formerly called John de Novo, may have been discovered by the Portuguese explorer of that name. 1501 is also the date on the first map showing what are believed to be the main group of islands. On the morning of January 19, 1609, twenty-eight days out of Zanzibar, boatswain Jones of the brig Ascension under the command of General Alexander Sharpeigh passed the word "land ... one point off the starboard bow." This British expedition financed by private merchants was known as `The Fourth Voyage of The East India Company'. Two company traders, John Jourdain and William Revett were on board ship. Their orders were to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope with the object of establishing trade relations with Aden and Surat. The ship was attacked by natives near the Portuguese island of Pemba. The aim of the natives was to capture the ship and turn it over to the Portuguese. On escaping from Pemba, the brig ran straight into the northeast monsoon. The prevailing winds made it virtually impossible to steer the Ascension to the next port-of-call, Aden and Surat. It was during this off-course stretch that land was sighted. Looking for fresh water, they sailed among a "cluster of islands" at the time mistaken for the Amirantes, but clearly identifiable by log and journal entries as Mahe and adjacent islands. First landings were made on North Island and Silhouette. On North Island, the men found many giant land tortoises, the larger ones weighing between five and six hundred pounds. The men took eight tortoises for the purpose as recorded by boatswain, Mr. Jones, in the ships log: "The tortells were good meate, as good as fresh beefe, but after two or three meales our men would not eate them, because they did looke soe uglie before they were boyled." William Revett recorded in his journal: "we fownde land turtles of such bignes which men would think incredible; of which our company had small lust to eat of, being such huge deformed creatures and footed with five claws lyke a beare." On the morning of the third day, January 22, the ship dropped anchor in a bay sheltered from the monsoon winds on the leeward side of the largest island. The next day, the ship's skiff was lowered and the crew, in charge of boatswain Jones and accompanied by John Jourdain and William Revett, went ashore. The description of their landing place as recorded in their journal entries fits the bay of present day Port Victoria. The bay teemed with fish and sea turtles, and they spotted some crocodiles. An account of this shore excursion was recorded in the 'Journal of John Jourdain', published by the Hakluyt Society. He wrote: "within a pistol shot of the shore where we rode as in a pond from the 22nd to the 30th ditto; in which time wee watred and wooded at our pleasure with much ease; where wee found many coker nutts, both ripe and greene, of all sorts, and much fishe and fowle and tortells and many soates with other fishe. As alsoe aboute the rivers there are many allagartes (crocodiles); our men fishinge for scates tooke one of them and drewe him aland alive with a rope fastened within his gills. Within two miles where we roade, there is a good tymber as ever I sawe of length and bignes, and a very firme timber. You shall have many trees of 60 and 70 feete without spriggs except at the topp, very bigge and straight as an arrowe. It is a very good refreshing place for wood, water, cooker nutts, fish and fowle, without any feare or danger except the allagartes for you cannot discerne that ever any people had bene there before us." The Ascension left the islands on February 1, arriving in Aden April 7. The ship's log and Jourdain and Revett's journals are the first record of Europeans landing in the Seychelles. With the departure of the Ascension, the islands remained dormant among the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Located outside the usual spice trading routes to India and the Far East, they remained unexplored and barren of human habitation for more than a hundred years. Although visited by pirates in the 18th century, the islands continued in their isolation from the rest of the world. Towards the end of the 17th century the British Navy cracked down on the many pirates, who had been active in the West Indies and the Spanish Main, driving them into new territory for the practice of their nefarious trade. Tales of the wealth of the Orient seems to have taken them into the Indian Ocean where an abundant scattering of uninhabited islands provided ideal refuge and hiding places from the law. Between 1700 and 1720 no less than eleven of their ships that used to sail in the Caribbean were identified in Indian Ocean waters. It was highly unlikely that the archipelago, with its ample supply of fresh water, magnificent trees for masts and spars, and safe anchorages would escape their notice. It was in 1721 that the notorious pirate Olivier Le Vasseur, also known as La Buse (The Mouth) visited the islands in his ship Le Victorieux. He was accompanied by the equally infamous English pirate Taylor in his ship Defense. Other pirates, such as Kidd and Conduit, may also have been visitors. More than likely, the islands were only used as a temporary refuge from the law or as a hiding place for plundered loot. The pirates main center of operation continued to be Madagascar. It was there that the middlemen from New York were ready to buy the loot at bargain prices. The era of the Indian Ocean Buccaneer came to an end shortly after La Buse was captured by the French Navy and hanged from the yard-arm of a ship in Reunion harbor on July 7, 1730. There is nothing as fascinating as a historical mystery. There is a beach on the south coast of Mahe that is named Anse Fourbans (Pirate's Cove). The north-east coast of Praslin is known as Cote d'Or (Gold Coast). These places were so named by the colonists who arrived 30 to 40 years after the pirates ceased their operations in the Indian Ocean. Cote d'Or is primarily associated with La Buse and Anse Fourbans with pirates in general. Pirates, treasure, and islands are ingredients in the minds of many people that conjure up fantasies of high adventure in exotic places. It is rumored amongst the Seychellois that the fortunes of at least two island families can be attributed to the accidental unearthing of wine jars filled with coins. One was purportedly found on Therese Island and the other near the site of St. Elizabeth Convent in Victoria. There is also a rumor that during the construction of the Seychelles International Airport, a treasure chest full of gold and jewels was unearthed by the contractor. What happened to it? No one knows. But these cases are insignificant compared to, what some believe, is a treasure worth millions of pounds that La Buse is said to have buried at Bel Ombre on Mahe. There was one man who had searched for this treasure for more than a quarter century, with no reward except for the excitement of the search. The adventure of seeking with hope and expectation is a reward in itself. The only authentic find so far that has been documented has been 107 silver coins, a few forks and spoons, two shoe buckles and a boatswain's whistle. Those items were found on Astove Island in 1911. Since then, even the government's share has been mysteriously pirated away with only the written record remaining as proof of the find.