On the 7th of July 1730, the notorious French pirate, Olivier Levasseur, faced his final moments on the scaffold. His crimes, which had instilled fear across the high seas for over fifteen years, had finally caught up with him. However, it was his brazen looting of the Portuguese great galleon Nossa Senhora do Cabo that sealed his fate. The ship was carrying the Bishop of Goa and the Viceroy of Portugal, and was laden with treasures which Levasseur adamantly refused to relinquish. Instead, he boasted of having hidden it, taunting authorities and onlookers alike.
Moments before the hangman's noose tightened around his neck, Levasseur dramatically produced a necklace, within which lay a small piece of parchment bearing a cryptogram of clues to the treasure's whereabouts. With a defiant cry, he hurled it into the crowd, challenging, "Find my treasure, the one who may understand it!”. Thus began a legend that would echo through the ages, passed down through generations on the islands of the Seychelles and La Réunion.
The island Mahe, Seychelles, where Olivier Levasseur’s treasure is believed to lay hidden. Photo credit: Olivier Levasseur/Flickr
Click Here to read more Amusing Planet
