Cocos Island—Its Stories of Buried Treasures

By Awake! correspondent in Costa Rica

THERE is an island about 300 miles [480 km] off the southwest coast of Costa Rica that is known for its stories of buried treasure. It is believed by some that Robert Louis Stevenson based his famous book Treasure Island on tales of pirate treasure buried there.

A Legend of Hidden Treasure

In an era when international communication and commerce were dependent on ocean travel, armed robbery on the high seas, or piracy, was a menace to society. Pirates posed a threat to one another as well.

After a small coastal town or a ship was pillaged, the stolen goods were divided among the crew. Thus, each pirate was faced with the dilemma of how to safeguard his share of the ill-gotten gains against theft by his comrades. The method of choice was hiding the treasure in a secret location with hopes of withdrawing it later. The treasure map, characterized by cryptic directions understood only by its maker, became the key to finding hidden treasure.

One of the legends of Cocos Island has it that successful raids of ships and cities along the Pacific Coast of Central America left one pirate band overloaded with gold and jewels. Because the island had plenty of fresh water and a good supply of meat (pigs were introduced there at the end of the 18th century), the captain of the ship planned to use Cocos Island as his base of operations.

According to one version of the story, dividing the spoils took a whole day. Gold was measured out in potfuls. Driven by the fear of losing their wealth to their greedy comrades, all the pirates opted to bury their share of the treasure somewhere on the island. Using ropes to climb the cliffs that dominate the island’s coastline, each pirate disappeared into the tropical forest. While some trusted their memory, others returned with maps that only they could decipher, which would lead them back to their treasure. However, all this exhausting effort was for naught. The legend continues that after having stashed their goods, the pirates sailed away in their galleon in search of greater gains. When they reached their next port, the captain, fearing mutiny, pulled anchor after sending the suspected rebels ashore. His hope that they would be identified as pirates and hanged was almost realized. What he failed to anticipate was the ability of his two highest-ranking crew members to make a deal with authorities who wanted to capture the captain. The British Navy dispatched a ship in hot pursuit of the galleon, and this resulted in the capture and death of the captain and his crew.