The traveling exhibition ‘Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. A common history’ lands in Chile

After starting its tour at the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology ARQVA in Spain and being shown in Uruguay, the cultural cooperation project promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Cultural Action of Spain continues its journey through Latin America. 

The exhibition, which is being held at the Natural History Museum of Valparaíso until January 15, highlights the scientific recovery of underwater heritage. 

The next destinations of the exhibition will be Bolivia and Mexico.

The exhibition ‘Our Lady of Mercy. A common history’ continues its tour in Chile. The exhibition, promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Spanish Cultural Action (AC/E), can be visited until January 15 at the National Museum of Natural History in Valparaíso, the second port in American territory, from where it will then depart for Bolivia and Mexico. Thus continues the journey of this cultural cooperation project between Spain and different Latin American countries that began its journey at the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology ARQVA, in Cartagena (Spain), and later stopped in Montevideo (Uruguay). The opening ceremony was attended by Carolina Arredondo, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Chile; Nélida Pozo, Director of the National Service of Cultural Heritage (SERPAT) of Chile; and Jordi Martí, Secretary of State for Culture of Spain, among other institutional representatives.

The frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes set out on its last voyage in August 1804 from the port of El Callao and, after crossing Cape Horn, docked in Montevideo (Uruguay), from where it set off for Cadiz (Spain) loaded with treasures and other important goods. However, the attack by the British Navy caused it to sink off the Portuguese coast before it could reach its destination.

Through the history of the frigate, the exhibition develops the historical context of the time from the perspective of trade, spirituality and war. But it also focuses on the threat of plundering of underwater sites, such as that suffered by the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes wreck itself, on the importance of its study based on scientific archaeological campaigns and on the necessary appreciation of the recovered materials.

In the case of Chile, the exhibition focuses particularly on this scientific approach to the study of underwater heritage and displays its own pieces such as, among others, a recent discovery: a fragment of a culverin, an old piece of artillery, which is closely related to the weapons found on the La Mercedes frigate.

The development of the exhibition coincides with the 146th anniversary of the creation of the museum, the second oldest in the country. Since 1988 it has been housed in the city's Lyon Palace, a late 19th century building declared a National Monument in 1979. History of a sinking and fight against plundering.

The first section of the exhibition presents the show and its symbolic objective of embarking on a new journey in which to share the common cultural treasure recovered. The second, 'Spain and the viceroyalties of the time', delves into the historical context in which the history of the ship takes place, dealing with issues such as the new reigning dynasty, the reorganization of the fleet or the situation in the viceroyalties.

‘Looting and archaeology’, the third section, recounts the well-known case of the looting of the cargo of the frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, the trial that arose from it and its final resolution. This “legal battle”, a counterpoint to the one that led to its destruction, has allowed not only its material rescue, but also the generation of greater knowledge on the subject, thanks mainly to the results obtained by the archaeological campaigns carried out on the wreck.

‘Puesta en valor’, the fourth section, continues to emphasize recovery and addresses the stabilization or restoration actions carried out on the numismatic collection in the ARQVA museum, included by UNESCO in the Register of Good Practices related to Underwater Cultural Heritage. In addition, they have since accompanied the collection, in which dissemination is of special importance, with the realization of exhibitions, activities, publications and even fictional audiovisual creations based on the story.

The last section of the common block, ‘The frigate beyond the treasure’, deals in a singular way with the cargo that the frigate was carrying, in which the coins constitute the most significant set, although not the only one. The numismatic selection allows us to talk about their historical value and the threats that the coins have as a focus of financial interest, overlooking the true “treasure” of information that accompanies them. In this section, an important batch of silver coins is exhibited, loaned for the occasion by Spain, which were part of the cargo recovered from the frigate. All of them are ‘reales de a ocho’, a coin that became widely distributed towards the end of the 18th century around the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Finally, the particular block of Chile delves into the protection and conservation of underwater heritage to keep it away from the frequent risk of exploitation.