1 00:00:25,851 --> 00:00:29,290 Out on the ocean, looking for sunken slave ships. 2 00:00:42,477 --> 00:00:45,306 When I began this journey, I couldn't imagine 3 00:00:45,436 --> 00:00:47,264 that I would be going back to my roots... 4 00:00:58,536 --> 00:01:00,973 ...or that I would be telling the story 5 00:01:01,104 --> 00:01:03,628 of the transatlantic slave trade. 6 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:06,849 In the governor's bedroom, there's a trap door in the floor 7 00:01:06,979 --> 00:01:10,766 and it leads into the women's dungeon, 8 00:01:10,896 --> 00:01:14,552 and he would just have free access to these women and girls. 9 00:01:14,683 --> 00:01:20,297 The case of the slaves was the same as if horses 10 00:01:20,428 --> 00:01:23,344 had been thrown overboard. 11 00:01:23,474 --> 00:01:24,954 Let me get this straight. 12 00:01:25,085 --> 00:01:29,306 This is currency created to buy a human being. 13 00:01:29,437 --> 00:01:30,699 One human being. 14 00:01:33,441 --> 00:01:34,311 Hey, Sam, how you doing, buddy? 15 00:01:34,442 --> 00:01:35,921 - Morning! - Morning! 16 00:01:36,052 --> 00:01:39,577 I've teamed up with DWP, Diving With a Purpose. 17 00:01:39,708 --> 00:01:42,798 What a morning, out here in the high seas. 18 00:01:42,928 --> 00:01:44,843 Ready to get wet, man? 19 00:01:44,974 --> 00:01:47,585 Some of the best underwater investigators in the world. 20 00:01:47,716 --> 00:01:49,109 Chris, you ready? 21 00:01:49,239 --> 00:01:50,022 All right, thanks for being here, friend. 22 00:01:50,153 --> 00:01:51,553 - I appreciate it. - All right, bro. 23 00:01:53,852 --> 00:01:57,421 More than two million of our ancestors died at sea. 24 00:01:57,552 --> 00:02:00,250 These divers are dedicated to bring to light 25 00:02:00,381 --> 00:02:02,557 their forgotten story. 26 00:02:02,687 --> 00:02:05,255 England was involved in it. 27 00:02:05,386 --> 00:02:06,561 Portugal was involved in it. 28 00:02:06,691 --> 00:02:09,085 The Africans were involved in it. 29 00:02:09,216 --> 00:02:13,350 It's a burial ground and a crime scene. 30 00:02:13,481 --> 00:02:14,351 We are raising the voices of people 31 00:02:14,482 --> 00:02:16,310 who didn't have a voice, 32 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,442 whose voices were also enslaved. 33 00:02:18,573 --> 00:02:20,618 We have to teach our young people 34 00:02:20,749 --> 00:02:22,359 where they came from. 35 00:02:22,490 --> 00:02:25,449 If we don't do it, no one will, ever. 36 00:02:25,580 --> 00:02:28,148 We only talk about the ships that made it. 37 00:02:28,278 --> 00:02:30,454 We never talk about the ones that didn't. 38 00:02:30,585 --> 00:02:33,501 Bring another part of the history of this world 39 00:02:33,631 --> 00:02:36,721 into focus, because people just don't talk about it. 40 00:02:36,852 --> 00:02:39,594 What was really going on with the slave trade? 41 00:02:55,610 --> 00:02:58,787 For me, it all started at my cousin Hilda's. 42 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:18,522 Hilda's been able to do something uncommon 43 00:03:18,546 --> 00:03:21,679 for most African Americans: 44 00:03:26,162 --> 00:03:29,687 trace our lineage back to the days of slavery. 45 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:33,691 Hey! 46 00:03:36,955 --> 00:03:38,522 Come on. What you got in here? 47 00:03:38,653 --> 00:03:40,307 Who is that young man there? 48 00:03:40,437 --> 00:03:41,612 That's me. 49 00:03:41,743 --> 00:03:44,136 All right. Beautiful picture. 50 00:03:44,267 --> 00:03:47,488 Sam, I want you to look at some of your history that you have 51 00:03:47,618 --> 00:03:49,185 never seen, and we want you to know it. 52 00:03:49,316 --> 00:03:51,970 When did you have time to do all this? 53 00:03:52,101 --> 00:03:53,557 Do you know that most of the information 54 00:03:53,581 --> 00:03:55,235 in here is by word of mouth? 55 00:03:55,365 --> 00:04:01,110 We followed our ancestry back from Zoe, LaTanya and Sam. 56 00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:03,852 Then we have Elizabeth and Roy. 57 00:04:03,982 --> 00:04:05,506 Yup. 58 00:04:05,636 --> 00:04:09,118 And we have Aunt Pearl and Uncle Edgar, 59 00:04:09,249 --> 00:04:11,294 who is Sam's grandfather. 60 00:04:11,425 --> 00:04:15,951 And then we go to Lillie, who is the mother to Edgar. 61 00:04:16,081 --> 00:04:18,910 And this is Lillie. 62 00:04:19,041 --> 00:04:21,565 Mm-hmm. That's a picture of Lillie. 63 00:04:21,696 --> 00:04:25,482 And Miles is the father to Edgar, Uncle Edgar's daddy. 64 00:04:25,613 --> 00:04:27,484 So this is Miles. 65 00:04:27,615 --> 00:04:29,007 Miles Montgomery. That's him. 66 00:04:29,138 --> 00:04:31,227 - Wow. - Mm-hmm. 67 00:04:31,358 --> 00:04:34,491 And then parents here, Arthur Branham. 68 00:04:34,622 --> 00:04:37,233 - Arthur was born into slavery. - Mm-hmm. 69 00:04:37,364 --> 00:04:38,689 So he was three when slavery ended. 70 00:04:38,713 --> 00:04:40,845 Three years old when slavery ended. 71 00:04:40,976 --> 00:04:42,151 Three. That's right. 72 00:04:42,282 --> 00:04:44,284 And this is his mother, Matilda. 73 00:04:44,414 --> 00:04:46,677 - Who was a slave. - Yes, that's right. Mm-hmm. 74 00:04:46,808 --> 00:04:47,828 - Owned by the Branhams? - Yes. 75 00:04:47,852 --> 00:04:49,047 So they just took their last name. 76 00:04:49,071 --> 00:04:50,591 - Mm-hmm. - They just took their names. 77 00:04:50,681 --> 00:04:51,832 Yes. They owned a lot of slaves. 78 00:04:51,856 --> 00:04:53,554 They were wealthy. 79 00:04:53,684 --> 00:04:57,122 A Judge Branham is the one who fathered Arthur. 80 00:04:57,253 --> 00:04:58,448 You can see his name up there, Joel Branham. 81 00:04:58,472 --> 00:05:00,212 Mm-hmm. 82 00:05:00,343 --> 00:05:03,085 So as far as we know, we're able to trace our ancestry 83 00:05:03,215 --> 00:05:06,393 back to when our relatives were enslaved. 84 00:05:13,138 --> 00:05:16,490 I did my DNA ancestry. 85 00:05:16,620 --> 00:05:21,886 And my ancestors came from Gabon. 86 00:05:22,017 --> 00:05:26,369 And they were from the Benga tribe and I want to see what 87 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:29,677 that means in terms of who I am and where I came from. 88 00:05:29,807 --> 00:05:36,684 So I would like to know more about how my people lived, 89 00:05:36,814 --> 00:05:39,600 how that played into the kind of person that I am. 90 00:05:39,730 --> 00:05:44,126 Just trying to connect to my roots. 91 00:05:44,256 --> 00:05:48,130 And the best place to do that is here, my ancestral home. 92 00:05:54,789 --> 00:05:56,332 Hi Sam! How are you doing? 93 00:05:56,356 --> 00:05:57,661 I am fine, how are you? 94 00:05:57,792 --> 00:05:59,032 - Welcome to Gabon. - Thank you. 95 00:06:04,973 --> 00:06:06,583 Let's go. 96 00:06:08,716 --> 00:06:10,587 Oh, my God. This is great. 97 00:06:41,183 --> 00:06:43,664 A lot of energy! 98 00:06:43,794 --> 00:06:45,013 Let's go! 99 00:06:47,711 --> 00:06:48,711 Okay, thank you. 100 00:07:03,205 --> 00:07:04,859 They will initiate you. 101 00:07:04,989 --> 00:07:07,949 It's not like being jumped into a gang, is it? 102 00:07:08,079 --> 00:07:10,014 - No. A brotherhood. - It's going to be all right? 103 00:07:10,038 --> 00:07:11,648 - You'll be all right. - All right, fine. 104 00:07:11,779 --> 00:07:15,347 You will be a real Benga. 105 00:07:15,478 --> 00:07:16,914 Anticipation builds... 106 00:07:26,576 --> 00:07:28,404 More than 12 million Africans were enslaved 107 00:07:28,535 --> 00:07:31,581 and trafficked from dozens of outposts established 108 00:07:31,712 --> 00:07:35,846 along the coast of Africa. 109 00:07:35,977 --> 00:07:38,414 The transatlantic slave trade existed for well over 110 00:07:38,545 --> 00:07:45,856 300 years and involved more than 45,000 voyages. 111 00:07:45,987 --> 00:07:50,557 Most ships made it. Many didn't. 112 00:07:50,687 --> 00:07:54,299 In the early 1800s, even after most countries banned the trade, 113 00:07:54,430 --> 00:07:57,999 illegal trafficking was continuing. 114 00:07:58,129 --> 00:08:03,178 My ancestors could have easily ended up on the illegal 115 00:08:03,308 --> 00:08:04,962 Spanish slaver, the "Guerrero." 116 00:08:07,965 --> 00:08:11,839 The "Guerrero" was sailing to Cuba with almost 117 00:08:11,969 --> 00:08:14,319 600 African people on board. 118 00:08:14,450 --> 00:08:17,192 They sailed past the Bahamas. 119 00:08:17,322 --> 00:08:20,891 Stationed there was a British navy ship, the "Nimble." 120 00:08:21,022 --> 00:08:24,329 The "Nimble" was there to intercept illegal slave ships. 121 00:08:24,460 --> 00:08:26,157 They tried to stop "Guerrero." 122 00:08:26,288 --> 00:08:28,290 "Guerrero" took off. 123 00:08:28,420 --> 00:08:31,206 They got into a chase, they got into a gun battle. 124 00:08:31,336 --> 00:08:33,382 Eventually, night fell. 125 00:08:33,513 --> 00:08:35,427 Both ships slammed into 126 00:08:35,558 --> 00:08:39,606 the Florida reef somewhere off Key Largo. 127 00:08:39,736 --> 00:08:43,566 So beneath these waters now are the puzzle pieces that are gonna 128 00:08:43,697 --> 00:08:47,352 help us reconstruct the story of these two shipwrecks. 129 00:08:47,483 --> 00:08:50,181 And that's really become my passion. 130 00:08:50,312 --> 00:08:53,054 I've invited the DWP team to join me 131 00:08:53,184 --> 00:08:54,708 in the search for the "Guerrero." 132 00:08:54,838 --> 00:08:55,838 Hi, Corey! 133 00:08:55,883 --> 00:08:57,362 Hey, guys. How are you? 134 00:08:57,493 --> 00:08:58,146 You guys ready to do a little bit of research? 135 00:08:58,276 --> 00:09:00,235 We are! 136 00:09:00,365 --> 00:09:02,126 So what is this story about the "Guerrero" 137 00:09:02,150 --> 00:09:03,475 and why do you think it's the "Guerrero"? 138 00:09:03,499 --> 00:09:05,762 You know, the story of "Guerrero" is really 139 00:09:05,893 --> 00:09:07,982 the story of two ships: 140 00:09:08,112 --> 00:09:11,072 "Guerrero," the slave ship, and then the British navy schooner 141 00:09:11,202 --> 00:09:12,421 that was chasing it. 142 00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:14,336 And they got into a gun battle 143 00:09:14,466 --> 00:09:15,866 and they both smashed into the reef. 144 00:09:18,383 --> 00:09:21,952 The "Nimble" ran aground and was able to float itself off 145 00:09:22,083 --> 00:09:27,958 the reef by jettisoning iron ballasts and cannonballs. 146 00:09:28,089 --> 00:09:30,352 But the slave ship "Guerrero" crashed into the reef 147 00:09:30,482 --> 00:09:34,008 with such force that it sank. 148 00:09:34,138 --> 00:09:38,360 41 of the captive Africans on board died. 149 00:09:38,490 --> 00:09:40,530 The "Nimble's" crew said they could hear the screams 150 00:09:40,580 --> 00:09:44,148 crossing two miles of ocean. 151 00:09:44,279 --> 00:09:46,977 It had been their duty to save the people on the "Guerrero," 152 00:09:47,108 --> 00:09:49,719 but instead they had accidentally 153 00:09:49,850 --> 00:09:52,548 chased them to their doom. 154 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:54,071 We're going to find the "Guerrero." 155 00:09:54,202 --> 00:09:55,614 There could be all kinds of artifacts out there 156 00:09:55,638 --> 00:09:58,815 that are specific to a slave ship. 157 00:09:58,946 --> 00:10:01,949 So here I have some things to show you guys. 158 00:10:02,079 --> 00:10:03,907 Oh! 159 00:10:04,038 --> 00:10:06,170 These are all pieces recovered from the other wrecks. 160 00:10:06,301 --> 00:10:08,433 So what's this guy? 161 00:10:08,564 --> 00:10:10,914 A tooth extractor. 162 00:10:11,045 --> 00:10:12,283 I remember in school, we were taught some slaves 163 00:10:12,307 --> 00:10:16,616 wouldn't eat in protest. 164 00:10:16,746 --> 00:10:21,185 They would remove the teeth so that they could shove food... 165 00:10:21,316 --> 00:10:23,492 - Right. - ...in their mouth. 166 00:10:23,623 --> 00:10:26,887 Just visualizing that is absolutely chilling. 167 00:10:27,017 --> 00:10:29,629 That my ancestor could've had their teeth pulled 168 00:10:29,759 --> 00:10:32,457 to make them eat because they needed to be strong 169 00:10:32,588 --> 00:10:33,588 in order to be bought. 170 00:10:38,072 --> 00:10:42,250 And here is the real telltale artifact. 171 00:10:42,380 --> 00:10:47,081 The essence of the slave trade: a set of shackles. 172 00:10:47,211 --> 00:10:48,865 These were the iron restraints designed 173 00:10:48,996 --> 00:10:50,954 to hold people two by two. 174 00:10:51,085 --> 00:10:52,085 Wrists? 175 00:10:52,129 --> 00:10:54,915 Wrists and generally ankles. 176 00:10:55,045 --> 00:10:58,309 You slid this 'U' onto somebody's ankle. 177 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,964 You took this other 'U', put it on another person's ankle, 178 00:11:01,095 --> 00:11:05,012 and then those people were joined together. 179 00:11:05,142 --> 00:11:08,363 It was shackled to two people 'cause it makes it 180 00:11:08,493 --> 00:11:11,453 way more effective to keep people from running. 181 00:11:11,583 --> 00:11:14,369 Right. If you're, you know, hobbled 182 00:11:14,499 --> 00:11:17,415 to somebody else, you can't swim. You can't run. 183 00:11:17,546 --> 00:11:18,852 - Right. - You can't move. 184 00:11:18,982 --> 00:11:22,551 It was horrible. 185 00:11:22,682 --> 00:11:28,078 So, I know how I'm feeling holding something 186 00:11:28,209 --> 00:11:30,361 like this, but this is, um, it's just a different feeling. 187 00:11:30,385 --> 00:11:32,996 It's hard to articulate. 188 00:11:33,127 --> 00:11:34,607 To just have these in my hand it just, 189 00:11:34,694 --> 00:11:37,348 it just hits a different note. 190 00:11:37,479 --> 00:11:39,718 I guess you could just see in my face maybe... it's just... 191 00:11:39,742 --> 00:11:42,049 No, absolutely. And there's no denying 192 00:11:42,179 --> 00:11:43,635 the cruelty of it when you look at those things... 193 00:11:43,659 --> 00:11:46,009 - Yeah. - ...and you know what they did. 194 00:12:03,766 --> 00:12:07,552 This initiation ceremony you were telling me about today, 195 00:12:07,683 --> 00:12:09,424 what does it actually really mean? 196 00:12:09,554 --> 00:12:11,121 For you, specifically, it means 197 00:12:11,252 --> 00:12:13,341 a reintegration into Benga society. 198 00:12:13,471 --> 00:12:17,214 Your ancestor was taken from this area, 199 00:12:17,345 --> 00:12:19,434 and you have been separated from your Benga people 200 00:12:19,564 --> 00:12:22,263 for at least 250 years. 201 00:12:22,393 --> 00:12:26,049 Your coming back, having identified yourself as a Benga, 202 00:12:26,180 --> 00:12:29,836 through DNA, was something that was a shock 203 00:12:29,966 --> 00:12:32,577 to the Benga community because of all the millions of Africans 204 00:12:32,708 --> 00:12:38,975 that left Africa, to have a person in America 205 00:12:39,106 --> 00:12:41,978 be identified as Benga was phenomenal. 206 00:12:42,109 --> 00:12:44,676 So to be integrated into Benga society, 207 00:12:44,807 --> 00:12:48,506 you need to acquire certain materials. 208 00:12:48,637 --> 00:12:52,293 One is the indigenous torch, , 209 00:12:52,423 --> 00:12:56,776 a flyswatter, a cane, and a white cloth. 210 00:12:56,906 --> 00:12:58,275 Okay. So, I gotta go out and get those things. 211 00:12:58,299 --> 00:12:59,430 Yes, you do. 212 00:12:59,561 --> 00:13:00,561 Okay. All right. 213 00:13:03,304 --> 00:13:05,436 All right. So we're going to the fabric store first. 214 00:13:05,567 --> 00:13:07,177 What's the fabric for? 215 00:13:07,308 --> 00:13:09,179 The white cloth when we're communing 216 00:13:09,310 --> 00:13:13,053 with the ancestors, white is the color of the ancestors 217 00:13:13,183 --> 00:13:14,402 because they have white bones. 218 00:13:14,532 --> 00:13:16,621 And white is the color of sperm. 219 00:13:16,752 --> 00:13:20,147 Oh, Okay. I'm trying to figure that out. 220 00:13:20,277 --> 00:13:21,670 I wanna grab that. 221 00:13:21,801 --> 00:13:24,151 Oh, yeah... which is the future generations. 222 00:13:24,281 --> 00:13:27,589 Because to procreate, sperm and the ovum come together. 223 00:13:27,719 --> 00:13:29,156 Mm-hmm. 224 00:13:29,286 --> 00:13:31,723 And the white waves, in traditional Benga, 225 00:13:31,854 --> 00:13:34,030 the land of the living and the land of the dead 226 00:13:34,161 --> 00:13:35,945 is separated by a great river. 227 00:13:36,076 --> 00:13:37,381 Mm-hmm. 228 00:13:37,512 --> 00:13:39,427 And so, when you see the white waves breaking, 229 00:13:39,557 --> 00:13:42,386 it's some of the ancestors crossing the great river... 230 00:13:42,517 --> 00:13:43,799 - Mm-hmm. - ...from the land of the dead 231 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:45,085 to the land of the living. 232 00:13:45,215 --> 00:13:46,323 Okay. So, does this white cloth 233 00:13:46,347 --> 00:13:48,305 have to be a specific size or... 234 00:13:48,436 --> 00:13:49,176 Well, it has to be able to wrap around your body. 235 00:13:49,306 --> 00:13:50,394 Wrap around the body. 236 00:13:50,525 --> 00:13:51,961 Yeah, yeah. 237 00:13:53,223 --> 00:13:54,423 So plain white or fancy white? 238 00:13:54,529 --> 00:13:55,617 What are we talking about? 239 00:13:55,747 --> 00:13:57,067 Plain white, plain white, about... 240 00:13:57,097 --> 00:13:58,228 Plain as in how plain? 241 00:13:58,359 --> 00:13:59,553 A pure white, because you're going 242 00:13:59,577 --> 00:14:04,147 to be joining the ancestors. 243 00:14:04,278 --> 00:14:05,603 I know. See, this would be my preference. 244 00:14:05,627 --> 00:14:08,630 But I gotta get something for a purpose. 245 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:10,023 - Great. - About 4 meters. 246 00:14:10,153 --> 00:14:11,241 Show you this. 247 00:14:11,372 --> 00:14:12,634 - I think that's it. - Ah. 248 00:14:12,764 --> 00:14:13,959 Yeah, that's... That's better. 249 00:14:13,983 --> 00:14:15,482 That... That... that's gonna be kickin' it. 250 00:14:15,506 --> 00:14:17,160 Looks good. Looks good to me. 251 00:14:17,291 --> 00:14:20,120 You just know how much that is by looking at it? 252 00:14:20,250 --> 00:14:21,445 You don't have to measure anything... 253 00:14:21,469 --> 00:14:23,123 You just start cutting. 254 00:14:23,253 --> 00:14:24,361 Yes, she says she's been doing it a long time. 255 00:14:24,385 --> 00:14:28,650 Yeah, I believe it. This is cool. 256 00:14:28,780 --> 00:14:29,651 - Yeah, cool. - Very nice. 257 00:14:29,781 --> 00:14:32,393 - Très bien! - Très bien! 258 00:14:32,523 --> 00:14:33,220 - Right. - In Benga, "Bwamo." 259 00:14:33,350 --> 00:14:34,350 Bwamo. 260 00:14:38,355 --> 00:14:40,531 My aunt noticed that you walk like a Benga man, 261 00:14:40,662 --> 00:14:42,161 because walking in the sand... - Mm-hmm. 262 00:14:42,185 --> 00:14:45,493 ...have a certain gait that, you know, like you follow. 263 00:14:45,623 --> 00:14:48,104 She said "it's a typical Benga man walking on the sand," 264 00:14:48,235 --> 00:14:49,627 which is a good thing. 265 00:14:49,758 --> 00:14:51,760 - Is that what she said? - Yeah, yeah. 266 00:14:51,891 --> 00:14:54,719 Okay. Well, there you have it. 267 00:14:54,850 --> 00:14:57,418 Stuff we don't know that we have, but we got it. 268 00:15:01,378 --> 00:15:02,858 What else do I need? 269 00:15:02,989 --> 00:15:06,209 A fly swatter, a torch and a cane. 270 00:15:06,340 --> 00:15:08,255 These guys should have all three. 271 00:15:08,385 --> 00:15:11,084 They're instrument makers, sculptors, real craftsmen. 272 00:15:14,696 --> 00:15:15,978 They're the experts in traditional ceremonies, 273 00:15:16,002 --> 00:15:18,656 when the living and the ancestors come together. 274 00:15:20,484 --> 00:15:22,834 All right, okay... 275 00:15:22,965 --> 00:15:25,098 might find what I'm looking for in here. 276 00:15:25,228 --> 00:15:26,360 - Bonjour. - Bonjour. 277 00:15:35,935 --> 00:15:37,175 That's something I need, right? 278 00:15:37,284 --> 00:15:39,164 Yes. That's the, the fly swatter. 279 00:15:39,199 --> 00:15:40,199 Ah. 280 00:15:41,766 --> 00:15:42,766 Merci. 281 00:15:49,252 --> 00:15:50,340 Is that the torch? 282 00:15:54,518 --> 00:15:57,086 So he's going to perform a little ceremony here. 283 00:16:05,268 --> 00:16:06,617 Been blessed. 284 00:16:06,748 --> 00:16:08,141 Blessed. That's right. 285 00:16:16,279 --> 00:16:17,454 Merci. Beautiful! 286 00:16:17,585 --> 00:16:20,196 Okay, thank you very much. 287 00:16:20,327 --> 00:16:21,739 Okay, so I've got the fly swatter... a torch. 288 00:16:21,763 --> 00:16:23,286 So what else do I need? A cane, right? 289 00:16:23,417 --> 00:16:24,418 A cane... 290 00:16:27,377 --> 00:16:31,077 Now... I saw the canes out there. 291 00:16:31,207 --> 00:16:34,384 Didn't touch me. 292 00:16:34,515 --> 00:16:36,865 But when I came in here, sitting here watching you play, 293 00:16:36,996 --> 00:16:38,214 and I went, "Aw! Ahhh." 294 00:16:53,403 --> 00:16:54,665 Okay. 295 00:16:54,796 --> 00:16:56,624 Stayed like that from the get-go. 296 00:16:56,754 --> 00:17:01,237 I love it the way it is. Yeah, okay. 297 00:17:01,368 --> 00:17:02,693 And when you came in, boom, it got to you. 298 00:17:02,717 --> 00:17:04,806 Mm-hmm. Sittin' here waiting for me then. 299 00:17:04,936 --> 00:17:06,155 It sure is. 300 00:17:12,683 --> 00:17:14,163 I feel a kinship. 301 00:17:23,868 --> 00:17:25,803 Listening to the music, I couldn't help thinking that 302 00:17:25,827 --> 00:17:29,831 when millions of Africans went down with the slave ships, 303 00:17:29,961 --> 00:17:32,225 our rich culture also went down with them. 304 00:17:36,838 --> 00:17:40,494 And what was lost at sea has been forgotten for centuries. 305 00:17:46,804 --> 00:17:48,608 We're eager to head out and find a sunken 306 00:17:48,632 --> 00:17:50,286 slave ship called the "Guerrero." 307 00:17:50,417 --> 00:17:52,201 - Hello! - Kramer! 308 00:17:52,332 --> 00:17:54,073 Kramer! 309 00:17:54,203 --> 00:17:56,727 Senior diver Kramer Wimberley joins the team. 310 00:17:56,858 --> 00:17:57,641 Now you get to come play with us! 311 00:17:57,772 --> 00:17:59,469 Yes. I missed you guys. 312 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,906 Corey fills us in on his plan... 313 00:18:02,037 --> 00:18:06,128 I think really in order to find the "Guerrero," 314 00:18:06,259 --> 00:18:07,714 we're going to have to find evidence of the "Nimble." 315 00:18:07,738 --> 00:18:09,827 "Nimble" essentially left a trail. 316 00:18:14,615 --> 00:18:16,921 "Nimble" had run up onto the reef. 317 00:18:17,052 --> 00:18:20,447 They needed to lighten their load. 318 00:18:20,577 --> 00:18:22,537 They were able to free themselves by throwing over 319 00:18:22,666 --> 00:18:25,843 iron ballast blocks and cannonballs. 320 00:18:25,974 --> 00:18:29,978 They got anchored up, and then their anchor line parted. 321 00:18:30,109 --> 00:18:32,981 They drifted onto the reef again and they threw over more 322 00:18:33,112 --> 00:18:37,203 cannonballs, ballasts, more shot, and a small cannon. 323 00:18:39,727 --> 00:18:41,511 So we're looking for things 324 00:18:41,642 --> 00:18:43,513 that the "Nimble" threw off. 325 00:18:43,644 --> 00:18:45,602 Exactly. Those are our clues. 326 00:18:45,733 --> 00:18:48,562 So the biggest clue we have in the historical record 327 00:18:48,692 --> 00:18:52,392 in all of this is the position of the "Nimble" the morning 328 00:18:52,522 --> 00:18:55,786 after the ships hit the reef. 329 00:18:55,917 --> 00:18:58,441 The "Nimble" was towed to safety off the reef, 330 00:18:58,572 --> 00:19:01,618 and the captain took his bearings. 331 00:19:01,749 --> 00:19:04,665 And we know where that spot was. That was right here. 332 00:19:04,795 --> 00:19:09,583 So we know that the "Nimble" was anchored here after, 333 00:19:09,713 --> 00:19:11,474 but we don't actually know where it hit the reef, right? 334 00:19:11,498 --> 00:19:12,890 Right. Exactly. 335 00:19:13,021 --> 00:19:16,503 So what we have to do is account for things like the wind 336 00:19:16,633 --> 00:19:19,636 and the weather at that time and which direction the ships 337 00:19:19,767 --> 00:19:21,377 were sailing when they hit. 338 00:19:21,508 --> 00:19:23,597 When you take in all the historical evidence, 339 00:19:23,727 --> 00:19:26,861 it makes it pretty clear that those two ships hit 340 00:19:26,991 --> 00:19:31,953 at either here at Area "A," Area "B" or Area "C." 341 00:19:32,083 --> 00:19:36,784 If we can find evidence of the "Nimble" in these areas, 342 00:19:36,914 --> 00:19:39,047 I think that's gonna help us pinpoint 343 00:19:39,178 --> 00:19:41,615 the location of the "Guerrero," 344 00:19:41,745 --> 00:19:44,400 and of the captive Africans who perished there. 345 00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:46,141 Today these areas are separated. 346 00:19:46,272 --> 00:19:48,143 You have the park and the sanctuary. 347 00:19:48,274 --> 00:19:50,711 Yeah, Kramer, if you want to go up to Area "A," 348 00:19:50,841 --> 00:19:52,452 the northernmost spot, 349 00:19:52,582 --> 00:19:55,629 up in Biscayne National Park and do some exploring with the folks 350 00:19:55,759 --> 00:19:58,197 from the Biscayne team, and the rest of us, 351 00:19:58,327 --> 00:20:01,983 we'll go down to Areas "B" and "C" and take a look around 352 00:20:02,113 --> 00:20:03,113 and see what's there. 353 00:20:03,202 --> 00:20:04,290 - All right. - Okay. 354 00:20:06,814 --> 00:20:08,816 Time in the water will be now. 355 00:20:08,946 --> 00:20:11,210 Time out will be noon. Out. Copy. 356 00:20:11,340 --> 00:20:13,386 To the untrained eye, a shipwreck may look like 357 00:20:13,516 --> 00:20:16,040 nothing more than a coral reef. 358 00:20:16,171 --> 00:20:17,670 And so there are tiny little puzzle pieces on these wrecks 359 00:20:17,694 --> 00:20:21,742 that we as archaeologists look for specifically that help us 360 00:20:21,872 --> 00:20:24,658 date wrecks and help us identify maybe nationality, 361 00:20:24,788 --> 00:20:25,615 who made them, how large they are, 362 00:20:25,746 --> 00:20:26,964 what they were utilized for. 363 00:20:27,095 --> 00:20:29,619 So any artifact we find of British design 364 00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:32,143 could be from the "Nimble." 365 00:20:32,274 --> 00:20:34,407 And any artifact of Spanish design, 366 00:20:34,537 --> 00:20:35,817 from the slave ship, "Guerrero." 367 00:20:56,777 --> 00:20:58,668 If the "Nimble" 's crew tossed over any large metal objects 368 00:20:58,692 --> 00:21:03,610 in this area, our detector should pick it up. 369 00:21:22,237 --> 00:21:26,459 It looks like we've found something big. 370 00:21:35,729 --> 00:21:36,793 Gabon's Minister of Environment, Lee White, 371 00:21:36,817 --> 00:21:41,212 is taking me to Loango National Park, 372 00:21:41,343 --> 00:21:45,391 a place he says is relevant to my ancestry. 373 00:21:45,521 --> 00:21:48,611 Where the rainforest comes right smack down to the ocean. 374 00:21:50,744 --> 00:21:54,051 What percentage of Gabon is rainforest? 375 00:21:54,182 --> 00:21:56,532 - Gabon is 88%. - 88? 376 00:21:56,663 --> 00:21:57,968 - ...forest. - Wow. 377 00:21:58,099 --> 00:22:00,144 So, it's the second most forested 378 00:22:00,275 --> 00:22:01,363 country on the planet. 379 00:22:12,635 --> 00:22:15,159 - Wow! - Yeah. 380 00:22:15,290 --> 00:22:18,119 Gabon is about 10% of the African rainforest, 381 00:22:18,249 --> 00:22:20,295 but we have over 60% of the forest 382 00:22:20,426 --> 00:22:22,950 elephants today, which shows how Gabon 383 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:24,343 has been so well preserved. 384 00:22:47,235 --> 00:22:49,324 Today we have what we call "eco-guards"... 385 00:22:49,455 --> 00:22:52,240 what you'd call "rangers," trained to go out and patrol 386 00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:54,721 the forests and fight against the poachers. 387 00:22:54,851 --> 00:22:56,723 - Literally? - Literally. 388 00:22:56,853 --> 00:22:58,899 We're having gun battles about once a month. 389 00:22:59,029 --> 00:23:00,596 Wow. And what are they after? 390 00:23:00,727 --> 00:23:01,945 - Ivory. - Wow. 391 00:23:02,076 --> 00:23:03,730 Just like in the slave days, 392 00:23:03,860 --> 00:23:06,036 people came here for slaves, for ivory, and for ebony. 393 00:23:06,167 --> 00:23:07,603 It's still the same thing. 394 00:23:07,734 --> 00:23:10,040 The elephant ivory is worth $2000 a kilo 395 00:23:10,171 --> 00:23:12,608 on the black market. 396 00:23:26,013 --> 00:23:28,972 In this beautiful, now protected park, 397 00:23:29,103 --> 00:23:31,235 there hides a terrible history. 398 00:23:31,366 --> 00:23:34,891 Lee says there's an area we can prove was once used to confine 399 00:23:35,022 --> 00:23:36,719 close to a million enslaved Africans 400 00:23:36,850 --> 00:23:38,650 before they were shipped across the Atlantic. 401 00:24:07,141 --> 00:24:08,882 Lee's arranged to put down here, 402 00:24:09,012 --> 00:24:12,189 then he says we'll head toward the river mouth to uncover 403 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,845 evidence showing just how massive the slave trade was. 404 00:24:20,850 --> 00:24:23,897 - Okay. - Merci! Wow. 405 00:24:24,027 --> 00:24:26,769 There we go, welcome to Loango National Park. 406 00:24:26,900 --> 00:24:28,815 Loango National Park. The ocean's there, right? 407 00:24:28,945 --> 00:24:30,773 The ocean's that way. 408 00:24:30,904 --> 00:24:33,428 So, end of the road for whoever walked or rowed down 409 00:24:33,559 --> 00:24:35,079 the river over here right? - Or walked. 410 00:24:35,125 --> 00:24:36,692 For three months to get here from- 411 00:24:36,823 --> 00:24:37,903 Three months of walking or? 412 00:24:37,954 --> 00:24:40,348 - Carrying a big 40-kilo tusk... - Yeah. 413 00:24:40,479 --> 00:24:42,350 ...or a chunk of ebony. 414 00:24:42,481 --> 00:24:43,721 Right. And then getting chained 415 00:24:43,786 --> 00:24:44,937 into a boat somewhere over there. 416 00:24:44,961 --> 00:24:45,961 - Yeah. - Wow. 417 00:24:50,097 --> 00:24:53,709 So 200, 250 years ago, what was this area called? 418 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:55,929 Well, this was the Kingdom of Loango 419 00:24:56,059 --> 00:24:58,148 and by the late 18th century, 420 00:24:58,279 --> 00:24:59,846 it was responsible for roughly half 421 00:24:59,976 --> 00:25:03,371 of all the slave transports from West Africa. 422 00:25:03,502 --> 00:25:06,809 Trade routes were opened up from here deep into the interior 423 00:25:06,940 --> 00:25:08,855 to exploit the riches of the rainforest. 424 00:25:08,985 --> 00:25:15,165 Most importantly, sadly, African men, women and children. 425 00:25:15,296 --> 00:25:17,733 We don't bring tourists this way... not much. 426 00:25:17,864 --> 00:25:22,085 This is Ntchorongove Village. 427 00:25:22,216 --> 00:25:25,611 Yup, I used to be barefoot on roads like this. 428 00:25:25,741 --> 00:25:29,440 You know it kind of feels like when I was a kid, in Georgia, 429 00:25:29,571 --> 00:25:31,921 walking in dirt like this and hanging out. 430 00:25:32,052 --> 00:25:34,402 You know, there were shacks, stuff like this in the area 431 00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:37,840 where I lived, so it's kind of, it feels very familiar. 432 00:25:37,971 --> 00:25:40,495 When I looked at the clothesline, 433 00:25:40,626 --> 00:25:41,690 which is actually what attracted me down here, 434 00:25:41,714 --> 00:25:43,846 when I saw those clothes hanging on the line. 435 00:25:43,977 --> 00:25:45,500 I was like "Oh, that looks familiar." 436 00:25:45,631 --> 00:25:47,807 I just walked down. It just felt like, you know, 437 00:25:47,937 --> 00:25:50,766 it felt like a piece of my childhood. 438 00:25:50,897 --> 00:25:54,117 So, doesn't feel, doesn't feel strange at all. 439 00:25:54,248 --> 00:25:55,771 Yeah, familiar. 440 00:25:55,902 --> 00:25:58,644 It touches something inside me. 441 00:26:02,561 --> 00:26:04,824 We're headed to Iguela. 442 00:26:04,954 --> 00:26:08,871 It's a massive lagoon over 85 square miles 443 00:26:09,002 --> 00:26:13,920 with lots of little islands. 444 00:26:14,050 --> 00:26:16,879 Over a million slaves were shipped from this region 445 00:26:17,010 --> 00:26:19,316 and trafficked directly to the Americas. 446 00:26:45,299 --> 00:26:46,493 Most of the slaves from here went to Brazil. 447 00:26:46,517 --> 00:26:47,823 Mm-hmm. 448 00:26:47,954 --> 00:26:51,871 But they found the record of the first known slave 449 00:26:52,001 --> 00:26:54,090 from Gabon who went to South Carolina. 450 00:26:54,221 --> 00:26:55,744 It was 1720. 451 00:26:55,875 --> 00:26:58,138 No kidding. 452 00:26:58,268 --> 00:27:00,308 He could have been on the same boat as my ancestors. 453 00:27:04,361 --> 00:27:05,145 There's an elephant right there. 454 00:27:05,275 --> 00:27:06,625 Where? 455 00:27:06,755 --> 00:27:08,844 Isn't that an elephant in there, right there? 456 00:27:08,975 --> 00:27:11,412 - Yeah, that... - Amazing. 457 00:27:11,542 --> 00:27:13,849 It looks like it's on its own. 458 00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:15,808 It's probably a lone male. 459 00:27:21,117 --> 00:27:24,033 So in terms of the amount of ivory being transported 460 00:27:24,164 --> 00:27:25,513 on this river, what was the number 461 00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:27,950 of elephants lost at that time? 462 00:27:28,081 --> 00:27:31,519 Probably hundreds of thousands of elephants. 463 00:27:31,650 --> 00:27:35,958 The whole coastal Gabon and Congo was basically devoid 464 00:27:36,089 --> 00:27:38,352 of elephants by the time they finished. 465 00:27:38,482 --> 00:27:41,007 By the time they finished. 466 00:27:41,137 --> 00:27:44,488 And they severely depleted the human population as well. 467 00:27:44,619 --> 00:27:45,727 They were just another commodity. 468 00:27:45,751 --> 00:27:49,058 Moved down these rivers all the way to the coast 469 00:27:49,189 --> 00:27:50,799 where they would be sold off. 470 00:27:50,930 --> 00:27:51,930 Shackled and shipped. 471 00:27:52,018 --> 00:27:53,584 Yeah. There were hundreds 472 00:27:53,715 --> 00:27:55,848 of slave boats coming down here. 473 00:28:03,812 --> 00:28:06,554 And so, literally, there are millions of oysters, 474 00:28:06,685 --> 00:28:10,297 and they've built up the level of these islands 4 meters. 475 00:28:10,427 --> 00:28:11,864 So what just looks like earth, 476 00:28:11,994 --> 00:28:15,737 is actually millions and millions of oyster shells piled 477 00:28:15,868 --> 00:28:19,959 upon each other. That was the only food that the captive 478 00:28:20,089 --> 00:28:22,178 peoples had to eat when they were here. 479 00:28:22,309 --> 00:28:24,920 That's right, your last meal before you get on a boat 480 00:28:25,051 --> 00:28:27,227 to be sailed off to Brazil. 481 00:28:27,357 --> 00:28:30,491 So that really is an oyster bank. 482 00:28:30,621 --> 00:28:35,191 They're razor-sharp. 483 00:28:35,322 --> 00:28:38,542 Until Richard came, nobody thought that's a relic 484 00:28:38,673 --> 00:28:41,023 of the slave trade. 485 00:28:41,154 --> 00:28:43,194 And then you start to think about how many people... 486 00:28:43,286 --> 00:28:44,505 it's acres worth. 487 00:28:44,635 --> 00:28:46,028 Covering how much space? 488 00:28:46,159 --> 00:28:47,900 That's two and a half thousand acres. 489 00:28:48,030 --> 00:28:49,510 Two and a half thousand acres? 490 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,383 Okay that's a... that's ridiculous. 491 00:28:53,514 --> 00:28:54,341 - Of... Of oysters. - Of oysters, like that? 492 00:28:54,471 --> 00:28:57,692 That deep. 493 00:28:57,823 --> 00:28:59,912 It's just thousands and thousands 494 00:29:00,042 --> 00:29:01,522 and thousands of poor people. 495 00:29:08,529 --> 00:29:09,965 So this is where they would 496 00:29:10,096 --> 00:29:11,401 first see the big ships, right? 497 00:29:11,532 --> 00:29:12,838 So right out there? 498 00:29:12,968 --> 00:29:15,579 Yeah, they might well see the ships offshore. 499 00:29:15,710 --> 00:29:18,582 For those who were taken from the interior, 500 00:29:18,713 --> 00:29:20,604 it would've been the first time they'd ever seen the ocean. 501 00:29:20,628 --> 00:29:22,717 It must've been terrifying. 502 00:29:22,848 --> 00:29:26,068 The first place you would've seen the big ships 503 00:29:26,199 --> 00:29:27,853 waiting to be filled with people. 504 00:29:30,899 --> 00:29:33,336 Once again, we look at the disparate reality 505 00:29:33,467 --> 00:29:36,296 of the slave trade. 506 00:29:36,426 --> 00:29:38,515 I mean, the beauty of what this is, 507 00:29:38,646 --> 00:29:43,129 just looking at it, this turns to like a real gateway to hell 508 00:29:43,259 --> 00:29:46,219 for the people who were seeing it for the last time. 509 00:29:46,349 --> 00:29:48,221 Yeah, today it's tropical paradise 510 00:29:48,351 --> 00:29:50,005 but 200 years ago, hell on earth. 511 00:29:54,967 --> 00:29:57,273 From here, the next stop could've been places like 512 00:29:57,404 --> 00:30:01,016 Brazil, Cuba, the U.S... 513 00:30:01,147 --> 00:30:02,539 or the bottom of the ocean. 514 00:30:10,939 --> 00:30:12,854 So we're diving and we're looking for what Corey 515 00:30:12,985 --> 00:30:16,162 believes could be a trail of evidence tossed overboard 516 00:30:16,292 --> 00:30:18,294 by the British crew of the ship, the "Nimble," 517 00:30:18,425 --> 00:30:20,644 which was in hot pursuit of the Spanish slave ship, 518 00:30:20,775 --> 00:30:21,775 the "Guerrero." 519 00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:26,737 So we're looking for cannons, cannonballs, anchors, 520 00:30:26,868 --> 00:30:30,350 pretty much anything that could be indicative of a 19th century 521 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:31,480 British Navy ship. 522 00:30:37,661 --> 00:30:39,794 So this is a protected area, and we're not allowed 523 00:30:39,925 --> 00:30:41,622 to recover anything from the bottom. 524 00:30:41,752 --> 00:30:45,191 So by taking high-resolution imagery, 525 00:30:45,321 --> 00:30:48,324 Corey can bring that back to his lab and render 3D images 526 00:30:48,455 --> 00:30:50,095 so we can all study and observe it safely. 527 00:30:53,808 --> 00:30:55,592 Yeah, look at that. 528 00:30:55,723 --> 00:30:56,898 What do you think? 529 00:30:57,029 --> 00:31:01,424 Oh, wow, this is a big block of iron ballast. 530 00:31:01,555 --> 00:31:05,254 It's about 3 feet long. 531 00:31:05,385 --> 00:31:08,388 The 3D will really allow us to get some wonderful details. 532 00:31:08,518 --> 00:31:10,825 So here is a ballast. 533 00:31:10,956 --> 00:31:14,394 It was used in the bottom of the ship to make the ship 534 00:31:14,524 --> 00:31:16,744 bottom heavy, so when the sails filled with wind, 535 00:31:16,875 --> 00:31:18,311 the ship didn't tip over. 536 00:31:18,441 --> 00:31:19,747 It fits exactly with what we know 537 00:31:19,878 --> 00:31:21,967 the "Nimble" threw overboard. 538 00:31:25,318 --> 00:31:26,754 But all ships have ballasts onboard, 539 00:31:26,885 --> 00:31:30,845 so we can't say for sure that this is from the "Nimble." 540 00:31:30,976 --> 00:31:32,736 We're going to have to keep looking for a needle 541 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:34,631 in a 200-year-old haystack. 542 00:31:43,553 --> 00:31:46,643 We had a big hit on the metal detector in this area. 543 00:31:46,774 --> 00:31:50,343 There's only one way to figure out what it is... dredging. 544 00:31:56,479 --> 00:31:57,848 Water entering that tube 545 00:31:57,872 --> 00:32:01,180 at such a high velocity will create suction. 546 00:32:01,310 --> 00:32:02,790 It's the equivalent of a giant vacuum. 547 00:32:13,888 --> 00:32:16,021 When we first saw it, I didn't know what it was. 548 00:32:17,718 --> 00:32:19,285 But as we kept on working, 549 00:32:19,415 --> 00:32:21,852 it just kept on getting bigger and bigger. 550 00:32:21,983 --> 00:32:26,814 And I knew at that point it was going to be something good. 551 00:32:26,945 --> 00:32:29,817 It's a gun, which is a very exciting find. 552 00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:31,601 What it is, is a carronade... 553 00:32:31,732 --> 00:32:34,517 A small cannon used by the British. 554 00:32:34,648 --> 00:32:38,304 Now right here you see a very fine taper. 555 00:32:38,434 --> 00:32:41,872 This is called the nozzle, and it's particularly dateable. 556 00:32:42,003 --> 00:32:45,224 They didn't have these on most carronades before 1815. 557 00:32:45,354 --> 00:32:46,834 So this particular gun probably dates 558 00:32:46,965 --> 00:32:50,577 from about the 1815 to 1830. 559 00:32:50,707 --> 00:32:51,987 It's a single piece of a puzzle. 560 00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:54,450 But this is a very big piece to that puzzle. 561 00:32:57,540 --> 00:32:59,760 The carronade is about 200 years old. 562 00:32:59,890 --> 00:33:01,805 And it fits the time of the "Nimble." 563 00:33:01,936 --> 00:33:06,071 So I think we're on the right track to finding the "Guerrero." 564 00:33:21,651 --> 00:33:23,305 The Benga people here in Gabon 565 00:33:23,436 --> 00:33:25,873 have called me a "lost son returned." 566 00:33:26,004 --> 00:33:31,357 And so, as part of being welcomed back into the tribe, 567 00:33:31,487 --> 00:33:34,229 it's customary that I meet the clan elders. 568 00:33:35,361 --> 00:33:37,841 Ah, how are you, sir? 569 00:33:37,972 --> 00:33:41,584 The leaders representing 23 Benga clans. 570 00:33:54,815 --> 00:33:57,600 And then, the man in charge of it all. 571 00:33:57,731 --> 00:34:00,864 Today, I'm meeting the Benga king. 572 00:34:23,626 --> 00:34:25,280 "Tell our brother that there is much joy 573 00:34:25,411 --> 00:34:27,413 and happiness on this day." 574 00:34:27,543 --> 00:34:29,263 There is much joy and happiness on this day. 575 00:34:30,416 --> 00:34:31,856 - To receive him. - My heart is full. 576 00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:45,708 We do know that the "Nimble" actually threw 577 00:35:45,839 --> 00:35:50,496 a small cannon over, called a carronade, 578 00:35:50,626 --> 00:35:54,152 to help lighten its load once it had hit one of the reefs. 579 00:35:54,282 --> 00:35:56,850 So we're adding the discovery of the ballast 580 00:35:56,980 --> 00:35:58,940 to the carronade that Kramer and Joshua discovered 581 00:35:59,069 --> 00:36:01,637 less than two miles away. 582 00:36:01,768 --> 00:36:05,163 So really we just need to keep compiling that evidence. 583 00:36:05,293 --> 00:36:08,557 Oh, my God, that's the anchor. 584 00:36:08,688 --> 00:36:11,473 Amongst all this turtle grass, it just really stands out. 585 00:36:16,913 --> 00:36:20,047 You can see this anchor is set into the ground. 586 00:36:20,178 --> 00:36:23,572 One fluke is completely buried, one sticks up. 587 00:36:23,703 --> 00:36:27,707 Somebody was actively using this when they lost it. 588 00:36:27,837 --> 00:36:30,623 Now it's kind of hard to say for sure if this is indeed 589 00:36:30,753 --> 00:36:34,540 The "Nimble" 's anchor, but I'll say this, 590 00:36:34,670 --> 00:36:38,021 it's the right size for what the "Nimble" would have carried, 591 00:36:38,152 --> 00:36:39,782 it's the right design for the time period, 592 00:36:39,806 --> 00:36:44,071 and it's in exactly the right location. 593 00:36:44,202 --> 00:36:46,334 - Oh, my God. - Whoa. 594 00:36:47,509 --> 00:36:48,815 Isn't that awesome? 595 00:36:48,945 --> 00:36:51,470 And "Nimble" lost two anchors... 596 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,038 One that matches perfectly with this. 597 00:36:55,169 --> 00:36:56,233 This anchor, I think 598 00:36:56,257 --> 00:36:57,954 is an important part of evidence 599 00:36:58,085 --> 00:37:00,957 for the story of the "Guerrero" and "Nimble." 600 00:37:01,088 --> 00:37:04,570 Really matches closely with the evidence that we have. 601 00:37:04,700 --> 00:37:06,920 It's really something. 602 00:37:07,050 --> 00:37:10,053 Really wonderful to see this. 603 00:37:10,184 --> 00:37:13,535 This anchor, along with the ballast and the carronade, 604 00:37:13,666 --> 00:37:17,104 really shows that the evidence is piling up. 605 00:37:17,235 --> 00:37:20,107 It all points to the hazardous line the "Nimble" took 606 00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:22,979 on the high seas chase for the slave ship "Guerrero." 607 00:37:25,765 --> 00:37:27,656 The ship logs from the "Nimble" note that the crew 608 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,509 threw over iron shot and cannonballs. 609 00:37:30,639 --> 00:37:34,295 So, uh, pretty specific stuff. 610 00:37:34,426 --> 00:37:38,125 And I think, you know, if we can see that kind of material, 611 00:37:38,256 --> 00:37:39,822 we're hot on the trail. 612 00:37:39,953 --> 00:37:42,782 Look, the copper nail 613 00:37:42,912 --> 00:37:46,046 just sitting here. 614 00:37:46,176 --> 00:37:48,483 It's a good find, but not what we're looking for. 615 00:37:52,618 --> 00:37:54,750 Oh, wow. 616 00:37:54,881 --> 00:37:56,578 Yeah, look at that. 617 00:37:56,709 --> 00:38:00,103 This is a little hard to see with all the growth on it. 618 00:38:00,234 --> 00:38:04,064 But what we have here are two cannonballs. 619 00:38:04,194 --> 00:38:06,153 You can see one here and one here, 620 00:38:06,284 --> 00:38:08,024 and they're all fused together, 621 00:38:08,155 --> 00:38:10,897 and they look like a miniature reef here. 622 00:38:11,027 --> 00:38:12,377 Oh! 623 00:38:12,507 --> 00:38:14,292 Look at that. 624 00:38:14,422 --> 00:38:15,791 And now we're starting to find them 625 00:38:15,815 --> 00:38:17,425 everywhere down here. 626 00:38:17,556 --> 00:38:18,861 Wow! 627 00:38:18,992 --> 00:38:21,516 Another iron cannonball, sitting on the reef. 628 00:38:25,781 --> 00:38:28,523 It's amazing. There's just stuff everywhere. 629 00:38:32,048 --> 00:38:36,531 This fits our scenario of the "Nimble" throwing over 630 00:38:36,662 --> 00:38:40,622 lots of iron cannonballs. 631 00:38:40,753 --> 00:38:43,756 When you combine all these iron cannonballs with 632 00:38:43,886 --> 00:38:46,541 the iron ballast, it just fits the historical record perfectly. 633 00:38:54,419 --> 00:38:57,944 So many cannonballs. Huge cannonballs. 634 00:38:58,074 --> 00:39:00,990 I bet we saw at least 12 of them. 635 00:39:01,121 --> 00:39:02,514 Productive dive! 636 00:39:04,820 --> 00:39:07,910 Gosh, if this is the actual site of, you know, 637 00:39:08,041 --> 00:39:12,480 the "Nimble" and the "Guerrero" is around here somewhere then... 638 00:39:12,611 --> 00:39:14,569 I think we can find it. 639 00:39:31,325 --> 00:39:33,414 Right on the borders of the sacred village 640 00:39:33,545 --> 00:39:36,374 where their kings are enthroned are the forests 641 00:39:36,504 --> 00:39:39,464 the Benga believe contain ancestral spirits. 642 00:39:58,570 --> 00:40:01,311 The king has invited me here to witness a ceremony 643 00:40:01,442 --> 00:40:04,140 that's incredibly important in their oral tradition. 644 00:40:06,969 --> 00:40:11,278 It takes the better part of a day because members of the tribe 645 00:40:11,409 --> 00:40:15,891 re-enact the Benga's entire migration history 646 00:40:16,022 --> 00:40:20,113 from their early days in the Sahara, to these 647 00:40:20,243 --> 00:40:22,898 tribal battles in the dense interior forests. 648 00:40:26,989 --> 00:40:31,080 And finally their victorious arrival at the Atlantic coast. 649 00:41:01,894 --> 00:41:03,678 This is how the Benga pass on their story 650 00:41:03,809 --> 00:41:06,464 to the new generations... 651 00:41:06,594 --> 00:41:09,684 and now to me, a "lost son returned." 652 00:41:34,927 --> 00:41:37,233 This is the rich culture that was severed 653 00:41:37,364 --> 00:41:40,367 from my ancestors when the European slavers tore them 654 00:41:40,498 --> 00:41:42,195 from these coastal forests. 655 00:41:43,979 --> 00:41:46,068 I guess a lot of people would be very emotional 656 00:41:46,199 --> 00:41:49,855 about it, but I absorb it in another way: 657 00:41:49,985 --> 00:41:55,382 as validation of being part of a group of party people, 658 00:41:55,513 --> 00:41:57,819 or warriors that know how to roll with the punches. 659 00:41:57,950 --> 00:42:02,215 So, I count myself as being from, you know, 660 00:42:02,345 --> 00:42:04,217 a tribe of survivors. 661 00:42:23,845 --> 00:42:25,543 We got a good start. 662 00:42:25,673 --> 00:42:28,154 We're on the right track trying to follow the trail 663 00:42:28,284 --> 00:42:29,851 of the artifacts of the "Nimble," 664 00:42:29,982 --> 00:42:32,462 and it looks like our efforts are paying off. 665 00:42:32,593 --> 00:42:34,334 I think today, uh, we're gonna find 666 00:42:34,464 --> 00:42:37,206 some things from the "Guerrero." 667 00:42:37,337 --> 00:42:41,950 The carronade we believe could be Nimble's was discovered here. 668 00:42:42,081 --> 00:42:45,824 We found the jettisoned ballast and the cannonballs here. 669 00:42:45,954 --> 00:42:48,043 And the anchor was discovered here. 670 00:42:48,174 --> 00:42:50,089 We're connecting the dots. 671 00:42:50,219 --> 00:42:52,918 These are really looking like the strike points where "Nimble" 672 00:42:53,048 --> 00:42:55,398 hit the reef while pursuing the Spanish slave ship, 673 00:42:55,529 --> 00:42:57,226 and considering that, 674 00:42:57,357 --> 00:43:01,056 we could right now be on top of "Guerrero." 675 00:43:01,187 --> 00:43:02,971 We're looking for any conclusive evidence 676 00:43:03,102 --> 00:43:07,106 that will tie this location to the final resting place 677 00:43:07,236 --> 00:43:09,674 of the 41 enslaved. 678 00:43:09,804 --> 00:43:11,850 Diving the site, 679 00:43:11,980 --> 00:43:13,262 it just brings it closer to reality, 680 00:43:13,286 --> 00:43:17,595 closer to those people who were murdered here, 681 00:43:17,725 --> 00:43:21,163 who were captured here, who were tortured here. 682 00:43:21,294 --> 00:43:23,818 The 41 who died here. 683 00:43:41,662 --> 00:43:45,579 A ballast stone, a lonely ballast stone. 684 00:43:45,710 --> 00:43:47,842 It's just a rock that was in the bottom of the ship 685 00:43:47,973 --> 00:43:50,105 to make the ship bottom-heavy. 686 00:43:50,236 --> 00:43:51,866 To me it looks like a rock, is a rock, is a rock. 687 00:43:51,890 --> 00:43:53,282 Well, yeah... 688 00:43:53,413 --> 00:43:54,153 Well, you don't really have big rocks like that. 689 00:43:54,283 --> 00:43:55,633 That's exactly right. 690 00:43:55,763 --> 00:43:57,939 Around here in the Keys, it's all limestone. 691 00:43:58,070 --> 00:44:01,551 So if anything is a rock that's not limestone... 692 00:44:01,682 --> 00:44:03,202 it was brought in. - It's, like, way... 693 00:44:03,292 --> 00:44:05,183 And if it's underwater, it probably was brought in 694 00:44:05,207 --> 00:44:07,296 on a ship, and that's what we're seeing here... 695 00:44:07,427 --> 00:44:10,082 Rocks that just don't fit the natural landscape. 696 00:44:18,568 --> 00:44:20,527 Corey's location mapping 697 00:44:20,658 --> 00:44:22,834 might just be on the money. 698 00:44:22,964 --> 00:44:24,662 I can see something. 699 00:44:24,792 --> 00:44:26,552 This looks like an iron knee 700 00:44:26,576 --> 00:44:30,450 or some sort of a brace. 701 00:44:30,580 --> 00:44:33,453 It looks like it's from the right time period. 702 00:44:33,583 --> 00:44:36,586 Iron braces like this could've been used to reinforce 703 00:44:36,717 --> 00:44:39,589 the hull structure of ships like "Guerrero." 704 00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:41,160 Oh, the brace you were talking about. 705 00:44:41,243 --> 00:44:43,289 Triangular brace. 706 00:44:43,419 --> 00:44:44,899 Certainly it was part of the ship. 707 00:44:45,030 --> 00:44:48,076 It was used to, you know, reinforce something. 708 00:44:48,207 --> 00:44:51,253 As I move it around, you know, you get a really good sense 709 00:44:51,384 --> 00:44:53,821 of the shape of it nestled in a little pocket 710 00:44:53,952 --> 00:44:55,736 in the hard bottom. 711 00:44:55,867 --> 00:44:58,521 And next to that, another piece of iron... 712 00:44:58,652 --> 00:45:00,349 A pin that held some of the ship together. 713 00:45:05,398 --> 00:45:06,878 It's becoming more and more evident 714 00:45:07,008 --> 00:45:08,444 that we're over a debris field. 715 00:45:18,063 --> 00:45:19,891 And then, there it is. 716 00:45:20,021 --> 00:45:21,414 Our smoking gun. 717 00:45:33,295 --> 00:45:36,385 This oddly shaped piece of iron with these two flat heads... 718 00:45:36,516 --> 00:45:37,386 It's a bar shot. 719 00:45:37,517 --> 00:45:39,693 The Spanish use? 720 00:45:39,824 --> 00:45:41,323 - Looks to be Spanish, you know. - Right. 721 00:45:41,347 --> 00:45:44,263 And fits the time, fits the nationality for "Guerrero," 722 00:45:44,393 --> 00:45:46,004 and here it is. 723 00:45:46,134 --> 00:45:47,694 This is exactly what we'd expect to find 724 00:45:47,788 --> 00:45:50,878 on a Spanish ship like the "Guerrero." 725 00:46:01,454 --> 00:46:03,630 The evidence is there. 726 00:46:03,761 --> 00:46:06,198 It seems like a wreck definitely was in this area. 727 00:46:06,328 --> 00:46:08,374 It's beautiful and sad altogether, like, 728 00:46:08,504 --> 00:46:09,699 to be down there amongst that stuff, 729 00:46:09,723 --> 00:46:11,507 amongst the wreckage. 730 00:46:16,208 --> 00:46:20,995 I feel absolutely confident that we have found 731 00:46:21,126 --> 00:46:22,246 the wreck of the "Guerrero." 732 00:46:29,090 --> 00:46:32,180 This is a gravesite. 733 00:46:32,311 --> 00:46:35,836 Anyone who dives a wreck like this has to understand that 734 00:46:35,967 --> 00:46:38,665 there's history and people's stories and people's lives 735 00:46:38,796 --> 00:46:41,233 and people's deaths associated with that. 736 00:46:43,931 --> 00:46:48,893 So it's a "sombering" kind of experience. 737 00:46:49,023 --> 00:46:51,852 It's giving voice to people who don't have a voice anymore, 738 00:46:51,983 --> 00:46:55,377 and that's what this entire experience has been all about. 739 00:46:59,512 --> 00:47:00,948 I'm humbled. 740 00:47:07,346 --> 00:47:09,565 Centuries after my ancestors were sold into slavery, 741 00:47:09,696 --> 00:47:13,613 I've reunited with their tribe. 742 00:47:13,743 --> 00:47:17,530 I count this as a victory... not just mine, 743 00:47:17,660 --> 00:47:20,402 but for all those that never made it back. 744 00:47:36,984 --> 00:47:41,771 From day one, the Benga have welcomed me with open arms, 745 00:47:41,902 --> 00:47:44,339 but today they're making it official. 746 00:47:48,996 --> 00:47:54,306 In a traditional initiation ceremony that is centuries old, 747 00:47:54,436 --> 00:47:56,047 the tribal elders are reintegrating me 748 00:47:56,177 --> 00:47:58,049 into Benga society. 749 00:48:14,761 --> 00:48:18,852 I was a lost son that returned, 750 00:48:18,983 --> 00:48:20,090 and I wanted to connect with them, 751 00:48:20,114 --> 00:48:22,725 and they could feel that I wanted that. 752 00:48:31,082 --> 00:48:33,562 It's like I put a link back in my chain that was broken. 753 00:48:33,693 --> 00:48:36,087 I repaired it. 754 00:48:37,566 --> 00:48:39,612 I am part of this. 755 00:48:39,742 --> 00:48:41,483 This is where I came from. 756 00:48:41,614 --> 00:48:43,572 This is my beginning. 757 00:48:52,538 --> 00:48:55,323 Given that we already share Benga DNA, 758 00:48:55,454 --> 00:48:57,891 it kind of makes sense when the clan leaders tell me 759 00:48:58,022 --> 00:49:02,330 that blowing air into my hands symbolizes the "breath of life" 760 00:49:02,461 --> 00:49:04,767 that animates my new Benga body. 761 00:49:08,728 --> 00:49:10,048 These are some powerful blessings. 762 00:49:17,563 --> 00:49:19,086 Blessings. 763 00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:50,378 And this is where the sacred, 764 00:49:50,509 --> 00:49:54,208 ritual items that I collected earlier come into play.