S?o Gon?alo, 1630

[Cablava]

S. Gon?alo was one of five vessels offered by the Portuguese and Spanish crown to a newly created Companhia da ?ndia, formed in 1628 after the image of the successful Dutch VOC. Lost in 1630 on the south coast of South Africa, the remains of S. Gon?alo are known to lie somewhere in the bottom of Plettenberg Bay, but have never been found. However, the camp built by the shipwreck's survivors was still visible in 1788, when the area was settled by Jan Jerling After exposing part of the site during the construction of a new house, Jan's descendent John Jerling supported archaeological excavations in 1979 which were conducted by a team from Cape Town University. The Jerling collection includes over 1000 porcelain shards and many other artifacts