Sant?ssimo Sacramento, 1647

[Cablava]

Sant?ssimo Sacramento was a large vessel built in India for the India Route. She left Goa on 20 February 1647 bound for Lisbon and wrecked off the coast of South Africa, after being driven ashore by a storm. The account of her loss and the adventures of the survivors gave good indications to the whereabouts of her wreck site. In 1778 the captain of a Dutch garrison stationed nearby visited Algoa Bay and marked the wreck site on a map, referencing the location of huts built by the survivors. In 1949 an article referred to the existence of a gun and two anchors in the tidal area, and three years later a researcher named Harraway raised an iron gun from the site. Finally, in 1977 David Allen and Gerry van Niekerk located 21 bronze guns under water in front of the site of Harraway?s gun. Soon after, this number rose to 61 when David Allen found another 40 guns ? 21 of iron and 19 of bronze


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