1

Nine Portuguese ships wrecked and nine sites identified.

A Nautical study of their voyages from India to the
South-African Coast
Second Conference of the
Centre for Portuguese Nautical Studies
Mossel Bay, August 2006
Forward
It is a great honour to be here again, after two years of physical separation from
this country and its people, but also after two years of permanent contact with the
friends we made in 2004, through the marvellous modern means of communication.
It is rather interesting to point out that the globalization, as it exists today, is
considered to have been inaugurated by the voyage of Vasco da Gama, and that the
following sacrifice of many lives in these treacherous coasts, was the price to pay for us
to be here and enjoy your company and friendship.
What I have prepared to say today cannot ignore what happened two years ago,
because that was the beginning of a great achievement of the new South Africa: the
acknowledgment that this countrys history, in spite of a new government and new
policy, cannot be separated from Europes history and, in our specific case, from
Portuguese history.
The Centre for Portuguese Nautical Studies is a proof of what I have said above,
so dear friends, go ahead at full speed with your enterprise, with a following wind and a
star to steer her by.
I am here, not only because you invited me, which is in itself a great honour, but
also because the Portuguese Embassy in Pretoria, the Instituto Cames, the Portuguese
Ministry of Defence and the Academia de Marinha supported my participation. And
specially, I would say mainly, because the Portuguese Navy, to which I proudly belong,
sponsored this wonderful voyage.
So, and if I am allowed to, it is on behalf of these Institutions that I warmly
salute all the audience as well as the organizers of this event.

Introduction
In this seminar I would like to share something that called my attention during
my studies of the nautical aspects of the Carreira da ndia.
 2

The causes of the wrecks and the interpretation of the routes followed by the
ships till they find a place to go ashore, because, in reality, what they wanted, on the
majority of the cases, was a place to run aground and save at least some of the people
and of the cargo.
So, I will summarize the meteorological and physical conditions of the areas
navigated, the general causes of the accidents, especially on the return voyage, and
finally I will try to reconstruct the voyages of 9 of the 12 ships listed on the image
published on the site of CPNS, since they left the harbour of departure, till they
grounded on these coasts (fig.1).

Fig. 1. Portuguese shipwrecks along the South African coast, according to the thesis of Dr. Valerie
Esterhuizen.

The sources will be mainly the compilation of Bernardo Gomes de Brito on his
Histria Trgico Martima edited by Antnio Srgio1, the shipwrecks not published by

1
Histria Trgico Martima, Compilada por Bernardo Gomes de Brito, edit. by Antnio Srgio, 3 vols.,
Lisboa, Editorial Sul, 1955.
 3

Gomes de Brito which were published in 1937 by Damio Peres2, the excellent work of
Paulo Guinote and his two colleagues Eduardo Frutuoso and Antnio Lopes, which is
probably the best reference for the causes of the wrecks and its statistics3, a well
elaborated study by the Italian historian Giulia Lanciani4, and finally the excellent study
on the psychological aspects of the shipwrecks, by our great friend, here present, Kioko
Koiso5.

Meteorological and physical conditions of the areas navigated

Of the 12 shipwrecks listed on figure 1, only one (the Esprito Santo in 1608),
corresponds to a voyage from Portugal to India. Being one of the main reasons of the
accidents the excessive loading of the ships (as we will see later); the return voyage
from India to Portugal was the ocasion for all the other 11 wrecks, although this being
not the general rule.
In fact, according to the study of Guinote, Frutuoso and Lopes, the accidents
between 1551 and 1605 occurred, in 18,5 % of the cases during the ongoing voyage and
70,7 % of the cases during the return voyage, being 9 % of them during voyages in
harbours of the Indian Ocean, that is, local voyages6. Nevertheless, being in the Cape
and Natal coastal areas where the roughest conditions occur, it is normal that the weight
and weakness of the ships, more evident on the return voyage because they were heavily
loaded, can be an important factor for these 11 shipwrecks.
Having this in mind, let us very briefly see the general sailing conditions on the
Indian Ocean, from India to the Cape area.
We have to remember, that the departure from Goa or Cochin, or of the other
harbours of that area, had to be made during December, with the favourable wind of the
northeast monsoon that allowed them to arrive at Natal coast, during the southern
summer.
So, the ships arriving in India at the end of the southwest monsoon, around the
middle of September (the average wind for August, being the one represented on figure

2
Viagens e Naufrgios Clebres dos Sculos XVI, XVII e XVIII, coord. by Damio Peres, Porto, F.
Machado e Companhia, 1937.
3
Paulo Guinote, Eduardo Frutuoso, Antnio Lopes, Naufrgios e Outras Perdas da Carreira da ndia,
Sculos XVI e XVII, Lisboa, Grupo de Trabalho do Ministrio da Educao para as Comemoraes dos
Descobrimentos Portugueses, 1998.
4
Giulia Lanciani, Sucessos e Naufrgios das Naus Portuguesas, Lisboa, Caminho, 1997.
5
Kioko Koiso, Mar, Medo e Morte: aspectos psicolgicos dos naufrgios na Histria Trgico-Martima,
nos testemunhos e noutras fontes, 2 vols., Cascais, Patrimonia Histrica, 2004.
6
See op. cit., p. 111.
 4

2), had to load rapidly in order to be ready to depart in December. January was a late
departure, February even worse. Those were very dangerous decisions, as we will see
later.

Fig. 2. Average surface winds in August. Voyage from Portugal to India. In green, voyage por fora .

Let us see the wind pattern in the Indian Ocean in January, represented on the
image (figure 3).

I.T.C.Z.
15 S

Late voyage
Voyage
Voyage Early voyage por fora
por fora de tudo
por dentro por fora

Fig. 3. Average surface winds in January. Voyage from India to Portugal. In green, voyage por fora .
In blue, voyage por fora de tudo .

As the inter-tropical convergence zone (I.T.C.Z) arrives till 15 S, the wind is

the Northeast monsoon till the Equator, turning left on account of the coriolis force,
becoming Northwest. This is the ideal situation for the ships, which will have a
 5

favourable wind till a latitude where they will get the other relative favourable southeast
trade wind, which is the predominant in that area of the south Indian Ocean7.
The routes are defined in all the Pilots or Roteiros elaborated by the Portuguese
navigators, being given on figure 4 the graphical representation of the different tracks
suggested by pilot Diogo Afonso, circa 1530. In red, it is clear the route from Cochin to
the Cape, which is naturally in accordance to the meteorological conditions referred
above8.
The track to the west of the shoals, east of Madagascar, was recommended if the
departure was an early one, that is, December, because the southeast wind blows already
immediately after the Equator is crossed, obliging the ships to sail closed hauled to the
southwest.
On the other hand, if the departure is in January or February, as we have seen,
they will find a favourable wind till around 15 S, so the track can be designed to pass to
the east of the shoals, east of Madagascar, as shown on the image.
All the Roteiros recommend the departure in December and not later, because
the arrival in Cape area should be made, as I previously said, as soon as possible, on
account of the winter in the area, which is during July-August. A late arrival
corresponds to find the roughest conditions, so the ships must depart with the
favourable Northeast monsoon wind but at least, not after January.
The approaching of the Cape area should be made, as recommended by the
majority of the Roteiros, on the latitudes 30 to 32 degrees south, for the ships to be
pushed by the southeast trade, instead of sailing further south and being stroke by the
westerlies.
So the coast, roughly between the actual cities of Durban and East London, was
the recommended first land sight for the Portuguese ships. And there began their
struggle to round the Cape. See the image (figure 5) and look at the southern part of the

7
See, about this subject, Jos Manuel Malho Pereira, Condicionalismo Fsico e Evoluo da Navegao
da Navegao no Oceano ndico, in Jos Manuel Garcia, et alli, coord., A Viagem de Vasco da Gama
ndia, 1497-1499, Lisboa, Academia de Marinha, 1999, pp. 39-52. See also, Jos Manuel Malho Pereira,
O Cabo da Boa da Boa Esperana e o Esplio Nutico Submerso, Lisboa, Academia de Marinha, 2005,
pp. 33-42.
8
See about this subject, a deep study of all the main Roteiros da Carreira da ndia, in Jos Manuel
Malho Pereira,,Norte dos Pilotos Guia dos Curiosos, de Manuel dos Santos Raposo. Um Livro de
Marinahria do Sculo XVIII. Estudo Crtico, thesis presented to Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa,
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2001, pp. 71-106. The future Roteiros introduced some improvements,
according with the experience acquired by the pilots, but in a general way, they not differed very much
from this Roteiro of Diogo Afonso.
 6

Indian Ocean, where a clear division of the westerlies of the southern latitudes is
separated from the easterly trade wind.

15 S

Southeast trades
Favourable winds
Unfavourable winds
Westerlyes

Fig. 5. It is safer to sail to the African coast on the return voyage, on the latitudes around 30 t0 32 degre es south.

Arbia ndia

frica

-Dec.
I. T. C. Z. Nov

I. T. C. Z. Jan- March

Late voyage
por fora

Early voyage
por fora de tudo

Fig. 6. Returning from India outside Madagascar, in

accordance with the epoch of departure from India

A clearer picture of the recommended routes is shown on the following image

(figure 6), to which I call your attention. In blue we see the early voyage, which track is
between Madagascar and the shoals east of this island.
 7

In red is a late voyage, passing east of these shoals. The voyage outside
everything and the one inside (that is between Madagascar and the African continent),
are not represented.
Making a very rough calculation of the distance from the Indian to the African
coast, following the two routes designed, we arrive to the following numbers: the early
voyage corresponds to 4000 miles and the late voyage to 4400 miles, which corresponds
to 42 days at 4 knots and 56 days at 3 knots, in the first case (that is a little less than two
months), 46 days at 4 knots and 61 days at 3 knots on the second case, the longer route.
The ships whose routes I will comment later are listed bellow, with the harbour
of departure, the date of departure, the date of grounding and the latitude of the
grounding place.

Ships tipe and name Harbour of Date of departure Latitude of Date of Duration of
departure grounding place grounding the voyage
Galeo S. Joo Cochin 3 February, 1552 31S 7 July 154 days
Nau S. Bento Cochin 1 February, 1554 32 1/3 S 20-25 April 78 days
Nau S. Tom Cochin January 1589 32.5 S- 27.5 S 17 March apr. 75 days
Nau S. Alberto Cochin 21 January, 1593 32 S 24 March 62 days
Nau S. Joo Baptista Goa 1 March, 1622 33 S 30 September 213 days
Nau S. Gonalo Goa 4 March, 1630 34S End of June apr. 110 days
Nau N Sr. de Belm Goa 24 February, 1635 32 S Vspera S. Pedro
Galeo Sacramento Goa 24 February, 1647 33 1/3 S 3 July 129 days
Nau N.Sr. da Atalaia Goa 24 February, 1647 34 S 30 June 126

We immediately observe that the voyages have taken much more time, than the
average time needed.
It is very interesting to note that all the ships ran aground between 31 and 34S,
which means that they followed the normal route to the coast of Africa. Another
interesting conclusion, for now, is that of the 9 ships, 6 of them ran aground between
June and September, which is the winter period of the area.
The terrible meteorological conditions of the Cape, specially during the winter,
are well illustrated by this weather map related to last week (1st of August 2006), where
we can see the amount of depressions around the area and the proximity of the isobars
to each other, revealing the strength of the wind (figure 7). It is appropriate to say that
the winter period is the roughest, but all the year round it is nearly almost equal.
 8

Fig. 7. Metheorological chart of 1 August, 2006.

It will be useful to show the following picture (figure 8), taken from a British
Admiralty Chart, where it is clearly stated that the current can be of 1.5 to 5 knots in
this coastal area and that waves of 20 meters in height are possible.

Fig. 8. In Admiralty Chart number 3793.

What is more remarkable is the possibility of sudden changes of weather, with

the formation of local depressions and extremely high seas, mainly formed on account
of the wind from the southwest blowing against the Agulhas and Mozambique Currents.
These seas, reflected at the coasts of this part of the continent and interacting
among them, can originate waves of more than 20 meters in height, as we referred
above.
 9

For giving a small example of what we found in 2004 near the beach where the
S. Bento ran aground in 1554, let us observe this small video sample which shows a
cargo ship, trying to go to the South with a strong southerly wind9. We stayed in the
area for three to four hours and the ship stayed almost in the same position, because the
wind was against, and near the coast, instead of the favourable current, they had the
counter current, as it is pointed out on the extract of the Admiralty chart.
We can imagine what a heavily loaded and leaking wooden nau could do in
such circumstances!

The main causes for the disasters

We are now trying to give a small summary of the causes for the accidents that
the Portuguese ships suffered in this area.
At first, with the help of the information contained on the work of Guinote
Frutuoso and Lopes, let us show some statistics in reference to the period 1497 to 1640.
This is a very useful tool for the better understanding of the reasons of the shipwrecks.
1040 is the total number of ships witch made the round trip voyage (from
Portugal to India and return). During the period 1497-1580, 650 ships made the round
trip voyage, which is almost the double of the 360 that made the same voyage during
the remaining period 1581-1640.
Also, for a better understanding of the problem, I include some images
published on the already referred edition of Histria Trgico Martima, edited by
Antnio Srgio. There we can see the rigging, deck arrangement and armament on the
birds eye view image, and the stowage of the goods and armament on the decks, on the
longitudinal and vertical cuts (figure 9).
Although one could think that bad navigation was the main cause for accidents,
on account of the very incipient knowledge of the longitude, the statistics says that from
all the ships lost, only 16% can be in put to this cause. The main causes were storms,
with 12.8%, the bad shape of the ships with 10% and the overloading with 5.5%.
As we will see later, the bad shape of the ships and their overloading, allied to
stormy weather, were the main causes for accident on the 9 cases studied on this work.
Its huge size, allied to the bad conditions of the ships, sails and rigging, were a decisive
factor for so many losses during the Carreira da ndia.

9
The video was displayed during the Conference, and illustrated very clearly the conditions found in the
area.
 10

Fi.g 9. Birds eye view and transversal section of a nau . In Histria Trgico-Martima , ed. by Antnio Srgio.
 11

Important statistical information is also the total number of losses during the
period, which is 20 to 25%.
The following maps (figures 10 and 11), taken from Naufrgios e Outras Perdas
da Carreira da ndia, are a good illustration of the total losses and of the losses by
phase of the voyage. Note that I added the total number of losses and number of ships
lost by phases of the voyage, on the Mozambique Chanel and Cape and Natal Coast
areas.
We see clearly that the area of the Mozambique Chanel, Cape and Natal coastal
areas are the ones with more losses, compared to all the others.
It is also evident that the return voyage has more losses in the Cape and Natal
areas, 14, than the ongoing voyage with 10.
So, it means that heavy losses were a constant factor during the Portuguese
voyages, and I found, when studying these 9 cases, that we have to add to the
overloading of the ships, its bad shape and enormous size, besides the stormy weather.
These factors were discussed extensively during the end of the 16th century and
beginning of the 17th century, and those discussions originated orientations given by the
authorities which are well documented and deeply studied by the historians.
I will only summarise some of the opinions of contemporary persons who had
experience in voyages to India and who wrote, giving recommendations about this
subject.
One is Duarte Gomes de Solis, a Portuguese Jewish who sailed to and from
India and wrote, in Spain, two works about the Portuguese voyages. Some of his
recommendations are included in Document 34 of the work of Guinote, Frutuoso and
Lopes, Naufrgios e Outras Perdas da Carreira da ndia10.
The other is Manuel Severim de Faria, who wrote about the same subject during
the beginning of the 17th century, also included on the work above referred.11
Now I am going to quote Duarte Gomes de Solis, translating one of his
statements, made at the beginning of the 17th century, already with Dutch and English
competition in the area, which is extremely valuable to understand what the root of the
problem was:

10
See op. cit., pp. 381-386.
11
See op. cit., pp. 387-391.
 12

42

16
10 14

Fig. 10. Losses of Portuguese ships during the period 1500-1699, by phase of the voyage. In Frutuoso and Lopes,
Naufrgios e Outras Perdas da Carreira da ndia.

58

24
Fig. 11. Total losses of Portuguese ships during the period 1500-1699. In Frutuoso and Lopes,
Naufrgios e Outras Perdas da Carreira da ndia.
 13

There had been two reasons that obliged to sail in such big ships. The first, was to
send more people to India, who could bring more merchandise on the return voyage. The
second, because having to sail in so stormy seas, in such a great voyage, the ship could
resist better to the storms and to have easier payment to the sailors, through the rent of his
cabins, and also for the captains and the noble passengers to have a more comfortable
voyage 12

To these two reasons Solis says that to the first, the voyages were of longer
duration and more people was on board, and on account of that, a greater quantity of
them died. And he gave the example of the first voyages to India, in smaller ships,
which were safer for all the people.
He also said that a bigger ship was loaded with many goods not very profitable
to its sale in Europe, comparing this with the smaller Dutch and English ships, which
were loaded with spices and China ware, instead of heavy clothing, which had almost
no value.
Besides that, a bigger ship was too heavily loaded. Being more spacious, the
captains were more vulnerable to crew and passengers requests to use their liberdades,
which were the authorized quantities of goods that by law, the different categories of
people aboard had, in accordance to kings orders.
Manuel Severim de Faria has similar opinions and I do not resist quoting one
passage of his statement, commenting the ships size, which is very elucidative:

the bigger the ships the more quantity of people embark thinking that are safer,
and so they load them with cloth and boxes, which not only have all the goods
compressed inside them, but also they put that boxes one upon the other on the upper
deck, with the result that these boxes are sometimes higher than the poop deck, and to go
from bow to stern is necessary to climb the boxes as if it was a mountain

And Faria continues his statement, also commenting the advantage that in that
epoch the Dutch had, by using smaller and more efficient ships, achieving more profit
than the Portuguese. And he went on saying, that during combats at sea, the Portuguese
ships, being bigger and full of cargo, could not manoeuvre and fight easily, being
normally beaten by the European enemy, the Dutch and English.
He also says that Dutch ships cargo, the majority of them with 500 tons, against
ours, which had 800 to more than 1000 tons, is not cloth and boxes, but drugs
12
See, op. cit., pp. 381-386.
 14

which were accommodated in bales, and nothing is out of its place, because the cargo is
made by the authorities aboard and not by the greed of the sailors, who made the
loading of our ships at their own will.
Another interesting opinion is expressed by Juan Pereyra Corte-Real in another
document referred on Naufrgios e Outras Perdas 13.
Commenting the need for reducing the ships size, from four to three decks, he
also says that then, with the competition of the European powers in the area, the
Portuguese crown prestige had been downgraded, because the Dutch and the British
sent ships to the area, that although smaller in size, were in bigger quantity, and the
local kings only saw that, not the ships size.
And commenting the vulnerability of the Portuguese big and overloaded ships to
the Dutch and British attacks, he said that they could easily take them, because the
ships have to through overboard all the merchandise that they have over the guns and
this operation can take three days.
He adds later, that the ships are so obstruct that are very difficult to manoeuvre.
He also states that sometimes the parcels were held overboard.
The image that follows (figure 12) is a clear illustration of a combat at sea
between a big Portuguese ship and five Dutch and English smaller ships. I think that
words are unnecessary, and we can imagine, after all I have said above, what will be the
result of the action!
So, I will now begin the nautical study of the 9 voyages listed above, and during
that study, all the recommendations of these men and of the others that commented on
this subject, will be evident.

Nautical study of the 9 voyages

On the following study, I will try to recreate the track of the ships from India to
the Cape, using the elements found on reports published on Histria Tragico-Martima
and of other sources already referred.
The majority of the descriptions of the voyages were not made by pilots, but by
passengers, mainly priests. They are of good sociological, historical and political value,
but have not the nautical details needed for an accurate design of the tracks.

13
Op. cit., pp. 378,379.
 15

Fig. 12. Big Portuguese ship fighting aginst six English and Ducth smaller and more agile ships. In Histria Trgico-Martima , ed. by Antnio Srgio.

Nevertheless, with the present knowledge of the meteorological conditions of

the navigated areas and with some nautical experience with sailing boats, it is possible
to give a reasonable idea of tracks.
The routes will be designed on the same map of the Indian Ocean already used
on previous images, which is an adaptation of a modern Mercator chart with the
nomenclature of the period and some of the modern toponymy also indicated.
Nevertheless, and for further consultation and reference, the map of Manuel de
Mesquita Perestrelo included on the vora Manuscript, extracted from the work of
Fontoura da Costa about the Roteiro made in 1536 by this Portuguese pilot, is also
included.
It is also followed by the interpretation of Fontoura da Costa concerning the
equivalence of the original Portuguese toponymy with the present one (figures 13 and
14).
 16

Fig. 13. Portuguese toponimy, according to Manuel Mesquita Perestrelo.

Besides the tracks and its justification, some comments will be made in the areas
of seamanship, war at sea and some other very interesting events will be referred and
commented, because, looked by modern eyes, sometimes they seem to be unbelievable,
but the majority of them are indeed a terrible reality.
The source for each study is taken from the works referred on the Introduction,
except the one of S. Gonalo, which is taken from the work of Alfredo Botelho de
Sousa, Subsdios Para a Histria Militar Martima da ndia.
I am going to show all the images of the routes suggested to me by the texts of
the reports of the voyages, making only brief comments of what happened during the
voyage. Note the duration of the voyages and the routes followed.
Finally I will take some conclusions of this study.
 17

Fig. 14. Equivalence of the actual toponimy with the 16th century toponomy, according to Fontoura da Costa.

Nau S. Bento (1554)14 (see fig. 15)

- The S. Bento was one of the biggest naus of the time, and departed from Goa,
under the command of Ferno de lvares Cabral in the first of February, 1554.
- Since the departure the weather was very good, and they arrived easily to the
parallel 16 south. The wind has been, as previously said, northeast north of
the Equator and northwest after crossing the Equator.
- At this latitude, the wind changed to the South and Southwest (instead of the
southeast trade), becoming very strong, with rough seas and the ship has
suffered very much.
- After some days of bad weather and with the personnel working hard on the
pumps and having thrown overboard the majority of the goods ( the ship was
leaking), the wind changed to the southeast and they continued their voyage,
trying to turn around, the southern tip of the island of So Loureno (actual
Madagascar).

14
See Histria Trgico Martima, op. cit.,vol. I, pp. 45-58. The report of this event has been made by
Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo, who was aboard the ship.
 18

Go
lf o
P
rs i
co

Arbia ndia

Ma
rV
arm
elh
o
Goa

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Departure from Cochin
on 1 February 1554 Cochim

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde

Momba ssa
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado oure
no

R. Bons Sinais
Bad weather
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne 20 to 23
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez) February (aprox.)

I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z
L. Ma rque s
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante

19 March
C Agulhas er an a

Ilhu da Cruz

Na
p
. Es
C. B

20 April
2 rogue
waves

Aproximate duration of the voyage till running aground- 85 days

Fig. 15. Voyage of the Nau S. Bento , from Goa to the Cape in 1554.

- On March 19, latitude 30 south was reached and they followed that parallel.
The pilot, already aged 70, died on April 20, and the spare pilot, Francisco
Gomes, became in charge of the ships navigation. He continued sailing to the
west and arrived at parallel 34 on April 20 where the wind changed to the
western quadrants, being necessary to hove to.
- There is a description of a gigantic wave that appeared at this latitude, and hit
the ship when it was stopped. This wave was followed by another one and the
 19

damage to the entire superstructure has been incredible. There are almost two
pages describing the damage made by the seas and the strong winds.
- Finally, land was sighted by 33 south and on the other day the ship ran
aground at the mouth of the Rio do Infante (32.5 south).

Nau S. Tom (1589)15 (see fig. 16)

Go
lf o
P
rs ico

Arbia ndia
Ma
rV
arm
elh
o

Goa

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Departure from Cochin Cochim
in January 1589

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde

Momba ssa
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado
no
oure

R. Bons Sinais
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)Strong SE wind

(leaking increased)
I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z
L. Ma rque s
22nd March
98 persons
ran aground More leakink
Nau sank
on a smal boat
16 March
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante

14 March
C Agulhas er an a

Ilhu da Cruz

Na
p
. Es
C. B

11 March

Aproximate duration of the voyage till sanking near the coast- 70 days

Fig. 16. Voyage of the Nau S. Tom, from Goa to the Cape in 1589.

15
See Histria Trgico Martima, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 227-240. The report was made by Diogo do Couto.
 20

- The S. Tom departed from Cochin on January 1589, under the command of
Estvo da Veiga and has taken the route outside the shoals to the east of the
island of S. Loureno.
- At 20 south, trying to sight the island of Diogo Rodrigues, the southeast wind
was so strong that the ship began to leak in the bows.
- As the wind eased, they followed the route passing to the south of the Island of
S. Loureno, and at 26 south, about 90 leagues to the east of the island, more
leaking occurred, but this time on the stern area, considered being more
dangerous.
- The leaking was reasonably repaired, and the latitude of 32.5 was reached,
being the nearest land some 80 leagues to the west, by dead reckoning.
- At this latitude the wind changed to the southwest, being the 11th of March.
The course was changed to the north, sailing with the courses only. The
leaking continued and became very intense and every one aboard worked to
stop the water. In the meantime land was sighted
- The clogging of the pumps with pepper already near land and the description
of the work in the pump of all the different categories on board, like officers,
priests, sailors, is an incredible illustration of those moments. There is also a
dramatic separation of a mother from her child, which is terribly moving.
- Finally the ship was abandoned at sea and only 98 persons were salvaged
through a small boat that ran aground on the 22nd of March, after a dramatic
operation, which included the sacrifice of many people that stayed a board the
nau or was thrown overboard the small boat.

Nau Santo Alberto (1593)16 (see fig. 17)

- The Santo Alberto departed from Cochin on January 21, 1593, under the
command of Julio de Faria Cerveira and at 10 south, probably on account of
the normal change in direction of the wind, the ship began to leak.
- At 26 south, following the route to pass south of the southern tip of the island
of S. Loureno, the wind became very strong from the south. Because the ship

16
See Histria Trgico Martima, op. cit., vol. III, pp. 9-29. The report was made by Joo Baptista
Lavanha, cosmgrafo-mr. According to the personality and culture of this man, this report is considered
to be one of the best of the collection of Bernardo Gomes de Brito, or even the best known.
 21

was sailing too close to the wind trying to pass the island, which was already
very near, the leaking increased dramatically.

Go
lf o
P
rs i
co

Arbia ndia

Ma
rV
arm
elh
o
Goa

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Departure from Cochin
Cochim
in 21 January 1593

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde

Momba ssa
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado
no
oure

R. Bons Sinais
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)

I lha

I. Pro Strong SE wind

Mascarenhas (leaking increased)
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z
L. Ma rque s
21 March
(sighted lant at 31 1/2S) Strong south wind
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante
C Agulhas er an a

14 March
Ilhu da Cruz

Na
p
. Es
C. B

24 March
(ran aground)

Aproximate duration of the voyage till runnning aground near the coast- 62 days

Fig. 17. Voyage of the Nau S. Alberto, from Goa to the Cape in 1593.

- Nevertheless, some repairs were successfully made and the ship sighted land
by 32 south.
- More water came in and some repairs were made, but they were inefficient, as
Lavanha comments on his report.
 22

- There is an extended comment on the way the ship was made and the bad
workmanship. There is also an interesting reference to the quality of the woods
and the way to season them.
- The report is extremely rich in technical information, which covers more than 4
pages. Finally the ship ran aground on March 26.

Nau S. Joo Baptista (1622)17 (see fig. 18)

Go
lf o
P
rs i
co

Ma
rV
arm
elh Arbia ndia

1 March, 1622,
o

Goa
departure from Goa
Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Cochim

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde

Momba ssa
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado
no
oure

R. Bons Sinais
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)

I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z
L. Ma rque s

29 September
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante
C Agulhas er an a

Anchored at
Ilhu da Cruz

Na

the coast on 33S

p
. Es
C. B

Combat with
19 July
two Dutc h ships Aproximate duration of the voyage till
during 19 days hiting the African coast- 153 days

Fig. 18. Voyage of the S. Joo Baptista, from Goa to the Cape, in 1622.

17
See Damio Peres, Viagens e Naufrgios Clebres, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 13-16.
 23

- There is a big fight during two weeks with two Dutch ships that reveal the
Portuguese disorganization for combat, but at the same time an incredible
resistance of the later, who grounded safely on the African coast, although
almost completely dismantled, but without the Dutch ships boarding them.
- On March 1, 1622 two ships departed from Goa, being one of them the S. Joo
Baptista, which captain was Pero de Morais Sarmento.
- The track shown for the voyage is on the image, and although the details of the
report are insufficient, it is an appropriate track from our point of view.
- After 15 to 20 days of sailing, having found almost 4 and a half meters of
water in the bilges, an inspection of the pumps showed that they were
unsuitable for the ship and it was tried to make new ones. Only one of the new
pumps became useful.
- On July 17, the ships separated and when the S. JooBaptista was sailing
already in 35S, being very early in the morning, two Dutch ships were in sight
and the Portuguese prepared for battle.
- As it was normal, the guns were covered with the merchandise, and the
preparation for combat has taken several hours. Nevertheless, in the afternoon
they changed fire with the Dutch.
- After this first contact, I quote from the report made to the State Council by
Francisco Vaz de Almada: and we fought with this two ships, till 42 S
latitude, during 19 days, being 9 of them a continuous fight with the Dutch
from sunrise to sunset, and they put us in the most very miserable condition
that it is possible to imagine, because they broke our bowsprit, a great amount
of the mainmast, and the fore mast, and the rudder, because the rudder was old
and was taken from a nau that was dismantled in Goa .
- Vaz de Almada informs us also that the ship departed from Goa without
sufficient powder and ammunition and only with 18 small guns, and they
fought till having only two barrels of powder and 28 cartridges.
- Being the ship without rigging and sails and also with holes below the
waterline, it was tried to make an honourable arrangement with the Dutch,
which will be an opportunity to gain time and repair the ship.
- Vaz de Almada was requested to do the job, but he refused. Other two were
requested and accepted, but after leaving for trying to contact the Dutch ship,
 24

the bad weather originated that neither the Dutch ship nor the small boat of the
two Portuguese were found.
- The other Dutch ship, probably on account of the bad sea conditions never
attempted to board the S. Joo Baptista. Nevertheless, it sent a boat to speak
with the Portuguese, but as the other Dutch ship was never in sight again, they
gave up the fight and limited their action by following the Portuguese ship.
- With rigging and sails of fortune, the S. Joo Baptista tried to follow to the
African coast, suffering from the bad weather of such latitudes, with cold,
snow, rain and contrary winds, having many people died on account of that.
- In spite of the bad conditions, sometimes the wind was favourable, and one
night, the Portuguese ship managed to follow a different route of the Dutch,
and on the other day it was finally out of sight. They knew later that the Dutch
tried to find them by the 46th parallel.
- A new rudder was made, but it hasnt been possible to rig it, so a sweep rudder
was used with some success.
- Finally, after drifting for many days, land was sighted on 33 1/3 S, and they
were so happy that it seemed that they were entering the Lisbon harbour!
- The S. Joo Baptista anchored near land with two anchors, a little further
north (33S), in a beach that seemed to be appropriate.
These actions were followed by the necessary disembark operations and the
installation of people and equipment ashore, and the contacts with the inhabitants.

Nau S. Gonalo (1630) (fig. 19)

The voyage of the nau S. Gonalo is reported briefly on Subsdios para a
Histria Militar Martima da ndia18 and on the Relao das Naos e Armadas da
ndia19. Let us summarize the scarce information contained on these two works.
- The S. Gonalo, whose captain was Antonio Pinheiro de Sampaio, arrived in
India on September 24. The captain died and under the command of Ferno
Lopes de Menezes, she departed on March 14, in company with the Bom
Despacho and the Sacramento.

18
See Alfredo Botelho de Sousa, Subsdios para a Histria Militar Martima da ndia, Lisboa, Ministrio
da Marinha, 1953, vol. III, pp. 400-402.
19
See Relao das Nos e Armadas da ndia Com os sucessos dellas que se puderam saber, Para Noticia
e instruco dos curiozos, e amantes Da Historia da ndia (British Library, Cdice Add. 20902),
Coimbra, Biblioteca Geral da Universidade, 1985, pp. 146, 147.
 25

- On May 23, at he latitude of 31 south, the three ships were still in company,
although the Bom Despacho was having serious problems of leaking, having
the pumps completely clogged.

Go
lf o
P
rs i
co

Arbia ndia

Ma
rV
arm
elh
o
Departure from Goa Goa
in 4 March, 1630

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Cochim

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde

Momba ssa
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado
no
oure

R. Bons Sinais
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)

I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z
L. Ma rque s
21 March
(sighted lant at 31 1/2S)
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante
C Agulhas er an a

Ilhu da Cruz

Na

23 May
p
. Es
C. B

Enf of June 12 June

(sank in Baa Formosa)

Aproximate duration of the voyage till runnning aground near the coast- 105 days

Fig. 19. Voyage of the Nau S. Gonalo , from Goa to the Cape in 1554.

- At 35 south, by June 12, with a squall, the Bom Despacho, on account of

having too much water, tried to run aground on the coast, but managed to
continue her voyage, having doubled the Cape and entering in Luanda by the
6th of August.
 26

- The S. Gonalo anchored in Baa Formosa, but after some time, sank while at
anchor.
- According to Botelho de Sousa 400 people died and according to the codex
20902 of the British Library, the death toll was 133.

Nau N. Sr. de Belm (1635)20 (Fig. 20)

- For speeding up the departure from Goa and seducing the personnel, the
Vice-Roy offered the boatswain of the N. Sr. de Belm a diamond ring that
he took from his own finger, and to the pilot a golden necklace that he also
took from his neck.
- The ship departed from Goa on February 24, in company with another ship,
after having run aground two times and, on account of these accidents,
having broken more than forty ribs. The captain had only 140 able seamen.
- By 5 south, near the shoals of Pero dos Banhos, with a squall, the main
topsail was split in pieces.
- The island of Diogo Rodrigues was sighted on May 1.
- As the other ship, which was the capitnea sailed too much to the south,
reaching the parallel of 34, the wind became northwest and west-northwest,
so the ships began to have problems, with constant need for working with
the pumps.
- By the beginning of June, already far away from the coast, the capitnea had
to run before the wind and was never sighted again by the N. Sr. de Belm.
- After many days with strong winds and heavy seas and with many problems
of leaking, it has been decided to run aground.
- By 32 South the land was sighted and after some more days, with a track
illustrated on the image, the ship finally ran aground on June 28.
Galeo Sacramento (1647) with the nau N. Sr. da Atalaia21 (fig. 21)
- The Galeo Sacramento (under the command of Luiz de Miranda Henriques)
and the nau Nossa Senhora da Atalaia (captain Antnio da Cmara de
Noronha), departed from Goa on February 20, 1647, being this last ship the
capitanea.

20
See Damio Peres, Viagens e Naufrgios Clebres, op. cit., vol. III, pp. 13-25. This description is very
complete and originated a good graphical representation of the voyage.
21
See Damio Peres, Viagens e Naufrgios Clebres, op. cit., vol. V, pp. 73-78. See also Giulia Lanciani,
Sucessos e Naufrgios das Naus Portuguesas, op. cit., p. 168.
 27

Go
lf o
P
rs i
co

Arbia ndia

Ma
rV
arm
elh
o
24 February 1635 Goa

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Cochim

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde Storm. Upper topsail

Momba ssa blown by the wind
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado
no
oure

R. Bons Sinais
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)

1 May
I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z
L. Ma rque s

Vspera S. Peter
( 28 June)
Ran aground
J u n e
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante
C Agulhas er an a

Ilhu da Cruz

Na
p
. Es
C. B

Aproximate duration of the voyage till runnning aground near the coast- 129 days

Fig. 20. Voyage of the N. Senhora de Belm, from Goa to the Cape, in 1635.

- The ships, that had already departed very late, had spent 4 days with a ship that
has been sighted on March 2 at 10 north. The ship belonged to the king of
Mucelapeto, with whom Portugal had good political relations, and there were
doubts about what to do with that ship. Finally it was decided to let the ship
go, but with all that, more 4 precious days were lost.
- After crossing the line, with a lot of rain and calms, a vessel was sighted. It
was found to be the galeo S. Pedro that had departed from Goa 15 days after
 28

them and that sailed in company for more 20 days. After this period of time
the contact with the S. Joo was lost.

Go
lf o
P
rs i
co

Arbia ndia
2 0N 2 0N

Ma
rV
arm
elh
o
1 5N
20 February, 1647 Goa 1 5N

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
1 0N
Cochim

5 N frica Ma ldivas 5 N

Atalaia and
Mogadocho
Sacramento
Equador Equador

Me linde

Mombassa
5 S 5 S
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

1 0S 1 0S
C. Delgado

1 5S 1 5S
o
ur e n
o. Lo

R. Bons Sinais

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues 2 0S

2 0S Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)

I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z 2 5S
2 5S Atalaia and
L. Ma rques Sacramento
3-6 July Separation
of the two ships
Atalaia (19 June)
ran aground
3 0S 25 Jun ? 3 0S
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante

(land in sight)
C Agulhas eran a

Ilhu da Cruz

Na
p
. Es

Atalaia
10 Jun
C. B

3 5S
Sacramento
30 June
Sacramento Aproximate duration of the voyage till running aground- 125 days
ran aground
4 0 S

Fig. 21. Voyage of the Galeo Sacramento, and of the Nau N. Sr. da Atalaia , from Goa to the Cape, in 1647.

- After Easter (April 19), the problems of water coming in on both ships began,
and the situation became worst in the future.
- On June 10, by 33 south, one of the ships had rigging problems and two days
later more problems with the rigging, masts and the sails, on account of the
rough weather.
 29

- Land was sighted at 32 south and the ships tried to pass the Cape, although
had to work permanently with the pumps.
- On June 29 the ships were near the Baa de Lagoa, and after struggling with the
pumps, the bad weather, and the sail and rigging problems, both ships ran
aground at the coast, as indicated on the image.
- It is very interesting to point out, that there has been an occasion, already
ashore, that people from the Galeo Sacramento, as they did not have nothing
to eat, because all the leather footwear has been eaten, had to eat a navigation
chart. In fact, being the chart made of sheepskin, it was food for them. But
they forgot the chemicals of the painting of the chart, and have had after a very
big stomach problem. There is also a reference of a fight for the possession of
grasshopper.

Galeo S. Joo (1552)22 (see figs. 22 and 22A)

As it is the most dramatic of the wrecks I left this one for finalising my analysis.
- The Galeo S.Joo, was one of the biggest ships of the Carreira da ndia,
having, in accordance with Guinote, Frutuoso and Lopes, 900 tons23.
- Was this the famous ship whose captain was Manuel de Sousa de Seplveda
who embarked with his wife, who were the subject of the future stories of
the dramatic adventures of the shipwrecks.
- They departed from Cochin on February 3, 1522, which was a late departure.
The main cargo was pepper, as usual.
- The narrative is very scarce on nautical information till they arrived to the
Cape. Nevertheless I assume that the voyage, which has taken 71 days till
seeing land in the Natal coast, can have followed the track shown on the
image, having in consideration the limit of the southeast trade in March,
shown in red24. In fact, I designed the route between Madagascar and the
shoals east of this island, because, taking in consideration the prevailing

22
Taken from Histria Trgico Martima, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 2-23.
23
See op. cit., pp.434.
24
The northern limits of the southeast trade has been taken from the Atlas of Pilot Charts of the South
Pacific and Indian Oceans, second edition, Washinghton D. C., Hydrographic Office, 1955 (repr. 1960).
It is necessary to note that this means that to the north of this limit is doldrums area and after that the area
of the prevailing wind of the northern part of the ocean, which is in accordance with the monsoon period.
As we are looking for the period of the northeast monsoon, to the north of the northern limit of the
southeast trade we will have the northwest wind south of the equator and the northeast wind of the
monsoon, to the north of the Equator.
 30

winds and being this the shorter route, it is more or less coherent with the
duration of 71 days till sighting the African coast.

Go
lf o
P
rs ico

Arbia ndia

Ma
rV
arm
elh
o
Goa

Socotor
Lacadivas Calecute
Departure Cochim
3 February, 1552

frica Ma ldivas

Mogadocho

Me linde

Momba ssa
Pemba
Z anz ibar
Quiloa

C. Delgado
no
oure

R. Bons Sinais
o. L

Ilha Diogo Rodrigues

Ilha do Cirne
de S

(Mauritius) (I. Rodriguez)

I lha

I. Pro
Mascarenhas
(I. Reunio)

Boa Pa z Route desi gned without details

L. Ma rque s

Ran aground on
the 10t h June (31S)
Agua da de S. Brs

t al
R. do Infante

Natal coast sighted

C Agulhas er an a

Ilhu da Cruz

Na

on the 13th April (32S)

p
. Es
C. B

11 May ( Ne-Sw off the Cape about 80 miles))

No details of the route. Aproximate duration of the voyage till sighting Natal c oast- 71 days
From sighting the coast till finnaly running aground, it taked more 56 days!

Fig. 22. Voyage of the Galeo S. Joo , from Cochin to the Cape, in 1522.

- The pilot wanted to sail directly to the Cape, but Seplveda requested him to
see the coast further north.
- The African coast was sighted on April 13, at latitude 32S. It is referred that
the voyage was slow on account of the bad condition of the sails.
 Ponta da Pescaria
A
Te Der
rra rad
Te do e ir
rr ad
Na a
t al
oN
a ta
l

31S
Anchored,
Po
nta running aground
Pr after, on
Nat al coast sighted i me
ira 8 June
on t he 13th April (32S)
13 April
frica 32S

Angra
de St Helena

Rio
33S

do In
fa n
te

Ba
a
er

da
L
Ilhu da Cruz
rud d s with ou t

Ilhus Chos

ago

ha do
a
16 Dez. 34S
in
and

C. Ta lha do
ur

C.. Tal hado

C
Baa
Ba Formosa
a Fo rmo sa

lha s
25 No v.
sails g 10 day

A ngra de S. Brs
ing d

C. da Boa Es per ana a 7 D ez.

A gulhas
Dr ift

da sAgu
nt

C . das
C.
r re
Cu 35S
as
u lh
Ag
At 120 leagues from the Cape
strong Northeast wind
11 March, Norheast-southwest 36S
36S Banco das Agulhas
of the Cape, 25 leagues

r ent
Cu r
ean 37S
37S
n Oc
o u th er Main mast lost
S
Lost part of the rudder overboard

Fig. 22A. The struggle of the S. Joo in the Cape area, after sighting land and running aground. 56 days of suffering.
31
 32

- With a following and moderate wind they sailed along the coast towards
Cape Agulhas, which they sighted after sailing with variable winds in
direction and strength, mainly from the east and the west.
- By March 11, that is, after suffering contrary and favourable winds during
28 days, they were in a position with the Cape to the northeast at a distance
of 25 leagues, which means around 80 nautical miles. So, they were very
happy, because, in a position like that, the rounding of the Cape was almost a
reality.
- But in fact, in that same position, strong westerlies with rain and lightning
made them drift to the east, and they decided to run before the wind instead
of trying to maintain their position lying to. And this decision was taken,
because the ship was very big and too long, and was overloaded with
parcels and other merchandise and had no other sails then the ones they
brought in their yards, because the other set of sails were swept away by a
squall that hit them on the doldrums; and if they stopped there and the wind
increased, [] they could stay without any sails at all
- They drifted 130 leagues from the Cape, using the main sail and the foresail
with yards lowered. The image (figure 23), shows what was probably the
aspect of the ship, with the referred sails set.

Fig. 23. S. Joo , running before the wind, with the two courses, and yards lowered.
 33

- After that, the wind become very strong from the northeast and east
northeast and they ran before the wind for three days to the south and
southwest. Meanwhile, the rudder lost some of its elements and they tried to
fix it without great success.
- After, the wind became strong from the southwest and all the sails were
blown away.
- After loosing the mainmast and its yards, which were swept overboard, after
loosing the manoeuvrability of the ship, with strong winds that were pushing
them ashore, they tried during ten days, among other reparations, to make a
new rudder.
- But after trying to install in its place, they found that it was too small, and
after drifting for more some days, by 8 June they approached land and
anchored with two anchors.
- After recognizing land and made all the preparations for the next actions in
land, they lost the anchor of sea side, becoming only with the one lowered to
the side of land. On account of that, the boat ran aground on the place that is
already well identified, showed on the following photograph (figure 24) and
the image taken from Google Earth25.
This has been probably one the most remarkable disasters on the Histria-
Trgico Martima, not only because all the known events in land, which is not my
purpose to comment, but also the terrible adventure during 56 days on the Cape area,
after having already almost rounded it on the 11th of March.

Conclusions
After the analysis of the reports of the voyages of the 9 ships, since they
departed from India till running aground or anchoring at the African coast, I can arrive
to the following conclusions:
- As stated in the beginning of this work, all the ships sank or grounded during
the return voyage, when they were heavily loaded of goods.

25
The place of the wreck is near the beach on the upper part of the photograph. See Jos Manuel Malho
Pereira, O Cabo da Boa Esperana e o Esplio Nutico Submerso, op. cit., where the S. Joo wreck site
is well documented.
 34

- All the ships departed late and only three arrived to the African coast in April
or March. The remaining 6 arrived between June and September, in the height
of the winter in the area.

Fig. 24. The wreck of the S. Joo, in Port Edward.

- The duration of the voyage was bigger than the average, and the routes were
all outside Madagascar.
- The main reason for these 9 accidents was the excessive old age of the ships
and its overloading. The overloading not only originated the clogging of the
pumps with pepper, but also interfered with the manoeuvring of the ship and
its ability for combat.
- Any of the nine voyages was caused by bad navigation, because the coast was
found safely with the method of running down the latitude.
- The search for land was a relief for all people aboard, because the bad
condition of ships, not allowing a safe voyage home, suggested that running
aground was the solution. So, the land was being searched for that purpose.
 35

- I did not found any big discrepancy with my interpretation of the shipwreck
sites, suggested by the sources studied, with the interpretation given today,
after the archaeological works made here and the works of Eric Axelson and
other authors.
- The excessive size of the Portuguese ships, compared with the Dutch ones,
was a big disadvantage, as shown by the adventure of the S. Joo Baptista in
the south Indian Ocean, where she had heavy losses and become completely
dismantled by the enemy gun fire.

Mossel Bay, the 8th of August, 2006

Jos Manuel Malho Pereira