SHIPWRECKS from the HISTÓRIA TRÁGICO-MARÍTIMA a Thesis By
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SHIPWRECKS FROM THE HISTÓRIA TRÁGICO-MARÍTIMA A Thesis by CHASE WILLIAM OSWALD Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Chair of Committee, Filipe Castro Committee Members, Kevin Crisman Courtney Thompson Head of Department, Darryl De Ruiter May 2021 Major Subject: Anthropology Copyright 2021 Chase William Oswald ABSTRACT This thesis catalogs the Portuguese ships that wrecked while sailing the India Route, the passage between India and Portugal popularized in the 16th and 17th centuries. The focus will be on ships lost along the African coast as both historical documents and archaeological finds have accrued in association with these wrecks. By combining these sources, this thesis will describe the cultural context and physical evidence of these wrecks. Much of the historical evidence originates from the História Trágico-Marítima, originally published in Portuguese, with excerpts later translated into English by Charles Ralph Boxer, George Theal, Charles Ley, and Josiah Blackmore. Additionally, the material will be supported by a GIS visualization of known India Route wreck locations, namely in the form of point maps displaying the locations of the wrecks in reference to their geographic location and to each other. By creating a catalog with source materials drawn from both historical accounts and archaeological evidence I plan to weave together a cohesive understanding of Portuguese shipwrecks lost along the India Route. ii DEDICATION I dedicate my thesis to my family for their unwavering support during my educational career. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Filipe Vieira de Castro for his invaluable assistance during this process, without his constant aid, guidance, and resources this thesis would not have been possible. As well, I would also like to thank my committee members Dr. Kevin Crisman and Dr. Courtney Thompson, for their counsel in refining my manuscript. iv CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES Contributors This work was supported by a thesis committee consisting of my advisor Dr. Filipe Castro and Dr. Kevin Crisman of the Department of Anthropology, and Dr. Courtney Thompson of the Department of Geography. Dr. Castro provided commentary and feedback for the interpretation of textual sources discussed within Chapter II. As well, the data analyzed for Chapter III was provided by Dr. Filipe Castro. Table 1 depicted within Chapter III was gathered by Dr. Castro for use on the Nautical Archaeology Digital Library. All other work conducted for the thesis was completed by the student independently. Funding Sources Graduate study was partially funded by the Texas A&M Department of Anthropology and could not have started without its support v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………... ii DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………….. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………...iv CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES……………………………………......v LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….......ix LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………….....xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….1 CHAPTER II THE CARREIRA DA ÍNDIA………………………………………...…..3 CHAPTER III SHIPWRECKS ALONG THE CARREIRA DA ÍNDIA……………….23 Identified and Tentatively Identified India Route Shipwrecks…………… 25 CHAPTER IV THE TRAGIC HISTORY OF THE SEA……………….………………31 CHAPTER V THE WRECK OF SÃO JOÃO……………………………….…………. 41 Material Culture of Sа̃o Joа̃o……………………………………………... 44 True Porcelain…………………………………………………………….. 47 Coarse Porcelain…………………………………………………………... 50 Porcelain Groupings………………………………………………………. 51 Earthenware……………………………………………………………….. 52 Carnelian Beads…………………………………………………………… 52 Cannons…………………………………………………………………… 54 Campsite…………………………………………………………………... 55 Cowries……………………………………………………………………. 56 Peppercorn………………………………………………………………… 56 CHAPTER VI THE WRECK OF SÃO BENTO………………………………………...58 The Site……………………………………………………………………. 62 vi The Cannons………………………………………………………………. 64 Breech-Loading Cannons…………………………………………………. 65 Medium-Sized Muzzle-Loaders…………………………………………... 72 Large Muzzle-Loader……………………………………………………... 76 Cannon Balls……………………………………………………………… 78 Porcelain…………………………………………………………………... 79 Coarse Porcelain………………………………………………………....... 85 Earthenware……………………………………………………………….. 87 Gold Rings………………………………………………………………… 88 Earrings……………………………………………………………………. 90 Intaglio…………………………………………………………………….. 91 Gold Coin (Cruzado)……………………………………………………… 91 Carnelian Beads…………………………………………………………… 91 Garnet…………………………………………………………………....... 92 Money Cowries……………………………………………………………. 92 CHAPTER VII THE WRECK OF SANTIAGO………………………………..………93 Wreck Site……………………………………………………………….. 100 Survey……………………………………………………………………. 101 Santiago Finds………………………………………………………….... 102 Salvaged Guns………………………………………………………….... 103 CHAPTER VIII THE WRECK OF SANTO ALBERTO……………………………….106 Material Culture of the Santo Alberto………………………………….... 110 Porcelain…………………………………………………………………. 112 Cannons………………………………………………………………….. 112 Carnelian Beads………………………………………………………….. 112 Pistol……………………………………………………………………... 113 CHAPTER IX THE WRECK OF SÃO JOÃO BAPTISTA……………………………. 114 Material Culture of Sа̃o Joа̃o Baptista…………………………………... 118 Porcelain…………………………………………………………………. 119 Cannons………………………………………………………………….. 119 Anchors…………………………………………………………………... 120 CHAPTER X THE WRECKS OF SANTISSIMO SACRAMENTO AND NOSSA SENHORA DA ATALAIA……………………………………………………... 121 Discovery and Retrieval of Santissimo Sacramento……………………... 132 Nossa Senhora da Atalaia……………………………………………….. 144 Survey and Resulting Cannon Discovery………………………………... 145 vii Campsite………………………………………………………………... 150 CHAPTER XI CONCLUSION……………………………………………………...... 153 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………... 155 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Map of known routes and wreck locations…………………………………....23 Figure 2. Map of all known Portuguese India Route wreck locations…………………..30 Figure 3. Map of wrecks discussed in thesis…………………………………………… 39 Figure 4. Map of São João wreck………………………………………….…………….46 Figure 5. Wave border porcelain sherd from the São Bento……………….…………….48 Figure 6. Porcelain sherd with diamond diaper from São Bento…………….…………..49 Figure 7. Porcelain sherd with Trigram motif from São Bento…………….……………49 Figure 8. Foot of porcelain bowl with cash coin from São Bento……………….………50 Figure 9. Porcelain with ch’i-lin motif from São Bento…………………….…………...51 Figure 10. Carenlian beads from São João……………………………………………...53 Figure 11. Cannon fragment from SãoJoão……………………………………………. 54 Figure 12. Map of the wreck of São Bento……………………………………………... 64 Figure 13. Bronze swivel-gun…………………………………………………………...66 Figure 14. Falconet from São Bento……………………………………………………. 71 Figure 15. CFRO monogram on falconet………………………………………………. 72 Figure 16. Medium-sized muzzle-loader from São Bento……………………………… 73 Figure 17. Cannon from Nossa Senhora dos Mártires (1606)…………………………. 74 Figure 18. OC monogram on medium-sized muzzle-loader…………………………… 75 Figure 19. Large muzzle-loading cannon………………………………………………. 77 ix Figure 20. Xuande period inscription…………………………………………………... 80 Figure 21. Zhengde period inscription………………………………………………….. 80 Figure 22. Jiajing inscription…………………………………………………………… 81 Figure 23. Parrot in possible pomegranate tree motif…………………………………... 83 Figure 24. Mei-p’ing style neck fragment……………………………………………… 84 Figure 25. Porcelain box with feet resembling Dog of Fo……………………………... 85 Figure 26. Rings from the São Bento…………………………………………………… 89 Figure 27. Earring from the São Bento……………………………………….………….90 Figure 28. Map of the wreck Santiago………………………………………………... 101 Figure 29. Map of the wreck of Santo Alberto………………………………………... 111 Figure 30. Map of the wreck of São João Baptista…………………………………… 120 Figure 31. Map of the wreck of Santissimo Sacramento……………………………… 136 Figure 32. Miracle cannon…………………………………………………………….. 138 Figure 33. Map of the wreck Nossa Senhora da Atalaia……………………………… 147 Figure 34. Coak from Atalaia…………………………………………………………..149 x LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. India Route Shipwrecks……………………………………………………….. 26 Table 2. Shipwrecks of the História Trágico-Marítima………………………………... 31 Table 3. Translations into English of the official História Trágico-Marítima accounts.. 34 Table 4. Shipwrecks considered in the present work…………………………………... 39 Table 5. Cannons from Santissimo Sacramento 1647………………………………… 140 Table 6. Guns recovered from the 1668 and 1647 wrecks that shared founders……… 144 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This thesis aims to catalog the Portuguese ships that wrecked along the India Route, with a focus on those that had their accounts published in popular literature. Both historical documents and archaeological material have accrued in association with these wrecks. By combining these historical and archaeological sources this thesis will describe both the stories and physical evidence of these wrecks. The historical material will focus on accounts published in the História Trágico-Marítima, which was originally published in Portuguese and later partially translated into English by Charles Ralph Boxer, George Theal, Charles Ley, and Josiah Blackmore. By creating a catalog that sources material from both historical accounts and archaeological evidence, I plan to weave together a cohesive understanding of Portuguese India Route shipwrecks through an all-encompassing holistic lens. This dual approach will give insight into the cargoes these ships carried, how these disastrous voyages unfolded and how many crew and passengers eventually lost their lives. In addition to combining