Lost Danish Slave Ships Mistaken For Pirate Wrecks Identified After 300 Years

Divers — Image Credits: Nationalmuseet/Facebook

Two shipwrecks lying off the coast of Costa Rica for over 300 years have now been confirmed as 18th-century Danish slave ships, not pirate vessels as previously believed, the National Museum of Denmark has announced.

The two ships-Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus-were lost in 1710 during a failed transatlantic voyage.

For many years, their wrecks sat in shallow waters within Cahuita National Park, thought by locals and researchers to be remains of pirate ships.

A team of archaeologists from Denmark, in collaboration with other institutions, conducted a detailed underwater excavation in 2023. Samples of wood, yellow bricks, and clay pipes recovered from the site confirmed their identity and origin.

The National Museum of Denmark explained that the bricks matched those produced in Flensburg, a Danish brick-making hub in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The timber, analysed from ship structures, was traced back to trees cut between 1690 and 1695 in the western Baltic Sea region. Some of the wood was also charred and blackened, which matched historical reports that one of the ships had caught fire.

Shipwreck — Image Credits: Nationalmuseet/Facebook

Marine archaeologist David Gregory, who was part of the investigation, said through the museum that the evidence left no room for doubt. He said that the combination of Danish materials and the burnt timber lined up exactly with historical records of the ships’ fate.

The clay pipes found onboard were confirmed to be typical Dutch-made smoking pipes, which were commonly used aboard Danish vessels at the time.

The history of Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus was already documented in Denmark’s colonial records.

The two ships left Copenhagen in 1708, journeyed to West Africa, and over the next few months, were loaded with hundreds of enslaved people as part of Denmark’s role in the transatlantic slave trade.

They were meant to sail across the Atlantic to Saint Thomas, a Danish colony in the West Indies. However, during the voyage, both ships went severely off course-by nearly 2,000 kilometers west of their intended destination.

The detour led to a shortage of food and water, creating unrest among the crew. A mutiny eventually broke out.

After which, Fridericus Quartus caught fire, while Christianus Quintus had its anchor line cut, causing it to drift ashore and get smashed by waves in shallow waters.

The two wrecks were first seen in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until 2015 that US archaeologists discovered yellow bricks at the site.

After years of analysis and underwater work, the findings have finally solved the mystery. Marine archaeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Block, also part of the excavation team, described the project as the most extraordinary one he had worked on.

While Denmark banned the slave trade in 1792, slavery itself continued in Danish colonies until 1847.

Reference: thelocal

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