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THE ROYAL CAPTAIN |
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THE ROYAL CAPTAIN |
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In 1985, Franck Goddio first visited the Philippine village of Quezon from which he set off on his mission to find the remains of the British ship. His first attempt did not show the expected results because the technical equipment at that time was just not good enough for a deep-sea excavation. Now, 15 years later, Franck Goddio stands on the verge of fulfilling his dream. | ||
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and his international team used deep-sea submersibles to explore the waters off the coast
of the Philippines where "The Royal Captain" and her treasures have been
submerged for more than two centuries. In a documentary film produced by Discovery
Communications Inc. viewers witness the rewards of this painstaking expedition as Franck
Goddio and his team catch their first glimpse of the wreckage - the ship's main anchor. |
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| metres , were used to explore and excavate the wreckage site. Franck Goddio and the diving crew also found an intact bronze bell from "The Royal Captain" at 470 metres depth. | |||
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After this initial
sighting, the team receives one reward after another as they carefully retrieve porcelain
objects of every size and description from the wreck site. Aside from their scientific
value, these extraordinarily intact artefacts also provide insight into the customs of
18th century English merchants. The excavation was done in close collaboration with the National Museum of the Philippines. |
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| This history starts in 1570, 50 years after the landing of Magellan. A Spanish colony was founded in the Philippines and as a result the world’s first world trade route, linking Europe, Asia and the Americas was established. Unlike the Spanish, the English did not have at that time a powerful navy and for this reason failed to establish a timely trading position of their own in East Asia. Therefore they were forced to establish their facilities in Canton, which was ruled by the Chinese. Years went by and in the first half of the 18th century, a free port was established on the island of Balambangan, enabling the British to compete on equal terms with the Spanish. As the free port became successful, it served as a bridge between China and England. | |||
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approximately ten years, the English East India Company trading post in Balambangan
decided to invest the bulk of their traded goods in the purchase of huge amounts of
porcelain, spices, silk and other goods in Canton and planned to ship part of it to
Balambangan and the rest to London. The ship the British chartered was “The Royal Captain”. The vessel measured 43.6 metres from bow to rudder, 11 metres across the beam and used three masts that soared 46 metres above the upper deck. It weighed 780 tons and was laden with tea and more than 100,000 pieces of exquisite Chinese porcelain.  |
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| When the
“Royal Captain” made its final voyage there were 106 passengers on board –
99 crewmembers, six passengers and Captain Edward Berrow. After one year at sea it seemed to be a successful journey, but an uncharted shoal sealed the ship’s fate. The First Mate, James Quick, holds the key to what happened the night of December 17, 1773, with the ship’s logbook, which contains a detailed description not only of the position and the changes of the ships direction as well as meteorological reports, but also of the attempted rescues of the ship: |
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At about 2:30 a.m., a jarring thud was felt onboard the ship as “The Royal Captain” struck an uncharted shoal of rocks. An assessment of the situation was made by crewmembers who circled the ship using small rowing boats. Their report was positive. Stuck on the shoal, “The Royal Captain’s” bow and starboard side were close to deep water. Now, captain and crew started to repeatedly haul the anchor out from the ship and then drop it, in an attempt to become free, but without success. |
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| Several hours later, as
the tide rose the situation seemed to improve as finally, Captain Berrow and his men were
able to get the ship free of the rocks. But “The Royal Captain” again became
stuck. Later in the afternoon, they managed to free the ship from the shoal a second time,
but again they struck the rocks. This unfortunate day began to turn into night whilst
“The Royal Captain” was taking on water. The most difficult decision for a
Captain had to be made: Captain Berrow gave the order to abandon the ship. All but three
of the sailors, who apparently were so drunk that they refused to leave the ship, were
ordered into lifeboats while “The Royal Captain” sank beneath the waters of the
South China Sea.Although the Captain and crew were able to rescue the ship’s most
valuable treasures before leaving the ship, much of the cargo and the ship itself would be
lost to the world forever. The economic loss was great and endangered the economic
development of the trading post. A little later the port was closed after an attack from
pirates. “The Royal Captain” would remain there, lost, for more than two centuries, until French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio located its wreckage. Photo: C. Gerigk More informations:www.franckgoddio.org |
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