It hasn’t been officially announced by Iziko Museums just yet, but The NY Times has reported that the wreck of a 200-year-old slave ship from Mozambique has been found off the coast of Camps Bay.
The Portuguese slave ship São José Paquete left Mozambique on 3 December 1794 but failed to reach its destination in Brazil, running aground 24 days later off the Cape of Good Hope, torn violently apart over two reefs lying only 100 feet from shore.
São José Paquete’s captain and Portuguese crew survived but unfortunately only half of the slaves made it.
A memorial service will be held tomorrow near the site of the wreck, where divers will place soil from Mozambique on the underwater site to memorialise the graves of the 212 drowned slaves.
Let’s remember all those souls and every other person affected by slavery. Read more here.
Photography Iziko Museums
