17th century wreck found off the coast of Tobago

A team of scientists from the University of Connecticut – Uconn, led by Korum Batcharov made a very interesting discovery in the waters off the coast of Tobago. On the Caribbean route they managed to find the wreck of a Dutch ship, dating back to the 17th century. As the discoverers themselves admit, the find was made almost by accident.

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It was all down to remote sensing at Scarborough Harbour. Traces of the battle between the French and Dutch fleets were investigated, but once the wreck was found, the priority quickly changed. Initial guesses and analysis of available information allowed archaeologists to pinpoint the likely identity of the vessel. The remains found are most likely the wreck of the ship “Huis de Kreuningen”, which sank in this area on 3 March 1677.

Batcharov is an assistant professor at the Department of Anthropology at Uconn and specialises in underwater archaeology, especially wrecks dating back to the 17th century. He is also the only person to have successfully excavated a shipwreck from the waters of the Black Sea.

The research carried out this year was aimed at investigating the sites where 16 ships were sunk in the aforementioned Franco-Dutch clash off Scarborough harbour. The researchers have a lot of hard work ahead of them, as information and available plans are practically lacking. The ship found so far, the “Huis de Kreuningen”, was the largest Dutch ship that took part in the battle.

The wreck itself has been intact since it rested on the bottom. Admittedly, much of the hull was destroyed in the exchange of gunfire, but that hasn’t stopped a plethora of artefacts from being collected! These include cannons, lead bullets, Dutch pipes, jars, pottery, and bricks made in Leiden in 1647. According to the findings, the ship was 39.6m long and 9.62m wide

During the Battle of Scarabrough around 2,000 people were killed. This included 250 Dutch women and children, as well as 300 African slaves. In the end, despite suffering more losses, the Dutch still declared victory. The biggest loss on the French side was Vice-Admiral Comte D’Estrée’s flagship “Glorieux”.

Source: newhistorian.com