A map of Cornwall by Van Keulen of the late 17th century marking the location of the wreck off Loe Bar, to the right as ‘Presedents Loss’ (Image: David Gibbins)
Posted on 06/11/2018 4:12:04 PM PDT by csvset
The final voyage of the President includes an account of a sea battle with pirates, a great storm and how the only two survivors were attacked by Cornishmen on the shore
The final voyage of the President includes an account of a sea battle with pirates, a great storm and how the only two survivors were attacked by Cornishmen on the shore
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Storm Brian batters Porthleven in Cornwall Divers have discovered cannons and an anchor thought to be from one of the richest treasure ships ever to be wrecked on the coast of Cornwall.
The 17th century merchant ship President was returning home from India with a rich cargo including diamonds and pearls.
The tale of the ship, an East Indiaman, includes hair-raising accounts of sea battles with pirates, extreme hunger and hitting a deadly storm within sight of Cornwall.
Only two sailors survived the shipwreck in Mount’s Bay at Loe Bar, near Porthleven - who were then set upon by two Cornishmen who tried to rob them on the beach.
Now, the shifting sands off the treacherous bar have revealed fascinating finds from the wreck. The East India Company ship President came to grief in February, 1684, carrying down nearly all her crew as well as a “very rich lading, modestly judged of no less than a hundred thousand pounds … with much treasure of pearl, and diamonds”.
Her loss was so great that she was even marked on the map of Cornwall produced at this period by the famous Dutch cartographer Van Keulen.
Now the rediscovery of the site thought to be this wreck opens up a new chapter in the maritime history of Cornwall, linking these shores to a time when huge fortunes were made and lost in the ‘Enterprise of the Indies'.
The dive team from Cornwall Maritime Archaeology is headed by novelist and archaeologist David Gibbins and by Mark Milburn, who runs Atlantic Scuba in Penryn.
Mr Gibbins said: “The site was first reported by divers twenty years ago and was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. Mark and I are licensed by Historic England to monitor the wreck, but for many years it has been covered by sand.
“Loe Bar is usually a dangerous place to dive – the entry and exit are treacherous even with the smallest of waves. The recent period of calm weather has allowed us to get in for the first time in months.”
Mr Milburn said: “During our dive we were thrilled to discover seven cannons and an anchor at the site, only a few metres from shore in less than seven metres depth.
“We were exploring an area where artefacts had never previously been recorded, and we realised we were looking at new finds. With every storm the sand can shift to reveal new treasures. It was incredibly exciting to see something that nobody has ever seen before.”
The final voyage of the President is known in remarkable detail because a pamphlet was published a few months after the wrecking based on the testimony of the survivors.
The somewhat unwieldy title of the pamphlet is ‘A full ACCOUNT Of the late Ship-wreck of the Ship called The PRESIDENT: Which was cast away in Montz-Bay in Cornwal On the 4th of February last, As it was deliver'd to HIS MAJESTY, (both in Writing and Discourse) By William Smith and John Harshfield, the only Persons that escaped in the said Wreck’.
It tells of a desperate sea battle off the Malabar Coast of India with six pirate ships in which a roundshot from the President penetrated the powder magazine of one of the pirate vessels which exploded.
Mr Gibbins added: “Cannons are common finds on the wrecks of merchant ships from the age of sail, when most ships were armed. But it’s very unusual to know that guns on a merchantmen were actually used, especially in such a colourful action and on the very voyage on which the ship was wrecked.
“It gives a special excitement to seeing these guns for the first time underwater.”
The success of the President in defeating the pirates was not repeated in their battle against the elements on the return voyage.
They sailed with the wind “in their Teeth”, unable to make shore and re-provision. After 11 weeks they were so reduced by thirst and starvation that they ate the ship’s dog, which was described as “a delicate Banquet”.
Overcome with hunger and with the crew unable to work the ship, the President was swept into the encircling arms of Mount’s Bay in a storm.
She struck the shore at Loe Bar and was “beat in a thousand Pieces”.
Video Loading Storm Brian batters Porthleven in Cornwall Only two men made it ashore alive, where they clung to nearby cliffs until the sea abated.
The pamphlet then concludes that the two men “were inhumanely set upon by two Country Fellows, who perceiving that they had been Shipwreck'd, and supposing them to have saved about them something that was of most Value, attempted to knock them on the Head”.
They were rescued by a “local gentleman” who happened to be riding over the sands at the time.
The pamphlet concludes: “SUCH is the Method of humane Affairs, that the greatest Hopes of Advantage are attended with the greatest Hazard and uncertainty. Of this we have a remarkable Instance in the late miserable Wreck of the Ship called the PRESIDENT.’
Further diving is planned at the site. To follow the team’s progress and see more photos, visit the Cornwall Maritime Archaeology Facebook page.
A map of Cornwall by Van Keulen of the late 17th century marking the location of the wreck off Loe Bar, to the right as ‘Presedents Loss’ (Image: David Gibbins)
GGG ping
Talk about a jinxed ship. Wow.
That’s right where that Amazon drone dropped my treasure chest order.
Mr Gibbins added: “Cannons are common finds on the wrecks of merchant ships from the age of sail, when most ships were armed. But it’s very unusual to know that guns on a merchantmen were actually used, especially in such a colourful action and on the very voyage on which the ship was wrecked.
Pirates, starving, storms, shipwrecked, beaten and robbed. Whew!
Note the proximity to Penzance (Pensance).
And yes, the 2 men on the beach were pirates, but land pirates. Good for the passerby. Come all that way and survive a shipwreck only to be killed some idiots on the shore.
Sure...
A treasure chest full of guns lost overboard.
(Why its true, officer, there be nothin’ to see here!)
“Pirates, starving, storms, shipwrecked, beaten and robbed. Whew!”
Back then, all that was darn near just another day at the office for sailors.
I don’t think it was at all unusual for a ship of the British East India Company to have discharged its cannons. They were built for defense as well as cargo hauling. They sailed in dangerous waters with valuable cargoes usually without Royal Navy escort.
In the days when men were men and sheep were nervous. (Sheep were frequently kept onboard with other livestock for obvious reasons!)
A Bill Clinton motorcade?
Penzance immediately came to mind when I saw the references to "Cornwall" and "pirates."
Are all those small X’s shipwrecks?
The captain was a peg-legged hook-handed guy with an eye patch and melanoma from years unprotected under the ocean sun, his name was "Lucky" O'Toole. Thanks csvset.
And did the “gentleman” who rescued the mariners have a wild-haired, red-headed wife name Demelza? Oh, wait. The ship went down 100 years before the saga of Poldark. Perhaps they were rescued by Ross Poldark’s grandfather...
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