It left Lisbon on the first days of April 1585, as part of a fleet of six ships, in the company of the naus S. Louren?o, S. Salvador, S. Francisco, Santo Alberto and Reis Magos.
It was commanded by Fern?o de Mendon?a, captain of the fleet. Its master was Manuel Gon?alves, its pilot Gaspar Gon?alves, and its second pilot Rodrigo Migueis. Santiago was described as a 900-ton nau, with 33 m of keel length, and around 50 m of length overall. It mounted 12 bronze guns: two camelos, two esperas, and eight ber?os (breech loading swivel guns), of which four were designated as falconetes, due to their large dimensions.
Unlike the majority of India nau shipwrecks, Santiago was lost on its trip to India in 1585. It hit the atoll of Bassas da India at full speed, during the night, due to a mistake of the pilot.
Witnesses said that the ship lost its bottom upon hitting the coral reef, and parts of her upper works floated forward, coming to rest over the coral reef on the southern part of the atoll.
An account of this shipwreck was published in Gomes de Brito s Hist?ria Tr?gico-Mar?tima under the title Rela??o do naufr?gio da nau Santiago no anno de 1585, e itiner?rio da gente que dele se salvou, escrita por Manuel Godinho Cardoso, e agora novamente acrescentada com mais algumas not?cias.
The wreck site was found in December 1977 by a treasure hunter named Ernest Erich Klaar. Several artifacts were salvaged during the three following years, including the 12 bronze guns, one astrolabe, several kilos of silver coins, religious objects, and a few jewels.
The bulk of this collection was sold by Mr. Klaar s company Santiago Marketing Ltd., and bought partly by the Portuguese Museu de Marinha and the South African Natal Museum.
In the 1980s the wreck site was visited by French state archaeologist Michel l'Hour and the treasure hunter Erick Surcouf. Unfortunately no data of any interest on the site has been published as a result of this venture.
It was commanded by Fern?o de Mendon?a, captain of the fleet. Its master was Manuel Gon?alves, its pilot Gaspar Gon?alves, and its second pilot Rodrigo Migueis. Santiago was described as a 900-ton nau, with 33 m of keel length, and around 50 m of length overall. It mounted 12 bronze guns: two camelos, two esperas, and eight ber?os (breech loading swivel guns), of which four were designated as falconetes, due to their large dimensions.
Unlike the majority of India nau shipwrecks, Santiago was lost on its trip to India in 1585. It hit the atoll of Bassas da India at full speed, during the night, due to a mistake of the pilot.
Witnesses said that the ship lost its bottom upon hitting the coral reef, and parts of her upper works floated forward, coming to rest over the coral reef on the southern part of the atoll.
An account of this shipwreck was published in Gomes de Brito s Hist?ria Tr?gico-Mar?tima under the title Rela??o do naufr?gio da nau Santiago no anno de 1585, e itiner?rio da gente que dele se salvou, escrita por Manuel Godinho Cardoso, e agora novamente acrescentada com mais algumas not?cias.
The wreck site was found in December 1977 by a treasure hunter named Ernest Erich Klaar. Several artifacts were salvaged during the three following years, including the 12 bronze guns, one astrolabe, several kilos of silver coins, religious objects, and a few jewels.
The bulk of this collection was sold by Mr. Klaar s company Santiago Marketing Ltd., and bought partly by the Portuguese Museu de Marinha and the South African Natal Museum.
In the 1980s the wreck site was visited by French state archaeologist Michel l'Hour and the treasure hunter Erick Surcouf. Unfortunately no data of any interest on the site has been published as a result of this venture.
