Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History / The Portuguese Wreck of the Bom Jesus: Lost Treasure of 1533
Transcript
- Lucas: For anyone coming with us through these conversations about Portugal's empire, we've talked a lot about the ships themselves — the caravels, the naus, that famous Carreira da Índia route. But what happens when one of those ships doesn't make it? Luna: We've covered a few wrecks before, but I think this one is special. Lucas: It really is. I'm talking about the Bom Jesus — a Portuguese merchant ship that sank off the coast of modern-day Namibia in 1533. It was lost for almost five centuries, until 2008, when diamond miners literally stumbled upon it in the Sperrgebiet, a restricted area that had been closed to the public since 1908. Luna: Diamond miners finding a shipwreck — that's straight out of an adventure novel. Lucas: It almost sounds fictional, but it's real. The Sperrgebiet, or 'Forbidden Zone', was a diamond mining concession in German South-West Africa, later Namibia. The area is incredibly remote, and access is strictly controlled. In April 2008, a geologist from the mining company Namdeb spotted some copper ingots protruding from the sand after a storm. That led to the discovery of the oldest shipwreck ever found off the coast of sub-Saharan Africa. Luna: And they knew right away it was Portuguese? Lucas: Not immediately, but the artifacts gave it away quickly. The ship was carrying a huge cargo of copper ingots from the mines of Central Europe, destined for India. Copper was one of the most valuable trade goods the Portuguese took to Asia — along with silver, gold, and mercury. The Bom Jesus also carried over 2,000 gold coins, elephant tusks, and a chest of mercury that remained sealed for almost 500 years. Luna: Mercury — that was used for silver refining, right? Lucas: Exactly. The Spanish used it in vast quantities in the mines of Potosí, but the Portuguese also shipped it to India. The Bom Jesus was heading to Goa, the capital of the Estado da Índia, with a cargo that would have made its owners incredibly wealthy — if it had arrived. Luna: So what went wrong? Do we know why it sank? Lucas: The exact cause isn't certain, but the most likely scenario is that it was caught in a storm off the Skeleton Coast, a notoriously treacherous stretch of coastline with strong currents and shifting sandbars. The ship probably struck a reef or broke up in heavy surf. What's remarkable is that the wooden hull is completely gone — eaten away by shipworms and time — but the cargo remained remarkably well-preserved, partly because the cold Benguela Current inhibited decomposition. Luna: So the copper ingots and coins were just lying there on the seabed, waiting to be found? Lucas: Pretty much. The site is in the intertidal zone, so at low tide, parts of the cargo were exposed. The miners actually scooped up what they thought were ordinary rocks and were about to crush them for diamond processing — but one sharp-eyed worker noticed the ingots weren't natural. That triggered a full archaeological excavation led by the Namibian government and the University of Namibia. Luna: And what did they find? Anything that tells us about the people on board? Lucas: Some very poignant artifacts. They found a bronze astrolabe — one of the oldest ever recovered — personal items like combs, a pewter plate, and even a small bell. The coins were mostly Spanish and Portuguese, including gold cruzados and silver reais. There were also dozens of elephant tusks, which were being shipped to India as a trade good — ironically, from Africa to Asia. Luna: I want to ask about the human cost — how many people died? Lucas: We don't know exactly, but the Bom Jesus was a nau, a large merchant vessel, probably carrying around 200 to 300 people. There were no survivors — or at least none recorded. The ship had left Lisbon in March 1533, part of the annual fleet bound for India. It would have stopped at the Cape Verde Islands and then crossed the South Atlantic, following the volta do mar route pioneered by Vasco da Gama's pilots. Luna: So it would have been a few months into the voyage when it went down. Lucas: Yes, probably around late May or early June. The fleet ran into a storm while rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and the Bom Jesus became separated. It was likely blown northward along the coast, far off course, until it wrecked in what is now Namibia. Luna: That's such a long way from its intended route. Lucas: It is. And that's one of the things that makes this wreck so important — it gives us a snapshot of exactly what was being traded in the early 16th century. The cargo mix tells us that the Portuguese were not just carrying spices from Asia; they were also shipping European goods to Asia, including metals, textiles, and even weapons. The Bom Jesus had 14 bronze and iron cannons on board, which were recovered. Luna: What happened to all the artifacts? Are they in a museum? Lucas: Many of them are now on display at the Namibian National Museum in Windhoek, and some have been loaned to Portugal. The Namibian government and the Portuguese government cooperated on the excavation and conservation. It's a remarkable example of international collaboration in maritime archaeology. Luna: It's amazing that it was found at all — in a diamond mine, no less. Lucas: Honestly, if today's episode was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep doing deep dives like this one. Luna: Yeah, absolutely. These stories take a lot of research, and listener support really does make it possible. Lucas: Anyway, back to the Bom Jesus — one of the most haunting details is that the ship's identity was confirmed by a pewter plate engraved with the initials 'IHS', a Christogram, and the number 1533. That, combined with the style of the astrolabe and coins, sealed the date. Luna: So they knew exactly what year it sank. Lucas: Exactly. And because the ship was discovered essentially intact — despite the hull being gone — we have a time capsule of early globalisation. The Bom Jesus carried goods from Germany, Spain, Portugal, Flanders, and even some from North Africa. It shows how interconnected the world already was in the 1530s. Luna: It's incredible to think that a single shipwreck can tell us so much. Lucas: It really does. And it reminds us that for every successful voyage of the Carreira da Índia, there were many that ended in disaster. The sea took a heavy toll, but the profits were so vast that the Portuguese kept sending ships year after year. The Bom Jesus is a powerful symbol of both the ambition and the fragility of that empire. Luna: Thanks for sharing that story, Lucas. I'll never look at a diamond mine the same way again. Lucas: Glad you enjoyed it. Next time, we'll look at another forgotten corner of Portugal's empire — the island of São Tomé and its role in the sugar trade. Until then, keep exploring history.