Published 3 March 2021
On the 8th of January 1740, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship
Rooswijk weighed anchor and left harbour on the Dutch island of Texel, carrying a varied cargo that included large quantities of silver coins and bullion intended for trade. This marked the start of what would have been an arduous 9-12-month long journey to Batavia, the then capital of the former Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia). However, by the next day
Rooswijk had been driven onto the Goodwin Sands off the coast of Kent and subsequently broke up – sinking with no survivors. Passing into obscurity, it was not until 2005 that the ship was re-discovered following a search by recreational diver Ken Welling.