Rooswijk facts for kids

The Rooswijk was a large sailing ship that belonged to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). This company was a powerful Dutch trading business from long ago. The Rooswijk sank in 1740 during a journey. Today, its wreck is a special protected site managed by Historic England in the UK.

Building and First Journeys

The Rooswijk was built in 1737 for the Dutch East India Company. It was a merchant ship, meaning it carried goods for trade. On January 9, 1740, the ship was on its second trip to the East. Sadly, it sank on a sandbank called Goodwin Sands. This sandbank is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the British coast. No one on board survived the sinking. The ship's captain at the time was Daniel Ronzieres. Researchers have found records that tell us about some of the 237 crew members. These include Gerrit Hendrick Huffelman, who was the ship's doctor. There was also Thomas Huijdekoper, a 19-year-old on his very first voyage. Another crewman, Pieter Calmer, had already survived a different shipwreck before this one.

Discovering the Wreck

The Rooswijk wreck was found in 2004 by an amateur diver. It was lying on the Goodwin Sands, about 24 meters (79 feet) deep.

In 2005, a team led by Rex Cowan secretly recovered some parts of the ship. They also found many items from inside the wreck. They kept it secret to stop people from illegally taking things. Among the items found were about one thousand silver bars and many gold coins. They even found a mustard jar!

When the Dutch East India Company ended in 1798, its belongings went to the Dutch government. This means the Dutch government now owns the items found from the Rooswijk. These treasures were officially given back to the Netherlands in 2005.

Treasures from the Ship

The coins found on the Rooswijk are very interesting. Many were Mexican silver coins from the 1720s and 1730s. There were also "pillar dollars" and some special "klippe" coins.

Archaeologists discovered that about half of the money on the ship was meant for illegal trade. This money was not part of the official cargo. Many coins even had small holes in them. This suggests that crew members sewed them into their clothes to smuggle them. They would buy silver cheaply in the Netherlands. Then they would sell it for a good profit in the Dutch East Indies, where there were no silver mines. Even though this was against the rules, the Dutch East India Company often allowed it. This was because the illegal trade still helped the company make money.

When the ship sank, its wooden floors collapsed. This caused the different decks to fall on top of each other. This created layers that show us what life was like on board. The top layer holds the officers' dining room. The middle layer has the constable's cabin, which contained 50 muskets (old guns). The bottom layer includes the cartridge locker and the gun deck. Here, they found cannonballs like bar shot and round shot.

Protecting the Wreck Site

The way the 2005 recovery was done caused some concern. Some heritage groups felt that international rules for protecting underwater historical sites were not followed. These rules include the Valletta Treaty (1992) and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001).

In 2007, the Rooswijk was made a protected wreck site under UK law. This stopped any more private recovery work from happening. The protected area is a circle 150 meters (492 feet) wide around the wreck. The Netherlands also changed its rules that same year. They made it impossible to get new permits for salvaging historic shipwrecks. The ship's remains are still about 25 meters (82 feet) deep and belong to the Dutch government.

In 2016, the Rooswijk was added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. This meant the wreck was in danger. It faced threats from erosion (wearing away), shipworms (tiny creatures that eat wood), and illegal diving. The Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) and Historic England worked together to check on the site. They decided more work was needed to protect it.

Excavation work began again in 2017, led by MSDS Marine. During these projects, new discoveries were taken to a warehouse in Ramsgate. There, they were recorded and given initial care. More detailed analysis and preservation happened at a Historic England storage facility. Finally, all the recovered items are returned to the Netherlands. Among the recent finds were a cauldron, a pan, and a lid, all made from a copper alloy.