× Places where ships that were lost along the Coromandel coast are written in bold
× Places where there is a chance of finding parts of the shipwreck near Tranquebar are written in
bold italic
× Places where ships were lost in Northern Europe are written in italic
× RA stands for Rigsarkivet (The Danish Public Records Office) and the number relates to the archive registration given in "Vejledende Arkivregistraturer XIV for Asiatiske, Vestindiske og Guineiske handelskompagnier".
1618-22? Øresund destroyed at Karikal, or beached at Tricomale 1618-22? Christiana beached at Ceylon 1625 Jupiter beached in Bengal 1626 Nattergalen lost in the Bay of Bengal 1629 Flensborg exploded after fight at Cape of Good Hope 1630? Vandhunden scrapped near Tranquebar 1635? Fortuna scrapped in India ? Posthesten scrapped in India 1640 St. Jacob lost at Pipely in the Bay of Bengal 1640 Solen (Den gyldne sol) beached on the Dunes, South England, on return trip 1641 Charitas lost at Petapoli (Nizampatnam) in May 1643 Den Forgyldte Sol lost on return voyage off South East England 1643 Den Bengalske Prise grounded and totally wrecked at Emeldy, Colconda 1644 Fregatta taken over and lost the same year at Emeldy (north of Madras) 1652 Christianshavn noted as damaged and un-seaworthy in Tranquebar 1679 Charlotta Amalia lost near Gothenburg (RA 191 I) 1679 Haabet lost at Læsø 1676 Oldenburg lost at Anholt 1680 Dansborg beached and destroyed in the Faroe Isles 1685 Havmanden lost (RA192 II) 1691 Den Flyvende Ulv lost at Plymouth, England on return voyage 1697 Charlotte disappeared in India 1698 Prinsesse Louise lost along the south coast of India on way to Tranquebar 1701 Gyldenløve lost at Læsø (RA194 IV) 1702 Christian Quintus lost in Bengal 1704 Prins Christien lost at Atchin, Indonesia 1705 Prins Carl beached at Bombay 1708 Norske Løve beached and destroyed in the Faroe Isles 1714 Dansborg lost at Råbjerg Strand, Northern Jutland 1714 Cronprintzen crashed and wrecked (RA194 IV) 1726 Anna Sophie beached at Læsø 1730 Den Gyldne Løve lost on outward voyage from the north coast of Ireland 1736 Fredericus Quartus lost on outward voyage off Skagen, North Jutland 1737 Vendela lost on outward voyage at Fetlar, Shetland Isles 1740 a ship noted as lost 1744 Princesse Lovisa lost on voyage to India off the Maldives (RA665) 1746 Tranquebar disappeared off the Coromandel Coast on its homeward voyage 1749 three ships noted as lost 1749 København lost at Store Dimon, the Faroe Isles, on homeward voyage 1750 Elephanten lost on way from Tranquebar at the Cape (RA 669B + RA 771) 1751 Dokken disappeared on voyage from Tranquebar to København 1751? Christiansborg Slot lost on outbound voyage off Gothenburg 1752 Cron Princessen lost on way to Tranquebar at the Cape (RA670 + RA 773A) 1753 Kongen af Danmark lost on maiden voyage 1763 Grev Moltke burnt at Negapatnam (RA871b) 1763 Haabet lost 12. February 1769 Prince Friderich beached along the Swedish coast in the Kattegat (RA922) 1780 Prs Sophie Friederikke burnt in Kanton (RA208c) 1783 Nicobar lost at the Cape (RA208c)In all 47 named ships were lost in the period up to 1772, and four unidentified. Less than 40 % (17 out of 47) of the named ships were lost in North European waters between 1622 and 1783. These ships were lost along the Swedish coast in the Kattegat, off Anholt, Læsø, Gothenburg, Skagen, the Faroe Isles, Shetland Isles, Ireland and England.
9 July 1706, the Evangelical-Lutheran mission lost a chest of money while unloading to a smaller ship in the sea at Tranquebar. There are also rumours that a number of canons have been lost while unloading to landing boats.
In the period from 1772 to 1791, 159 ships set sail. Of these 137 returned while 22 remained abroad or were lost at sea.
Ships from the Dutch East India Company that are known to be lost off the coast of South East India
Of 8000 voyages to India, about 650 Dutch ships were lost. Many were lost in Indian waters, though below are only mentioned those that were lost specifically around the Coromandel Coast.
1610 Eendracht destroyed by fire along the Coromandel Coast 1630 Kleine Davis destroyed by fire along the Coromandel Coast on 11. February 1643 Neptunus beached and lost along the Coromandel Coast on 3. October 1653 Overschie lost along the Coromandel Coast on 21. December 1680 lost along the Coromandel Coast in January 1758 Haarlem destroyed by the French off Pondicherry (became a wreck) 1759 Oostkapelle lost along the Coromandel Coast 1786 Patriot lost off Madurai in South IndiaShips from the British East India Company, that were lost with large fortunes off the coast of South East India
India was a part of the British Empire, and as such England had by far the largest trade with India, and ships. Below are only a small proportion of the ships that were lost off South East India. We have material about all the losses (see literature list), but it is very time consuming to find information about all these ships.
1638 Eagle lost at Madras, Patnam Roads, with a cargo of coins 1640 Unity lost at Madras on outward voyage with gold 1641 John lost on outward voyage with a cargo of coins, 13.55N 80.14E 1684 Adventure lost on outward voyage with a cargo of coins off Madras - 7. December 1687 Borneo Merchant lost on homeward voyage off Fort St. George, Madras, with gems - 4. October 1687 Royal Adventure lost south of Mucquav with gifts from the King of Siam, fine china and gold 1688 Frigate Madras lost on outward voyage off Tranquebar with a cargo of coins 1719 King George lost on homeward voyage, from Bengal, off Fort St. George with gems - 28. October 1721 Dartmouth lost off Madras med 20 cases of silver on homeward voyage, from Bengal - 14. November 1749 Lincoln beached and lost with 28 chests of coins 85 km north of Tranquebar 14. April 1777 Marquis of Rockingham lost near Madras with 23 valuable chests, 22 rescued, - 20. May 1782 Earl of Hertford beached and lost off Madras med fine china from China on its homeward voyage 15. October 1783 Duke of Atholl blown up off Madras on outward voyage with a cargo of coins - 19. April 1811 HMS Dover 990 tons, beached and lost off Fort St. George 2. May 1811 Chichester 777 tons Royal Navy Ship beached and lost off Madras - 2. May 1877 Brig Emeraco 101 tons, beached at Covelong (Madras) on voyage to Negapatam - 24.May 1879 Brig"Sultan Hamed" 229 tons, sunk off Negapatam in ballast 9. November 1880 a bark lost 100 yards south of River Negapatam - 2. November 1884 en brig lost at Negapatam - 16. October 1886-1887 three ships lost at Negapatam - two brigs and a dhowOthers
There were also an unknown number of other ships and vessels from other periods and ships from France, Spain, Portugal and other countries.
Conclusion
We are sure that the money chest, belonging to the mission, can be found in the sea at Tranquebar. It was lost in 1708 while being transferred to a smaller boat.
There is also expected to find pieces of ships that were broken up off Tranquebar. Other ships were lost at various locations both north and south of the town.
There is a possibility of finding parts of the English frigate Madras which was lost in 1688 on its outward voyage at Tranquebar, with a cargo of coins.
There is also a possibility of finding parts of the masulas which were used to transport goods from the ships to shore. Some of them over the years must have sunk while ferrying goods.
Literature on East India, Tranquebar and Danish ships in general
Brøndsted, Johannes et al: Vore gamle tropekolonier (Volume I, Dansk Ostindien København 1953)
Cortemünde, J.P.: Dagbog fra en Ostindiefart 1672 Søhistoriske, Volume V (Handels- og Søfartsmuseet på Kronborg 1953)
Fihl, Esther:Tropekolonien Tranquebar (GAD, København 1988)
Gregersen Hans: Tranquebar (Wormaniun, Højbjerg 1987)
Larsen, Kay: Krøniker fra Tranquebar (København 1918)
Mott, Lawrence V.: Tranquebar Reconnaissance Report for February 13 - 19. 2005 (Syddansk Universitet 2005)
Rasch, Aa and Sveistrup, P.P.: Asiatisk Kompani i den florissante periode 1772-1792 (København 1948)
Tuxen, C.L.: Nogle oplysninger om det tidlige "Dansk Asiatisk Kompani" (Tidsskrift for Søvæsen 1898, pp. 369-391)
Literature on shipwrecks including ships that were lost along the Indian East coast
Admiralty Wreck Registers - and Abstract of the Returns to the Board of Trade - Wreck, Casualties, and Collisions abroad from 1850 to 1915. Ordered by the House of Commerce and the Board of Trade. Issued annually
Grocott, Terence: Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras 1793-1815 (Chatham Publishing, England 1997)
Hepper, David J.: British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail 1650-1859 (East Sussex, England 1994)
Lloyd´s List 1741-1826. Reprinted in 43 volumes
Pickford, Nigel: The Atlas of Shipwreck & Treasure (London 1994)