- Doddington (East Indiaman)
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Career (Great Britain) 
Fate: Wrecked, 17 July 1755 in Algoa Bay General characteristics Class and type: East Indiaman Displacement: 499 tons Propulsion: Sail Armament: 26 guns The Doddington was an East Indiaman of the British East India Company that was wrecked at Bird Island in Algoa Bay near present day Port Elizabeth on 17 July 1755.[1][2] The ship was carrying a hoard of gold belonging to Clive of India, that was controversially looted in modern times by treasure hunters, resulting in recent changes to international maritime treaties to better protect underwater cultural heritage.
Contents
Wrecking
The Doddington sailed from Dover on 22 April 1755 under way to Fort St George in India under the command of Captain James Sampson in the company of the Stretham (carrying Clive of India), Pelham, Edgecote and Houghton. The ships were separated en route to Porto Praya, but re-united again at the port where they all stopped to take on provisions. On 27 May 1755, the three ships departed the Cape Verde islands together, but were once again separated after the master of the Doddington took a more southerly route than the other ships. After seven weeks, the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope. After sailing Eastwards for a day, the ship was on a heading of East-North-East, when she struck a rock at 1 am in the morning in Algoa Bay.
Doddington wreck sitePort ElizabethEastern Cape, South AfricaOf the original crew and passengers of 270, only 23 initially survived. The castaways subsisted for seven months on fish, birds and eggs on a nearby island, which they named Bird Island.[Notes 1] One of their number, a carpenter, was able to help them make them a sloop, the Happy Deliverance on which they were finally able to get off the island on 16 February 1756.[1][3] The sloop was seaworthy enough to take the survivors on an eventful journey up the east coast of Africa via St Lucia and Delagoa Bay,[1][4] where the survivors sold her before travelling on to India in another ship.
Salvage
The ship was carrying a consignment of gold and silver, known as "Clive of India's Gold", which was controversially looted in recent times by Port Elizabeth treasure hunters.[5][6] A third of the 1,200 gold coins were eventually returned to South Africa after a four-year legal wrangle in London. The high profile court case highlighted various shortcomings in both South African and international maritime law.[7] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation monitored the case closely, as it set an important precedent for the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage that it subsequently published.[8]
Cultural ripple
In September 1867, at the Theatre Royal, The Dramatic Club of Port Elizabeth staged a locally written play "Treasure at Woody Cape", dealing with the legend of the Doddington's treasure. [9]
References
- ^ a b c Saxe Bannister (1830). Humane Policy, Or, Justice to the Aborigines of New Settlements. T. & G. Underwood. pp. xxxiii. http://books.google.com/books?id=MXFDAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PR33&vq=doddington&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Mr Webb (1758). A Journal of the Proceedings of the Doddington East Indiaman, from her sailing from the Downs till she was unfortunately wrecked on the East Coast of Africa. http://books.google.com/books?id=c3oBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA235. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Cyrus Redding (1833). "Chapter V". A History of Shipwrecks, and Disasters at Sea, from the Most Authentic Sources: From the Most Authentic Sources. Whittaker, Treacher & Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=VX0SAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA109.
- ^ Reginald Frank Kennedy (1955). Shipwrecks on and Off the Coasts of Southern Africa: A Catalogue and Index. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ae5V0LJyBZoC. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Geoffrey and David Allen (1978). Clive's Lost Treasure. Robin Garton. ISBN 0906030072. http://books.google.com/books?id=8JD-AQAACAAJ. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Shaw, John (2000-08-28). "Clive of India's gold comes up for sale after legal settlement". The Independent. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000828/ai_n14332093.
- ^ Barbara T. Hoffman (2006). "Chapter 42". Art and Cultural Heritage: The Case of the Doddington Coins. Cambridge University Press. pp. p313. ISBN 0521857643. http://books.google.com/books?id=yvXTcGC5CwQC&pg=PA313&ei=XlHSSNPlPImGtAPi1uDbAw&sig=ACfU3U2XeBsqTAvms7wGrOOYbWpkp-Dpvg. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Karen Macgregor (2001-02-18). "Stolen gold back in South Africa". The Independent. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010218/ai_n14372172. Retrieved 2008-09-18.[dead link]
- ^ http://www.peoh.co.za/content.asp?pageid=30
Notes
- ^ The island group had previously been named Inhéus Châos (low or flat islands) by Vasco da Gama
Further reading
- L. H. Van Meurs (1985). Legal Aspects of Marine Archaeological Research. Institute of Marine Law, University of Cape Town Institute of Marine Law. http://books.google.com/books?id=llsSAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- James P. Delgado (1997). Encyclopaedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology. British Museum Press. ISBN 0714121290. http://books.google.com/books?id=dKIYAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
External links
Categories:- Shipwrecks on the South African coast
- Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean
- Ships of the British East India Company
- Maritime incidents in 1755
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