In 1647, the Dutch West India Company vessel Groeningen anchored off the coast of Ghana, Africa, near Elmina Castle. Trade between Europeans and Africans in the region during that time was mainly carried out using ships like Groeningen and local African watercraft. When it arrived at the “Gold Coast” Groeningen fired five shots as a customary salute. On its fifth shot, a cannon exploded and the ship sank. Over 350 years later, underwater archaeologists located a shipwreck off the coast of Ghana. Called the Elmina Wreck, the ship provided archaeologists a snapshot of the trade and Atlantic world connections between Africans and Europeans centuries ago. Based on several years of field work and research, archaeologists believe the Elmina Wreck may be the remains of Groeningen.
This exhibit is the story of this wreck and its recovery by underwater archaeologists from the University of West Florida and Syracuse University.
