Shipwrecks of the United Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Table Bay, South Africa during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Abstract

During the nearly two centuries of its existence from 1602 to 1799, the United Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) used hundreds of vessels for its intercontinental trade. A considerable number of these foundered along South African shores. Table Bay, near the Cape of Good Hope, saw many marine incidents mainly due to its role as a halfway station on the long and dangerous voyages. This article describes the potential of VOC shipwrecks in the bay, which is an important resource for maritime archaeological studies.