THE TALE OF THE SACRAMENTO
Like many old artefacts there is a story behind the story and so does the Sacramento canon also have a back story. This canon was on the deck of the Portuguese galleon Sacramento when it ran aground on 30 June 1647 off the coast of Port Elizabeth – for those of you who do not know Jan van Riebeeck only arrived in 1652 in the Cape of Good Hope so five years prior to old Jan setting foot ashore at the Cape of Good Hope. What caused the disaster and how many people were aboard the Sacramento is unknown, but 72 made it to shore. After 10 days the group decided to walk from Port Elizabeth to Maputo – which is about 1 300 km away by the way – from where they planned to get a ship to Europe. It must have been hostile and wild country back then… Read more >
