Frol de la mar
Frol de la mar or Flor de la Mar (Flower of the Sea) was a Portuguese nau (carrack) of 400 tons, which over nine years participated in decisive events in the Indian Ocean until her sinking in November 1511. There traveled Afonso de Albuquerque returning from the conquest of Malacca, with a huge booty and treasure to the Portuguese king, lost off the coast of Sumatra, making it one of the mythical lost treasures. A replica of the Flor de la Mar houses the Maritime Museum in Malacca[1].
Contents
Career
The "Flor de la mar" was built in Lisbon in 1502, being one of the finest vessels of the time. In the same year she followed to India under the command of Estevão da Gama, a cousin of Vasco da Gama. In March 1505, she was part of a fleet of 22 ships sent to host D. Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of Portuguese India. Later in the same year, while returning to Portugal under the command of João da Nova, she had a leak in the hull at the Cape of Good Hope, having docked near Mozambique. There they were met by Tristão da Cunha's fleet heading to India, who did everything to save both the vessel and her captain. They joined this fleet, never to return to Portugal. Integrated in Afonso de Albuquerque's squadron, they participated in the conquest of Ormuz in 1507. Two years later in India she was the flagship of D. Francisco de Almeida in the battle of Diu. Again under Afonso de Albuquerque orders she gave support in the conquest of Goa in 1510, and in the conquest of Malacca in 1511, making it a remarkable example of longevity of a Portuguese vessel in the first quarter of XVI century.
Shipwreck
Despite already being deemed unsafe, she served to support the conquest of Malacca. Given her large capacity, Afonso de Albuquerque used it in the return, in the end of 1511, to transport the vast treasure amassed in the conquest[2]. Malacca was then the largest commercial center of East and Afonso de Albuquerque wanted to give the court of King Manuel I a show of its treasures. There followed also the offers from the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand) to the king of Portugal. The ship did not win the storm that hung in the Strait of Malacca. The "Frol de la mar" came out of Malacca towards Goa, but could not cross the strait. During the night of 20 November 1511 she sank, causing numerous casualties. Afonso de Albuquerque was saved in the most difficult conditions, using an improvised raft but the cargo was lost[3]. The Frol de la Mar lies until today in the seabed.
The ship and its location has been the cause of controversy, which states that the dispute with Indonesia Malaysia the salvage of the Strait. Robert Marx, an American treasure hunter is said to have spent 20 million dollars in the project to bring to the surface the riches of the wreck. According to his statements: "its the richest vessel ever lost at sea, with its hold loaded with 200 coffers of precious stones, diamonds from the small half-inch size to the size of a man's fist." Today, in Malacca, a replica of Frol de la mar houses the city's Sea Maritime Museum.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 [1] Maritime Museum - virtual museum Melaka
- ↑ Diffie, Bailey W. and George D. Winius (1977). Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580, p.260
- ↑ "Nothing was saved except the crown and sword of gold and the ruby ring sent by the king of Siam to king D. Manuel. "Among the losses, Afonso de Albuquerque grieved most of all a bracelet he had found in Naodabegea which he found admirable and intended to show to the king, and some six (or four) bronze lions from the Malacca sultan, that he intended for his own grave". See The "commentaries of the great Afonso Dalboquerque", Volume 1 By Afonso de Albuquerque, Walter de Gray Birch, p. 199-200
Bibliography
- Dieter Dellinger, Texto publicado na REVISTA DE MARINHA em Abril de 1989[2]
- Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, A flor de la mar: 1510 - 1515 com Albuquerque na Índia, Texto Ed., 1993, ISBN 972470422X
- Diffie, Bailey W. and George D. Winius (1977). Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0782-6.
- Albuquerque, Braz de (1774). Commentarios do grande Afonso Dalboquerque. Lisbon: Na Regia Officina Typografica. Available in English as The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Second Viceroy of India. Laurier Books Ltd. /AES 2000. ISBN 978-81-206-1514-4
