Overview
    Identifiers
    Inventory Number
    3318CD1240
    Site Name
    Drowned Slaves burial site, Camps Bay Beach
    Descriptions
    Site History

    Camps Bay (Clifton) beach is the site of burial of 200 washed up slaves who perished in the sinking of the San Jose in 1794 nearby off Oudekraal.
    The Portugese captain, crew and approximately half of the slaves survived. The ship had hugged the shoreline in an attempt to protect itself from strong winds but unfortunately crashed into rocks and was wedged on two reefs in the turbulent ocean. The ship began to break up and although a barge was sent ashore with some of the slaves, the rough sea prevented the barge from returning to the ship. Those aboard attempted to save more of the men and slaves but some 212 slaves died. The surviving slaves were sold in Cape Town.
    The South African government has since declared the site a national monument.
    No skeletons or even partial remains have been found in the ship wreck.

    Record Administration
    Author
    joshua.slingers
    Last modified
    Thursday, May 2, 2024 - 21:26
      Location
      Location
      Mapping
      -33.949987, 18.377852
      Western Cape
      Site Address

      South Africa

      Location notes
      Camps Bay, Cape Town
      Media
      Images uploaded directly to Site