New experts discovered Portugal's sinking ship Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa off the coast of South Africa in 1794.
Close up of the wreck of a 18th-century slave ship discovered
The Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa shipwreck is the first slave merchant ship that experts found sunk in the sea.At that time, Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa was on a journey to Brazil.
When Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa was wrecked in 1794, about 200 slaves out of 400 people were killed in the sinking disaster.
"The discovery of this shipwreck is significant because the experts have not found any record of the disappearance of a merchant ship carrying slaves," said the Director of the National Museum of Literature. The Smithsonian and African American History - Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch said.In the picture is one of the artifacts found at the wreck of Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa.
The wreck was first discovered in the 1980s. However, the identification of the ship was wrong, assuming it was a Dutch ship.
According to The Smithsonian, Director of the National Museum of African American Culture and History - Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch, Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa shipwreck is the biggest evidence of transatlantic slave trade.This is one of many ships carrying millions of African slaves across the Atlantic and never had a chance to return home.
It is estimated that about 400,000 East Africans made the journey from Mozambique to Brazil between 1800 and 1865.