April 1661
Somewhere at the bottom of the Yangon River: the Koning David ship
Somewhere at the bottom of the Yangon River: The "Koning David" a Dutch East Indiaman ship that had sailed from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia and then to Pegu before sinking just off the coast of what is today Yangon in April 1661. The ship belonged to the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) and its captain was Kornelis Rob of Amsterdam. The enterprising Dutch then had a fairly substantial business operation in Myanmar (Burma), with offices in Ava, Pegu and Syriam as well as in the Rakhine (Arakan) kingdom, trading South Indian textiles, slaves, guns, spices, etc. 17th century Burmese even bought beaver fur hats from the Hudson valley (today's New York). There are efforts underway to find the near-legendary Dhammazedi Bell at the bottom of the Yangon River. But there's a lot more down in the depths of the river to explore, including this once great ship, perhaps with treasure still intact.
Explore more in Early Modern Myanmar and its Global Connections (1510-1824AD)