''Flor do Mar'' or ''Flor de la Mar'' ('Flower of the Sea', spelled ''Frol de la Mar'' in Portuguese chronicles of the 16th century) was a Portuguese ''nau'' (

carrack A carrack (; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal and Spain. Evolving from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for Europea ...

) of 400 tons, which over nine years participated in decisive events in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

until her sinking in November 1511. Nobleman

Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...

was returning from the conquest of Malacca, bringing with him a large treasure trove for the Portuguese king, when the ship was lost off the coast of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. A replica of ''Flor do Mar'' is housed in the

Maritime Museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navy, navies and the m ...

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

History

Career

''Flor do Mar'' was built in Lisbon in 1502, being one of the finest vessels of the time. She was built for the Portuguese India run. At 400 tons, she was the largest carrack yet built, nearly twice the size of the largest ships that had gone on previous runs. She took her maiden trip from Portugal to India in 1502, under the command of Estevão da Gama, a cousin of

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. However, her return trip in 1503 met some complications—once loaded with spices, her large size and weight made her hard to manoeuver, particularly in the fast currents of the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...

(notably, around

Cape Correntes Cape Correntes (sometimes also called "Cape Corrientes" in English) ( Port.: "Cabo das Correntes") is a cape or headland in the Inhambane Province in Mozambique. It sits at the southern entry of the Mozambique Channel.• Cape Correntes wa ...

). Eyewitness

Thomé Lopes Thomé Lopes (sometimes modernized as Tomé Lopes) was a Portuguese scrivener, writer of an eyewitness account of the second journey of Vasco da Gama to India (1502–1503). Thomé Lopes's background is obscure. All that is known is that he wa ...

reports her springing leaks and being forced to stop for repairs on

Mozambique Island The Island of Mozambique () lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay, and is part of Nampula Province. Prior to 1898, it was the capital of colonial Portuguese East Africa. With its rich history and sandy ...

for nearly two months. She finally arrived in Portugal in late 1503. ''Flor do Mar'' went out again on another India run in March 1505 under the command of

João da Nova João da Nova (; ; ; in Maceda, Ourense, Galicia, Spain – July 16, 1509, in Kochi, India) was a Galician-born explorer in the service of Portugal. He is credited as the discoverer of Ascension and Saint Helena islands. The Juan de Nova ...

, as part of the 7th Portuguese India fleet of 22 ships, carrying D.

Francisco de Almeida '' Dom'' Francisco de Almeida (; c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Gran ...

as the first

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Portuguese India The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

. On the return trip in 1506, she once again ran into difficulties in the Mozambique Channel. Springing leaks, she was forced to dock once again in Mozambique island for lengthy repairs. This time, she would stay stuck in the channel for some ten months. Nova attempted to take her out repeatedly, but the heavy-laden ship kept running into problems, forcing him to return to the island, repair and try again... The ship and her frustrated captain were still stuck in Mozambique when they were found in February 1507—almost exactly one year after ''Flor do Mar'' left India—by the outgoing 8th India armada under the command of

Tristão da Cunha Tristão da Cunha (sometimes misspelled Tristão d'Acunha; ; c. 1460 – c. 1540) was a Portuguese explorer and naval commander. In 1514, he served as ambassador from King Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X, leading a luxurious embassy present ...

. Cunha ordered his crews to help repair the ship back to seaworthy shape, unload the ship's spice cargo onto another Portugal-bound transport (under the command of António de Saldanha) and then annexed the empty ''Flor do Mar'' and her captain into his own India-bound armada. She was never to return to Portugal. ''Flor do Mar'' and her captain João da Nova participated in Cunha's conquest of

Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...

. In the aftermath, to Nova's surprise, Cunha ordered her to remain in the western Arabian Sea, integrated into the patrol squadron of

. Nova and the ship participated in the Albuquerque-led conquest of the cities of Curiati (Kuryat),

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

in July 1507,

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...

, (accepting also the submission of the cities of Kalhat and

Sohar Sohar () is the capital and largest city of the Al Batinah North Governorate in Oman. An ancient capital of the country that once served as an important Islamic port town on the Gulf of Oman, Sohar has also been credited as the mythical birthp ...

) and

Ormuz The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz or Hormuz; ; ) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in the 11th century initially as a dependency of ...

in the same year. Two years later in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, she was commandeered to serve as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of D.

in the 1509

battle of Diu The Battle of Diu was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt and the Zamorin of ...

. João da Nova died that same year in Cochin, and Almeida (ending his term as vice-roy) planned to bring ''Flor do Mar'' back to Portugal himself, taking special care to repair her into shape. But his successor, Afonso de Albuquerque, forbade it and retained the ship in India, giving Almeida another ship to take home instead. Under Afonso de Albuquerque's orders, ''Flor do Mar'' supported the conquest of Goa in 1510 as well as the conquest of Malacca in 1511. it has never been found since.

Capacity

''Flor do Mar'''s longevity was remarkable. At a time when India ships were built for only three or four years of useful service, ''Flor do Mar'' was one of the longest-lasting ships of the India run. However, her service as a cargo ship left a lot to be desired. Dangerously unseaworthy when fully loaded, she only completed one full India run, and not without difficulties. Nonetheless, much was learned from the ship's experience. Although several larger ships—600t, 900t, 1500t—would be occasionally built, the average India nau would hover around 400–450t. As such, ''Flor do Mar'' can be considered the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

of what would become the typical 16th-century India nau. The ship's experience also led to the institutionalisation of the "outer route", i.e. captains of heavy-laden large ships were ordered to avoid returning via the fast Mozambique Channel, but rather sail a longer but calmer course east of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Shipwreck

''Flor do Mar'' served to support the conquest of Malacca, then the largest commercial center of the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. Given her large capacity, Afonso de Albuquerque decided to use the ship to transport the vast treasure looted from the

Sultan of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...

's palace back to Portugal. When ''Flor do Mar'' came out of Malacca in late 1511 and sailed along the north-east Sumatran state of Pasé, in the Strait of Malacca, she was caught in a storm and wrecked on some shoals, causing numerous casualties. The ship did not survive the storm and sank during the night of 20 November 1511, off Timia Point in the Kingdom of Aru, Sumatra. Afonso de Albuquerque was saved in the most difficult conditions, using an improvised raft, but the cargo was irretrievably lost. Also lost were more than 400 men on board. ''Flor de la Mar'' still lies undiscovered in the seabed. Attempts to locate and salvage the shipwreck have been the cause of controversy. Portugal, Indonesia, and Malaysia all claim salvage rights.McNearney, Allison
''The $2.6 Billion Treasure Still Lost at The Bottom of the Sea''
The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2017-01-07 A replica of ''Flor do Mar'' is housed in

In Popular Culture

The lost treasure of the ''Flor de la Mar'' plays a significant role in the 2022

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

episode '' Legend of the Sea Devils''. The wreck and treasure was briefly alluded to in the early and closing segments of the 2016 video game Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, where the characters of Jameson and Elena are attempting to convince series protagonist

Nathan Drake Nathan Drake ( Morgan) is a character and the protagonist of the ''Uncharted'' franchise, most notably in the Uncharted, video game series, developed by Naughty Dog. He appears in all mainline games: ''Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'', ''Uncharted 2 ...

to salvage the wreck without the required permits.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Dieter Dellinger, Texto publicado na REVISTA DE MARINHA em Abril de 198

* Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, A flor de la mar: 1510 - 1515 com Albuquerque na Índia, Texto Ed., 1993, * Diffie, Bailey W. and George D. Winius (1977). ''Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. . * 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.

External links

Virtual Museum Malacca
Malacca's Sea Maritime Museum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frol De La Mar Museums in Malacca Maritime history of Portugal History of Malacca Naval ships of Portugal 16th-century ships 1511 in Portuguese Malacca Museum ships Museum ships in Malaysia