Murder, mutiny, slavery: 'World’s worst shipwreck' was bloodier than we thought
For hundreds on board, the terrifying 1629 wreck of Batavia was just the beginning.
The skull of a Batavia survivor excavated on Beacon Island. Archaeologists recently revealed a mass grave on the remote island off western Australia containing the graves of a dozen people who likely died from thirst or disease in 1629 before mutineers seized control.
Photograph By A. Flavel, ‘Shipwrecks of the Roaring 40s’, Australian Research Council
ByTom Metcalfe
Published May 24, 2023
• 6 min read
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