The Götheborg (1745): The Swedish East India Ship That Sank in Sight of Home

On 12 September 1745, in fair weather and with a pilot on board, the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg ran onto a well-known rock at the mouth of Gothenburg's harbour, at the end of a voyage to Canton and back. Everyone was saved. Nobody has explained why. Inside: the Swedish East India Company, built on foreign money; Colin Campbell and the 1731 privileges; Spanish silver for Chinese tea at Canton; the last voyage; dead water and the rumour of a deliberate wreck; salvage and the balance sheet; the excavation and the replica that sailed to China in 2005. Where sources disagree, we say so (silver at Cádiz, arrival at Canton, the pilot, number of voyages, whether the voyage still paid). History only; no financial or investment advice. Earlier: The Ice King (Frederic Tudor):    • Frederic Tudor, the Ice King: How Frozen P...   Forgotten Ledgers tells the little-known stories behind business history. No ads, no sponsors — just the story. Chapters 0:00 Cold open: 12 September 1745 0:48 A latecomer to the China trade 1:34 The Scotsman and the charter 2:36 The first voyage 3:18 Silver for tea 4:11 Canton 4:49 The ship 5:34 The last voyage out 6:27 Canton and home 7:03 The rock 7:38 Why did she sink? 8:34 Salvage and the balance sheet 9:17 The company after 10:15 The wreck found 11:16 End Support the channel (viewer-funded only): Ko-fi (one-time or monthly): https://ko-fi.com/forgottenledgers USDT (TRC20 network only): TMmDGBC1HVWexCdsFGQLohBkots9omUtvs Main sources Jan-Erik Nilsson, "Last Voyage of The Götheborg 1743-1745", gotheborg.com Swedish National Maritime and Transport History Museums, Vrak – Museum of Wrecks, "Götheborg" (vrak.se) Gothenburg City Museum, collection record for the wreck of the Götheborg (Carlotta) Ostindiefararen Götheborg foundation, "The ship's history" GT/Expressen, "Den mystiska förlisningen" (28 September 2005) Wikipedia (English and Swedish): Swedish East India Company, Götheborg (ship), Colin Campbell, Canton System, Dead water, and related articles Narration voice: Azure AI Speech (synthetic voice). Script researched and written for this channel. Image credits (CC-licensed): Replica Götheborg, Stockholm archipelago, 2018: Virtual-Pano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Replica Götheborg under sail, 2018: Virtual-Pano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Replica at Stenpiren, Gothenburg, 2011: Newrite, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Replica leaves Gothenburg, 2005: Kjell ANDRÉ, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Nya Älvsborg fortress, 2018: Liberaler Humanist, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Vinga, off Gothenburg, 2015: Kenneth Palmestål, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Porcelain from the wreck: W.carter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Plate from the wreck (Sjöhistoriska museet): Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Tea from the Götheborg, recovered 1984: Frankie Fouganthin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Model of a Swedish East Indiaman (Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet): Unknown, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... East India House, Gothenburg, 2015: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Other archival images: public domain or no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons (full list in the project files). Maps and graphics: our own (Natural Earth coastlines). Music: "On the Passing of Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... "The Parting" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... #history #businesshistory #documentary