| The Wrecking of the Johanna in 1682
Soon after the second Anglo-Dutch war,1665-1667 first mention was made of the Johanna in 1671 when under the capt.Hopefar Bendall she made a voyage lasting one year. She was a big ship of her time with only the great warships like the Duke of York flagship,the Royal Charles,1665 tons and the Royal Oak,1021 tons, all mounting 80 and more heavy cannons. The Johanna was 500 tons 3 decks high and mounting 36 heavy cannons.She was arace built ship, a term derived from the French word RAS, meaning shaven or flat, and had fine lines with little superstructure. She was built in as peroid whenthere was an English maritime consolidation just after the humiliating defeat by the hands of the Dutch when they sailed up the mouths of the Thames & Medway rivers and caused so much destruction of the English war ships.
The Johanna approached the southernmost coast of Africa Cape Agulhas in early hours of the morning on the 29 th of May 1682 She ran aground as she struck hard and broke up. Ten of her crew did not make it . These men were the first English graves known in Africa. as a reef wreck her coins were washed by the heavy surf. This is one of the only 7400 Mexican reales recovered from her goods salvaged. The feel of this coin is butttery smooth...funny how most of the coin is wore off but the top of the cross is still very clear. I have more on the story of the Johanna feel free to Pm me and I will be more than happy to e mail you a copy of the complete story of this Ship Wreck. Enjoy Paddy Date 1665-1682 Carlos ll 8 reale Mexico City 25 Gr. recovered from the Johanna sunk June 8 1682 | 
