Archaeologists find governor’s shoe and slave trade rings on Danish shipwreck

Elite footwear found in wreckage

Divers discovered the rear half of an unusually fine shoe inside the shipwreck lying east of Gothenburg. Vivi Lena Andersen from the Rudersdal Museums noted that such craftsmanship required skilled shoemakers and tools unavailable to ordinary workers. The perforations along the edge show regularity indicating high quality for an elite individual who could afford it. Specialists think this rare artifact probably belonged to Jørgen Iversen Dyppel, who served as the initial governor of the Danish West Indies.

Mutiny led to shipwreck

The Havmanden carried convicts and indentured servants toward St. Thomas before heading to West Africa for enslaved Africans. Crew members seized control near the Azores due to shortages of food and water while sailing back to Copenhagen. Mutineers shot the captain and threw officers overboard in the English Channel before the vessel ran aground. The National Museum of Denmark described this event as one of the most violent mutinies in Danish history.

Rings reveal trade history

Archaeologists also found two manillas, which are ring-shaped metal pieces used as currency during the transatlantic slave trade. European merchants cast these items from copper, brass or iron to trade for enslaved people along modern-day Nigeria coasts. Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch stated the shoe offers a personal entry into the larger story of Danish colonial establishment. The mutineers faced trials in Copenhagen and received death sentences after their crimes came to light.