Credit: © The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.10074
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    Chart of the Island and Port of Cape Frio

    Date
    1834
    Creator
    John Frederick Fitzgerald De Roos (1804 - 1861, British) , Naval officer
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (drawing): 293mm
    width (drawing): 232mm
    Subject
    Description
    Chart of Cape Frio [Cabo Frio] in the State of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The drawing indicates the course steered by H.M.S Thetis, the point at which the vessel struck the coast and the cove in which she sank. The anchorages of the salvage sloop H.M.S Algerine is also marked, with the Royal Navy land encampment during the salvage operation. Various other landmarks are noted, including sandbars and the Island of Porcos.

    The Royal Navy ship H.M.S.Thetis struck rocks and sank off the coast of Brazil in December 1830 carrying a large cargo of gold and silver. Much of this was recovered by diving operations during the following year.

    Illustration from the paper "An account of some operations executed at Cape Frio by the officers and crew of H.M.S. Algerine for the purpose of raising a part of the stores &c lost in H.M.S Thetis” by Commander J F F de Roos, RN. Received by the Royal Society on 14 January 1834, the paper was read to the Society, concluding on 27 February 1834, but was not published in full: an abstract appeared in Proceedings of the Royal Society, vol.3, 1830-1837, pp.266-267.

    Inscribed in ink: “ISLAND and PORT of CAPE FRIO surveyed by HONBLE CAPTN DE ROOS...” and signed lower left; “F. De Roos del.”

    John Frederick Fitzgerald de Roos was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1831.
    Associated place
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