AH-WR-1427

Jamaica Merchant

Merchant Ship · England · Lost Reported wrecked in the vicinity of Île-à-Vache in the late 1660s, during Henry Morgan's privateering campaigns · Cuba & the Greater Antilles

A vessel from Henry Morgan's buccaneer fleet, said to have wrecked on a reef off Île-à-Vache and rediscovered by treasure hunters in 1999.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Jamaica Merchant sailed as part of Henry Morgan's privateering forces operating out of Port Royal in the late 1660s. She was lost on a reef near Île-à-Vache, off southwestern Hispaniola. Her remains were reported located in 1999 by a German-led salvage team working with the Ocean Discovery Network, who recovered an anchor, cannon, and small artifacts, and a French nautical historian reportedly confirmed the ship's association with Morgan.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 130 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Sailed under commission to privateer Henry Morgan

Loss

Date: Reported wrecked in the vicinity of Île-à-Vache in the late 1660s, during Henry Morgan's privateering campaigns
Cause: Grounding
Location: Reef off Île-à-Vache, southwestern Hispaniola (present-day Haiti)
Water: Caribbean Sea
Voyage: Port Royal, Jamaica
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 100
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 5-10
Condition: Broken hull remains, cannon and anchor reported on the reef
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1999
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Île-à-Vache, off southwestern Haiti
Region: Cuba & the Greater Antilles

News accounts describe the wreck as lying in shallow water on a reef off Île-à-Vache but do not publish coordinates.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (45/100)

The vessel's exact loss date, tonnage, and the circumstances of her wrecking are not established in the sources reviewed; her identification rests on a commercial salvage team's research rather than a published academic excavation.

Irish Examiner
Discovery details, dimensions, crew size, salvage plans
Wales Online
Context linking discovery to later HMS Oxford search