The Buzz | Slaves who died in 1794 Cape Town shipwreck to be remembered

Amid rain and wind, South African and American researchers held a memorial service for slaves who died when the Portuguese ship that was carrying them into bondage sank while sailing to Brazil in 1794.
Researchers and journalists gathered for presentations about the Sao Jose at the seaside home of former judge and anti-apartheid activist Albie Sachs. The wide windows of his house look over the area where the slave ship sank. Yesterday, rolling waves were crashing on rocks and beach underneath rainy, overcast skies. Divers headed to the water to scatter soil from Mozambique, where the ship had sailed from 221 years ago.
Iziko Museums, based in Cape Town, says more than 400 African slaves were on board the vessel when it sank in bad weather and rough seas. About half the people on the ship perished.
Artifacts from the ship were recovered this year. Iziko Museums worked with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on the project.