Kronan, also called Stora Kronan, was a Swedish warship

Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...

 that was the flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the Swedish navy

Swedish Navy

The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...

 in the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 in the 1670s. When built, she was one of the largest seagoing vessels in the world. The construction of Kronan lasted 1668–72, delayed on account of difficulties with financing and conflict between her shipwright Francis Sheldon and the Swedish Admiralty. After only four years of service she sank in rough weather at the battle of Öland

Battle of Öland

The battle of Öland was a naval battle between an allied Dano-Norwegian-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea off the east coast of the island of Öland on 1 June 1676. The battle was a part of the Scanian War that was fought for supremacy over the southern Baltic...

 on 1 June 1676 when she turned too hard with too much sail. She began to founder, her powder magazine ignited and exploded, blowing off most of the bow structure, causing her to quickly sink. Around 800 men died, and over one hundred heavy guns were lost, along with valuable equipment and large quantities of silver and gold coins.

The loss of Kronan was a hard blow against Sweden during the Scanian War

Scanian War

The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...

 (1675–79). Besides being the largest and most heavily armed ship in the Swedish navy, she had also been an important prestige symbol for the monarchy of the young Charles XI

Charles XI of Sweden

Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....

. When she sank she took with her close to 10% of the active manpower of the navy, its acting commander in chief, the Admiral of the Realm Lorentz Creutz, a large number of high-ranking fleet officers and the chief of the navy medical staff. Since the battle of Öland and the preceding naval campaign had been major failures for Sweden, a commission was set up to investigate whether any individuals could be held responsible. Although no one was ever officially held accountable, Creutz is often blamed by historians for the sinking of Kronan because of his general naval and command inexperience. Recent research has attempted to provide a more nuanced picture, and points to Sweden's general lack of a well-developed naval organizational and officer corps at the time.

The wreck of Kronan was located in 1980 by the amateur researcher Anders Franzén

Anders Franzén

Anders Franzén was a Swedish marine technician and an amateur naval archaeologist. He is most famous for having located the 1628 wreck of the Swedish galleon Vasa in 1956 and participated in her salvage 1959-1961...

, who also discovered the location of the 17th century warship Vasa in the 1950s. Each year since then diving operations have been conducted to survey and excavate the wrecksite and to salvage artifacts. Kronan has become the most widely publicized shipwreck in the Baltic after Vasa. Over 30,000 artifacts have so far been recovered, and many of them have been conserved and put on display for the general public at the Kalmar County Museum in Kalmar

Kalmar

Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...

. The museum is today responsible for the maritime archaeological

Maritime archaeology

Maritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged...

 operations and the permanent exhibitions on Kronan.

Historical context

In 1660, Sweden reached its zenith as a European Great Power

Great power

A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...

. In the Dano-Swedish War of 1657-58

Dano-Swedish War (1657-1658)

The Dano-Swedish War of 1657–58 was a war between Sweden and Denmark. In 1657 Charles X of Sweden and his Swedish army was bogged down in Poland. Frederick III saw this as an opportunity to recover the territories lost in 1645 and attacked Sweden...

, Swedish King Charles X made a bold march across the Small and Great Belts

March across the Belts

The March across the Belts was a campaign between 30 January and 8 February 1658 during the Second Northern War where Swedish king Karl X Gustav led the Swedish army from Jutland across the ice of the Little Belt and the Great Belt to reach Zealand...

 and struck right at the heart of Denmark, threatening to capture the capital of Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. His intent was to end Denmark's existence as an independent state and to take control of a greater part of the lucrative toll

Sound Dues

The Sound Dues were a toll on the use of the Sound which constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th and 17th centuries...

 from traffic passing through the Öresund

Oresund

The Sound , is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand from the southern Swedish province of Scania. Its width is just at the narrowest point between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden...

. This move threatened the trade interests of other European powers with large investments in the Baltic Sea trade. These were best served by keeping the Baltic politically divided without any one player dominating the scene. England and the Netherlands, the leading shipping nations of 17th century Europe, allied themselves with Denmark and intervened against Sweden. The Swedish attempt to crush Denmark once and for all had failed, but at the Treaty of Roskilde

Treaty of Roskilde

The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...

 in 1658, Sweden nevertheless received considerable concessions: all of the eastern Danish provinces of Blekinge

Blekinge

' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm"....

, Halland

Halland

' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...

 and Scania

Scania

Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...

 (or Skåne), as well as the Norwegian Bohuslän

Bohuslän

' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold in Norway to the north...

 on the west coast of Sweden. Holding all of Finland, most of the Baltic States

Baltic states

The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...

 and Pomerania

Swedish Pomerania

Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...

 in northern Germany, Sweden became the leading Baltic power.

In the early 1670s, Sweden was governed by a regency council

Regency Council

right|thumb|Regency Council: Ostrowski, Kakowski, LubomirskiThe Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland was a semi-independent and temporary highest authority during World War I, formed by Germany and Austria-Hungary in the occupied Polish territories in September 1917. It was supposed to stay...

 that was internally weak, having difficulties in asserting Swedish power abroad. The Lord High Chancellor

Lord High Chancellor of Sweden

The Lord High Chancellor was a prominent and influential office in Sweden, from 1561 until 1680, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The office holder was a member of the Privy Council of Sweden...

, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie

Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie

Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was a Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three of the five offices counted as the Great Officers of the Realm, namely Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Chancellor and Lord High...

, successfully argued for strengthened ties with France, which resulted in a Franco-Swedish treaty in 1672. The same year, France attacked the Netherlands, causing diplomatic unrest. In April 1674, the French ambassador to Sweden presented an agreement that stipulated that Sweden had to increase its military presence in Pomerania to 22,000 men in exchange for considerable financial support.

The Swedish position was difficult, as the French were pressuring for action against Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

; in December 1674 a Swedish army under the command of Carl Gustaf Wrangel

Carl Gustaf Wrangel

Carl Gustaf Wrangel was a high-ranking Swedish noble, statesman and military commander in the Thirty Years', Torstenson, Bremen, Second Northern and Scanian Wars....

 opened up an offensive in Germany. War had not begun in earnest, but about six months later, the Netherlands declared war on Sweden. Soon after, the Swedish army in Germany was defeated at the battle of Fehrbellin

Battle of Fehrbellin

The Battle of Fehrbellin was fought on June 18, 1675 between Swedish and Brandenburg-Prussian troops. The Swedes, under Count Waldemar von Wrangel , had invaded and occupied parts of Brandenburg from their possessions in Pomerania, but were repelled by the forces of Frederick William, the Great...

, only a minor setback tactically, but one which lead to a major loss of prestige. The Swedish army had enjoyed a reputation of near-invincibility after its successes in the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

, which was tarnished after the defeat against Brandenburg. On 2 September 1675, Denmark joined the war against Sweden and at the end of June a Danish army landed in Scania. A strong fleet became essential for defending Swedish interests at home and overseas.

Fleet expansion

The first Anglo-Dutch War

First Anglo-Dutch War

The First Anglo–Dutch War was the first of the four Anglo–Dutch Wars. It was fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Caused by disputes over trade, the war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but...

 in the 1650s had seen the development of the line of battle

Line of battle

In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...

, a tactic where ships formed a continuous line, presenting their broadside

Broadside

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...

s towards the enemy. The commander was placed in the middle of the line to allow him to better overview and control his forces. Previously, naval tactics

Naval tactics

Naval tactics is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet in battle at sea during naval warfare, the naval equivalent of military tactics on land....

 had focused on a system of combat that was based on individual ships or, at most, small groups of ship within the frame of what has later been dubbed the melee tactic. Decisive action in sea battles had been achieved through boarding, but after the middle of the 17th century, tactical thought stressed superior firepower from a distance as the means of disabling or sinking an opponent. This entailed major changes in doctrine, shipbuilding and professionalism. European navies from after the 1650s. The primary task for a commander became focus to hold his line together while at the same time trying to break that of the opponent so that he could concentrate on a weak spot in the enemy defenses. This tactic was further developed and codified during the first half of the 18th century and dominated naval warfare right up until World War I.

The line of battle favored very large ships that sailed steadily and that could maintain their place in the line in the face of heavy fire. The new type of warfare that developed during the early modern period

Early modern period

In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...

 was marked by a successively stricter organization. The new tactics were also dependent on an increased disciplining of society and the demands of powerful centralized governments that could maintain large, permanent and loyal fleets led by a corps of professional officers. Battle formations became standardized, based on mathematically calculated ideal models. The increased power of the state at the expense of individual landowners lead to increasingly larger armies and navies, and in the late 1660s, Sweden experienced an expansive shipbuilding program.

Design

Kronan was one of the most heavily armed warships of its time, a triple-decker

Three-decker

A three-decker is a sail warship which carried her guns on three fully armed decks. Usually additional guns were carried on the upper works , but this was not a continuous battery and so did not count. Three-deckers were usually "ships of the line", i.e...

 with 105 guns. She had three gundecks with guns from bow to stern. Altogether there were seven separate levels divided by six decks. Furthest down in the ship, above the keel, was the hold

Hold (ship)

thumb|right|120px|View of the hold of a container shipA ship's hold is a space for carrying cargo. Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged . Access to holds is by a large hatch at the top...

 and immediately above it, but still below the waterline, lay the orlop; both were used primarily for storage. Above the orlop were the three gundecks, two of which were covered while about half of topmost gundeck was open to the elements in the middle, or waist, of the ship. The bow had one deck, making up the forecastle

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

, and the stern had two decks, including a poop deck

Poop deck

In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis...

.

During the first half of the 17th century, Swedish warships were built according to the Dutch manner, with a flat, rectangular bottom with a small draft

Draft (hull)

The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...

. This was a shipbuilding style adapted for the shallow coastal waters of the Netherlands, and allowed for quick construction and tended towards smaller ships. The drawbacks was that the vessels had relatively light, less sturdy structures that were somewhat unstable in rough seas, aspects generally unsuitable for warships. When Kronan was built, the English manner of building had prevailed, giving hulls a more rounded bottom and greater draft, as well as a sturdier frame and increased stability. The underwater part of the stern was also more streamlined below the waterline, which lessened resistance.

Kronan displacement

Displacement (ship)

A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

, the ship's weight calculated by how much water it displaced while floating, is not known precisely since there are not exact records of the dimensions. By using contemporary documents describing its approximate measurements, it has been estimated to around 2,300 tonnes. In relation to the number, and sheer weight, of guns, Kronan was heavily over-gunned. It wasn't until after 1650 that European shipwrights had begun building triple-deckers on a large scale, and the designs were by the 1660s still quite experimental. Both English and French triple-deckers were known to be unstable since they were built high, narrow and crammed with too many guns. The distance between the lowest gunports and the waterline was also quite small. In rough seas these ships were often forced to close the lowest row of gunports, and were thereby deprived the use of their heaviest guns, their most effective weapons. In the 18th century, ships with the same amount and weight of guns as Kronan were built much heavier, usually from 3,000 up to 5,000 tonnes, which made them much more stable. When Kronan was built she was ranked as the third or fourth largest ship in the world, but as the trend moved towards ever greater ships, she was surpassed by several other large warships. At the time she sank, she was down to seventh place, a position shared with many other ships.

Armament

According to the official armament plan Kronan was to be equipped with 124–126 guns; 34–36 guns on each of the gundecks and an additional 18 in the forecastle and sterncastle decks. Guns were classed by the weight of the cannonballs

Round shot

Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...

 they fired, varying between 3 and 36 pounds (1.3–15.3 kg). The guns themselves weighed from a few hundred kg up to four tonnes with the heaviest pieces placed in the middle of the lower-most gundeck with successively lighter ones on the decks above. Kronans most lethal weapons were the 30- and 36-pounders on the lowest gundeck which had a range and firepower that outclassed the armament of just about any other warship. Much of the armament under 18 pounds was primarily designed to inflict damage on the enemy's crew and rigging rather than the hull.

According to modern research it is considered more likely that the number of guns was considerably less than the official armament plan from the 1670s. Official plans at the time regularly overstated the actual armament that was available. They are today considered to be ideal figures that seldom reflected actual conditions, either because of a lack of ordnance or because they were impractical when tested. The heavy 30- and 36-pounders were particularly difficult to find in sufficient numbers and lighter guns were used instead. Going by the number of guns that were salvaged from Kronan in the 1680s (see "History as a shipwreck") and during the excavations in the 1980s the total comes to around 105. This also matches calculations of the number of gunports and how many guns that could practically fit on each deck, based on the remains of the wreck.
There were several types of ammunition available for different uses: round shot (cannonballs) against ship hulls, chain shot against masts and rigging, and canister shot

Grapeshot

In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls or slugs packed tightly into a canvas bag. It was used both in land and naval warfare. When assembled, the balls resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name...

 (wooden cylinders filled with metal balls or fragments), which had a devastating effect on tightly packed groups of men. For boarding actions Kronan was equipped with 130 musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

s and 80 matchlock

Matchlock

The matchlock was the first mechanism, or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower by hand a lit match into the weapon's flash pan and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing,...

 or flintlock

Flintlock

Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...

 pistols. For close combat there were also 250 pikes, 200 boarding axes and 180 swords. During the excavations large-caliber hakebössor, firearms were found, similar to blunderbuss

Blunderbuss

The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity and/or caliber. The blunderbuss could be considered to be an early form of shotgun,...

es. They were equipped with a small catch underneath which allowed them to be hooked over a railing and thereby absorb the recoil of the massive charges. One hakebössa was still loaded with a small canister containing 20 lead balls that would have been used to clear enemy decks before boarding.

Ornamentation

Expensive ornamentation was an important part of a ship's appearance in the 1660s, even though it had been considerably simplified since the early 17th century. It was considered important to enhance the authority of the absolute monarchs and to portray the ship as a projection of his martial prowess and power. There are no contemporary illustrations of what the ornamentation of Kronan looked like, but according to common practice, it was most lavish on the transom

Transom (nautical)

In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward, also known as a retroussé or reverse transom, angling forward from the waterline to the deck, or raked aft, often simply called "raked", angling...

, the flat surface facing backwards. There are two images of Kronan shown from stern, both by Danish artists. Both were commissioned many years after its sinking in order to commemorate the crushing Danish victory. Claus Møinichen's painting at Fredriksborg Palace from 1686 shows a transom dominated by two lions rampant holding up a huge royal crown. The background is blue with sculptures and ornaments in gold. Swedish art historian Hans Soop, who has previously studied the sculptures of Vasa, built 1626–28, has suggested that Møinichen may have intentionally exaggerated the size of the ship in order to enhance the Danish victory. A tapestry

Tapestry

Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...

 at Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects...

 shows Kronan as a two-decker, and here the transom is dominated even more by the image of the crown.

Archaeologists have not been able to recover enough of Kronans sculptures for any detailed overview of her ornamentation. The mascaron

Mascaron (architecture)

In architecture, a mascaron ornament is a face, usually human, sometimes frightening or chimeric whose function was originally to frighten away evil spirits so that they would not enter the building. The concept was subsequently adapted to become a purely decorative element. The most recent...

s (architectural facemasks) and putti

Putto

A putto is a figure of an infant often depicted as a young male. Putti are defined as chubby, winged or wingless, male child figure in nude. Putti are distinct from cherubim, but some English-speakers confuse them with each other, except that in the plural, "the Cherubim" refers to the biblical...

 (images of children) that have been salvaged so far, however, have shown considerable artistic quality according to Soop. One large sculpture of a warrior figure was found in 1987 and is an example of high-quality workmanship, and possibly a symbolic portrait of King Charles himself. Since nothing is known of the surrounding ornamentation and sculptures, however, the conclusion remains speculative.

Construction

In the early 1660s, a building program was initiated that was intended to expand the fleet and replace a number of old capital ships that were getting on in years. A new flagship was also needed to replace the old Kronan from 1632 that had by then gotten on in years. The vast quantities of timber that were required for the new admiral's ship began to be felled already in the winter of 1664–65. Swedish historian Kurt Lundgren has estimated that 7–10 hectares (2.7–3.8 sq mi) of oak forest of hundred-year-old trees were required for the hull and several tall, stout pines for the masts and bowsprit

Bowsprit

The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...

. The construction of Kronan began in October 1665, but it took until 31 July 1668 before her hull was launched.

The Englishman Francis Sheldon was the shipwright and frequently came in conflict with the Admiralty over the project. The navy administrators complained that he was delaying the project unduly and that he was spending too much time on his own private business ventures. The most aggravating was an extensive and lucrative export of mast timber to England. Sheldon in turn complained about constant delays and a lack of funds. When the ship was finally launched, the slipway

Slipway

A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...

 turned out to be too small and the rear section of the keel broke off during the launching. The Admiralty demanded an explanation, but Sheldon's reply was that the damage was easily mended and that the problem was that the timber had been allowed to dry out too much. The conflict between the Admiralty and Sheldon went on for several years and caused constant delays. The final sculptures were finished 1669 but the rigging, tackling and arming was drawn out a further three years, to 1672. The first occasion that the ship was used was during the celebrations of Charles XI's accession as monarch in December 1672.

Crew

Being one of the largest ships of its time, Kronan had a large crew. When she sank there were 850 people on board, 500 sailors and 350 soldiers. Historians working with the excavation of the wrecksite have compared the ship with a middle-sized Swedish town of the late 17th century, describing it as a "miniature society". There were representatives of both the lower and upper classes on board, though only male. Women were allowed on navy vessels, but only within the limits of Stockholm archipelago; before reaching open water they had to disembark. As a community afloat Kronan mirrored the contemporary social standards of military and civilian life, two spheres that were not strictly separated in the 17th century. The entire crew dressed in civilian clothing and there were no common navy uniforms. Clothing was differentiated according to social standing, with officers from the nobility dressed in elegant and expensive clothing while the crew dressed in clothing of ordinary common laborers. The only exceptions were the soldiers of the Västerbotten

Västerbotten

', English exonym: West Bothnia, is a province or landskap in the north of Sweden. It borders Ångermanland, Lapland, Norrbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is famous for the cheese with the same name as the province.- Administration :...

 infantry regiment. By the 1670s it is believed that they had been equipped with the first "Carolingian" uniforms in blue and white. The crew was sometimes assigned clothing or cloth with which to prepare a "sailor garb" (båtmansklädning) which set them apart from the usual dress of the general populace. Officers maintained a large collection of fine clothing for use on board, but its is not known if they were actually used during everyday work. Quite likely they owned a set of clothes made from simpler, more durable and more comfortable fabrics which were more practical at sea.

Recruitment was done by forced musters as a part of the earlier form of the so-called allotment system

Swedish allotment system

The allotment system was a system used in Sweden for keeping a trained army at all times. This system came into use in around 1640, and was replaced in the early 1900s by the Swedish Armed Forces conscription system...

. Sailors and gunners were supplied by a båtsmanshåll (literally "sailor household"), small administrative units along the coast that were assigned the task of supplying the fleet with one adult male for armed service. The soldiers on board came from the army equivalent, knekthåll or rotehåll, ("soldier -" or "ward household") from inland areas. Officers were for the most part from the nobility or from the upper middle class, paid through the allotment system or the income from estates designated for the purpose. Higher-ranking officers also most likely brought their personal servants on board. A valuable red jacket in bright red cloth that was worn by one of those who drowned on the ship could have belonged to one of these retinues.

Military career

After the Swedish loss at the battle of Fehrbellin

Battle of Fehrbellin

The Battle of Fehrbellin was fought on June 18, 1675 between Swedish and Brandenburg-Prussian troops. The Swedes, under Count Waldemar von Wrangel , had invaded and occupied parts of Brandenburg from their possessions in Pomerania, but were repelled by the forces of Frederick William, the Great...

 on 18 June 1675 the fleet was required to support transports of reinforcements to the Swedish Pomerania. It had the potential for success as it was large with several large, well-armed ships: Svärdet ("the sword") of 1,800 tonnes, Äpplet ("the orb

Globus cruciger

The globus cruciger is an orb topped with a cross , a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia...

") and Nyckeln ("the key"), both 1,400 tonnes, and the enormous Kronan ("the crown"). Altogether there were 28 large and medium warships and almost the same number of smaller vessels. The supply organization, however, was lacking, there were few experienced high-ranking officers and internal cooperation was poor. Danish contemporaries also scornfully described the Swedish crews as consisting of "farmhands dunked in saltwater". The fleet went to sea under the leadership of Admiral Gustaf Otto Stenbock

Gustaf Otto Stenbock

Count Gustaf Otto Stenbock was a Swedish soldier and politician.He was son of Friherre Gustav Eriksson Stenbock and Countess Beata Margareta Brahe , born in Torpa, Länghem parish, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland, Sweden.He was appointed head of Kronobergs regemente in 1637, Major General in...

 during the autumn of 1675, but got no farther than Stora Karlsö

Stora Karlsö

Stora Karlsö is a small Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, situated about 6 km west of Gotland. It has an area of about 2.5 km² and is up to 52 meters high. Most of the island consists of a limestone plateau, bordered by steep cliffs along the shore...

 off Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

. The weather was unusually cold and stormy and the ships could not be heated. The crew were poorly clothed and soon many of them fell ill. Supplies eventually dwindled and after Kronan lost a sorely needed bow anchor, Stenbock decided to turn back to the Dalarö

Dalarö

Dalarö is a locality situated in Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 1,190 inhabitants in 2005.It is situated south-east of Stockholm and is part of Metropolitan Stockholm and serves as a recreational summer spot for Stockholmers...

 anchorage north of Stockholm. Nothing came of the reinforcements of the North German provinces. King Charles was reacted with anger and held Stenbock personally responsible for the failed expedition, forcing him to pay over 100,000 dalers out of his own pocket.

The situation for the Swedish army in Pomerania deteriorated during the winter and the fleet, along with Kronan, was ordered out to sea once more in a desperate attempt to relieve the hard-pressed forces. The winter of 1675–76 was unusually cold and large parts of the Baltic was iced in. When the fleet, now under the command of the veteran sea officer Claas Uggla, reached Dalarö on 23 January, it was blocked by ice. The Privy Councilor

Privy Council of Sweden

The High Council of Sweden or Council of the Realm consisted originally of those men of noble, common and clergical background, that the king saw fit for advisory service...

 Erik Lindschöld had been assigned to the navy by the King to assist with the winter expedition, and it was he who came up with the idea of literally cutting the fleet out of the ice to reach the open sea. Hundreds of local peasants were ordered out to saw and hack open a narrow channel through the ice to reach the anchorage at Älvsnabben

Älvsnabben

Älvsnabben is a natural harbor consisting of four small islands Älvsnabben, Bjurshagslandet, Kapellön and Gubbholmen near Muskö in the archipelago north of Stockholm, Sweden. Älvsnabben was mentioned as a anchoring place as early as the 13th century, then a part of a medieval sailing rout, in the...

, over 20 km (12.4 mi) away. Upon reaching the naval station on February 14, three weeks later, it turned out that most of the sea was frozen as well. A storm hit the tightly packed ships and the ensuing movement of the ice crushed the hull of the supply vessel Leoparden and sank it. A Danish force had also managed to reach the open waters farther off and observed the immobilized Swedish ships. When temperatures fell even further, the situation was declared hopeless and even the energetic Lindschöld gave up the attempt.

Early in March 1676 a Danish fleet of 20 ships under Admiral Niels Juel

Niels Juel

Niels Juel was a Dano–Norwegian admiral. He was the brother of the diplomat Jens Juel.-Biography:Niels Juel was born the son of Erik Juel and Sophie Clausdatter Sehested, both were descendant of Danish nobility, who lived in Jutland where the father had a career as a local functionary and judge...

 left Copenhagen. On April 29 it landed troops on Gotland, which soon surrendered. The Swedish fleet was ordered out on May 4, but experienced adverse winds and was delayed until 19 May. Juel had by then already left Visby, the principal port of Gotland with a garrison force. He headed for Bornholm to join with a small Danish-Dutch squadron to cruise between Scania and the island of Rügen

Rügen

Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...

 to prevent any Swedish seaborne reinforcement from reaching Pomerania. On May 25–26 the two fleets encountered one another in the battle of Bornholm

Battle of Bornholm (1676)

The battle of Bornholm was a naval battle between a superior Swedish and a smaller Danish-Dutch fleet that was fought 25–26 May 1676 as a part of the Scanian War. The objective for both sides was naval supremacy in the southern Baltic Sea...

. Even though the Swedes had a considerable advantage in ships, men and guns, they were unable to inflict any losses on the allied force, and lost a fireship and two minor vessels. The battle revealed the serious lack of coherence and organization within the Swedish ranks and soured relations between the Admiral of the Realm Lorentz Creutz and his officers.

After the unsuccessful action, the Swedish fleet anchored off Trelleborg

Trelleborg

Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...

 where King Charles was waiting with new orders to recapture Gotland. The fleet was to refuse combat with the allies at least until they reached the northern tip of Öland, where they could fight in friendly waters. When the Swedish fleet left Trelleborg on May 30, the allied fleet soon came in contact with it and began pursuing the Swedes. By this time the allies had been reinforced by a small squadron and now totalled 42 vessel, with 25 large or medium ships of the line. The reinforcements also brought with them a new commander, the Dutch Admiral General Cornelis Tromp

Cornelis Tromp

Sir Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, 1st Baronet was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp. He became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy...

, one of the ablest naval tacticians of his time. The two fleets sailed north and on June 1 they passed the northern tip of Öland in a strong gale

Beaufort scale

The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...

. The rough winds were hard on the Swedish ships. Many lost masts and spars. The Swedes, formed in a battle line held together with great difficulty, tried to get ahead of Tromp's ships to get between them and the shore to get on their lee side, holding the weather gage

Weather gage

The weather gage is a nautical term used to describe the advantageous position of a fighting sailing vessel, relative to another. The term is from the Age of Sail, and is now antiquated. A ship is said to possess the weather gage if it is in any position, at sea, upwind of the other vessel...

, and thereby gaining an advantageous tactical position. The Dutch ships of the allied fleet, however, managed to sail closer into the wind faster than the rest of the force slipped between the Swedes and the coast, taking up the valuable weather gage. Later that morning the two fleets closed in on each other and were soon within firing range.

Sinking

Around noon, some distance northeast of the village of Hulterstad

Hulterstad

Hulterstad is a small coastal town on the southeastern part of the island of Öland, Sweden. Hulterstad is situated at the eastern fringe of the Stora Alvaret, a limestone pavement habitat which hosts a diversity of rare plants and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO...

, the Swedish fleet made what the military historian Ingvar Sjöblom has described as "a widely debated maneuver". Because of misunderstandings and poorly coordinated signalling, the Swedish fleet attempted to turn and engage the allied fleet before they had sailed past the northern end of Öland, which had been agreed upon before the battle. A sharp turn in rough weather was known to be perilous, especially if a ship was known to be somewhat unstable. Kronan turned to port (left), but with too much sail and heeled so far over that she began to flood through the open gunports. The crew was unable to correct the imbalance and she laid over completely with her masts parallel with the water. After a short while the gunpowder store in the forward part of the ship was for some reason ignited and exploded violently, ripping apart a large section of the starboard side forward of the mainmast. The remaining section rose with the stern pointing up in the air and the broken-off front part toward the bottom. It then rapidly sank with the port side down. When the wreck hit the seabed, the hull suffered a major fraction along its side which further damaged is structure.

During the sinking, discipline and social cohesion appears to have collapsed completely. The skeletal remains of those who died on Kronan have deep, unhealed lacerations on skulls, vertebrae, ribs and other limbs. Around 10% of all upper arm bones (humerus

Humerus

The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....

) and almost 20% of the thigh bones (femur

Femur

The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...

) show signs of violence caused by sharp objects and in many cases there are repeated blows aimed at the same area. There has been no definite explanation for these wounds and none of the testimonies provide an explanation. There are no indications that any type of boarding action occurred before the sinking and forensic analysis has precluded that they were the result of the explosion. Historian Ingvar Sjöblom has interpreted the finds as the aftermath of a "bloody scuffle" that broke out as the men fought among themselves as they tried to save themselves. Osteologist

Osteology

Osteology is the scientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification , the resistance and hardness of bones , etc...

 Ebba Düring has suggested that in the disparate struggle to get out, the men of the sinking ship resorted to "all the means at their disposal, both physical as well as psychological" to escape the catastrophic situation.
After the sinking of Kronan, the battle raged on for a few more hours, and quite unsuccessfully for the Swedish side. The loss of the Admiral's flagship threw the Swedes into disorder, and soon Svärdet, the new flagship, was surrounded by the allied admirals and set ablaze by a Dutch fireship. Only 50 of the 650-strong crew escaped the gun battle and the inferno, and among the dead was the acting Swedish Admiral Claes Uggla. After losing two of its highest ranking commanders along with the two largest ships, the Swedish fleet fled in disorder. Solen later ran aground, Järnvågen, Neptunus and three smaller vessels were taken. Äpplet was later wrecked after breaking its moorings off Dalarö and sank.

Aftermath

According to Anders Gyllenspak only 40 men, including himself, survived the sinking: Major Johan Klerk, 2 trumpeters, 14 sailors and 22 soldiers, which means that over 800 perished in the sinking. Among them were half a dozen navy and army officers as well as the Admiralty chief physician and the fleet apothecary

Apothecary

Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....

. Altogether around 1,400 men died when Kronan and Svärdet were lost and in the days following the battle, hundreds of corpses were washed up on the east coat of Öland. According to the vicar

Vicar

In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...

 of Långlöt parish, 183 men were taken from the beaches and buried at Hulterstad and Stenåsa graveyards. Lorentz Creutz's body was identified and eventually shipped to his estate in Savolaks

Savonia (historical province)

Savonia is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders to Uusimaa, Tavastia, Ostrobothnia, and Karelia. Largest cities in Savo by population are Kuopio, Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus.-Administration:...

, Finland, where he was buried.

Within a week, the news of the failure at Bornholm and the complete fiasco at Öland reached King Charles, who immediately ordered that a commission be set up to investigate what had happened. Charles wanted to see if Bär and other officers were guilty of cowardice or incompetence. On 13 June the King wrote "some of our sea officers have shown such cowardly and carelessly behavior" that they "have placed the safety, welfare and defense of the kingdom at great peril" and that "such a serious crime should be sternly punished". The commission began its work on 7 June 1676 and was not finished until October 1677, but without passing any sentences. However, Admiral Johan Bär of Nyckeln and Lieutenant Admiral Christer Boije who ran aground with Äpplet, were never given a command in the navy again. One of the accused, Hans Clerck of Solen, fared considerably better, being promoted by the King even before the commission presented its findings.

Causes of sinking

The direct cause for the sinking of Kronan was instability and inappropriate handling in rough weather. Unlike Vasa, which sank during its maiden voyage almost fifty years earlier, her sailing characteristics were not generally flawed and the ship had served for several years in considerably worse weather. During the work of the commission there were also direct comparisons to Vasa mentioned by the artillery officer Anders Gyllenspak. He testified that the ballast had been lightened at Dalarö at the beginning of the campaign and that she had not replenished its supply of drink, though he did not blame Creutz. The ship consequently had less draught and rode less stable on the water than usual.

Why the Swedish fleet deviated from the original plan of engaging the allied force in home waters north of Öland has not been satisfyingly explained. According to Rosenberg and Gyllenspak, both on Kronan, Creutz made a turn because Uggla had signalled that he was turning. Rosenberg believed that Bär on Nyckeln, Admiral of the first squadron, had begun to turn and that Uggla considered it necessary to turn with him in order to keep the fleet together, even though it was an unplanned maneuver. Officers Anders Homman and Olof Norman, both survivors of Svärdet, on the other hand, claimed that only Creutz as fleet commander could make such a decision and that Uggla was only Kronan's lead. The witnesses who were heard by the commission testified that the necessary precautions were not taken before Kronan came about due to conflict between the officers. Rosenberg also testified that Lieutenant Admiral Arvid Björnram and Major Klas Ankarfjäll had openly disagreed on how much sail should be set and how close to land the ship should run. According to Gyllenspak, senior fleet pilot Per Gabrielsson had voiced his concerns against turning in the rough weather, but that no one had heeded his advice.

Creutz has quite consistently been blamed for the loss of his ship by several historians and described as an incompetent sea officer and sailor who, through lack of naval experience, single-handedly brought about the sinking. Historian Gunnar Grandin has suggested that the intent of the maneuver was to take advantage of the scattered allied fleet, but that many of the officers on Kronan opposed the notion; Creutz and Björnram urged that the ship turn quickly to gain a tactical advantage while Ankarfjäll and Gabrielsson were concerned about the immediate safety of the ship. Grandin has also suggest that Creutz may have suffered a mental breakdown after the failure at Bornholm

Battle of Bornholm (1676)

The battle of Bornholm was a naval battle between a superior Swedish and a smaller Danish-Dutch fleet that was fought 25–26 May 1676 as a part of the Scanian War. The objective for both sides was naval supremacy in the southern Baltic Sea...

 and his open conflict with his officer, and made a rash and ultimately fatal decision.

More recently, historians have stressed that the question of blame is more complex and that Creutz can not be singled out as solely responsible for the catastrophe. Historians Ingvar Sjöblom and Lars Ericson Wolke have stressed that Creutz' position as Admiral of the Realm was more comparable to a chief minister. He would have primarily been an administrator who did not need to have intimate knowledge of practical details—turning the ship in rough weather would have been the responsibility of his subordinates. Maritime archaeologist Lars Einarsson believes that Creutz's "choleric and willful temperament" probably played a part, but that it could just as well be blamed on an untrained and unexperienced crew and open dispute among the officers.

History as a shipwreck

The total cost of Kronan was estimated at 326,000 silver dalers

Swedish riksdaler

The riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the...

 in contemporary currency, and about half of that sum, 166,000 dalers, lay in the armament. It was therefore in the interest of the Swedish navy to salvage as much as possible of the cannons. In the early 1660s almost all of the guns from Vasa had been brought up though greatly improved salvaging technology. Commander Paul Rumpf and admiral Hans Wachtmeister

Hans Wachtmeister

Count Hans Wachtmeister af Johannishus was admiral general of the Swedish Navy and advisor to King Charles XI of Sweden and King Charles XII of Sweden. He served in the Scanian War of 1675–1679 and during the following twenty years of peace worked to build up the Swedish Navy...

 were put in charge of the salvage of Kronan's cannons. With the help of diving bell

Diving bell

A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers to depth in the ocean. The most common types are the wet bell and the closed bell....

s, they were able to raise 60 cannons worth 67,000 daler in the eight short diving seasons during the summers of 1679–86, beginning as soon as the war with Denmark had ended. In the 1960s diving expert Bo Cassel made some successful descents to Vasa with a diving bell made according to 17th century specifications. In the summer of 1986, further experiments were done on Kronan. The experiments proved successful and the conclusion was that the 17th century operations must have required considerable experience, skill and favorable weather conditions. Though the conditions off Öland were often difficult, with cold water and unpredictable weather, and required a large crew, they were highly profitable. Historian Björn Axel Johansson has calculated that the total cost for the entire crew for all eight diving seasons was less than 2,000 dalers, a sum that was covered by just one of the large 36-pound guns.

Rediscovery

The marine engineer and amateur historian Anders Franzén

Anders Franzén

Anders Franzén was a Swedish marine technician and an amateur naval archaeologist. He is most famous for having located the 1628 wreck of the Swedish galleon Vasa in 1956 and participated in her salvage 1959-1961...

 had searched for old Swedish wrecks in the Baltic and became nationally renowned after he located Vasa, a prestige ship of Gustavus Adolphus's navy that sank only 20 minutes into its maiden voyage in Stockholm in 1628. Kronan was one of several famous shipwrecks that was on a list of potential wrecksites that he had compiled. For almost 30 years Franzén and others scoured archives and the seabed off the west coast of Öland. During the 1950s and 60s the team searched off Hulterstad

Hulterstad

Hulterstad is a small coastal town on the southeastern part of the island of Öland, Sweden. Hulterstad is situated at the eastern fringe of the Stora Alvaret, a limestone pavement habitat which hosts a diversity of rare plants and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO...

 by dragging, and later followed up with sonar scans. In 1971 planks believed to belong Kronan were located, but the lead couldn't be followed up properly at the time. Later in the '70s the search area was limited with sidescan sonar in combination with a magnometer, an instrument that detects the presence of iron, which resulted in a hit. In early August 1980, underwater cameras were sent down and showed the first pictures of Kronan.

Archaeology

The remains of Kronan lie at a depth of 26 m (85 ft), 6 km (3.7 mi) east of the village Hulterstad

Hulterstad

Hulterstad is a small coastal town on the southeastern part of the island of Öland, Sweden. Hulterstad is situated at the eastern fringe of the Stora Alvaret, a limestone pavement habitat which hosts a diversity of rare plants and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO...

 on the east coast of Öland. Since its discovery in 1980, there have been annual diving expeditions to the wrecksite in the summers. Judged by Baltic Sea standards, the conditions are in many ways advantageous for underwater archaeological work; the wrecksite is some distance from land, away from the regular shipping lanes, and has not been affected by pollution either from land or excessive growth of marine vegetation. The line of sight, especially in early summer, is good and can be up to 20 m. The seabed consists of mostly unfertile sand, which reflects much of sunlight from the surface. This factor has greatly improved the possibilities for surveying and documenting the site with the help of underwater cameras. Around 85% of the wrecksite has been charted so far and Kronan has become one of the most extensive and well-publicized maritime archaeological projects in the Baltic.

Finds

Since the discovery of Kronan in 1980 over 30,000 artifacts have been salvaged and cataloged. The variation has been considerable, with everything from bronze cannons of up to four tonnes to small eggshell fragments. There have been several discoveries of considerable importance, often of unique historical and archaeological value. One of the first finds was a small table cabinet with nine drawers containing navigational instruments, pipe-cleaning tools, cutlery and writing utensils, objects that most likely belonged to one of the officers. Since Kronan was the fleet flagship, a large amount of cash was carried on board as coins. Besides wages for the crew, a war chest

War chest

In arms and armor, a war chest is a container for the personal weapons and protective gear of a citizen-soldier, kept in the household, and is the origin of the term.-In politics:...

 was needed for large, unforeseen expenses. In 1982, a collection of 255 minted gold coins was found, most of them ducat

Ducat

The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...

s. The origin of the individual coins varied considerable, with locations such as Cairo, Reval (modern-day Tallinn) and Seville. Another 46 ducats were found in the summer of 2000. The coin collection is likely the largest gold treasure ever encountered on Swedish soil, though it was not quite enough to cover large expenses, which has led to the assumption that they were Lorentz Creutz' personal property. In 1989, over 900 silver coins were found in the remains of the orlop, at the time the largest silver coin collection ever found in Sweden. In 2005, a still larger treasure consisting of almost 6,200 coins was discovered and in 2006 yet another with over 7,000 coins. The silver treasure of 2005 consisted almost entirely of 4 öre

Öre

Öre is the discontinued centesimal subdivision of the Swedish krona. The plural and singular are the same in the indefinite forms, whereas the singular definite form is öret and the plural definite is örena. The name derives from the Latin aureus , the name of a coin worth 25 denarii...

-coins minted in 1675, which represented over 1% of the entire production of 4 öre-coins of that year.

A number of musical instruments have been found, including a trumpet, three violins and a viola da gamba, all relatively expensive objects which belonged either to the officers or the trumpeters. One of the latter was most likely equipped with a particularly fine instrument made in Germany since he was a member of the admiral's musical ensemble. Another remnant of the officers' personal stores was discovered in 1997, consisting of a woven basket filled with tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 and expensive imported foodstuffs and spices, including ginger

Ginger

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

, plums, grapes and cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

 quills.

Approximately 7% of the finds consist of textiles. Much of the clothing, particularly those of the officers and their personal servants, is well-preserved and has provided information on clothing manufacture during the late 17th century, something that has otherwise been difficult to research based only on depictions.

See also

• Mary Rose
  Mary Rose
  The Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a...
  
  , an English 16th century carrack that was salvaged in 1982
• La Belle (ship)
  La Belle (ship)
  La Belle was one of Robert de La Salle's four ships when he explored the Gulf of Mexico with the ill-fated mission of starting a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1685. La Belle was wrecked in present-day Matagorda Bay the following year, dooming La Salle's Texas colony to...
  
  , the wreck of a French merchant ship salvaged in 1997

Further reading

• Einarsson, Lars, "Present maritime archaeology in Sweden: the case of Kronan" in Schokkenbroek, J.C.A. (editor), Plying between Mars and Mercury: political, economic and cultural links between the Netherlands and Sweden during the Golden age: papers for the Kronan symposium, Amsterdam, 19 November 1993., pp. 41–47
• Einarsson, Lars & Morzer-Bruyns, W.F.J., "A cross-staff from the wreck of the Kronan (1676)" in International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 2003, v.32, pp. 53–60
• Franzén, Anders, HMS Kronan : the search for a great 17th century Swedish warship Stockholm : Royal inst. of technology library [Tekn. högsk:s bibl.], 1981

External links

• Officiell website – hosted by Kalmar County Museum
• Kalmar läns museum – organizers of the Kronan Projekt and the site of several permanent exhibitions of finds from the ship
• Osteological and Microanalytical Investigation of the Human Skeletal Remains (a presentation of the study)
• Kronan at the Nordic Underwater Archaeology website