Cannon Rocks South Africa is said to have taken its name from two cannons that have been found along the stretch of beach it lays on. Both cannons are obviously the result of shipwrecks. It is supposed that at least one of these cannons most likely came from the wreck of the Portuguese ship, the Sao Joao Baptista. The ever shifting sands in the area show and then hide hints of the 1600s ship, but it is not likely there is much left.

Ship Name: Sao Joao Baptista

Ship Type: Wooden Nau (carrack) 

Nationality: Portuguese 

Tonnage: Unknown

Year Built: 1621 or 1622

Year Wrecked: 1622

Reason For Wreck: Ran Aground To Prevent Sinking After Battle 

Location Wrecked: Near Cannon Rocks South Africa 

Lives Lost: Uncertain, More Than 250 After Long Walk to Sofala

Sources: 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27138531?seq=3

https://shiplib.org/index.php/shipwrecks/iberian-shipwrecks/portuguese-india-route/sao-joao-baptista-1622/

https://shiplib.org/index.php/shipwrecks/iberian-shipwrecks/portuguese-india-route/santo-espirito-1608/

https://archive.org/details/englishfactories07fost/page/n13/mode/2up

https://www.cannonrocks.com/?doing_wp_cron=1679711300.9868888854980468750000

https://books.google.com/books?id=qFHGBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT256&dq=sao+joao+baptista+shipwreck+1622&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgx7j2nev9AhXwJjQIHUHgBuUQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=sao%20joao%20baptista%20shipwreck%201622&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=q43sCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57&dq=sao+joao+baptista+shipwreck+1622&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgx7j2nev9AhXwJjQIHUHgBuUQ6AF6BAgDEAI#v=onepage&q=sao%20joao%20baptista%20shipwreck%201622&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=21BBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT178&dq=sao+joao+baptista+shipwreck+1622&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimqvz0nuv9AhWpmWoFHdwfAHw4FBDoAXoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=sao%20joao%20baptista%20shipwreck%201622&f=false