In 1745, Götheborg, one of the largest ships in the Swedish East India Company’s fleet, was making its way home from China, laden with green tea, spices, silks, and tons of glistening porcelain. Having rounded the treacherous Cape of Good Hope and braved the open Atlantic, the ship was finally reaching the end of a grueling, 30-month journey. Then, right outside the harbor of Gothenburg, just miles from its destination, disaster. The ship struck a submerged rock in the Göta älv river. It lifted the 200-foot-long, treasure-laden ship several feet…
