Majolica Plato, c. 1570s

Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by Juan de Bermúdez, a Spanish captain who spotted the uninhabited island on his way back to Spain after dropping off slaves in the West Indies. Bermuda, however, was not colonised for another century, although numerous ships came to grief on her treacherous encircling reefs. This Ligurian blue on blue majolica plate was recovered from the San Pedro, which shipwrecked at Bermuda in 1596 on her return voyage to Spain from Cartagena, Columbia.