Keywords: South Africa, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, Russian sailors The history of the Russian Navy includes many glorious pages related to South Africa. The first visit of our sailors to the coast of South Africa took place in 1808, when the sloop Diana, which was on a scientific expedition under the command of Lieutenant Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, later an admiral, a famous Russian navigator and scientist, anchored near the Cape of Good Hope in the port of Simonstown. This city is located in the vicinity of Cape Town, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula, in the bay of Falls Bay. In colonial times, it was a base for the British Royal Navy. Today, it is a small city, near which there is one of the largest naval bases in the southern hemisphere, serving South African ships and British military vessels. "Diana" in July 1807 left Kronstadt for a long trip to the coast of Kamchatka. V. M. Golovnin gave the order to go to the Cape of Good Hope to replenish fresh water and provisions. The Imperial sloop called at Simonstown in May 1808. There he was immediately detained by the British. After the signing of the Peace Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 by Alexander I and Napoleon, relations between Russia and England deteriorated sharply. But the captain of the Russian ship did not know anything about this at the time. The fate of the ship and its crew depended on what decision would be made at the highest level in London. Time passed, and no specific instructions were received from the British Admiralty. The sloop Diana and her crew were held captive for a year. The Diana was still anchored in the roadstead of Simonstown, surrounded by a dense circle of British warships. Realizing the impossibility of resolving the issue of freeing the ship by diplomatic means, V. M. Golovnin decided to escape. After carefully studying the wind rose and the undercurrents in the bay, on May 29, 1809, he gave the sailors the order to cut off the anchor chain. The sloop Diana, under cover of ... Читать далее