Past Horizons Archaeology News
May 8 2011
Captain Kidd shipwreck becomes a Museum of the Sea
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Nearly three years after the discovery of the shipwrecked Quedagh
Merchant, abandoned by the notorious Captain William Kidd, the
underwater site will be dedicated as a `Living Museum of the Sea’ by
Indiana University archaeologist Charles Beeker, and the government of
the Dominican Republic.
The dedication as an official underwater museum will take place off
the shore of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic on May 23, the
310th anniversary of Kidd’s execution in London for his alleged
`crimes of piracy.’
Living museum of the sea
Underwater plaques will help guide divers around the shipwreck site as
well as relics and rare corals at two other shipwreck sites.
The US Agency for International Development awarded Indiana University
$200,000 to turn the Captain Kidd shipwreck site and two nearby
existing underwater preserves into no-take, no-anchor Living Museums
of the Sea. The ultimate aim is to protect history, protect corals,
and preserve biodiversity in the surrounding reef systems.
Diver completing coral restoration of endangered elkhorn coral
(Acropora palmata). Courtesy of Indiana University.
The underwater science team led by Beeker, has been working to
preserve, analyse and document the Kidd shipwreck since its discovery
in 2007. This unique museum, resting in less than 10 feet of water
and a mere 70 feet from shore, will give divers the opportunity to see
the 17th century ship remains, including several anchors, along with
dozens of cannons, which now rest on the ocean’s floor and serve as
home to coral and sea creatures. Above water, terrestrial museums will
benefit from artefacts that are on loan to Indiana University by the
Dominican Republic government for the purpose of study and research.
`As this ongoing multidisciplinary research continues,’ Beeker said,
`interest in the project has grown and new partnerships are
developing, including the Peace Corps assigning their volunteers to
the project, and the Consorcio Dominicano de Competitividad Turistica
promoting the project as a sustainable tourism destination.’
As the interest in eco-tourism and unique vacation destinations
continues to grow, this Living Museum of the Sea is predicted to be a
sought-after destination for those seeking underwater adventures
combined with significant 17th century maritime history representative
of the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean.
Pirate or privateer
There is still of course a debate on the status of Captain Kidd
himself. In the 16th and 17th centuries, privateers enjoyed a
successful trade around the world on warships that were privately
owned, but had government approval and backing to attack enemy ships.
The privateer would then share any booty with the government.
William Kidd was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1654, the son of John
Kidd a seaman, and his wife Bessie Butchart.
During the war between England and France in the 1690²s, Kidd became a
successful privateer in charge of the vessel Blessed William,
defending trade routes with the West Indies. He was then commissioned
by the English government to take charge of an expedition against
pirates in the Indian Ocean. Kidd’s public mission was to clear the
sea there of pirates, but it was probably understood by his backers
that he would also take every opportunity to capture any enemy ships
that had valuable cargo.
In February 1698, almost a year after he had been expected to return
from his mission, Kidd finally struck lucky in heavy seas off the
Indian coast, north of Cochin, with the Quedagh Merchant, a 500 ton
Armenian merchant ship laden with gold, jewels, silver, silks, sugar
and guns. Kidd considered this prize, together with previous smaller
prizes, as ample compensation for his late return, and reward enough
for his backers. The prize though was a legal nightmare. Owned by
Indians, carrying a Persian cargo, crewed by Moors, and with an
English Captain named Wright they all sailed together, allegedly under
a French pass. Kidd decided that this was a legitimate target and took
her.
However, by this time, tales of his supposed piratical exploits were
causing serious embarrassment back in London, and he was arrested soon
after returning to New York, after leaving the Quedagh Merchant at
Catalina Island.
`Despite his defence of being a privateer, Kidd was tried in London
and hung in 1701
‘
Despite his defence of being a privateer, Kidd was tried in London and
hung in 1701. The papers that might have proved his innocence
disappeared and his logbook was burned. His corpse was displayed in an
iron cage on the dock at the Thames Estuary for several years as a
warning to other would-be pirates.
A remarkable discovery
Diver at one of the shipwreck cannons. Courtesy of Indiana University.
Beeker said it was remarkable that the wreck had remained undiscovered
all these years given its location, just 70 feet off the coast of
Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic.
Anthropologist Geoffrey Conrad, director of IU Bloomington’s Mathers
Museum of World Cultures, said the men Kidd entrusted with his ship
reportedly looted it, and then set it ablaze and adrift down the Rio
Dulce. Conrad said the location of the wreckage and the formation and
size of the canons, which had been used as ballast, are consistent
with historical records of the ship. They also found pieces of several
anchors under the cannons.
`All the evidence that we find underwater is consistent with what we
know from historical documentation, which is extensive,’ Conrad said.
`Through rigorous archaeological investigations, we have conclusively
proven that this is the Captain Kidd shipwreck.’
Beeker, who has been conducting research in the Dominican Republic for
nearly 20 years, was asked to examine the shipwreck in 2007 while on
another research mission involving the search for the lost ships of
Christopher Columbus.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/05/2011/captain-kidd-shipwreck-becomes-a-museum-of-the-sea