His Majesty's Bark Endeavour is a significant vessel in maritime history and one that elicits mixed opinions. For some, the Pacific voyage led by James Cook between 1768 and 1771 embodies the spirit of Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, while for others it symbolises the subjugation of First Nations peoples. Less well understood is Endeavour’s afterlife as a British troop transport and prison ship caught up in the American War of Independence. It was in this capacity – and renamed Lord Sandwich – that the vessel was deliberately sunk in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, in 1778.
After 22 years of extensive research with the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, and the Silentworld Foundation, the Australian National Maritime Museum controversially announced that the site of Endeavour had been identified using a ‘preponderance of evidence’ approach.
As part of National Archaeology Week, the museum’s archaeologists Dr James Hunter and Kieran Hosty, will detail the historical and archaeological research behind this approach, provide the evidence leading to the museum’s announcement, and discuss what the future might hold for the remnants of Cook’s Endeavour.
Image: James Hunter, ANMM and show Irini Malliaros (Silentworld Foundation) and Kieran Hosty (ANMM) excavating in the mid-ships area of RI2394 / HMB Endeavour.
