Could it be?
Wouldn’t this be exciting if it were true?:
More than five centuries after Christopher Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, was wrecked in the Caribbean, archaeological investigators think they may have discovered the vessel’s long-lost remains ”“ lying at the bottom of the sea off the north coast of Haiti. It’s likely to be one of the world’s most important underwater archaeological discoveries.
“All the geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests that this wreck is Columbus’ famous flagship, the Santa Maria,” said the leader of a recent reconnaissance expedition to the site, one of America’s top underwater archaeological investigators, Barry Clifford.
Several years ago my city had on display reproductions of the three ships in Columbus’ first voyage. Seeing them in reality was a shock because they are much smaller than we imagine them to be. My mental reaction was: “They crossed an unknown ocean in these? they must have been stark raving mad.”
Coincidentally this was the very same reaction I had when I saw, for the first time, the Gemini and Apollo capsules at the National Air and Space Museum.
It gives one a new appreciation for the men (and now women) who have the sand to venture into the unknown.
When you read the diaries and journals of the men who went on the journeys of exploration that traveled the “seven seas”, it is staggering that they knew–absolutely knew and expected–that a significant number of them would die during the trip.
It was like joining the military during a war–each man believed it wouldn’t be him, but each knew that it was inevitable. Sometimes the ships returned with only a handful of the original crew.
The conditions after any lengthy time at sea must have been horrendous, yet those few who wrote into diaries or journals set out with enthusiasm and stated curiosity.
I remember one writer’s description of some people who came onboard at one land far away from his homeland, and when I read it at first I thought of how extraordinary and bizarre the people seemed–and then the word-painted image came into focus in my mind and I had to laugh, because it was actually familiar to me as the inhabitants of the land of “The King and I” musical–Siam (now Thailand).
Reading the thoughts of men a few hundred years ago, on various adventures through extraordinary lands (to them) under equally extraordinary, and unlivable, conditions (to me) was an odyssey as strange and wonderful as the one Ulysses went on.
I hope they salvage the ship with enough care to create a museum around it. And I wonder–as it is clear that the country is changing as we speak–if they–and we–will be allowed to honor the ship that way at all.
And now look at the contrast. As T says, those ships were tiny and you actually wonder how they had room for any(enough) cargo that would warrant the expense of the journey and the number of men employed. The Santa Maria was 72 feet long and carried a crew of around 40. They wrecked thousands of miles from home in a faraway, virtually unknown land. And now, we have cruise ships 15 times bigger routinely sailing through that area full of thousands of people on vacation, having fun and relaxing. What used to be the edge of the world is now a vacation lake and the salvors who will work on the wreck can come from anywhere in the world and arrive in few hours to a few days. The world is indeed a much smaller place.
“But the funniest thing was
When I was leavin’ the bay
I saw three ships a-sailin’
They were all heading my way
I asked the captain what his name was
And how come he didn’t drive a truck
He said his name was Columbus
I just said, “Good luck”
Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/bob-dylans-115th-dream#ixzz31ezjHelL“
Unfortunately, the article also said that cannon photographed a few years ago have already gone missing. I hate archaeological looters. They destroy history for all of us.
Minta Marie Morze Says:
May 13th, 2014 at 3:38 pm
I often think of aviation pioneers as well. Early airplanes were frail and dangerous contraptions, and look how many people gave their lives in the attempt to fly higher, faster, or to set distance records. People in past eras seemed to be more accepting of risk. Maybe it had something to do with religious belief. By contrast, people who believe that this life is all there is are probably less likely to do anything to jeopardize it.
kcom Says:
May 13th, 2014 at 4:02 pm
Again, likewise with airplanes. Modern passenger planes are safe, comfortable, and luxurious compared to those just a few decades ago.
And the same transition will happen with spaceflight, perhaps sooner than we expect. Up until now, because of national security concerns and Cold War policies, space travel has been the monopoly of governments, but that is about to change. Several private companies believe that paid tourism is a viable economic model, and there is serious discussion of orbiting hotels.
One of the companies involved is Bigelow Aerospace, and not coincidentally, the founder is a hotel entrepreneur. He’s already successfully orbited small test versions of his inflatable orbital habitat modules, and right now he’s basically cooling his heels waiting for commercial crew vehicles to be developed to service them. Meanwhile, SpaceX announced last week that the crewed version of their Dragon spacecraft will be unveiled on May 29, with the first test flight scheduled for later this year.
rickl,
“People in past eras seemed to be more accepting of risk.”
Don’t forget also that death was a much more ever-present daily force in past societies. Many women died in childbirth, many children died at very young ages, even a simple scratch could result in tetanus, blood poisoning, etc. The white male patriarchy has done such a good job at insulating society from casual death that it has provided ample free time for people to pursue gender-studies majors and carp about how ubiquitous, oppressive and ruthlessly evil the white male patriarchy is.
We used to call that “biting the hand that feeds your.”
T:
I’m often thought that, back then, chances were almost as good that you’d die young if you stayed at home. So why not go out on risky adventures?
It still took a lot of courage to do it, of course. But how much it really increased the already-high risk of dying I’m not sure.
Neo,
I think it’s an interesting contrast. Today, perhaps we take chances because we feel invulnerable (at least at younger ages). Death? That kind if thing happens to other people, not me. But back then, as we’ve been discussing, death was tangibly present in daily life.
Years ago, when living in Montana I would occasionally visit the ghost town Elkhorn. I was always fascinated by the cemetery just outside of the old town boundaries. To look at the tombstones and see a three year old, an eighteen month old and especially several children who died in quick succession (an epidemic?) left a lifelong and unalterable impression. The real impact came when I realized that these weren’t just a few isolated tombstones, but that these short-lived children accounted for perhaps more than one-third of all the graves.