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A Question That Counts in French West Indies Maritime Archaeology: Linking Historical and Archaeological Sources Jean-Sébastien Guibert To cite this version: Jean-Sébastien Guibert. A Question That Counts in French West Indies Maritime Archaeology: Linking Historical and Archaeological Sources. ACUA. Underwater Archaeology Proceedings, ACUA, 2014. hal-01443278 HAL Id: hal-01443278 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01443278 Submitted on 23 Jan 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. A Question That Counts in French West Indies Maritime Archaeology: Linking Historical and Archaeological Sources Tis paper presents part of the results of historical research for a PhD thesis focusing on seafaring and maritime activity in Guadeloupe, French West Indies (FWI). Additionally, it discusses the possible identifcation of fve shipwreck sites that appear to date to the 19th century: Anse à la Barque, Pointe-à-Pitre, Baie des Saintes, Sainte-Anne and Le Moule shipwrecks. Introduction consulted. Archival research focused on records from the 17th century through to the end of the mid-19th Tis paper provides an overview of part of the results century, and research is still ongoing for records dating of a PhD thesis in history (Guibert 2013) focusing on through the end of 19th century. Historical research seafaring and maritime risks in the French West Indies, identifed around 550 ships that wrecked between the especially in Guadeloupe during the colonial period, mid-17th century and the mid 19th century. Tis data from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. is compiled in a database detailing shipwreck events, Te examination of wrecking events and vessel losses in travel information, ships characteristics, previous salvage the colonial period gives an opportunity to study the operations and source references (Guibert 2013). history of maritime activity in Guadeloupe. However, In order to estimate the potential for fnding under- historical sources concerning maritime accidents are also water cultural heritage in Guadeloupe, available histori- important for studying shipwrecks. As a result, these cal sources were analyzed and a new method called the sources were used as part of this project to study the Archaeological Potential Rate (APR) was developed. Tis relationship between history and maritime archaeology method combines three observations: type of loss, seabed in terms of wreck site identifcation, site formation pro- nature, and evidence of salvage operations. Te method cesses and heritage assessment. was used to estimate the potential for fnding underwa- Tis paper focuses on the use of historical research in ter heritage in the Pointe-à-Pitre area (Guadeloupe) and order to identify and understand underwater archaeo- was presented in a previous publication (Guibert 2012). logical shipwreck sites. After presenting the methods Using this method, it is estimated that nearly 50 losses used in this research, underwater archaeological sites are occurred between 1650 and 1850 in Guadeloupe, with a discussed in relation to historical sources, background high potential for discovery. It permitted the evaluation information and maritime activity periods. Tis over- of high potential zones due to the availability of reliable view of underwater archaeological sites in Guadeloupe is positioning information. proposed in reverse chronology, beginning with the end As far as underwater archaeological investigations of the 19th century, and going backwards in time. are concerned, Guadeloupe is mostly untouched. Te development of underwater archaeology is in its early Methods and Results stages in the French West Indies, and the frst research eforts focused on ancient wrecks. Ancient wrecks are Te lack of a reliable shipwreck database for the defned here as those vessels dating before the end of French West Indies except for Moreau’s (Moreau 1988), the 19th century and consisting of hull structures, bal- created the opportunity to build a new one as part of last, and artifacts. Isolated artifacts as anchors have not this project. Tis task involved archival research in a been considered because they are difcult to match with multitude of centers conserving for the West Indies in historical sources. Guadeloupe (Archives départementales de Guadeloupe). To date, no remote sensing surveys have been con- Archives in Paris (Centre d’acceuil et de Recherche des ducted in Guadeloupe. Several diver surveys took place Archives nationales), Aix (Archives nationals d’outre-mer), in the past with varying levels of success (Moreau 1985; and London (Public Records Ofce) as well as the Vicens 2010). Two sites have been studied by two non- main Atlantic ports papers (Archives départementales de proft organizations: the Anse à la Barque’s site and the Loire-Atlantique, de Gironde et de Seine-Maritime) were Pointe-à-Pitre Narrows site. Tis article will present 2014 Underwater Archaeology Proceedings 113 results of investigation at those sites, but will also pro- Le Moule Wreck vide observations of other sites known by local divers. At Te wreck at Le Moule (LM 1, Figure 1) also known the time of this writing, 20 historic shipwreck sites have as the Passe Hastings wreck is an example of an un- been discovered in Guadeloupe (Figure 1) and recorded identifed shipwreck site (Guibert 2013:536–537). Te by the French Department of Underwater Archaeology site lies in 18 m of water and measures 40 m in length. (Département des Recherches Archéologiques Subaquatiques Te orientation of the wreckage indicates that the ship et Sous-Marines, DRASSM). was probably coming into the harbor when it was lost. Comparisons will be proposed between the frst Tis site has not yet been studied or excavated. Artifacts archaeological observations made of the fve shipwreck observed on the surface include two admiralty-type sites as well as the analysis of historical sources con- anchors, located near the middle of the vessel, and the ducted for the current project. In addition, possible presence of coal. Fasteners, frames, and sheeting, which identifcation of the fve sites will be discussed based do not appear to be copper, may be observed as well. Te on previous research and information gathered from hull structure is in good condition and may date to the archival repositories. end of the 19th century (Figure 2). It is difcult to identify the name of this vessel due to Late-19th Century Underwater the lack of an archaeological investigation, but several Archaeological Sites candidates are possible. One strong candidate is George- et-Marie, a three-masted French vessel loaded with coal, Two sites around Grande-Terre dating from the end when wrecked at the entrance of the harbor in 1878 of 19th century are presented in this section, namely Le (Archives départementales de Guadeloupe [ADG]: 3K Moule wreck and Sainte-Anne wreck. 70 5/4/1878, 39, 26/4/1878). One thing that is certain is that the wreck is linked with the history of Le Moule. Te port of Le Moule de- veloped in the 19th century due to the rapid expansion FIGURE 1. MAP OF GUADELOUPE AND SITES DISCUSSED IN THE ARTICLE (MAP BY AUTHOR, 2014). 114 Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology of the sugar industry in Grande-Terre. But this wreck lost in June 1866 (Guibert 2013:532–533). Te ship was is also interesting because it reveals two important lost after leaving its last port of call in Sainte-Anne, on characteristics about the port in the 19th century: dif- its way from Newcastle to Trinidad. Te ofcial incident fcult access and bad mooring. Twenty-fve ship-related report indicates a navigation error. accidents occurred in the area of Le Moule Harbor since In the morning of the 7th of June the English brick the end of 18th century. Mary-Ann from Newcastle, moored at Sainte-Anne and sent on ballast to Trinidad, drifted and touched her stern in going out by her own in the narrow. She stayed in this position until the arrival of a steamship from Pointe-à-Pitre in order to tow her. But during this movement the main cable broke and Mary-Ann was cast on coral reef (…) with no hope to save the ship (ADG 3K58, 48, 15/6/1866). Te distribution of structural remains on the seafoor indicates the violence of the wrecking event. Tis site has been selected for an upcoming project that will ex- amine the maritime activity of the French West Indies through an historical archaeological point of view. Tere are other known wrecks around Guadeloupe that likely date to this period, but information about them has not been found in the historical records to date. Tese wrecks include Grand Cul-de-Sac wreck (F 1) and Salines wreck, where more than 20 cannon have been recorded in position indicating the cannon were stored as cargo (S 1). Tese sites dating from the late 19th century are quite well preserved. Teir level of preservation is likely the result of diferent factors such as water depth, bottom topography, and relatively recent dates of loss. Early-19th Century Underwater Archaeological Sites Two sites dating to the year 1824 are very diferent than the ones previously mentioned, but can ofer much information about Guadeloupe’s maritime his- tory. Te frst wreck may be the remains of Anémone, a FIGURE 2. GENERAL VIEW OF LE MOULE WRECK SITE (LM 1) state schooner used as a tender ship in Guadeloupe. Te WITH TWO ADMIRALTY ANCHORS (PHOTO BY AUTHOR, 2012).

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