REVIEWS

Thunder Go North: The Hunt for Sir Francis Drake’s Fair & Good Bay

By Melissa Darby

(University of Utah Press, 2019; 336 pgs., illus., $25 cloth; www.uofupress.com)

In 1577, Francis Drake, already notorious for his marauding on the Spanish Main, set out on a secret mission for Queen Elizabeth I to explore and claim the western coast of North America. On his way, he raided Spanish settlements and ships, taking a large quantity of gold and silver as well as other riches. But by the summer of 1579 his sole remaining ship, the Golden Hind, was leaking badly and in desperate need of a safe harbor to make repairs. They found a “fair and good bay” somewhere north of San Francisco Bay, beached the ship, unloaded 23,000 pounds of silver, and made the repairs. They stayed from five to ten weeks interacting with local Natives before departing to circumnavigate the earth, returning to England in 1580.

Historians and archaeologists have been looking for this bay for more than a century. By the 1930s, a consensus developed that it was Drake’s Bay near San Francisco. A bronze plaque was discovered in Marin County in 1936 that matches the one Drake left, and California historians and archaeologists laid claim to the Drake landing.

Archaeologist Melissa Darby of Portland State University uses modern historical research, ethnographic descriptions, and other evidence to dispute the Drake’s Bay location. The brass plaque turns out to be a fraud, and Drake’s descriptions of the Natives don’t fit. Instead, she makes a compelling case that the bay is in central Oregon. The story of Drake’s voyage is enmeshed in intrigue from its beginning until today. Elizabeth secreted all of his records and a modern historian apparently faked the plaque. Thanks to Darby’s thorough research, we are close to a definitive answer to a 400-year-old mystery.

Ghost Fleet Awakened: Lake George’s Sunken Bateaux of 1758

By Joseph W. Zarzynski

(SUNY Press, 2019; 284 pgs., illus., $25 paper, www.sunypress.edu)

In the eighteenth century, bateaux (French for boats) were the most popular and versatile watercraft for the inland waterways of British and French colonial America. Hundreds of these small vessels plied the rivers and lakes of upstate New York and the surrounding territories, where they transported most of the commerce of the region. They were also an important part of the military arsenals of the competing European superpowers, carrying supplies as well as troops. They were double-ended, flat-bottomed, chine-built, and powered by oars and sails. When the French and Indian War between Britain, France, and their allies broke out in 1754, the waterways of New York were key areas of conflict. The French controlled Lake Champlain and the British Lake George. Bateaux were extensively used by both armies.

In the autumn of 1758, the British commanders at Lake George deliberately sank two floating batteries, some row galleries and whale boats, a sloop, and 260 bateaux in order to protect them from the French army over the winter. In the spring of 1759, the British raised this fleet from wet storage, repaired the wooden boats, and put them back in action against the French. The British army of 11,000 men and 800 boats quickly moved north to Lake Champlain; but some of the bateaux were not recovered and lost to history.

This volume by marine archaeologist Joseph Zarzynski tells the intriguing story of the rediscovery of the lost bateaux in 1960 and the decades-long efforts to preserve, recover, and study these lost vessels. Zarzynski describes the various initiatives developed by him and his colleagues under the auspices of Bateaux Below, the non-profit organized to preserve the bateaux. Much of this work was groundbreaking for maritime archaeology, and the story provides important precedents for marine preservation everywhere. Over a period of forty years, these dedicated archaeologists have developed new technology and policies to govern preservation of marine sites, as they have recovered vast quantities of invaluable information about a little known chapter of American history. This volume tells that story and is thus a major contribution to the entire field.

Captain Kidd’s Lost Ship: The Wreck of the Quedagh Merchant

By Frederick H. Hanselmann

(University Press of Florida, 2019; 222 pgs., illus., $85 cloth; upress.ufl.edu)

In 2007, a shipwreck was discovered just off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic. Fortunately, it was reported to the authorities who promptly asked a team of marine archaeologists to investigate. After a quick survey, the team proposed that the wreck, which had numerous cannons, was from the mid-seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries. This matched the time period and last known location of the Quedagh Merchant, a ship abandoned by Captain William Kidd in 1699 while he returned to Boston to answer charges that he was a pirate. The ship was believed to have been burned at about that time by Kidd’s Dominican colleagues. Kidd fared no better, as he was determined to be a pirate, sent to London, tried, and hanged. Stories of buried treasure abounded, and the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant was much sought after but never found. Until 2007.

This engaging volume tells the story of professional marine archaeologists from Indiana University who mapped and studied the wreck using the latest techniques and technology. They also made extensive use of historical documents, largely from Kidd’s trial, to match the wreck to descriptions of the ship and its contents. The historical documentation and the features of the wreck were determined to closely match the Quedagh Merchant, making it a very high probability that this is the ship. Kidd left no treasure behind on the ship, taking it with him to New England, thus making the wreck an unlikely target for treasure hunters who destroy many shipwrecks. The next challenge was how best to manage and preserve the wreck.

Located in thirty feet of water near the shore, the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant was an excellent candidate for preservation in place and the subsequent development of an underwater museum accessible to the general public. The Dominican Republic is actively promoting tourism, and this wreck was an opportunity to further that development, while also preserving an important historical site. The author carefully explains the legal and practical challenges in developing this living museum. This then becomes a blueprint for turning a major historical wreck into a marine protected area for the general public and the preservation and educational programs that go with it. In 2011, the Captain Kidd Living Museum in the Sea was dedicated. Secondary exhibits also opened in London, where Kidd was hanged, and in Indianapolis.

Captain Kidd’s Lost Ship covers both the theoretical issues of marine archaeology as well as its practical application. It is also a fantastic case study of the identification, investigation, and permanent preservation of a wonderful piece of history.

The Market for Mesoamerica: Reflections on the Sale of Pre-Columbian Antiquities

Edited by Cara G. Tremain and Donna Yates

(University Press of Florida, 2019; 240 pgs., illus., $90 cloth; upress.ufl.edu)

This timely volume examines the alarming rise of illicit collecting and trafficking of looted Mesoamerican antiquities, particularly those of the Maya. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating in the 1960s, looting of Mesoamerican sites has become a huge problem that threatens knowledge and history throughout the region. The looting, of course, is driven by a growing international market of private collectors and museums. Eleven noted scholars examine the history, extent, and trends of this market and its impact on scholarly research in ten lively essays.

A number of case studies amply illustrate how this international market works. Stelae easily moved from Guatemala to New York prior to the 1970s. Ceramics, mainly from ancient tombs, really got going in the 1980s. National and international laws that attempt to curb this trade are examined, and their effectiveness evaluated. This volume is full of up-to-date information that leads to suggestions for tackling a seemingly intractable problem. —Mark Michel