Australian researchers said on Thursday February 3, 2022 they had found the wreckage of Captain James Cook's famous ship, the Endeavour, which sank off the coast of the US state of Rhode Island more than two hundred years ago. An announcement described by some as premature.
A replica of Captain James Cook's famous ship, the Endeavor, at the National Maritime Museum in September 2018 in Sydney, Australia
Australian researchers said on Thursday February 3, 2022 they had found the wreckage of Captain James Cook's famous ship, the Endeavour, which sank off the coast of the US state of Rhode Island more than two hundred years ago. Their research partners in the United States, however, called the announcement premature.
"Based on archival and archaeological evidence, I'm confident this is the Endeavour"
The Endeavour, on which the British explorer made a historic voyage to Australia and New Zealand between 1768 and 1771, was scuttled in Newport harbor during the American Revolutionary War. "Since 1999 we have been investigating several 18th century shipwrecks in a two square mile (3.7 square kilometer) area where we believe the Endeavor sank" , said Kevin Sumption, director of the Australian National Maritime Museum, at a press conference on Thursday. "Based on archival and archaeological evidence, I am confident it is the Endeavour" he claimed.
But the Rhode Island Marine Archeology Project said it was too early to draw that conclusion. In a statement, the project's chief executive, DK Abbass, said the announcement was a "breach of contract" and added that"findings will be based on proper scientific process and not on Australian emotions or politics". A spokesperson for the Australian National Maritime Museum replied that Ms Abbass was entitled to have her own opinion on the vast amount of evidence accumulated". The museum believes that this does not breach any contract.
Only about 15% of the Endeavor remains intact
The Endeavor is the ship on which Captain Cook sailed from England to Tahiti and then New Zealand before reaching Australia in 1770 and mapping the east coast of the continent. When it sank in Newport Harbor in August 1778, the ship had been renamed Lord Sandwich and was being used by the British to hold prisoners of war during the American Revolution.
The British scuttled the ship, along with four others, to prevent a French fleet from entering Newport harbor to support the Americans. That was months before Cook's death in Hawaii in February 1779. After two centuries at the bottom of the harbor, only around 15% of the Endeavor remains intact, according to the Australian National Maritime Museum. "The focus is now on what can be done to protect and preserve it" , said Mr. Sumption.