Shipwreck found in US confirmed as Captain Cook's Endeavour

Captain James Cook’s ship HMS Endeavour is FOUND at the bottom of the ocean more than 250 years after it reached Australia – here’s why experts are SURE they’ve solved the enduring mystery

British explorer James Cook’s ship HMS Endeavour has been found in US waters after a 22 year search.

Cook famously sailed the ship around the South Pacific before he landed on the east coast of Australia in 1770.

Australian National Maritime Museum chief executive Kevin Sumption confirmed on Thursday the shipwreck of Cook’s vessel had been identified in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, where maritime archaeologists had been investigating several 18th century shipwrecks since 1999.

The Endeavour was scuttled in Newport Harbour by British forces during the American War of Independence in 1788, where it lay forgotten for more than two centuries.

The shipwreck of James Cook’s ‘Endeavour’ has been identified in Newport Harbour in the US

‘I am satisfied that this is the final resting place of one of the most important and contentious vessels in Australia’s maritime history,’ Mr Sumption said.

‘The last pieces of the puzzle had to be confirmed before I felt able to make this call,’ Mr Sumption said.

‘Based on archival and archaeological evidence, I’m convinced it’s the Endeavour.’

‘It’s an important historical moment, as this vessel’s role in exploration, astronomy and science applies not just to Australia, but also Aotearoa New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.’

Several details on the wreck convinced archaeologists they had found Endeavour after matching structural details and the shape of the remains to those on 18th century plans of Endeavour.

Just 15 per cent of the vessel remains  with researchers focused on what can be done to protect and preserve it.

HMS Endeavour has been found in US waters, where it has spent the last two centuries. Pictured  is the Endeavour replica ship  

Why they’re so sure the shipwreck is the Endeavour

*The structural details and shape of the remains closely match historic plans of Endeavour.

*The construction of the keel along the bottom of the ship and the joinery used in its bow at the front are identical to those shown on 18th-century plans of the Endeavour. The placement of the vessel’s fore and main mast are also identical to the plans.

*Historical evidence indicates the ship was sunk in the United States just north of Goat Island in Newport Harbour, along with four other British ships.

*The ship was the largest of the five scuttled ships in that area.

*The length of the surviving hull is almost exactly the same as that recorded for Endeavour.

The ustralian National Maritime Museumis working closely with maritime experts in Rhode Island as well as the Australian, Rhode Island and US governments to secure the site.

Originally launched in 1764 as the Earl of Pembroke, the ship was renamed Endeavour in 1768 by Britain’s Royal Navy and prepared for a major scientific voyage to the Pacific.

From 1768 to 1771 Endeavour sailed the South Pacific, primarily to record the transit of Venus in Tahiti in 1769.

Cook then sailed it around the South Pacific searching for ‘the Great Southern Land’, charting the coast of New Zealand and Australia’s eastern coastline before claiming the land for Great Britain on August 22, 1770.

Endeavour was later sold to private owners, renamed as Lord Sandwich and was deliberately sunk in 1778 by British forces during the American War of Independence.

A year later Cook was killed in Hawaii during his third Pacific voyage, 10 years before the First Fleet arrived in NSW to establish a British colony.

British explorer James Cook (pictured) sailed the ship around the South Pacific before landing on the east coast of Australia in 1770

Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Energy crisis: How much MORE could Boris Johnson net zero strategy cost you?
Next post NFL betting: Rams will wear white in Super Bowl, so you should back them