Bringing French Shipwreck Historical Archaeology to the Next Level

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Recent major excavations and subsequent analysis of French shipwrecks from the 17th and 18th centuries both in Europe and North America have brought about advances in maritime historical archaeology. This new critical mass of information is now available for comparative studies (both diachronic and synchronic) using both terrestrial and underwater sources. This session addresses French shipwrecks and maritime material culture in an attempt to better understand broader historical phenomena using comparative approaches.

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Documents
  • Excavating a French Regime icon in the St. Lawrence, 1759: The Maréchal de Senneterre? (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mathieu Mercier Gingras. Brad Loewen.

    Since 2006, archaeologists from the Université of Montréal have been investigating a wreck in the St. Lawrence River that appears to be one of four French naval ships lost on 22 November 1759, in the aftermath of the British Conquest of New France. Tidal currents and visibility are significant constraints to maritime archaeology in this region, but the team has developed a methodology that is increasingly bearing fruit. After sonar scans and collecting oral history, a systematic campaign to...

  • Food Aboard! Eating & Drinking on French Frigates of the Early 18th century, according to La Natière Shipwrecks (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elisabeth Veyrat.

    From 1999 to 2008, an underwater archaeological excavation has been carried away, by French Ministry of Culture DRASSM and the ADRAMAR association, on two French Frigates sunk off St. Malo (France). One has been identified as the Dauphine, a light frigate built for privateering in the royal dockyard of Le Havre (1703) and sunk on December 1704. The other is known as the Aimable Grenot, a large frigate built in Granville for a private ship-owner (1747), armed for privateering then for trade...

  • The French Fleet of 1565 (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only John de Bry. Chuck Meide.

    16th century France was a vigorous, expansionist nation emerging from feudalism and dreaming of empire. Spain, the world's leading power, already had a foothold in the Americas, and France wanted a share of the riches. After a first attempt, France assembled a more powerful expedition in May 1565. Shortly after they arrived in Florida, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés' fleet appeared and challenged the French. What followed led to the loss of the French fleet and the founding of St. Augustine, the...

  • French Military Arms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Flintlock Fusils from the 17th-Century Wreck of La Belle (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Amy Borgens.

    In 1684, as part of preparations for a French expedition to the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico, King Louis XIV granted Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle 400 firearms in addition to other weapons and supplies. These arms, though important as a means of defense or food procurement, were intended for another purpose as well - a campaign to wrest regional silver mines in northern Coahuila from Spanish control. Fragmentary and complete artifacts recovered from the hull of La Salle’s vessel...

  • Frontier Arms Race: Historical and Archaeological Analysis of an Assemblage of 18th-century Cannon recovered from the Detroit River and Lake Erie (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Daniel Harrison.

    An assemblage of seven iron 4-pounder guns is contextualized against the military history of the Great Lakes between the founding of Detroit (1701) and the outbreak of the War of 1812. The guns, their markings, their condition, and their deployment, are used as indexes of the increasing militarization of the region, as French, First Nations, British, and American forces contested the control of economic resources and strategic waterways.Un assemblage de sept canons de fer de 4 livres est...

  • Gifts for the Indians: French and Spanish Trade Goods on the Texas Coast in the 1680s (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Bradford Jones.

    La Salle’s 1684 expedition to establish a French settlement on the Mississippi River unexpectedly resulted in one of the first prolonged engagements between Native American and European peoples living along the Texas Gulf coast. Among the many items brought by the French were tremendous amounts of European material goods meant as gifts for the Native American communities, nearly a million of which remained in the hold of La Belle when it sank in Matagorda Bay in 1686. This paper reviews La...

  • The Jeanne-Elisabeth, 1755 (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marine Jaouen.

    Merchant vessel of Swedish nationality, the Jeanne-Elisabeth was driven ashore by a storm in November 1755 on the coast of Pavalas, in Southern France. When it went down, this vessel carried a cargo of wheat from Cadix as well as 24 000 Spanish piastres coined in America. Nothing could be saved of this cargo despite attempts in 1756 to recover the silver. However, divers have located the wreck in 2007 and have begun pillaging it until the intervention of the Département français des recherches...

  • A leading analysis: Lead objects on French Frigates of the Early 18th century, according to La Natière Shipwrecks (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Magali Veyrat.

    From 1999 to 2008, an underwater archaeological excavation has been carried away, by French Ministry of Culture DRASSM and the ADRAMAR association, on two French Frigates sunk off St. Malo (France). One has been identified as the Dauphine, a light frigate built for privateering in the royal dockyard of Le Havre (1703) and sunk on December 1704. The other is known as the Aimable Grenot, a large frigate built in Granville for a private ship-owner (1747), armed for privateering then for trade...

  • The Machault, an 18th-century French Frigate from Bayonne. Tradition and Globalisation in Ship Construction (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marijo Gauthier-Bérubé.

    The Machault is a French frigate discovered in Chaleur Bay, Canada who sunk in 1760 during the Seven Years War. Found and excavated by Parks Canada underwater archaeologist in the 1970s, the Machault had a well-preserved cargo that has been extensively studied. The remains of the ship itself have never been studied in depth. Machault inherited of centuries of naval knowledge but the frigate also bears witness to a major forestry crisis in 18th century France and Europe. Built in Basque port of...

  • A question that counts in maritime archaeology : linking historical and archaeological sources in the French West Indies (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jean-Sébastien Guibert.

    This paper aims to present part of the results of historical research in the service of underwater and maritime archaeology realized during a Phd thesis dealing with seafaring and maritime activity in Guadeloupe (FWI). Historical research are presented through two points of view : the use of historical research to help identify shipwreck and maritime sites and the use of historical research to present underwater archaeological potential. This multi scale approach has to be evaluated regarding...

  • The Technology to Save Sinking Ships ‘ Pumping the French Way! (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Thierry Boyer.

    From the moment vessels started to be decked, solutions had to be found to get the water out of the bilge for them to stay afloat. These came through many ways: water management, pumps technology and ship’s structural conception. The technology differences between the French and the English ways of tackling this problem are revealed through the archaeology of shipwrecks and archival researches. This paper will explain some of these differences and put the emphasis on the technology of ship’s...

  • The Wreck of the Auguste, Nova Scotia: An Introduction to a Cartel Ship (2014)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Aimie Néron.

    The Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) in New France entails the surrender of Montreal, and France finally loses an important territory. The establishment of a British temporary military regime causes the departure of many members of higher social classes from the colony towards the metropolis. In this context of social and political changes, three ships are employed for the journey home of merchants, nobles, military officers and their family to France. However, one of these ships, the Auguste, will...