piratediver
Sr. Member
Interesting story about the dangers of language barriers aboard ships!
Mary Rose 'sank because Spanish crew did not understand orders'
The Mary Rose sank because of a disastrous misunderstanding between its
captain and his Spanish-speaking crew, according to new research.
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Last Updated: 5:56PM BST 31 Jul 2008
Forensic examination of the crew's skulls, which were found next the 16th
century wreck in The Solent, has revealed that Henry VIII's flagship was
mainly crewed by foreign sailors, thought to be either mercenaries or
Spanish prisoners of war.
Historians have always believed that the warship sank when it performed a
sharp turn during a battle with the French in July 1545 and heeled so
steeply that water flooded through the open gun ports.
But the new theory suggests that the gun ports may only have been open
because the crew spoke little English and did not understand orders to close
them as the ship's commander, Admiral George Carew, took evasive action.
The crew's foreign origins would also help to explain Admiral Carew's
enigmatic final words, shouted to another ship, that his men were "knaves I
cannot rule".
The theory has been put forward by Professor Hugh Montgomery, of University
College London, whose research team was given access by the Mary Rose Trust
to the remains of 18 crewmen.
Forensic anthropologist Lynne Bell examined their skulls to determine where
they had lived, and discovered that about 60 per cent were of southern
European origin.
Scientists can determine roughly which region a person grew up in by
analysing the chemical composition of their teeth, which retain the type of
water molecule they consumed while growing up.
Prof Montgomery said: "The analysis of the teeth rules out Britain and
countries in northern Europe. It suggests that the men grew up in a warm
climate, probably somewhere in southern Europe.
"It's also known that at this time Henry VIII was short of skilled soldiers
and sailors and was trying to recruit mercenaries from the Continent."
He found one account in Henry VIII's state papers that could suggest where
the crewmen came from.
Six months before the Mary Rose sank, nine ships were caught in a storm in
the English Channel and sought refuge in Falmouth harbour in Cornwall.
They held 600 Spanish soldiers who - with no money or food - were pressed
into service for England.
"It is possible that some of these men were on the Mary Rose," said Prof
Montgomery.
Previous experiments based on eyewitness accounts of the sinking and using
scale models of the Mary Rose revealed that the ship would have capsized if
a sudden wind had sprung up at the moment it attempted to carry out a sharp
turn to outmanoeuvre the French.
The ship would have heeled, submerging the gun ports, which were only one
metre above the waterline.
Prof Montgomery said: "In the chaos of battle, with all the shouting and
guns going off, it would have taken a very clear chain of command and a very
disciplined, well-rehearsed crew to close the gun port lids in time."
But, he said, they were anything but a cohesive naval unit because of
language barriers, which was not known previously.
The wreck of the ship was raised to the surface in 1982 and is now on
display at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
* The Ghosts of the Mary Rose: Revealed is on Five at 8pm on Tuesday.
Adios,
Pirate Diver
Mary Rose 'sank because Spanish crew did not understand orders'
The Mary Rose sank because of a disastrous misunderstanding between its
captain and his Spanish-speaking crew, according to new research.
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Last Updated: 5:56PM BST 31 Jul 2008
Forensic examination of the crew's skulls, which were found next the 16th
century wreck in The Solent, has revealed that Henry VIII's flagship was
mainly crewed by foreign sailors, thought to be either mercenaries or
Spanish prisoners of war.
Historians have always believed that the warship sank when it performed a
sharp turn during a battle with the French in July 1545 and heeled so
steeply that water flooded through the open gun ports.
But the new theory suggests that the gun ports may only have been open
because the crew spoke little English and did not understand orders to close
them as the ship's commander, Admiral George Carew, took evasive action.
The crew's foreign origins would also help to explain Admiral Carew's
enigmatic final words, shouted to another ship, that his men were "knaves I
cannot rule".
The theory has been put forward by Professor Hugh Montgomery, of University
College London, whose research team was given access by the Mary Rose Trust
to the remains of 18 crewmen.
Forensic anthropologist Lynne Bell examined their skulls to determine where
they had lived, and discovered that about 60 per cent were of southern
European origin.
Scientists can determine roughly which region a person grew up in by
analysing the chemical composition of their teeth, which retain the type of
water molecule they consumed while growing up.
Prof Montgomery said: "The analysis of the teeth rules out Britain and
countries in northern Europe. It suggests that the men grew up in a warm
climate, probably somewhere in southern Europe.
"It's also known that at this time Henry VIII was short of skilled soldiers
and sailors and was trying to recruit mercenaries from the Continent."
He found one account in Henry VIII's state papers that could suggest where
the crewmen came from.
Six months before the Mary Rose sank, nine ships were caught in a storm in
the English Channel and sought refuge in Falmouth harbour in Cornwall.
They held 600 Spanish soldiers who - with no money or food - were pressed
into service for England.
"It is possible that some of these men were on the Mary Rose," said Prof
Montgomery.
Previous experiments based on eyewitness accounts of the sinking and using
scale models of the Mary Rose revealed that the ship would have capsized if
a sudden wind had sprung up at the moment it attempted to carry out a sharp
turn to outmanoeuvre the French.
The ship would have heeled, submerging the gun ports, which were only one
metre above the waterline.
Prof Montgomery said: "In the chaos of battle, with all the shouting and
guns going off, it would have taken a very clear chain of command and a very
disciplined, well-rehearsed crew to close the gun port lids in time."
But, he said, they were anything but a cohesive naval unit because of
language barriers, which was not known previously.
The wreck of the ship was raised to the surface in 1982 and is now on
display at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
* The Ghosts of the Mary Rose: Revealed is on Five at 8pm on Tuesday.
Adios,
Pirate Diver
