This cannonball was found on a small island here on the west coast of BC. There is no history of mining on the island and the ball was found buried in the ground. It has a rich patina and appears old. The ball is 3.5 inches wide and is 5lbs 13 ounces. It is not perfectly round. It appears to have struck something hard and even has damage to one side. There was a battle in the area in the 1863 involving British warships and natives, but this ball does not appear to match guns of the period. It does however seem to have more in common with minion or saker cannons which fired shot 3.5 inches with weights around 5lbs. Guns of the 16th and early 17th century had not been standardized. As Sir Francis Drake was known to be in the area in the late 1500s and 2 of his ships, one English and one a captured Spanish ship disappeared in the area, I wondered if they may have fired the ball. A later expedition by Thomas Cavendish again after Drake resulted in missing ships in the same area. I have other cannonballs to compare it to and other than the one side being damaged it appears spherical. The British museum site has a few similar cannonballs from the period, but found in the U.K. It could also be from a Spanish gun as they were in the area in the 1700s, but I am not familiar with their guns. Anyway, I am open to any comments or theories.
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