Ships and Shipwrecks of the Early Stuart Dynasty 1603-1647

Sound Bite

In this continuation of his series on early English shipwrecks, Mr. Taylor has painstakingly researched and collected information regarding shipwrecks from the early English Stuart era 1603–1647 into a single volume for the first time. Charts and illustrations clarify and enliven the text.This book will aid in the identification of wrecks, some of which have significant historical value such as the Duncannon frigate wreck, involved in the siege of Duncannon during the Irish confederate wars in 1645, and others from Hudson's Bay to the coast of India, while sharing all recorded facts of ships such as the St. Anthony and the Royal Merchant in which there is unrecovered treasure including gold, silver and jewels, while shedding light on the state of the English navy and other aspects of sea-faring in this era.

About the Book

In this series, Mr. Taylor has painstakingly researched and collected information regarding shipwrecks from the English Tudor and Stuart eras, 1547–1647. By gathering all available information into single volumes, these books may aid in the identification of historic wrecks.This unique volume encompasses data including lists of ships and ship types in the service of King James I and Charles I, as well as the East India Company. The bare facts are enlivened by logs and narratives from shipwreck survivors relating the perils of seeking the Northwest Passage or sailing to India.The author has found that many facts have been distorted on informative websites as a result of incomplete and embellished information. This book attempts to correct those errors. For each of the wrecks contained in this book, Mr. Taylor has attempted, if the wording of the documents is ambiguous, to determine the fate of these ships based on only the facts as they were recorded at the time. If in doubt, he would explain his reasoning.In his efforts to collect and share all sailing and wreck-related data in this volume, Mr. Taylor has reviewed hundreds of electronic and hard-copy manuscript archival collections and travelled to view rare and wonderful, sometimes hand-illuminated, manuscripts that have not been digitized. However, as much as he would like to believe he has uncovered everything, it is easy to imagine that more details could come to light at some time.Treasure has different meanings to different people. Some of these wrecks contain Spanish reales (“pieces of 8”), jewels, gold and silver bars that could not be recovered at the time and have since been forgotten. Written records of such events were reviewed by fewer people over the centuries and ended up buried in dark archives, until now. But some of us define treasure as knowledge, ensuring that facts are presented correctly to future generations. This is the goal Mr. Taylor strives for in these volumes.