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The Times of India (TOI)
March 2, 2013 Saturday
'Surat must preserve its 300-yr-old maritime heritage'
Ramaninder K Bhatia
VADODARA: Five years after Indiana University (IU) Professor Charles D
Beeker connected the origins of the 300-year-old shipwreck lost in the
Caribbean sea to Surat, and conclusively established its identity as
the Armenia-owned 'Quedagh Merchant', the explorer-academician, during
his ongoing India visit, has now declared Surat to be the cradle of
international trade with a rich maritime heritage.
"Three days ago, I was taken by the Wadia family, which is in the
business of shipbuilding for several generations, to Bilimora to show
a ship being constructed. I was amazed to see a vessel being
constructed with the same technique in the present times, which we saw
in the 300-year-old Quedagh Merchant, including the same teak keel and
rabbeted joints," an excited sounding Beeker told TOI.
But, the researcher had a word of caution too, "The 300-year-old
technique of shipbuilding is still being used here, but it may not
stay alive 10 years from now, with the fiberglass ships taking over
the expensive teak and the labour intensive traditional techniques. If
I had my way, I would pick up this ship in Bilimora and preserve it in
a museum as part of the rich maritime heritage of this place," he
declared after presenting his address on the discovery of Quedagh
Merchant.
The other 'discovery' that has got Beeker and his Armenian colleague
Pavel Galoumian excited was that of an old grave in Surat's Armenian
cemetery. "The grave belonged to a member of 'Kalantar' family. This
was the same family which had commissioned Quedagh Merchant," said
Galoumian, a physicist by profession, who has been associated with
Beeker and the shipwreck ever since its discovery, due to its Armenian
connection.
Quedagh Merchant, the 17th century Armenia-owned, and Surti
craftsmen-built, was leased to Armenian traders before it was
commandeered by Capt Willian Kidd in the India Ocean, which eventually
led to a high-profile court trial in the United Kingdom, leading to
the execution of Kidd. Till today, opinions are divided over whether
Kidd was a pirate or a privateer, who became a victim of international
political intrigue.
Box- The 21 canons
To researchers' delight, the IU professor has offered to bring one of
the 21 cannons of Quedagh Merchant to India, if there were any takers.
It was the sight of one of these cannons in the pristine, shallow
seawaters of Dominican Republic that brought Beeker's team to the site
in 2007 and establish the ship's antecedents. The cannon is lying in a
museum in the USA but the professor is keen to take it around the
world.
The shipwreck is being preserved as a 'living museum in the sea' with
four biological monitoring stations located around it to preserve the
marine ecology around it.
March 2, 2013 Saturday
'Surat must preserve its 300-yr-old maritime heritage'
Ramaninder K Bhatia
VADODARA: Five years after Indiana University (IU) Professor Charles D
Beeker connected the origins of the 300-year-old shipwreck lost in the
Caribbean sea to Surat, and conclusively established its identity as
the Armenia-owned 'Quedagh Merchant', the explorer-academician, during
his ongoing India visit, has now declared Surat to be the cradle of
international trade with a rich maritime heritage.
"Three days ago, I was taken by the Wadia family, which is in the
business of shipbuilding for several generations, to Bilimora to show
a ship being constructed. I was amazed to see a vessel being
constructed with the same technique in the present times, which we saw
in the 300-year-old Quedagh Merchant, including the same teak keel and
rabbeted joints," an excited sounding Beeker told TOI.
But, the researcher had a word of caution too, "The 300-year-old
technique of shipbuilding is still being used here, but it may not
stay alive 10 years from now, with the fiberglass ships taking over
the expensive teak and the labour intensive traditional techniques. If
I had my way, I would pick up this ship in Bilimora and preserve it in
a museum as part of the rich maritime heritage of this place," he
declared after presenting his address on the discovery of Quedagh
Merchant.
The other 'discovery' that has got Beeker and his Armenian colleague
Pavel Galoumian excited was that of an old grave in Surat's Armenian
cemetery. "The grave belonged to a member of 'Kalantar' family. This
was the same family which had commissioned Quedagh Merchant," said
Galoumian, a physicist by profession, who has been associated with
Beeker and the shipwreck ever since its discovery, due to its Armenian
connection.
Quedagh Merchant, the 17th century Armenia-owned, and Surti
craftsmen-built, was leased to Armenian traders before it was
commandeered by Capt Willian Kidd in the India Ocean, which eventually
led to a high-profile court trial in the United Kingdom, leading to
the execution of Kidd. Till today, opinions are divided over whether
Kidd was a pirate or a privateer, who became a victim of international
political intrigue.
Box- The 21 canons
To researchers' delight, the IU professor has offered to bring one of
the 21 cannons of Quedagh Merchant to India, if there were any takers.
It was the sight of one of these cannons in the pristine, shallow
seawaters of Dominican Republic that brought Beeker's team to the site
in 2007 and establish the ship's antecedents. The cannon is lying in a
museum in the USA but the professor is keen to take it around the
world.
The shipwreck is being preserved as a 'living museum in the sea' with
four biological monitoring stations located around it to preserve the
marine ecology around it.