| Summary |
Between 1978 and 1985 the Underwater Archaeology Service of Parks Canada undertook a large-scale excavation at Red Bay, Labrador, directed at the extensive remains of a 250-ton vessel thought to represent the Basque whaler San Juan wrecked in 1565. In addition, however, three whaleboats, or chalupas, were found in direct association with the whaler, these surviving in varying states of preservation. This thesis presents a comparative study of the 16th-century whaleboat collection, with the main focus being on the second whaleboat known as chalupa no.2. The study begins with an introduction to the Basque whaling industry in Labrador as documented though archival sources, terrestrial archaeology, and the underwater site investigations. It continues with a discussion of the historical background of the Basque whaleboat and its outfitting for the Labrador whale fishery. The study then addresses the in situ remains of chalupa no.2 followed by a comprehensive archaeological reconstruction of this second whaleboat In turn, the archaeological reconstruction of chalupa no.2 allowed comparisons to be made with the reassembled remains of the first whaleboat, as well as with other isolated chalupa remains that form part of the Red Bay small craft collection, these typically deriving from exploratory test trenches excavated in the periphery of the main wrecksite. This served to validate the hypothesis that a high degree of standardisation attended 16th-century Basque whaleboat construction. This standardisation is evident in the common timber scantlings and moulding methods that are observed in each case. A second hypothesis explores the suggestion that 16th-century Iberian ship and boat construction were closely related in terms of the methods of hull design and techniques of construction employed. The chalupa material provides clear archaeological evidence attesting to this relationship. Specifically, the moulding methods and construction sequence documented in chalupas no.l and no.2 are seen to correspond to those identified archaeologically in the large whale ship, as well as to those described in various shipbuilding treatises dating to the period 1570 to 1620. |
