REDISCOVER THE HISTORY OF THE BAHAMAS
Ocean Dispatches
Allen Exploration’s maritime investigations in the northern Bahamas since 2018 are focused on re-assessing the Spanish wreck of the Maravillas (1656) and conducting underwater reconnaissance to search for additional sections of wreckage. The holistic project includes a variety of investigative and supportive branches, including maritime historical research, archaeological and scientific fieldwork, and philanthropic and educational endeavors. Where former expeditions were motivated exclusively by the hunt for treasure, AllenX is science led, with the aim of contributing to an enhanced understanding of and respect for the maritime legacy of The Bahamas and training a new generation of Bahamian divers. The discoveries are conserved, studied and displayed in The Bahamas Maritime Museum, founded by Carl and Gigi Allen on Grand Bahama Island.
Allen Exploration Ocean Dispatches 1
EXPEDITION BACKGROUND
Allen Exploration’s maritime investigations in the northern Bahamas since 2018 are focused on re-assessing the Spanish wreck of the Maravillas (1656) and conducting underwater reconnasissance to search for additional sections of wreckage. The holistic project incudes a variety of investigative and supportive branches, including maritime historical research, archaeological and scientific fieldwork, and philanthropic and educational endeavors.
Allen Exploration Ocean Dispatches 2
THE BAHAMAS LOST SHIPS PROJECT
In 2023 The Bahamas Lost Ships Project was initiated by Allen Exploration and James Jenney to evaluate the character of shipping lost in the section of the northern Bahamas under archaeological survey by Allen Exploration. Some 176 maritime losses were identified within the historical record, dating between c. 1526 and 1976.
Allen Exploration Ocean Dispatches 3
SILVER FEVER IN THE BAHAMAS: THE HISTORICAL SALVAGE OF THE MARAVILLAS
Allen Exploration’s maritime investigations in the northern Bahamas since 2018 are focused on re-assessing the Spanish wreck of the Maravillas (1656) and conducting underwater reconnaissance to search for additional sections of wreckage. The holistic project incudes a variety of investigative and supportive branches, including maritime historical research, archaeological and scientific fieldwork, and philanthropic and educational endeavors.
Allen Exploration Ocean Dispatches 4
THE MARAVILLAS MATRIX: PIECING TOGETHER IN TIME & SPACE A SPANISH GALLEON IN THE NORTHERN BAHAMAS
In this report, AllenX begins to untangle the impacts – extracting filters and scrambling devices – that led to the creation and development of the scatter trail. By relating the finds to the framework of a galleon matrix, the spatial origins of the artifacts on the Maravillas are reconstructed, along with the processes through which the ship broke up and dispersed.
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GREATER ABACO'S SHIPWRECKED ECHOES OF THE CARIBBEAN PLANTATION ECONOMY
In this installment of the Ocean Dispatches, we focus on a notable cluster of shipwrecks that were witness to the region’s major role in the transatlanic and intra-regional US slave trade. In addition, we investigate the major role of Cuba in sustaining enslavement deep into the 19th century and the illegal involvement of US ships in trafficking and transport.
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TROPHY GUNS OF THE CRIMEAN WAR
IN THE BAHAMAS
In the course of recording shipwrecks off the northern Bahamas during surveys of the Nuestra Señora de la Maravillas
(1656), Allen Exploration (AllenX) has newly discovered a cluster of 24 iron cannons that include rare guns used in the
Crimean War of 1853 to 1855.
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THE MARAVILLAS' SILVER & RISE OF THE PIRATES REPUBLIC OF NEW PROVIDENCE
The sinking of the Spain-bound Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas off the Little Bahama Bank, while trying to negotiate the Florida Strait on January 4, 1656, created a major logistical recovery problem for Spain. This report uses primary sources to connect the sinking of the Maravillas with the rise of Nassau and, in turn, the emergence of the golden age of piracy on the island.
Allen Exploration Ocean Dispatches 8
THE BAHAMAS LOST SHIPS PROJECT: A MAJOR MARITIME SEA LANE OFF GREATER ABACO
The Greater Abaco region is the second area to be assessed by The Bahamas Lost Ships Project. The pattern of wrecked vessels analyzed through historical sources is very different to the western Little Bahama Bank. A total of 596 ships were lost from 1657-1945. Click the link to learn more about our research and findings.
