Shipwrecks and the History of Sailing Ships

Human beings began sailing ships in prehistory, and we will continue to do so into the future. Sailing ships were important in commerce, transportation and military action until they were replaced by engine-driven boats during the industrial revolution. Today, sailing ships are primarily used for pleasure, although they still have commercial and transportation uses in some parts of the world. Going into the future, we are seeing renewed interest in the commercial use of sailing ships as a way to conserve fossil fuels and reduce global warming.

Many, many sailing ships of the past found their resting place on the bottom of earth's oceans. There are thousands upon thousands of shipwrecks throughout the world and many are hundreds and even thousands of years old. Shipwrecks are a treasure trove of information about past cultures and events

Marine archeologists are particularly interested in wrecked sailing ships because they tell us so much about the people of the time. We learn about military actions, about seafaring, commerce and details of every day life from shipwrecks

There's another group of people who are also interested in wrecked sailing ships: treasure hunters. Recently, Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered a wrecked sailing ship loaded with colonial-era coins estimated to be worth more than $500 million. Every country in the world that had a ship on the oceans in the colonial era wants to claim ownership of the shipwreck and, of course, the treasure.

International law tries to balance the claims of history, current governments and salvagers. When treasure's at stake, we need laws to regulate salvage operations and laws to protect the underwater cultural heritage that rests in all those wrecked sailing ships.