In February, Australian archaeologists decided to identify a crumbling wreck off the coast of Rhode Island as the famed HMB Endeavour, the ship commanded by James Cook in 1768 while prowling the Pacific Ocean for the British crown.
This identification was promptly challenged by Rhode Island archaeologists, who claimed there was not enough evidence to identify the shipwreck—also known as RI 2394—as the Endeavour.
However, the real identity of RI 2394 remains unsettled, and it may well stay that way. That’s because the ship that may or may not be the Endeavour is being devoured by shipworms, according to a report from Brian Amaral in The Boston Globe.
Now, Sabrina Imbler—who among other things writes about science for the New York Times—says that instead of raising the wreck the shipworms should get to keep feasting on the Endeavor.
Imbler makes the case that most of the ship has already been consumed and that Captain Cook was a “hall-of-fame bad dude” who shot and killed Māori people in New Zealand, shot at the Aboriginal people of Australia and “would trigger the brutal colonization of the South Pacific.”
The writer argues that it would be costly to raise the Endeavor and that the shipworms and gribbles that are eating the structure should be left alone. “Who are we to take away a feast that has lasted for more than 250 years!” she writes.
Imbler has a way with words and whether you agree with her or not, you might enjoy her opinion piece on defector.com
