These are a few images taken by Ben Dunstan of what remains of the wreck of the Phoenix which sank here at Scilly in 1679. Ben is also the diver alongside the main pile of about 12 of the 16 broken guns that are down on the wreck.
So why are there no whole guns on the Phoenix site?
The archives prove she was carrying these broken guns as ballast- "The Phoenix to sail with a Kentledge of broken guns" is how the East India Company described them. In the archives she is also described as a 30 gun ship- so where are all of her 30 main operational guns? Well these were either salvaged off the site just after she sank in 1679-or where never present to begin with- which I now believe is highly likely. This was not a vessel owned by the EiC. The Phoenix was only ever hired out to them by its Captain, whom was responsible for commissioning her to be built. When she was first constructed, Phoenix, would have been built to take operational cannon for protection- but an independent vessel didn't need to fight, and in most cases such ships could not get all the men needed to operate, in this case- 30 guns. They had too much competition, with regards to recruitment of men, from the Navy and from the EiC -whom both often resulted to the use of press gangs themselves. Therefore, Wildy, could probably only just about get enough sailors to sail his ship properly let alone man 30 guns.
This ship was not built as a fighting vessel, she was a trading vessel built for speed. Not only to get cargoes home quickly but also in order to evade any would be captors at sea. On her maiden voyage there is a report that she had an incident with a dutch ship aiming to capture her. Shots were fired and it is recorded that a few sailors aboard the Phoenix were injured. Captain Wildy was given a gratuity for any damage suffered and they were grateful that he successfully brought his cargo home under those circumstances. It sounds more like Wildy had simply set sail and made a run for it to evade capture by the dutch rather than having had a sea battle. The report does not say if Wildy ever fired any weapons. 
At that time the Phoenix was brand new so was at her best. She was recorded as being the smallest ship to sail in that seasons trade fleet. Without operational guns she could carry more cargo than a normal to make up for her size. If she was owned by the EiC then she probably would have had a full accompaniment of guns and more crew to man them. But being privately owned this was not so easy to do and so unlikely that full gun crews were ever aboard. No trained gun crews would negate the need for guns.
Another factor to look at comes in the manner and way that the EiC had commanded Wildy to sail her to and from the east. Wildy was told- 'to keep well out to sea to evade capture'- they also told him to- 'avoid the usual routes and keep well out of sight of the African coast line and to get to the safety of St Helena', and to- 'form up with other ships into a fleet for the rest of the journey'. This advice was heeded by Wildy outwards and back. Had she been well armed and well manned maybe there would not be a need for such advice? Maybe she was one of those vessels that had all the appearances of a 30 gun ship but never actually was one in reality. It was all a front and quite a normal occurrence- especially for independent ships like her. I have read before that it was something that was sometimes adopted by the EiC with its own faster vessels later on in history. So why not earlier too?
Why is it that in the list of items saved from the wreck -and the other odd references to salvaged items too- there are no mentions of guns having been salvaged when 30 guns are clearly missing? The cargo belonged to the EiC, whereas Wildy owned everything else. Therefore it was not up to the EiC to salvage the ships guns unless they were asked to do so. That particular salvage operation was up to the ships owner- Wildy. Furthermore, had the EiC salvaged any guns then they should appear somewhere-but they are not in the list of items saved from the wreck -and no records of charges for the salvage of any guns- or-receipts for payment from Wildy for them being raised- or - payments or receipts with a salvage man for his services, in company minutes or their letter books. Yet the records are quite good for this later 17th c period in EiC historic documents.
This ship was not built as a fighting vessel, she was a trading vessel built for speed. Not only to get cargoes home quickly but also in order to evade any would be captors at sea. On her maiden voyage there is a report that she had an incident with a dutch ship aiming to capture her. Shots were fired and it is recorded that a few sailors aboard the Phoenix were injured. Captain Wildy was given a gratuity for any damage suffered and they were grateful that he successfully brought his cargo home under those circumstances. It sounds more like Wildy had simply set sail and made a run for it to evade capture by the dutch rather than having had a sea battle. The report does not say if Wildy ever fired any weapons.
At that time the Phoenix was brand new so was at her best. She was recorded as being the smallest ship to sail in that seasons trade fleet. Without operational guns she could carry more cargo than a normal to make up for her size. If she was owned by the EiC then she probably would have had a full accompaniment of guns and more crew to man them. But being privately owned this was not so easy to do and so unlikely that full gun crews were ever aboard. No trained gun crews would negate the need for guns.
Another factor to look at comes in the manner and way that the EiC had commanded Wildy to sail her to and from the east. Wildy was told- 'to keep well out to sea to evade capture'- they also told him to- 'avoid the usual routes and keep well out of sight of the African coast line and to get to the safety of St Helena', and to- 'form up with other ships into a fleet for the rest of the journey'. This advice was heeded by Wildy outwards and back. Had she been well armed and well manned maybe there would not be a need for such advice? Maybe she was one of those vessels that had all the appearances of a 30 gun ship but never actually was one in reality. It was all a front and quite a normal occurrence- especially for independent ships like her. I have read before that it was something that was sometimes adopted by the EiC with its own faster vessels later on in history. So why not earlier too?
Why is it that in the list of items saved from the wreck -and the other odd references to salvaged items too- there are no mentions of guns having been salvaged when 30 guns are clearly missing? The cargo belonged to the EiC, whereas Wildy owned everything else. Therefore it was not up to the EiC to salvage the ships guns unless they were asked to do so. That particular salvage operation was up to the ships owner- Wildy. Furthermore, had the EiC salvaged any guns then they should appear somewhere-but they are not in the list of items saved from the wreck -and no records of charges for the salvage of any guns- or-receipts for payment from Wildy for them being raised- or - payments or receipts with a salvage man for his services, in company minutes or their letter books. Yet the records are quite good for this later 17th c period in EiC historic documents.
We know there was a local salvage man present on Scilly at this time in-Thomas Ekins. So either Wildy had paid for the huge expense of raising them himself with someone like Ekins- and Ekins miraculously managed to salvage every single one of them-or that salvage operation never happened.
Lastly, even after heavy salvage, the majority of 17th century shipwrecks nearly always retain at least a few of their armament guns. This is because salvage was so primitive that far back. They fished them up from the surface only and unless the ship stayed perfectly upright, which is highly unlikely, then to get at those guns in the very bottom of the wreck was extremely difficult to do-hence we nearly always see the odd few guns remaining on such wrecks for us to find today. Over here Ekins salvaged the Golden Lyon and the Shaftesbury and the Princess Maria and on all those sites we know he failed to get all their guns up- and yet they were all salvaged from a similar depth to the Phoenix. The salvaged goods list proves somone clearly salvaged the wreck of the Phoenix-and Ekins was here at the time the wreck went in as we know he was here during the build of our first lighthouse in 1680. A local story that I have never yet proved with research either, is that proceeds from the salvage of the Phoenix went to build the first wooden church on St Agnes Island-(where Ekins lived and built the Lighthouse) Sadly there is not yet any evidence of guns ever being raised-and yet 30 guns are clearly missing. To me all the above circumstantial evidence points more towards there never being any whole guns on the ship to begin with.
Lastly, even after heavy salvage, the majority of 17th century shipwrecks nearly always retain at least a few of their armament guns. This is because salvage was so primitive that far back. They fished them up from the surface only and unless the ship stayed perfectly upright, which is highly unlikely, then to get at those guns in the very bottom of the wreck was extremely difficult to do-hence we nearly always see the odd few guns remaining on such wrecks for us to find today. Over here Ekins salvaged the Golden Lyon and the Shaftesbury and the Princess Maria and on all those sites we know he failed to get all their guns up- and yet they were all salvaged from a similar depth to the Phoenix. The salvaged goods list proves somone clearly salvaged the wreck of the Phoenix-and Ekins was here at the time the wreck went in as we know he was here during the build of our first lighthouse in 1680. A local story that I have never yet proved with research either, is that proceeds from the salvage of the Phoenix went to build the first wooden church on St Agnes Island-(where Ekins lived and built the Lighthouse) Sadly there is not yet any evidence of guns ever being raised-and yet 30 guns are clearly missing. To me all the above circumstantial evidence points more towards there never being any whole guns on the ship to begin with.
EiC Salvage list of the Phoenix
Thank you Ben Dunstan for the pictures. (Want to see some good entertainment -Check out Bens- 'Ben o Cam' - videos on Youtube
