The
Cannon Project
Principal Investigator: Sara Hoskins
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Research Proposal, Sara Hoskins
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Introduction: The Museu de Angra do Heroismo, Terceira Island, Azores possesses nine bronze cannon dating to the sixteenth century. The guns were salvaged in Bays of Angra and Fanal on the southern coast of Terceira, but comprehensive research and documentation has yet to be completed. I will prepare detailed descriptions and scale drawings of each gun, and carry out in-depth research into their design, manufacture, and use. This study will be the subject of my master's thesis in Anthropology (Nautical Archaeology Program) at Texas A&M University, College Station. |
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Objectives: In-depth documentation and study of the Museu de Angra cannon will add greatly to their value as museum exhibits, by allowing museum patrons to better understand where the guns came from, how they were cast, what they were used for, and why they were important. This documentation will add to the history of the Azores, more specifically, Terceira Island, Angra do Heroísmo, and the harbor fortress of São João Baptista. It will also add to our knowledge of Western European gunfounding technology during the sixteenth century, as four different countries commissioned the guns: Portugal, Spain, France, and England. With detailed documentation and publication, the Museu de Angra bronze guns can be added to the bibliography of ordnance of this period, which will aid future researchers who encounter similar artifacts. The Museu de Angra bronze guns, as symbols of the military and naval powers of the countries that commissioned them, were sent aboard ships, into the field, and mounted on fortress walls. Bronze guns of this time period are particularly important, as bronze was an expensive commodity, and the demand for ordnance was increasing rapidly. Countries developed more effective ways to make use of iron for the founding of guns, and the use of bronze became more symbolic of wealth. The information that each gun contains includes both the cutting-edge military technology of the time and the artistic statement of the founder. Some of the finest metalwork of the period was displayed in cast bronze guns, and due to the founding techniques, no two are the same; this makes each an important piece of history. |
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Procedure: Detailed measurements will be taken from every gun in order to produce inked scale plan, profile, breech, and muzzle drawings. Photographs and rubbings will also be used for this purpose. Additional drawings will be produced to detail the identifying marks. In order to discover each gun's place in history, many sources will be consulted. Records in the archives of the Museu de Angra do Heroismo will be reviewed as a starting point for research as well as to find information on the locations and circumstances of their recovery, their treatment, and previous research performed. Cannon and ordnance collections in museums will also be examined, along with collections from archaeological sites, in order to compare the Museu de Angra guns with similar examples of cast bronze ordnance. A review of contemporary documents and treatises pertaining to the art of gun founding will serve as an aid in understanding the processes of molding and casting, changes in decorative style, and gun manufacture over time, as well as other idiosyncrasies. It is my intention to return to Angra do Heroismo for four weeks between June and August of 2002 in order to gather all of the remaining pertinent data. In the mean time, I will begin background research using the cannon data that I gathered at the Museu de Angra, as well as drafting two of the cannon, which I took measurements from in August, 2001. |
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