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Cover-up claim over sinking of Mary Rose
Political spin was used in Tudor times to cover up the true reason why Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose was sunk in battle, according to a new study.
University of Portsmouth geographer Dominic Fontana said the truth that Mary Rose was sunk by a cannonball fired from a French ship was withheld to maintain the Royal Navy's image.
Instead the authorities created a cover story that the King's pride and joy was toppled by heavy winds and an incompetent crew.
A University of Portsmouth spokeswoman said: "What happened next was an artful piece of political spin.
"The French were not credited with sinking Mary Rose because, by claiming instead the ship was toppled by wind and an incompetent crew, the navy's supremacy was maintained, Henry VIII's pride remained intact and the French were unable to claim the victory."
Dr Fontana said the ship would have carried the best available crew, which bravely battled against the incoming water after the French blew a hole in the side.
He said: "Mary Rose was holed by French gunfire received from an advance party of fast, oar-powered galleys which were heavily armed.
"She would have quickly taken quite a quantity of water into her hull before she manoeuvred to bring a broadside of guns to bear on the attacking French galleys."
He explained that the manoeuvre to put Mary Rose in a firing position was its undoing as the sudden movement of water in the hold caused it to capsize, killing the 400 crew on board.
Dr Fontana said: "The water in her hold would have had a significant effect on her handling and her stability would have been severely compromised.
"The additional weight of water would also have pushed her open gunports closer to the waterline than they should have been, making disaster inevitable once the sea flowed rapidly in through them.
Dr Fontana's research involved studying the "Cowdray Engraving", which is a large picture recording many of the events that happened during the Battle of the Solent on July 19, 1545.
The original Tudor painting, from which the engraving was made, once adorned the wall of the dining parlour at Cowdray House in Sussex but it was lost when Cowdray House caught fire in 1793.
Dr Fontana used advanced Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology to create a map from the engraving which revealed the positions of each of the ships involved in the action.
A spokeswoman for The Mary Rose Trust said the new research was the latest in a string of theories on the fate of the warship.
The research will be the centre of a TV programme called What Really Sank The Mary Rose, being shown on the History Channel at 9pm on November 24.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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