Your homework this weekend is to research the theories as to why the Mary Rose sank. You are to be investigators! Decide which theory you think is most likely to be true, and write your report to persuade your readers that you are correct. Post your report as a comment here.
Here’s a link to the website we used in our lesson to get you started:
http://www.maryrose.org/discover-our-collection/story-of-the-ship/why-did-the-mary-rose-sink/
Why did the Mary Rose sink
Well, people say that there were too many people on one side of the ship, even though it had 700 men and it weighed 800 tones it wasn’t that. Other people say that it was because the cannon holes were left open but it wasn’t that either. What was it ? Well, when Henry VIII ordered to have better cannons put in the Mary Rose they were too heavy so he had to strengthen the floor in the ship by adding planks but that made the ship unstable and unseaworthy . The reason the Mary Rose sank was because it was unstable and it was caught by a gust of wind. These elements together caused the Mary Rose to sink
I like your thinking Miles and well done for doing your homework quickly.
The reason why Mary Rose sank is a very big mystery.
I think the reason why the Mary Rose sank is that it was either caused by the wind or the weight of the ship. It may be caused by when the ship turned, and at the same time the cannon flaps were open and that occurred the ship to sink. The ship turned so low that the water managed to come in and flood the ship.There may be other reasons that scientists and maritime archeologists haven’t found. And when I’m a grown up ( and I’m not lying ) I’m going to be a maritime archeologist.
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
Lots of people have different stories as to why the Mary Rose sank but I think that she sank mainly because of a French cannonball but there were other factors that played a part as well. Experts at the University of Portsmouth had found a piece of granite on the ship when it was lifted out of the sea. These experts managed to match the granite found on the ship with granite found in France. I have found out that French cannonballs at the time were made out of French granite. If a cannonball did smash the wood in the hull then water would have flooded in and caused it to sink. Then that may have been the reason why it turned so suddenly to try and get to land close to where they were. Also as it turned the wind must have pushed it down lower and with the gun ports open for battle it could have flooded. One theory was the wind could have blown the Mary Rose over. I don’t think it was completely the wind though. It may have been a powerful gust of wind but it can’t have been completely powerful enough to knock the Mary Rose over because the Mary Rose was so massive. Another theory was that the sailors had made a mistake. I don’t think it was the sailors’ fault because they had done everything correct until they got to the Solent when she sunk. The last theory was that the ship was overloaded. I don’t think it was overloaded because the Mary Rose manged to get all the way across the English Channel without sinking so why did it sink in the Solent?
So I think the most likely theory was the French firing a cannonball at the Mary Rose.
Henry VIII ordered over 90 heavier guns to be fitted into the Mary Rose. This was the first time they had ever fitted these new guns and they didn’t know how to calculate its stability back then. The Mary Rose was already over 30 years old and I think that they should not have been fitting these new guns into such an old ship that would have been out of action soon. There were also hundreds of soldiers onboard which made it even heavier.
The soldiers were probably trying to reload the guns as the ship was turning and could have left the gun ports open. A strong gust of wind could have blown it over even more, causing it to heel. Water could have then rushed in through the open ports which had to be cut lower down in the hull for the heavier guns, flooding the ship. I believe this because experts who examined the ship found the gun ports open and suspected this to be true.
The Mary Rose sank in 1545 July 19th. Nobody actually knows how it sank. Historians think it was because of human error its quite simple really . The admiral claimed that his crew couldn’t listen so he got more and more and more people on the Mary Rose and it just kept going down and down until it was at the bottom of the ocean. Or it could have been wind it could have been a really strong gust of wind that hit the Mary Rose and it knocked the ship over into the horrible cold blue sea. The French said it was their guns that blasted a hole in the side of the Mary Rose. Maybe that’s why the ship was heading for shore? Or maybe it was over loading there were a lot of people on the Mary Rose it must have just tipped over. You never know…
I think that The Mary Rose sank because of 3 things!
1. Human error
2. It was windy
3. It was overloaded with heavy objects
It was a pleasant day and the English fleet were on their way to fight the French. The new guns had been fitted in the hull of The Mary Rose and the caps had been left open! It was in the midst of the war that The Mary Rose turned to the right and she toppled into the sea! As she was turning to go right the wind caught her sail and she hung against the weight of the ship. Then a strong wave brushed the side of the boat and went through the open caps of the cannons! The Mary Rose then went down as the weight of the water dragged the ship down. CRSPLASH! It fell hard on the surface of the water splitting into great chunks. Only about 25 men survived. But that is the great thing about tragic history, it gets our minds going, like the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
The Mary Rose was King Henry VIII ‘s favourite war ship. On the third war against the French, The battle of the Solent, There was a long range cannon fight. In the middle of the fight the Mary Rose suddenly tipped over. She wasn’t hit by the French cannons. She shot all her guns on one side, Then gusts of wind caught the sail and tipped the Mary Rose and sank it.
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
There were many theories as to why the Mary Rose sank. I think it wouldn’t be French cannonballs that sank the Mary Rose because even if the French were to shoot one or two cannonballs would that be enough to penetrate the defences of the Mary Rose? The Mary Rose was so well constructed that it had many layers of wood to protect the ship from attacks from the French. Also there was no evidence that the French cannonballs had had gone through the Mary rose because there were no holes in the hull according to experts.
I think there are two opinions why the Mary Rose sank. Number one was maybe the sea was too shallow and the rocks on the sea bed might have scraped the Mary Rose, leaving huge holes in the hull but according to the experts there was no evidence that there were huge holes. So the main reason the Mary Rose sank was because Henry the eight had re-armed the Mary Rose with the latest technology in his age, which included the bronze cannon and the cannons would probably make it less stable. When the Mary Rose keeled over there was a slight problem because all the sailors rushed to one side so the chances of making it out alive would be really poor.
On the 19th of July 1545,the Mary rose sank in the battle of Solent. It had mostly Spanish sailors and they did not understand the admiral George Carew who was speaking English.When the admiral said close the gun ports they did not understand the command and they left it open. This was a problem because Henry VIII just ordered 90 new heavy guns.When the crew had to turn north they did a sharp turn with the gun ports open and everybody was on one side. The water entered the Mary rose through the gun ports and the water went into the ship.CRASH!!! The Mary rose sank slowly into the water.
I think the Mary Rose sank because a big gust of wind came and made it tip over. As it tipped the flaps of the cannon balls opened up so the ship filled with water. It sank faster because all the 700 people were thrown to one side because the wind and ship pushed them over. Also Mr Fairclough, our History teacher was there in Portsmouth in 1982 when they pulled the Mary Rose from the sea. He believes that the wind pushed the ship over and as the cannonball flaps were open, the ship quickly sank. He must be right!
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
The Mary Rose was first launched in 1511. It crossed the channel many times as flagship in battle. The Mary Rose sank crossing the Solent in 1545. It is very interesting how nobody knows how the Mary Rose sank.
There are four theories that archeologists and historians have come up with. One theory is human error. The cannons had been fired and just at that moment the Mary Rose turned the other way. The water could have come through the cannon holes.
Another theory is the wind. Suddenly a gust of wind might have hit the sails. The ship would have sunk into the sea because there were really heavy guns.
There is another theory. The French might have fired a cannon at the bottom of the ship where water can get through. Historians think that the Mary Rose was in the French gunfire.
The last theory is overloading. There were extra people on the ship and King Henry VIII had just refitted the new newest cannons on the ship. The cannons were very heavy and there were extra people so a small gust of wind could have made the Mary Rose topple.
I think that human error was probably most likely to have happened. The Mary Rose might have been in the French gunfire but a survivor told King Henry VIII that the water came through the cannon holes. He would not be lying because King Henry VIII would have taken revenge against France.
A gust of wind couldn’t have blown the Mary Rose over because it had been used so many times and it was too strong to be blown over. I think overloading could have been a possibility because there was a heavy load, but the weight of all the people was all over the boat and wouldn’t have made it fall to one side.
So I think human error and open cannon holes was the most likely reason why the Mary Rose sunk.
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
From
Thanasis
Many people are trying to find out why the Mary Rose ship sank. Here I will explain how we think that this ship sank.
Before sinking the Mary Rose saw 34 years of service as HenryVIII’s flagship. It weighed way over 500 tones in fact it weighed 800 tones! It was King HenryVIII’s favourite ship. The Mary Rose was in battle against the French.
The Mary Rose sank in 1545. Many people say that she sank because there were too many people on one side of the ship. She wasn’t bombed or hit by the French cannon. About 25 people survived but the first one to die was the captain because he was supposed to keep the ship safe so he didn’t jump out of the Mary Rose.
Do you know how the Mary Rose sank? This is still a question in modern days like today. The Mary Rose sank because the gusts of the wind caught the sail but meanwhile the sailors were putting planks down. So a lot of pressure was on the bottom of the ship. When the wind blew it smashed the sail and bashed and CRASH!!!! The boat went down. About 500 men died.
Two years after this King HenryVIII died on January 28th 1547. He was born June 28th 1491, so he was the age of 54, which is old for someone, that lived in the Tudor times.
Mary Rose was raised in 1982. It was raised after 437 years. A huge team of divers, archaeologists and scientists was involved in raising the Mary Rose. Amateurs and professionals were dedicated to the cause, and the project broke new ground in diving and conservation techniques.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!!!!!!!
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
It is a mystery how the Mary Rose sank because it was a wooden ship and wooden ships usually didn’t sink. There biggest danger was fire and explosions.
Before the war, the Mary rose had long bronze light cannons. Then when they went to battle with the French for the third time, King Henry VIII took away the light cannons and put big heavy strong cannon instead, thinking the bigger the better. But he was wrong.
During the battle, Mary Rose fired from the Port side and turned to fire from her Starboard side, she fell sideways into the cold ocean.
I think the wind and overloading from the heavy cannons made her sink.
Why The Mary Rose Sank
Who was to blame?
My theory is a mixture of overloading, human error and the wind.
Overloading – The English put to meny people, guns and cannons on board.
Human Error – The English should not have turned at the same time as firing the cannons.
The Wind – The wind was heavy that day and when The Mary Rose turned the wind pushed the ship down.
When the Mary Rose was firing her cannons there was a gust of wind which made it tilt to one side. King Henry had put new cannons on the ship that were heavier so when the ship tilted on one side it made the it start to sink. King Henry was sad because his favorite ship had sank!
The Theories of Why the Mary Rose Sank
Human Error and Overloading ?
A new captain had been appointed for the Mary Rose hours before its sinking. He said he had an unruly crew that he could not control. Some people think a member of his family said that to protect the family name. King Henry had a refitting when the Mary Rose was only thirty years old, because he wanted to install the new long range bronze cannon that had just been invented and King Henry wanted to be at the brink of Tudor technology. The Mary Rose had ninety cannons on it. The crew left open the bottom row of gun ports (which are flaps which open so that the cannons can fire though the holes.) We know this because when it sank to the bottom half was buried in mud which preserved it and when it was found the gun ports were open. Because of Henry’s refit the ship was heavier which made it sit lower in the water and raised the centre of gravity which made the ship more unstable so that when it turned it tilted more than before and so the water could reach the holes and flow into the gun deck.
King Henry wanted more men than usual on the Mary Rose to fight the French because he had fewer ships than the French. So the Mary Rose went to sea with 600 men board, which was about 200 more than usual. They were on the top deck and in the middle which made it even more unstable so when it turned it tilted even more.
So I think that both overloading and human error helped sink the Mary Rose.
Strong Gust of Wind ?
I think the wind was one of the thing that helped it sink because if you try and turn so that there is a strong wind blowing you sideways the sails will fill and the ship will tilt over which may have made the water reach the gun ports.
French Guns ?
I don’t think this theory is correct because the cannon balls would have made only small holes in the ship and there is no record of a war ship like the Mary Rose being sunk just by cannon fire in Tudor times.
Why the Mary Rose sank?
Well everyone thinks differently about how the Mary Rose sank and I think it’s they set off to fight the French one more time. Then when they were in the middle of floating in the sea she had too many things to carry and sets if armour made of heavy iron were piled up on top of even heavier sets of armour .The Mary Rose set off in 1545 and there was 415 crew members on the ship.The Mary Rose was much smaller then our modern cruise ships now She had far less people and didn’t even have an engine! No one knows exactly how the Mary Rose sank and it would be very odd to see the Mary Rose sailing now in the water. In 1982 the Mary Rose was discovered and lifted by some scuba divers with air bags. It might have sank because people say that there were too many people with heavy armour or it could be human error. People sometimes say that the cannon holes were open and water came in. Peoples minds now are curious and we are still working out how it sank.
For over 500 years people have blamed a strong wind for the sinking of the Mary rose. How can this be possible?
When the wind hit the sails it would have forced the boat forwards and not sideways to topple over.
The boat sunk in 1545 during the battle of the Solent between the English and the French. The French built big and small boats. The small boats had lots of men rowing with oars on them that made them very fast. One of these small boats attacked the Mary rose with a cannonball that went through the side of the ship causing a big hole. Onlookers from the shore would not have seen this attack from the other side of the ship and so they blamed strong winds when it was actually a large hole that
caused the boat to flood and sink. The tudors denied this fact as they were too embarrassed to say that Henrys V111’s favourite ship had been toppled by a small man powered French boat.
How did the Mary rose sink?
It all happened on 1545 July 19th. Nobody knows who did it or how did it happened. I think that all of the soldiers went on one side and the Mary rose sunk but some people don’t think that. Some people say that a hard breeze was coming in the North side but people thought that it was an army fight. So they shot the cannons and they saw there was nothing there so they went but they forgot to close the cannon slip and the Mary rose sunk. Or the French came and were killing the men. Then admiral said that all the men should go on one side and the boat went on that side and it tipped over!.
Why did the Mary Rose sink?
There are 4 theories. The first theory is human error. This theory is most likely because human error is easily made and the captain says that his crew were not listening to him. The second theory is the wind. Historians believe that when the Mary Rose made a turn, there was a giant gust of wind that hit the sails from the south. Due to a recent refit where the ship was fitted with new canons to give it greater firepower but resulted in more gun ports which were open and therefore let in more water causing the ship to become unstable and sink. The third theory is that the French fired a canon which hit the Mary Rose and caused it to sink. However, there is no archaeological evidence to support this theory. The last theory is overloading. People believe that the Mary Rose was overloaded with extra guns and soldiers before she went to battle. This meant that she was very unstable and could capsize easily. After reading the evidence I think that the reason is a mixture of human error, the wind and overloading. These remain the most likely explanations why the Mary Rose sank. Still to this day, nobody knows the real story of why the Mary Rose sank. The truth still remains unknown.