Posted by Andy Clayton on July 22, 2004 at 19:12:03 from 195.92.168.163 user cousin_jack.
In Reply to: Re: twice... posted by Another lawyer writes on July 16, 2004 at 09:37:13:
It was a while ago, but I was just catching up, and got indignant at the suggestion that Cornish folk went to the trouble of luring ships to their doom. There was NO NEED. In the C17th-C19th period ships were throwing themselves on the coast like lemmings in reverse! If you look at a map of KNOWN shipwrecks you will see that there are literaly thousands! Many brave locals risked life and limb to try and save crew-members in terrible conditions, and only gave their attention to 'salvaging' useful items after the storm had passed. There is one anecdote of a wreck in the Isles of Scilly where the survivors, clinging to the rigging of their stricken vessel, tried to drive away their would be rescuers as they feared the islanders practised canibalism! I think tales of 'lights on the shore' were an attempt to deflect the blame from poor navigation (Very likely!) or poor/reckless seamanship (less likely). I have every sympathy for the peasant living in a one room cottage garnering 'fruits from the sea'...some say it even goes on today... I couldn't possibly comment.