A remotely operated vehicle deployed from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ship Okeanos Explorer gave researchers a surprise Feb. 25.
The remains of a 64-foot long, two-masted wooden brig, from the whaling ship Industry, gives researchers a look at what things were like when descendants of African enslaved people and Native Americans served as essential crew members in one of the nation’s oldest industries.
"Black and Native American history is American history, and this critical discovery serves as an important reminder of the vast contributions Black and Native Americans have made to our country," U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said in a NOAA statement, according to CNN.
CNN reports Industry was built in 1815 in Westport, Mass., and focused on hunting sperm whales in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico until it was destroyed May 26, 1836, during a storm that broke its two masts and smashed its hull.
Newsweek reported the footage revealing the whaling ship was part of a project meant to test remote operating vehicles and mapping systems. Finding Industry was not part of the plan.
The Industry is connected to Paul Cuffe, a mariner and entrepreneur whose father was a freed slave and mother was a Wampanoag Indian, according to CNN.
"The news of this discovery is exciting, as it allows us to explore the early relationships of the men who worked on these ships, which is a lesson for us today as we deal with diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace," said Carl J. Cruz, a New Bedford-based independent historian and a descendent of the family of Cuffe.
