Search the Community

La Belle (1680) Small french ship (barque longue, 6 guns). Part of the disastrous expedition of René-Robert Cavelier de la Salle sent from France in 1684 to explore the mouth of Mississipi. Wrecked during a storm on the Texas banks. (copyright) Tonnage : 40-45 Length : 54 ft 4 in (16,56 m). Beam : 14 ft 9 in (4,50 m) Draft : 8 ft (2,4 m) Shallow draught and high maneuverability allow coastal navigation for explorers and privateers. Small crew. About late XVIIth-century to early XVIIIth-century french freebooters, Jean-Baptist Labat (1663-1738) wrote : To attack merchant ships, "they favoured small ships that were more manoeuvrable — mostly barques ; also corvettes and brigantines — with no more than 6 cannons (even when the ship could carry more) because they were convinced that four muskets could kill more enemies than one cannon". Plans : http://ancre.fr/en/monographies-en/30-monographie-de-la-belle-barque-1680.html (monograph (20 drawings) and website with plans) Download (587.64k) http://www.editions-ancre.com/plans026.htm (excerpt) http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/pdf-files/Grieco-MA2003.pdf (master's thesis with plans on Modeling La Belle, p. 56, 58, 153) http://www.academia.edu/9817712/The_Model_Reconstruction_of_La_Salles_Ship_La_Belle http://nauticalarch.org/documents/quarterly/V30%20No4.pdf (article with plans, p. 5-6, 13) Pictures : http://olivier.gatine.free.fr/modeles.html http://modelisme.arsenal.free.fr/artdumodelisme/La%20Belle/indexgb.html http://nautarch.tamu.edu/model/report1/belleinprogress.htm http://nautarch.tamu.edu/model/report1/amcomplete.htm http://nautarch.tamu.edu/model/report1/rockport.htm http://gerard.delacroix.pagesperso-orange.fr/barque/barq-index.htm Multimedia http://www.musee-marine.fr/programmes_multimedia/construction_navale/ (click on "Construction virtuelle de La Belle) (3d shipmodel tutorial video clip, 10 min., B. Huc) Modeling La Belle, a 17th Century Gun and Carriage http://nautarch.tamu.edu/model/report4/ Archaeology of La Belle Shipwreck http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/belle/laboratory.html#reconstructing http://www.thc.state.tx.us/preserve/archeology/la-salle-archeology-projects http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lasalle/ http://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/Report7/hull.htm http://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/West-MA2005.pdf Toni L. Carrell PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews Guéroult du Pas, "Barque longue for exploration, escort and trade during wars", 1710 (gallica.bnf.fr) About La Belle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Belle_(ship) http://www.texashighways.com/history/item/7670-landing-of-la-belle-exhibit-la-salle Theodore Gudin, La Salle's Expedition to Louisiana in 1684 (1844)