I’m always interested understanding history from a first-person account rather than from the formalized textbook perspective. The latter often summarizes the event into a neat paragraph or two but omits the human element entirely.
Personally what I find most compelling are the accounts of participants and eyewitnesses who lend their perspectives and insights. Often I find the “real” story to be nuanced, much more complex, often revealing the heroes and villains that have been overlooked or purposely omitted. Frequently This frequently occurs when the initial reports have run their course overt weeks and months and the event given way to the next big story.
However, it is not until the dust has settled that the facts fully reveal themselves. This occurs with the more detached and objective perspectives realized after the initial exposure.
The facts are often borne out in lengthy official investigations, testimony, letters, detailed interviews or insurance claims. And these documents can also have shortcomings, for they may add irrelevant details or view the event from a financial perspective rather than a human one. They are often produced long after the event where they fall outside the public’s consciousness. What is left is an incomplete and inaccurate characterization of the actual event.
For the four shipwreck books I have written to date, Let Glasgow Flourish No Fighting Chance , Undiminshed Violence and Class Distinction, I have explored the details of the disasters using the many digital resources available, but viewing them from a eyewitness’s perspective. There are many questions that need to be answered:
Why were these emigrants aboard the ship? What were their initial and long term objectives? How were they related to one another? How confident they would reach a distant shore safely? What were their initial reactions to the event? What actions did they take that they would later regret?
Beyond seeking answers to these questions I am also interested in connecting with the descendants of the survivors and victims to round out the perspective. In a very modest way, I believe this effort can reclaim the voices of the many who survived or were victims of these disasters. In part, I hope this modest effort restores a measure of dignity that has eluded them for almost two centuries. They were courageous individuals that were willing to risk their lives at sea, hoping for a better life, one that most never realized.