'Compelled to run His Majesty's Ship ashore': A multidisciplinary approach to submerged cultural resource management at HMS Santa Monica shipwreck site (United States Virgin Islands)

The material remains of HMS Santa Monica lie relatively forgotten on the bottom of Hansen Bay in St. John, United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Since the day she wrecked in April 1782, this fifth-rate frigate of the British Royal Navy has seen periods of looting and excavation, and even longer periods of neglect. Despite her listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, this shipwreck is not part of the resource base that managers share with the public of St. John the purpose of this dissertation is to examine the cause of this oversight, and to build an interdisciplinary approach which directly addresses this mismanagement. An interdisciplinary approach to interpretation and management of this shipwreck site will afford it greater potential for funding, monitoring, education outreach, and sustainable management. Since her sinking, HMS Santa Monica has become part of a complex coral reef ecosystem and is also part of a larger maritime cultural landscape that stretches far beyond the confines of St. John's east end. Exploring the connections that this shipwreck has to broader stewardship efforts to manage entire ecosystems makes this site relevant to natural resource managers and scientists. HMS Santa Monica is also connected to broader efforts to interpret eighteenth-century heritage sites throughout the Caribbean and provides a maritime component to heritage tourism in the region. This study applies methodology used by ecologists and social scientists to an archaeological site so that opportunities to collaborate with and learn from other resource managers will benefit HMS Santa Monica and similar sites throughout the Caribbean. The field of submerged cultural resource management has taken giant strides since HMS Santa Monica was discovered by a diver in 1970. Nevertheless, pertinent legislation and a National Register listing have failed to protect the site. Management of the site as an archaeological resource alone is insufficient. A greater potential for sustainability and relevance emerges from an interdisciplinary approach that addresses the social, environmental, and historical importance of the HMS Santa Monica wreck site.