I've been checking out the www.thehansofoundation.com (http://www.thehansofoundation.com) and www.oceanicflight815.com (http://www.oceanicflight815.com) and I've come across something very interesting. As many of you know, one of the Hanso letters contains mention of the "Zanzibar" facility. As some of you also know, the Zanzibar islands are real islands off of the east coast of Africa.
While watching some of the clips on www.oceanicflight815.com (http://www.oceanicflight815.com), I noticed something. In the Black Rock, Locke sees the slaves chained to the walls. He says that it was a slave ship that probably set off of the EAST COAST OF AFRICA. Coincidence?
Maybe the experiments date back further than we thought and Hanso was delivering a batch of slaves from his Zanzibar facility to the Lost island for the purposes of testing or experimentation. Maybe the Black Rock didn't crash accidently at all - maybe it was sent there on purpose.
I don't think that this mention is a coincidence. What do you guys think?

Zanzibar is an island off the coast of what is now Tanzania -- they used to be separate countries, Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Now they're combined into Tanzania.

Locke thought the Black Rock was coming from the east coast of Africa (he cited Mozambique) on their way to a mining colony (hence the equipment). The ship's port was Portsmouth, though, which is presumably England. Slave trade in the British empire was outlawed in 1807, and slavery itself was outlawed in 1833. Can any maritime experts give me an estimate on how old the Black Rock appears to be?

I think it's more likely that the "slaves" on the Black Rock were prisoners en route from England to a penal colony on Australia or Tasmania. I believe some of these penal colonies may have been work camps as well, possibly mining-related. Someone has said, however, that there is some inconsistency between when Oceanic (the region, not the airline) penal colonies were in operation and when dynamite was invented. But I think it's a possibility.

With love from your resident historian (er, history major),
Caro

Much of the speculation about the Black Rock depends on whether you think the dynamite is contemporaneous with the ship or was simply placed there for storage, or some clandestine purpose, by a later group. If it's the former then the ship cannot logically date from any time prior to the late 1860s (the explosive's invention.) In effect, this precludes the possibility of slavery, and even makes the idea of convicts highly unlikely; most of the penal colonies had long since shut down by that point.

Personally, I'm starting to believe the Black Rock is simply a piece of historical license on the writers' part. Not that I doubt it doesn't have some greater hidden meaning - I just don't think its place in the island's history will necessarily match up with - putative - historical fact.

ship cannot logically date from any time prior to the late 1860s (the explosive's invention.) fact.

Good point ;)

"The Black Rock" is the name of Captain Hook's Ship in Peter Pan, Or so the Wikipedia would have you believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan

Sorry if this has already been discussed...

good theory :biggrin:

There's been a lot of speculation on this and the idea that Hanso might have been alive long enough to have seen the Black Rock set sail. Something about cryogenics or cloning or something.

I think that there are enough Daddy issues associated with this show that we should go ahead and assume that Hanso probably followed in his father's footsteps. Hell, it mighta even been his Granpappy that sent the Black Rock.

I do think they're related. If Hanso was an arms mogul back then too, it would explain why the dynamite was there. It would have been like any other military applicable device. We know about how the civilian version came into being. Who knows how long the military had it?

danielle said the radio tower was near the black rock. what if she lied, and the radio tower IS the black rock. the masts and rigging appear remarkably intact for a ship that is 100+ years old. its just a thought. thanx for reading.

this link shows an antenna actually on a ship.
http://www.offshore-radio.de/98photos.htm


http://www.lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimagepopup&pid=40223&fullsize=1

the black rock

I think the radio tower being there, and it possibly being a bunker entrance, are enlightened ideas.
If it weren't for those lucious rich blacks we would have been able to see inside better. The high contrast, almost Caravaggioy*, shots add to the mystery. Also, maybe the plot. Light/dark

*Whedon might have soiled my brain.

"The Black Rock" is the name of Captain Hook's Ship in Peter Pan, Or so the Wikipedia would have you believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan

Sorry if this has already been discussed...


Whoa!!! Be REAL careful of what you read in articles at Wikipedia because anyone can edit those articles by adding or deleting or changing anything at all in them.

The actual name of Captain Hook's ship in Peter Pan is The Jolly Roger (Google it to check)

Or...Read http://www.literature.org/authors/barrie-james-matthew/the-adventures-of-peter-pan/chapter-14.html