"Search For Trouvadore"
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As
part of the project, present day Turks and Caicos Islanders,
many possibly descended from survivors
of the Trouvadore, will participate in DNA studies, hoping to confirm
their connection to the In the documentary Search For Trouvadore, filmmakers follow the historical and scientific investigation as it unfolds over a ten-year period, on three continents, in Cuba, and in the British West Indies. Part detective story, part scientific
investigation, the story
will be told as two intertwining threads, from two distinct viewpoints.
The objective story is that of the Trouvadore itself, past and present,
and it will examine the role of science in |
In August 2004,
with information gathered from archival records, archeologists located
the remains of a wooden ship that matches the description of the Trouvadore, an illegal Spanish slave ship that
wrecked in the TCI in 1841.The next phase of the investigation, in 2006, consisted of a test excavation and analysis to determine
if the wreckage is indeed that of the slaveship Trouvadore.
ship, and ultimately to Africa.
As a result of the
genetic research, the islanders hope to discover
their
African origins, and perhaps in the process, redefine their own country’s
true cultural identity. 
understanding both
history and modern culture. The film's personal story will follow one descendant
of survivors of the wreck as he searches for his family's ancestral
origins. At its heart, this is a story about humanity and the strength
of the human spirit, and its focus will be on the impact of the events of 1841 on people’s lives,
then and now. © 2006 Windward Media / HoustonPBS