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| Authors: | Amity Shlaes, Senior Fellow for Economic History Gaurav Tiwari, Research Associate |
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August 17, 2008
Khaleej Times
Sinquerim Beach in India’s North Goa is like a lot of other resort beaches. Smooth reddish sand. The odd beach chair. The locals with the speed boats offering a chance to parasail above the green waters.
The ramparts of a 17th century Portuguese fort. But the beach boasts one extra attraction, the remains of an old ore carrier, the S.V. River Princess, loom only 100 yards or so from shore. The Princess was one of many freighters bearing ore out of India. She ran aground years ago in a January storm.
Citizens and tourists worried that its spillage would despoil the golden beachline. Plans to remove the ship itself bogged down as the state of Goa, the Indian company that chartered the craft, and environmentalists wrangled. It all seemed just another sign of the trap of the Third World. Commodity exports are supposed to help developing countries grow, but they often dirty the landscape — literally, politically and economically. The country cannot move forward.
Instead, however something else happened. The relic became quaint, unimportant as much a part of the scenery as the brick walls of the fort. Paddling around the River Princess in kayaks has even become an afternoon activity for beachcombers. The tourism was what mattered.
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