Search Results: Ship history

Ship Money was a tax applied by medieval monarchs to English coastal communities to pay for ships for the Royal Navy and so ward off pirates and enemies of the state. During the reign of Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649), the tax was used...

The treasure ship Madre de Deus (aka Madre de Dios) was a Portuguese vessel carrying hugely valuable cargo from the East Indies which was attacked and captured by a fleet of English privateers in the Azores in September 1592 CE. The ship...

The RMS Titanic was a White Star Line ocean liner, which sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 15 April 1912. Over 1,500 men, women, and children lost their lives. There were 705 survivors. In...

The SS Great Eastern was a steam-powered ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) which sailed on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York in June 1860. At the time, it was by far the largest passenger ship ever built, a record...

A model of a brigantine ship. With two masts which were traditionally gaf-rigged and lateen-rigged, the ship was fast and highly manoeuvrable, making the brigantine a favourite ship of pirates. (Deutsches Museum, Munich)

Funerary stone monument in the shape of a rowing ship for transport of wine barrels on the Moselle river. The barge is loaded with four large wine-barrels, and manned by six oarsmen and two steersmen, one of whom is marking the time by clapping...

The Bismarck was a German battleship, the largest and most powerful capital ship in the Kriegsmarine. For all its weaponry and armour, the ship was involved in only one major operation which, after the sinking of the British battlecruiser...

Frontal view of the Viking ship known as the Gokstad, housed at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. The ship dates from c. 900 CE and was preserved in a ship burial found in Oslo fjord. The lapstrake technique in which the hull planks...

Full view of the Oseberg Viking ship dating from c. 820 CE discovered in a lavish ship burial setting in Oslo fjord, Norway. The ship is housed in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway.

A depiction of the Sinking the White Ship in the English Channel. The White Ship sank off the coast of Barfleur, Normandy on November 25, 1120 CE. The ship departed from Barfleur on a course for England, but struck a rock on its portside...