War and conflict

Master of disguise

Discover the true story of Charles Hare, the 19th-century midshipman who used a French officer's uniform to pull off a daring prison break
Life at sea

The art of piracy: imagining the world of Zheng Yi Sao

A series of illustrations by Livia Giorgina Carpineto brings the world of notorious pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao to life
Ships and boats

A history of Cutty Sark in 10 pictures

Uncover the extraordinary life of the celebrated ship

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Life at sea

Insight into the lives of sailors and seafarers throughout history

A photographic passport-style photo of Nina from her seamen's record

Nina Baker: one of the first women navigation officers in the Merchant Navy

Learn about Dr Nina Baker’s struggle to become one of the first women navigation officers in the British Merchant Navy
Silver coin depicting Treasure Island character Long John Silver in a cocked hat with a parrot on his shoulder

Pirates: fact or fiction?

From buried treasure to walking the plank, how much of what we think we know about pirates is really true?
Drawing of two women dressed as men

Who were Anne Bonny and Mary Read?

What do we really know about the notorious pirate duo, and how have later accounts shaped our perception of female pirates?
two boats full of sailors. A chaplain is standing in one of the boats, presiding over a burial at sea.

Parishes-on-sea: Royal Navy chaplains

In this blog we look at the role and experiences of Royal Navy chaplains and what their accounts can tell us about shipboard life.
Illustration of pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao at sunrise holding a sword with her back to another pirate

The art of piracy: imagining the world of Zheng Yi Sao

A series of illustrations by Livia Giorgina Carpineto brings the world of notorious pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao to life
Black and white woodcut style illustration of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read standing on the deck of a ship holding a sword and a lantern, which emits orange beams

The art of piracy: a fresh perspective on Bonny and Read

A new artwork by Linnea Maertens questions what we think we know about notorious female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. See it on display in Pirates at the National Maritime Museum
A detail from an oil painting of a scene on board a ship. Waves are crashing over the deck, and sailors are attempting to hold on to the rigging

The Shipping Forecast

The Shipping Forecast was first broadcast on the BBC in 1925. Explore the history of the forecast with the National Maritime Museum, and discover objects connected with the power of our ocean
Rigging on Cutty Sark, with long lengths of rope in pulley systems, looking off the edge of the ship towards the Greenwich foot tunnel

Cordage: its origins, construction, properties and uses in ships

Learn more about cordage, also known as rope, including the different fibres used to make cordage and the types of rope most commonly used in sailing ships
Painting of the bow of a sailing ship looking out on a calm sea with a three masted sailing ship in the distance. Three men are on board the closer ship, with a sail above them. One man is looking through binoculars at the other ship. The sky is cloudy in the background.

The nautical origins of everyday phrases

Ever heard that traffic was chock-a-block, been called a son of a gun, or told someone you like the cut of their jib? Learn the maritime origins of phrases you hear every day
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Ships and boats

Groundbreaking designs, doomed voyages and technology that crossed oceans

Black and white illustration showing the sinking of the Titanic, with lifeboats in the foreground attempting to row away from the sinking vessel

A whistle for a life: surviving the Titanic tragedy

Meet steward Cecil and passenger Lillian, two young people whose fates intertwined during the sinking of the Titanic
Exterior view of Cutty Sark in the sun. The masts of the ship are silhouetted against a bright blue sky

How Cutty Sark came to Greenwich

The historic tea clipper is one of the most famous sights along the River Thames. But why was Greenwich chosen as Cutty Sark's final home?
Rigging on Cutty Sark, with long lengths of rope in pulley systems, looking off the edge of the ship towards the Greenwich foot tunnel

Cordage: its origins, construction, properties and uses in ships

Learn more about cordage, also known as rope, including the different fibres used to make cordage and the types of rope most commonly used in sailing ships
Ship plan of the Fairmile Type F Motor Gun Boat 2001

The ship that never was

The story of a never-commissioned Second World War vessel
Historic ship Cutty Sark at sunset

Meet the team: Chris Wood – the project manager 

What’s involved in replacing Cutty Sark’s deck? Project manager Chris Wood offers an insight into this major conservation project
A slightly distant starboard side view, taken from ahead of the beam, of the Orient Line cruise ship Ormonde (1917)

The ships of the Windrush generation

The Empire Windrush wasn't the only ship to carry Caribbean passengers to the UK. Find out more about the vessels and people that helped to shape modern Britain
A detailed ship plan showing the main deck of HMS Challenger. Clean architectural lines mark out the arrangements of the various elements on deck

How to design a research ship: the building of HMS Challenger

Plans for HMS Challenger reveal how the ship was transformed from warship to research vessel - and set the blueprint for future scientific expeditions
Oil painting of the HMS Gloucester run aground

What can shipwrecks tell us?

Time-capsules of their present and windows of our past, shipwrecks can offer new perspectives into life on board
Sailing ship run aground with boats helping people in the water

The sinking of HMS Gloucester

Disputes, disaster and destruction: uncover the events that led to the wrecking of the 17th century warship
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What’s On

Find maritime history events in Greenwich.

The gold hilt of a sword against a dark fabric background. The outline of a human skull has been digitally superimposed on to the right side of the hilt, creating an unsettling central motif
Exhibitions | Maritime history

Pirates
Explore the myth, discover the truth: Pirates at the National Maritime Museum is now open
Open daily until 4 January 2026 | 10am-5pm
Adult: £15 | Student: £11.25 | Child: £7.50
National Maritime Museum
Close-up view of a woodblock-style illustration of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Bonny is in the centre holding a lamp, while Read is off to the right
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Lecture: Pirate Queens
Join Dr Rebecca Simon to delve deeper into the lives of two of the most infamous female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who terrorised the Caribbean in and around Jamaica
Thursday 19 June 2025 l 6.30pm-7.30pm
Free | Members only
National Maritime Museum
Photo of a large copper hull of a ship in a 'Dry Dock', a dock with stepped sides and supports holding up the ship. The roof is made up of loads of triangular glass panels.
Events and festivals | Museum Lates

Loudspeaker Orchestra Concert Series: Voyages and Inaugural Lecture
A programme of new multichannel immersive compositions inspired by maritime heritage and the iconic Cutty Sark
Wednesday 25 June 2025 | 6.45pm-9.25pm
General Admission £5 | University of Greenwich Staff/Student (UoG ID Required) FREE
Cutty Sark
A Black man wearing green sunglasses and a geometric patterned top stands contemplatively by the River Thames
Events and festivals | Ocean Court

International Slavery Remembrance Day
Explore the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition at the National Maritime Museum
Saturday 23 August 2025 | 11am-5pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
War and conflict

Naval history and maritime conflicts

A painting of the ship HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar with seafarers being tossed around in the churning waves below

Turner's 'The Battle of Trafalgar': a maligned masterpiece?

J.M.W. Turner's vast naval scene is a treasure of the Royal Museums Greenwich collection, but why was it so controversial when it was unveiled in 1824?
Japanese fighting sword

The Instrument of Surrender

This month we take a look at an item from the Historical Records Collection of the Caird Library and Archive: the Instrument of Surrender of the Japanese forces at Hong Kong.
A carved coconut shell set within a silver frame and handle. The shell acts as the bowl of a highly decorative cup

The pirate hunter's cup

What does a carved coconut shell have to do with one of the most deadly pirates in history?
A handwritten manuscript sits on a cushion in a library

Cataloguing the Charles Hare manuscript collection

From handwritten manuscripts and letters to photographs and sketches, discover how this intriguing collection has been catalogued by the Library and Archive team
Oil painting depicting the naval battle of Navarino. The scene is dark with warships in silhouette against a fiery yellow sky

The Price of Victory: N.A.M. Rodger reflects on a landmark naval history

N.A.M Rodger, author of The Price of Victory and recipient of the National Maritime Museum's Caird Medal, reflects on the "happy accident" that led to an extraordinary work of naval history
A button on the cuff of a military uniform, showing an imperial eagle with an eye symbol above.

A stitch in time: the secrets of textile conservation

A 19th century uniform with a dramatic history is on display at the National Maritime Museum. Come behind the scenes to discover the care that went into its conservation
A 19th century French uniform on display in a mannequin. The uniform includes a coat and tall hat with a feather jutting out of the top

Master of disguise: how a Navy sailor escaped a Napoleonic prison

Discover the true story of Charles Hare, the 19th-century midshipman who used a French officer's uniform to pull off a daring prison break
Painting of landing craft going in to the beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy

D-Day and the Royal Navy: remembering the role of Britain's maritime forces

The largest amphibious invasion of the Second World War took place on 6 June 1944. Curator Andrew Choong Han Lin explores how the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy supported the D-Day landings
Ship plan of the Fairmile Type F Motor Gun Boat 2001

The ship that never was

The story of a never-commissioned Second World War vessel
See all
Exploration and encounters

The voyages, histories and legacies of maritime exploration

Historic photograph showing HMS Challenger at the naval base at Bermuda, West Indies

The Challenger Expedition

The 19th century voyage that transformed our understanding of the ocean
A woodcut print of a rhinoceros from the Latin edition of the Cosmographia

A universal map in a dead language

This blog takes a look at an almost five-hundred-year-old geographical text in the Caird Library and Archive.
Contents page of the Principal Navigations, listing various voyages

Voyages in ‘search and discoverie of strange coasts, the chiefe subject of this my labour’

Explore the works and legacy of Richard Hakluyt, an Elizabethan compiler and editor of travel writing at the Caird Library and Archive.
Historic photograph of a Fijian man

Putting names to faces in the Challenger Expedition archives

Dr Rebecca Martin investigates the photograph albums from the Challenger Expedition, trying to recover the identities of the people the ship encountered on its global voyage
A print of scientific research ship HMS Challenger under sail, with icebergs in the background

Telling the story of the Challenger Expedition, 1872–76

Daisy Chamberlain curated a recent display of Library and Archive materials relating to the Challenger Expedition (1872–76). Here she explores the hidden stories, scientific research and record of sailors' lives held within these materials.
Image of ''Outlines of the Globe' or 'Imaginary World Tour' by Thomas Pennant, a large old volume, on a table within a library

Armchair Empires: Thomas Pennant’s ‘Outlines of the Globe’

Explore a fascinating collection in the Caird Library and Archive which was written by a “traveller” who didn’t do any travelling.
A historical map of London by John Rocque

A bird’s eye view of Georgian London: John Rocque's maps

In this blog we look at cartographer John Rocque's An Exact Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, ‘the outstanding plan of the capital in the eighteenth century’
A print of scientific research ship HMS Challenger under sail, with icebergs in the background

HMS Challenger: a trailblazer for modern ocean science

150 years ago, HMS Challenger departed England on a quest to explore the world’s oceans. Its impact is still felt today
PT2068

HMS Sylvia's Circumnavigation of Hokkaido

In this month’s blog we travel to Japan, more precisely to its northernmost island of Hokkaido, and through a journal kept in 1871 by Lieutenant Swinton Colthurst Holland, meet the local Ainu people.
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Watch

Discover the true story of Charles Hare, the 19th-century midshipman who used a French officer's uniform to pull off a daring prison break. Watch the full series on YouTube.

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Trade and empire

The maritime connections that shaped the modern world

Porcelain plates adorned with images of women and flowers

The story behind... The Keeper of All The Secrets

Artist Jacqueline Bishop speaks to historian Stella Dadzie about the influences behind her ceramic artwork, now on display in the Queen’s House
Diagram showing instructions for loading cargo ships

The loss of the SS Freshfield

Our archives hold a small collection of papers related to David Lawson, master of a cargo steamer that disappeared in 1905 after leaving the coast of America to return to Europe. They offer clues on what became of SS Freshfield on its journey home.
full page advert for Belfast shipbuilders featuring Neptune

The Syren and Shipping Illustrated

The Syren and Shipping Illustrated was a weekly journal for the merchant shipping industry, published 1887-1967.
A 1900 anti-opium tract written in Chinese

Opium and Empires workshop

A recent visit to the Caird Library by students from the School of Oriental and African Studies shows that making collections accessible is a two-way street.
caricature print of people having coffee in a coffee house

How coffee has shaped Britain's maritime history

This blog looks at how a seemingly insignificant bean provided the stimulus to advancements in naval intelligence, technology, trade and science
P85233

Lascars and British merchant shipping

For our latest Caird Library and Archive display case we highlight the lives of lascars serving on board British ships, as well as their often precarious situation in Britain.
PW3973

A closer look at the Thames lightermen and watermen

In this blog we look at the larger-than-life characters who carried people and goods on London’s river in centuries gone by.
Close up of orange green and blue flowers on a kanga

Knotted histories: addressing Britain's colonial legacy through crochet

Meet Sarah Hawke, the artist behind a new crochet kanga on display at the National Maritime Museum
A black and white illustration of Tower Bridge in London

Pollution in the River Thames: a history

Lifeline, water source, sewer – follow the murky history of London's relationship with the River Thames
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Enslavement and resistance

The history of transatlantic slavery, and the resistance that brought an end to a cruel and violent system

Historic painting of two sailing ships on a calm sea

The Afterlives of Slaving Vessels

Learn more about the afterlives of slaving vessels with Caird Research Fellow Dr Richard Anderson
Artist Joseph Ijoyemi stands in front of a colourful painting depicting a queen against a backdrop of colourful triangles

Reframing Black history: Joseph Ijoyemi and the Atlantic Worlds gallery

From resilience to resistance, two new paintings in the Atlantic Worlds gallery at the National Maritime Museum celebrate the history of pre-colonial Africa
A model of a ship filled with colourful cardboard zigzag makers

Unfolding the past: Elgin Cleckley and the Atlantic Worlds gallery

Through colour and cardboard, a contemporary artwork at the National Maritime Museum shifts perspectives on the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans
sailing ships of the line engaged in battle, with small boats in the foreground full of men in choppy waters

Dr Thomas Trotter

A brief look at the varied career of the Scottish physician, author, and campaigner, whose personal papers were recently catalogued.
Letterhead of the Universal Negro Improvement Association

Marcus Garvey's letters to a flag officer of the Royal Navy

Letters by the Pan-African civil rights leader and founder of the Black Star Line to retired naval officer Vice-Admiral Sir William Henderson have been unearthed in the Caird Library's archives
A man stands with his back to camera, looking up at a large round clock tower, part of the Old Royal Naval College building in Greenwich

Greenwich walking tours: enslavement and abolition

Uncover Greenwich and Deptford's connections with the transatlantic slave trade in this self-guided walking tour
Historian Fiona Compton and Seeing Ourselves podcast host Sharon Walters examine an object in the National Maritime Museum's collections

Seeing Ourselves podcast

How does it feel to see 'yourself’ represented – or misrepresented – in museum spaces?
Detail from The United Service showing black sailor John Deman in a meeting at Greenwich Hospital

The transatlantic slave trade in Greenwich

Place, legacy and memory – explore the history of transatlantic slavery in London and Greenwich
'Am I not a woman and a sister' glass seal

Who was Mary Prince?

Historian Stella Dadzie gives an insight into the life of the abolitionist and author
See all

Experience maritime history in Greenwich

Visit historic ship Cutty Sark, discover intriguing exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum, and find books about maritime history in our online shop

Cutty Sark
Step aboard the historic sailing ship, the fastest of its time
Gallery guide to the National Maritime Museum
Travel the world in the National Maritime Museum's free galleries, exploring everywhere from the icy Arctic to the islands of the Pacific
Pirates
Explore the myth, discover the truth: Pirates at the National Maritime Museum is now open
Shop
Buried Treasure: A Pirate Miscellany
£12.99
Published to coincide with a major new exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Buried Treasure lifts the lid or ‘blows the gaff’ on pirate lore and sayings, setting the record straight on the lives and ways of pirates, and revealing the meanings behind and uses of common maritime sayings.
Buy now
Shop
Spotlight Series J.M.W. The Battle of Trafalgar: Commemoration and Controversy
£10.00
Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth, J.M.W. Turner’s ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’: Commemoration and Controversy explores the history of the artist’s largest painting and his only royal commission...
Buy now
Shop
A is for Atlas
£35.00
This beautifully illustrated hardback publication is full of unique and intriguing maps and globes, both Earthly and celestial, from the collection of Royal Museums Greenwich...
Buy now

Help preserve our past

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