Maritime history

From buried treasure to walking the plank, how much of what we think we know about pirates is really true?

What do we really know about the notorious pirate duo, and how have later accounts shaped our perception of female pirates?

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

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

How one photographer’s quest to visit every lifeboat station shines a light on our maritime heritage

Queer History Club researcher Ema explores the lives of people raised as women who lived and sailed as men in the 19th century

Barred from the seafaring life, women had to disguise themselves as men if they wanted to experience the high seas - and brave the consequences of being found out

Meet Senior Harbour Master Cathryn Spain, who oversees navigational safety on the River Thames

Meet Melissa Reid, Paralympic medallist, triple surfing world champion and ocean advocate

Meet steward Cecil and passenger Lillian, two young people whose fates intertwined during the sinking of the Titanic

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

Learn how to make your own log line and measure speed in knots!

You've most probably heard the term ‘knots’ referring to the unit in which a ship’s speed is measured. Learn more about the origin of the term and how knots are measured.

Material from the printed and manuscript collections of the Caird Library and Archive offers a window to the grand naval spectacles of the past

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

Time at sea is by its very nature isolating, and even on a very short voyage a strong sense of community, albeit a temporary one, is often created. Traditions, ritual and celebrations are an important part of ensuring unity and staving off boredom.

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

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

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?

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

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

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

P&O assistant purser Sally Goodman recalls her service on board the cruise liner that became a symbol of the Falklands conflict

Seafarers, volunteers and nursing officers share their experiences during the Falklands conflict as part of a National Maritime Museum oral history project

Ship's purser Alison Harris shares her memories of the Falklands conflict, and how her ship was transformed into a floating hospital

This blog looks at an illustrated log recently added to the collection of papers from the naval career of Admiral Sir Watkin Owen Pell. It reveals how a prize crew was shipwrecked and captured on the enemy’s coast during the Napoleonic Wars.

Liz Ormerod recalls her experiences on board the converted hospital ship Uganda

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

Follow artist Lettie McHugh to create an origami ship inspired by stories of survival in the collection.

Thanks to the work of librarians and curators at the Osher Map Library in Maine, USA, we now know a lot more about the range of women’s involvement in the map trade. Their work highlights the variety of roles women occupied, working as surveyors, compilers, engravers, publishers, and sellers. Looking at the chart trade in earlier nineteenth-century London similarly reveals women were involved in a number of ways, all integral to the provision of navigational information to seagoing vessels. Our Curator of Cartography, Megan Barford, reveals the vital role women played in aiding navigation at sea.

A slave plantation manager's letters home reveal attitudes towards enslavement and emancipation.

On 23 August 2017, International Slavery Remembrance Day, hundreds of people walked from the gates of the National Maritime Museum, past the Old Royal Naval College and the statue of King George II to face the river Thames. They stood together in remembrance of the families separated, people displaced and the millions of lives lost as a result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.