Topic > The Titanic and the Lusitania: the ships that changed history

Sea transportation is a common way of travel, even today. Over the past 10,000 years, more than three million shipwrecks have occurred on the ocean floor. Only 1% of the wrecks have been explored. (Bennett 2017) Two common ships that are in the one percentile are the Titanic and the Lusitania. Both sank within three years of each other. The Titanic and Lusitania share the ocean floor with millions of other ships. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Titanic was a British passenger ship that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, due to collision with an iceberg. It sank on April 15, 1912, killing over 1,500 passengers. At the start of the voyage there were 2,224 passengers and crew. The sinking of the Titanic became one of the deadliest peacetime commercial maritime disasters. It was the largest ship afloat at the time and was said to be unsinkable. It weighed 46,000 tons. (Pary 2011) It carried emigrants from all over Europe who wanted a new life in the United States, as well as some of the richest people in the world. Safety standards were not at the same level as today. The Titanic only had enough lifeboats for 1,178 people. It carried only 20 lifeboats, four of which were collapsible and difficult to launch during the sinking. After hitting the iceberg at 11.40pm, the Titanic sank within three hours. At 4:10 am, help arrived. (“Titanic Artifacts Reveal Gruesome Discovery of Tragic Ship's Last Lifeboat”) The remains of the Titanic were not found until more than 70 years after it sank. It is one of the most famous ships to date. (“RMS Titanic” 2018) The Titanic rests just off the coast of Newfoundland. (“The Wreck of the RMS Titanic” 2018) The RMS Lusitania was also a British ocean liner. The Lusitania made 202 transatlantic crossings. It set sail on 7 June 1906. On 7 May 1915 the Lusitania sank to the bottom of the Celtic Sea. During World War I, the Lusitania was attacked by a German submarine just off the coast of Ireland. A total of 1,200 passengers and crew drowned. (“The Lusitania Sinks”) On February 4, 1915, the Germans declared all the seas around Great Britain a war zone. That said, all ships would be sunk without warning. It sank in 18 minutes, just 8 miles from the Old Head of Kinsale. By sinking the ship, the Americans declared themselves neutral in World War I and began a war with their allies. The Lusitania was believed to be carrying war supplies. Immediately after the attack the German embassy issues a warning: "Warning!" Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the war zone includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with the warning given by the Imperial German Government, ships flying the flag of Great Britain or any of her allies may be destroyed in those waters and that travelers sailing into the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies they do so at their own risk” (Alchin, 2018) The Lusitania attracted wealthy passengers. Many people thought the warning was a joke. When it appeared in the newspapers, it was often placed next to an advertisement for the Lusitania, yet no one canceled the trip. William Turner called it "Berlin's last bluff". When the ship was sinking, one passenger said it reminded her of "a swarm of bees who don't know where the queen has gone." The lifeboats of..