Lesson video

Hello there and welcome to today's history lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss.

I'm really passionate about history and I'm also really looking forward to teaching you.

With you today, you need to bring your looking eyes, your listening ears, and your thinking brains.

As well as that, having something to write with and write on and someone or something to talk to would also be really helpful.

All right then, let's get straight into today's history lesson.

In today's lesson, we are going to be looking at seafaring 150 years ago, which means we are going to be looking at how people travelled on the sea and the advances and changes that had occurred about 150 years ago.

Our outcome will be, I can describe how seafaring was changing 150 years ago, as 150 years ago, this was a period of great change in seafaring.

So here we have the keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Make sure I can hear you saying these back to me.

The first word is steamship.

Then we have propeller, sextant, and chronometer.

You might also pronounce that chronometer.

So, a steamship is a ship that uses a steam engine to help it move, and this is one of the key advancements in seafaring and travel about 150 years ago.

These steamships would have a propeller.

A propeller is something that spins in the water to move a ship forward.

It has that word propelling, which means motion or movement.

A sextant is a measuring tool that measures the distance between two points.

This was yet another advancement, another tool that was used, and it became common about 150 years ago to support with navigation and seafaring.

And finally, we have the tool, a chronometer, which is like a watch and it measures the passage of time.

So, these four keywords were key areas that developed in seafaring about 150 years ago.

Keep an eye and ear out for them in today's learning as they are really important.

So we are looking at seafaring.

So travelling by sea and in water vessels about 150 years ago.

We are first going to look at what boats were like and then we're going to consider how seafarers navigated, how they successfully found their way from one place to another.

So let's get on with looking at what boats were like 150 years ago.

John Franklin, who was an admiral in the Royal Navy and an explorer, went on an expedition to the Northwest passage in 1845 in the Victorian era.

We see here an illustration of John Franklin's ship stuck in the ice.

This may look to you like a normal sailing vessel of the time, or one that commonly been seen even before this time.

However, there are some unique features to it that we are going to be talking about.

We can see its hull, we can see its sails.

This was about 180 years ago.

Sadly, John Franklin's expedition was ill-fated.

The two boats that he and his crew were on became stuck in ice while seeking to be the first people to travel through the Northwest Passage.

And they were never seen again.

But there are some features of his boat that we really want to look at today as they showed the advancements that had occurred in seafaring during this period.

By the time that John Franklin was exploring, ships were improving a lot.

If we consider where boats and ships had come from, from the earliest travellers using hollowed out wooden canoes through to Polynesian double connected canoes that were used to sail around the Polynesian Triangle, and then the Viking Longboats, and through to the Chinese junks, many changes had occurred.

Indeed, one of the key changes that has occurred was the fact that John Franklin and explorers like himself during this period of time, about 180 to 150 years ago, were using ships called one of our keywords here.

My turn, your turn.

Steamships.

Hmm, steamships.

I wonder what's different about them.

Steam is made when water is heated.

We can see it in the air, for example, coming out of a boiling kettle.

And so, with the advent of the industrial revolutions, this steam power also found its way into seafaring with the use of steamships.

John Franklin used ships called airships, steamships, or land ships.

Select the correct word now and say the sentence.

Good job.

John Franklin used ships called steamships.

John Franklin, remember, was a seafarer, an admiral in the Royal Navy.

A navy is a collection of ships and sailors that can be used for fighting.

So we're looking at steamships, not airships or landships.

Steamships that sailed on the sea or ocean.

So John Franklin's steamships were the first Navy ships to have a steam-powered engine and a propeller.

Say that word again for me.

Propeller.

So they were the very first naval ships in the world that will be steam powered and have a propeller.

A propeller is something that spins in the water to propel to move the ship forward.

This meant that ships didn't just have to rely on wind power from their sails.

They could use this wind power, too, but also could be moved forward by the power of their steam engines and the propeller.

Early steamships still had sails, which they could use as well, but the propeller was more reliable.

And this is obviously true.

If you are travelling at a time when there is no wind out at sea, you have no wind power to propel you forward.

If you have a steam engine within your steamship and a propeller, you are not just reliant upon the wind.

On a steamship, a steam engine, so an engine powered by steam inside the ship makes energy to turn a propeller.

Here we have an illustration of a propeller on the back of a ship.

I also notice to the left of this propeller, this object that looks like it can spin and move the ship forward, I notice a rudder which will be used to help move the ship in different directions.

The propeller spins outside the ship and makes the ship move through the water.

So the steam engine would've been inside the steamship and it would've been connected to this propeller and would've moved this propeller on the outside that would've then propelled the boat forward.

So which of these show something that spins to move a ship forward? A compass, a rudder, or a propeller? Select the correct answer now.

Off you go.

Good job, team.

You've clearly been paying attention and listening carefully about how steamships are propelled forward.

So, a compass, it does move around and always points to north, doesn't it? But that's a navigational tool.

That's not going to help move a ship forward.

A rudder doesn't move the ship forward, it helps change the direction of the ship.

The propeller, which is connected to the steam engine of the steamship, spins around and then moves the ship forward.

Brilliant.

So steamships also had metal pipes that were filled with hot steam.

These hot pipes were used as a basic heating system to keep sailors warm on the ships.

This would've been incredibly useful, wouldn't it? Especially when sailing in cold areas.

If we think back to John Franklin and his attempt to go through the Northwest Passage, and we look carefully at the illustration of John Franklin's boats and the Arctic Ocean here in the Arctic Circle, we can only imagine how cold it would've been.

In fact, that ill-fated expedition ended with the death of 129 men and John Franklin's crew due to the freezing conditions.

It would've been very helpful for keeping sailors warm in cold conditions when they weren't trapped, like on John Franklin's expedition.

So, because of the steam engine within these ships, that water being heated, there was then warm steam that could be transported around the ship and also to move the propeller.

Another use then of the steam engine on a steamship was to create heated pipes to keep sailors warm.

Ships before the creation of the steam engine did not have this possibility.

So what I'd like you to do now is to match the keywords to the correct definitions.

Our keywords are, my turn, your turn, steamship, propeller.

And our definitions are a boat that uses a steam engine to help it move, something that spins in the water to move a ship forward.

Match now our keywords to their definitions.

Off you go.

Great job, team.

It's so great to see your expertise with these keywords.

So, a steamship is a boat that used a steam engine to help it move.

And remember, this is what boats began to become like around 150 years ago.

John Franklin, they had the first naval ships that were steam-powered.

Connected to the steam engine within our steamship on the outside of the ship is the propeller.

This is something that spins in the water to move the ship forward.

So, you need the steam engine to spin the propeller to move our steamship forward.

So, for our practise task now, what I'd like you to do is consider what we've been looking at in this learning cycle.

Could you tick the newer feature used on John Franklin's steam-powered ships? Just tick the features that were on the newer ships around 180 to 150 years ago.

Many large sails attached to a mast, steam engines, flags flying at the top of the masts, a propeller to push the ships forward, a basic heating system for warmth.

Which of these were new features around 150 years ago on John Franklin Ships? Pause the video now and select the new features.

Off you go.

Excellent job, team.

You've clearly become experts on the advancements in steamships around 150 years ago.

So, your answer should look like this.

Many large sails attached to a mast.

Well, this was not something new was it? We know that Chinese junks like Zheng He's, and European sailboats like those used by William Adams hundreds of years before, also had large sails attached to a mast.

Steam engines, however, was a new advancement during this era.

Flags flying at the top of a mast was nothing new either.

Many sailboats for hundreds of years had a variety of flags and banners on their masts.

But a propeller attached to the steam engine to propel the ship forwards was new.

This meant that ships didn't just have to rely on their sails.

And a basic heating system for warmth was also a new feature like those of John Franklin ships.

This helped to keep sailors warm in cold conditions.

How did you do that? Did you manage to spot those features? Check now.

So, we've looked at what boats around 150 years ago were like.

We've looked at the advancements in steam power, the fact that they were steamships with steam engines and propellers.

Now, we want to look at some changes and advancements in how seafarers navigated, how they successfully found their way from one place to another around 150 years ago as they used some really fascinating tools.

So, 150 years ago, seafarers used the same tools that people had used for hundreds of years before them.

You may know about the great Chinese sailor and seafarer, Zheng He.

You may know also about how Polynesians and Vikings navigated.

You may also be aware of how Europeans navigated, like John Cabot and William Adams, and the tools and things that they use to support them with navigation at sea.

You may be aware of things like compasses, astrolabes, the fact that the use of things from nature and the stars were used also to help people to navigate.

However, 150 years ago, seafarers and navigators also began use some new tools to help them to navigate better, to improve their navigation, to be more consistent, and to be able to navigate more safely.

So, here are some examples of old tools that you may be aware of.

We have a compass, which we know will always point north.

The Chinese sailors like Zheng He were the first people to use the compass as seafarers.

A telescope could be incredibly used as well to see far away and distant points.

These were older tools.

150 years ago, some newer tools began to be used though.

Here are some of the newer tools that we are going to look at in this learning cycle.

We have, my turn, your turn, the sextant, which is this tool here that you would look through.

It looks a little bit like a type of telescope, doesn't it? But it had a really, really good use.

And we also have a chronometer.

This looks a little bit like a watch, doesn't it? We are going to find out now why the sextant and chronometer were both so useful for navigation.

So, about 150 years ago, seafarers were still using compasses and telescopes to navigate their boats.

They didn't just stop using them, they were still very useful.

Compasses showed the direction to travel as they would always point to north, so you could get your bearings and headings and travel in a straight line.

And telescopes were for looking at things far away.

I'm sure you have seen a compass and a telescope before.

I wonder if you've ever had to use them before.

But then there were some advancements.

About 150 years ago, seafarers like John Franklin, who went on his ill-fated expedition to the Northwest Passage were also using new tools to improve their navigation, such as this sextant.

Seafarers used a new tool called a sextant to work out how near or far away places were so they could plan their journeys better.

A telescope allows you to see things that are far away, but it doesn't help you know the distance at which they're at.

The sextant meant you could look through it and see how far or close landmarks were, like land or other things you could see out in the ocean or sea.

And this helped to plan journeys.

A sextant then is a measuring tool that measures the distance between two points, the point at which you are on your ship and the point at which you are looking at.

True or false, a sextant helps seafarers to plan their journeys better? Great job.

This is true.

And why was it true? They use this to work out how near or far they were from places so they could better plan their journeys.

Up until this point, this had been something that had been difficult for sailors to measure.

Here's our next tool that we're going to look at then.

This is called, my turn, your turn, a chronometer, or a chronometer.

About 150 years ago, seafarers used this tool here to help them to navigate.

Have you seen anything like this before? Does it remind you of anything? Hmm.

Take some time now to look at it carefully.

Brilliant.

It looks a lot to me like a clock or a watch.

I can see a number of hands on it and what appears to be a clock face.

What do you think it does then? And why might we need to measure time on a ship? Have a think.

So a chronometer then is absolutely like a clock, and it measures time passing during a journey at sea.

So you could measure how long you've been travelling for.

This was incredibly useful for sailors.

This chronometer you can see here is actually a historical source.

It was on a ship that belonged to Queen Victoria, the queen during the Victorian era.

She was the queen of England at the time.

With a chronometer, seafarers were able to work out how long they had been travelling for, and also they were able to predict how much longer they had to travel, which was incredibly useful when going on long journeys across seas and oceans.

So, a chronometer helps seafarers to work out how far away places were, how much time they travelled for, or which direction they were going in? Pause the video now.

Finish the sentence correctly.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

A chronometer helps seafarers to work out how much time they had travelled for.

It was that clock, wasn't it? That could be used to measure the time of a journey.

It didn't help to find out how far away places were, a sextant could be used for that, and which direction they were going in.

You could most certainly use a compass or an astrolabe to help you with that.

So which new tools did seafarers use to navigate 150 years ago? A sextant, birds in the sky, or a chronometer? Pause the video now and select all the new tools that seafarers used and began using 150 years ago.

Brilliant.

The tools that were beginning to be used around 150 years ago are the sextant and the chronometer.

Birds in the sky and clues from nature may still have been used to support with navigation, but this was not something new 150 years ago.

This had been done by seafarers since ancient times.

So the sextant and the chronometer were the new tools.

I wonder if you can remember what they were both used for.

So, for our practise task now, what I'd like you to do is tell your learning partner one or two things about how seafaring was changing around 150 years ago.

As historians, it's really important that we consider how things change over time.

And 150 years ago was a time of radical change within seafaring.

You could include these words, steamships, propellers, sextants, and chronometers.

Consider the types of ships that seafarers were travelling in and how they navigated.

Share with your partner what you've learned in this lesson now.

Off you go.

Fantastic job, team.

You've clearly learned so much about how seafaring changed around 150 years ago.

So, I heard so many of you telling your partner one or two things there about how seafaring had changed.

Here are some examples that I heard and things that you might've included.

Seafaring was changing 150 years ago because seafarers were using steamships.

So ships that were powered by steam engines.

These used propellers to move through the water.

The steam engines also provided warmth through steam pipes.

Seafaring was also changing.

The way they navigated was changing.

They used sextants to be able to tell the distance between where they were and the point they were going to, and chronometers to know how long they've been sailing for.

These tools help them to navigate better.

Did you have anything else you wanted to share about how seafaring changed around 150 years ago? Share with me now.

It's been really fascinating looking at how seafaring changed around 150 years ago and the new developments that occurred.

Around 150 years ago, navigation was improving.

Around this time, steamships were invented with a propeller and a heating system.

Having heating was especially helpful on long journeys like the one John Franklin made to the Arctic where temperatures were freezing.

Seafarers like John Franklin used new tools like sextants and chronometers for navigating.

These changes meant that European sailors could plan longer journeys than ever before.

Keep up the great history and are see you again soon.