The mechanical galleon

The mechanical galleon

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things. This week he is exploring the impact of Western European travel, trade and conquest between 1450 and 1600. He kicks off with an exquisite miniature version of the sort of high tech vessel that was to take Europeans right around the world. Today's object is a small clockwork version of the type of galleon that the Spanish sent against England in the Armada and that they sent across the high seas. This one was made for a grand dinner table - it could move, make music, tell the time and fire tiny cannons. Neil discusses the significance of this new breed of sailing ships and describes the political state that this galleon symbolises - the Holy Roman Empire. The marine archaeologist Christopher Dobbs compares the tiny galleon to the Mary Rose in Portsmouth and the historian Lisa Jardine considers the European fascination with mechanics and technology throughout the 16th Century.

Producer: Anthony Denselow Music research specifically for the Akan drum: Michael Doran

Episoder(101)

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Statue of Huastec goddess

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Shiva and Parvati sculpture

Shiva and Parvati sculpture

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Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

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Holy Thorn Reliquary

Holy Thorn Reliquary

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through things. This week he is exploring the sophisticated ways that people expressed religious yearning in the 14th and 15th centuries. He is looking at the st...

5 Jul 201013min

Taino ritual seat

Taino ritual seat

The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum. This week the Museum's director, Neil MacGregor, is exploring high status objects from across the world around 700 ...

2 Jul 201014min

The David Vases

The David Vases

The history of the world as told through objects that time has left behind. This week Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, has chosen some of the great status symbols of the world aroun...

1 Jul 201014min

Ife head

Ife head

The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum is back in Africa. This week Neil MacGregor is exploring high status objects from across the world around 700 years ...

30 Jun 201014min

Hebrew astrolabe

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Neil MacGregor's world history as told through objects at the British Museum. This week he is exploring high status objects from across the world around 700 years ago. Today he has chosen an astronomi...

29 Jun 201014min

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