Humanities and Social Sciences

YOUNG HISTORIANS

Momentous Disasters
Case Study 2: The sinking of the RMS Titanic
Daily Review TRACK WITH ME

• Christopher Columbus rediscovered the Americas in 1492.

• Sparked the Columbian Exchange - the widespread transfer of plants, animals,

culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas
(the ‘New World’), Europe (the ‘Old World’), and West Africa in the 15th and 16th
centuries.

• The motivations for European migration to the Americas centered around the 3G’s:
gold, God and glory.

• Waves of exploration, invasion, war, and genocide led to the destruction of the
empires and societies already established in the Americas.

• The Mayan, Aztec and Inca empires were major societies destroyed by the
coming of Europeans.
Daily Review

• PAIR SHARE AND THEN ON YOUR WHITEBOARDS: List the 3 motivations

for European migration to the Americas.

• G______________
old
• G______________
od
• G______________
lory

• Now, tell the person next to you, the name of one major civilisation destroyed
by the colonisation of America by Europeans.
Daily Review TRACK WITH ME

THE COLUMBIAN
EXCHANGE

• Without this exchange:

• Italians would have to make pasta and
pizza without tomatoes
• Asians would not love chillies
• Only Native Americans would eat
corn, potatoes and pineapple
• No smashed avocado breakfasts
• No vanilla ice-cream
• We would live without the joy of
chocolate (cocao)
• Native American Indians would not
have horses
• No turkey at Christmas
Learning Objective TRACK WITH ME

• Students will explore the disaster of the sinking of the Titanic.

• Students will investigate the impact of the disaster and its significance.

Success Criteria
• Students can:

• Recall the key events of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

• Explain the causes and consequences of this disaster.

Concept Development
Title: The sinking of the RMS Titanic
Title

EQ
EQ: What caused the sinking of the Titanic
and what were the consequences?

Keywords Key Word [headings on slides]

Notes Notes

Homework (Do not rule up this section until we are

finished with notes):
Homework Answer EQ in Summary section
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME VOCABULARY

RMS: Royal Mail Ship. A

OVERVIEW designation given to ships that
carried the mail around the world.

• At the time, the RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner.

• On 14 April 1912, on her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg, buckling part of her hull and
causing her to sink in the early hours of 15 April.

• 1516 men, women and children sank with the ship or died in
the water. Only 706 of her 2,224 passengers and crew survived.

• The massive loss of life resulted in major reforms in shipping safety.

• It is arguably the most famous maritime disaster, being the subject

of numerous media portrayals.
Concept Development

TITANIC 101

• Titanic 101 | National Geographic

[Link] [5:15m] CFU7

CFU3 CFU5 How many people

survived the
Ironically, what did When did Titanic set disaster?
CFU1 Titanic’s design sail on its maiden
include? voyage?
Who commissioned the
building of Titanic?

CFU4 CFU6
CFU2 Why were more lifeboats What was the name
not installed on Titanic’s of the ship that
Where and when
deck? came to Titanic’s
did construction of
Titanic begin? rescue?
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME VOCABULARY

knot: a unit of speed equivalent to

THE SHIP one nautical mile per hour, used
especially of ships, aircraft, or winds.

• RMS Titanic was built in the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland for the White Star Line.
• Started in March 1909 and launched in May 1911.
• Key statistics:
• Overall length: 266 metres
• Breadth: 28 metres
• Depth: 18 metres
• Displacement: 46,329 tonnes CHECK FOR
• Service speed: 21 knots (~39 kph) UNDERSTANDING
• Estimated top speed: 24 knots (~45 kph)
PAIR SHARE: is this
• Passenger and crew capacity: picture a PRIMARY or
• First class: 735 SECONDARY source?
• Second class: 674 Explain why.
• Third class: 1026
• Crew: 885
Concept Development DID YOU KNOW?

Titanic was the largest ship

THE SHIP afloat when she entered
service in April 1912.
Concept Development
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME

DID YOU KNOW?

• Titanic had two ‘sister’ ships.

• Olympic was launched 20 October 1910 (about 7-months

before Titanic); arrived at Jarrow, England, for scrapping
13 October 1935.

• Britannic was launched 26 February 1914; sunk by mine

21 November 1916 when in service as a medical ship
during World War I.
• She was the largest ship lost in the First World War and
world’s largest sunken passenger ship.
Concept Development
Concept Development

TITANIC
• How Did the 'Unsinkable' Titanic End Up at the Bottom of the Ocean? |
National Geographic
[Link] [4:04m]
CFU3 CFU5

How many iceberg When was the wreck of

CFU1 warning messages Titanic found?
were sent to
How many workers Captain John
were involved in Smith?
building Titanic?
CFU2 CFU4
What date did Titanic Why do investigators
sink? think a 300 foot long gash
in its side did not sink
HINT: trick question! Titanic?
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME

RICH AND FAMOUS

• DIED – JOHN JACOB ASTOR (47)

• Millionaire member of the prominent Astor family and
helped build the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City.
• He was worth nearly $US87million at the time ($US2.21
billion today).
• He was the richest person on Titanic.
• His pregnant wife survived the disaster.

• DIED – THOMAS ANDREWS (39)

• Architect of the Titanic.
• When an iceberg damaged the Titanic’s hull, he
immediately knew it was doomed to sink so he began
helping women and children into the lifeboats.
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME

A CAUSE – BIG DESIGN FAULT

• There was a major problem with the ship’s design.

• There were only enough lifeboats for a third of

the people on board.

• There were 20 lifeboats on board, which had a capacity of just 1,178 people.

• The capacity of Titanic was 3,320 people.

• So, there was no lifeboat space for 2,142 people!

Concept Development

A VOYAGE CUT SHORT

Concept Development HINT

Remember: 23:40 is 11:40pm

Titanic sank
THE SINKING in just
2 hours and CHECK FOR
40 minutes UNDERSTANDING

Does the speed of the

sinking indicate some
possible causes for the
disaster?
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME

RICH AND FAMOUS

• SURVIVED – MARGARET BROWN:

• Well-known socialite with a penchant for dramatic hats
and social activism on the behalf of women and children.
• She survived the Titanic and was known as “the
unsinkable Molly Brown.”

• SURVIVED – J. BRUCE ISMAY:

• White Star Line executive.
• Caught a lot of flack for boarding a lifeboat before other
passengers.
• He was ostracised in society and ultimately resigned
from his post and kept a low profile.
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME VOCABULARY VOCABULARY

davit: a small crane listing: the lean of

THE EVACUATION on board a ship for
suspending
a ship to one side.

lowering a lifeboat.
• The passengers were not told that the ship was sinking.
• A few noticed the ship was listing.
• Titanic had a total of 20 lifeboats - 16 wooden boats on davits and
4 collapsible boats
• 25 minutes after the collision, Captain Smith, realised the ship would sink.
• 15 minutes later, the loading of the lifeboats had begun.
• Women and children first.
• Most lifeboats could hold 65 people – many left less than half filled.
• As time progressed panic set in, some lifeboats were rushed by passengers. Captain Edward Smith
went down with his
• The ship's band played – this is sometimes disputed. ship.

• Remaining passengers and crew moved to the ship’s stern as it raised out of
the water.
• At 2:20am the ship slipped beneath the Atlantic for the final time.
Concept Development
Distress signal sent at about 01:40 by
Titanic's radio operator, Jack Phillips,
to the Russian American Line ship
SS Birma.

This was one of Titanic's last

intelligible radio messages.
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME VOCABULARY

hypothermia: the condition of

RESCUE AND RECOVERY EFFORT having an abnormally (typically
dangerously) low body temperature.

• Captain Arthur Rostron of the RMS Carpathia, which was

3 hours away, came to the rescue of the survivors in lifeboats.

• Water in the north Atlantic at the time was estimated at 0ºC.

• Anyone in the water became delirious, unconscious
and died from hypothermia within about 30 minutes.

• Only 710 people survived the disaster and were conveyed

A collapsible lifeboat with canvas sides with
by Carpathia to New York. Titanic survivors (photo taken by a passenger
• Over 1,500 passengers and crew died in the disaster. on the Carpathia)

• One of the most controversial parts of the disaster was the role played by SS Californian.
• It was closest to Titanic at the time of its sinking.
• It did not pick up her distress calls or responded to her signal rockets.
Concept Development

SURVIVOR STORIES
• Titanic: The Facts Told By Real Survivors | British Pathé
[Link] [8:52m]

CFU1
CFU3 CFU5
CFU7
What was notable What did passengers
How many slept in a
about some of notice of the collision
bunk in a 3rd class Did the survivors
Titanic’s with the iceberg?
cabin? say music played as
passengers?
the vessel sank?

CFU4
CFU2
What event happened CFU6
What did the on vessel on the
evening of 14 April? What did the survivor think
survivor say about
caused more 1st class
Titanic’s
passengers to be saved than
atmosphere?
3rd class passengers?
Concept Development
RICH AND FAMOUS
• DIED – ISIDOR STRAUS AND HIS WIFE IDA:
• Co-owner of Macy’s department store.
• Straus declined a lifeboat spot, saying he
wouldn’t board a raft until every woman and child
had gotten off the ship.
• Ida then refused to leave her husband.
• When her husband urged her to evacuate the
ship, she reportedly responded, “We have lived
together for many years. Where you go, I go.”
• Ida then ordered her maid to board a lifeboat.
• She also gave her a mink coat, quipping that she
wouldn’t need the garment anymore.
TRACK WITH ME • The couple was last seen together on the deck of
the Titanic.
• Isidor’s body was recovered from the
ocean, but Ida was never found.
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME

CONSEQUENCES
• There were multiple inquiries by British Board of Trade and
US Senate.
• Disaster was declared an Act of God – no one at fault.

• Major changes made to maritime safety regulations: "Untergang der Titanic"

(as conceived by Willy Stöwer, 1912)
• More lifeboats were required on all ships.
• Lifeboat drills were properly carried out.
• Radio equipment on ships was manned around the clock.
• Safety regulations were harmonised internationally through the International Convention for
the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

• An International Ice Patrol was set up to monitor the presence of icebergs in the North Atlantic.

• These changes are still in place today.

Guided Practice SOURCE ANALYSIS – CARTOONS
CHECK FOR
UNDERSTANDING

What can we learn about the

newspaper and public reaction
to Titanic from these 1912
cartoons?
Concept Development

Finding Titanic
• Titanic: A Remembrance | National Geographic
[Link] [6:25m]
CFU5
CFU1 CFU3 What did the crew
What was the first of Ballard’s vessel
What ‘encouraged’
part of Titanic that do after finding
the US Navy to help
Ballard saw? Titanic’s wreck?
fund the search for
Titanic?
CFU2
CFU4
What ‘secret’ did
Ballard use to find Why were Ballard and
Titanic? his team embarrassed
after finding the wreck?
Concept Development
Concept Development TRACK WITH ME

NEWS REPORTS

• Initial reports were confusing.

• The American press reported erroneously on
15 April that Titanic was being towed to port by the
SS Virginian.
• The casualty count took some time to become clear.

• News of Titanic’s sinking spread around the world within

a few days.

• The massive loss of life and the many rich and famous
on board meant it made the front pages of newspapers in
Britain, Europe and the US.

• 30,000-40,000 people gathered in New York City to London paperboy outside the White Star Line
welcome the Titanic survivors when they docked. offices
Concept Development

Markers of Titanic victims, Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Concept Development
Independent Practice

• Create your own newspaper front page for the Titanic disaster.

• Ensure that it includes:

• A meaningful, eye-catching headline
• A short article describing the key facts of the disaster (~100-250 words)
• At least one (and preferably more) image from the time of the disaster

• REMEMBER:
When this disaster happened in the 1912, there were no colour
newspapers… so, black and white only.
Lesson Closure TRACK WITH ME

• At the time, the RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner and the world's largest ship.
• On 14 April 1912, on her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg, buckling part of her hull and
causing her to sink in the early hours of 15 April.
• 1516 men, women and children sank with the ship or died in the water. Only 706 survived.
• The disaster was a major global new event.
• The massive loss of life led to major changes made to maritime safety regulations:
• More lifeboats were required on all ships.
• Lifeboat drills were properly carried out.
• Radio equipment on ships was manned around the clock.
• Safety regulations were harmonised internationally through the International Convention
for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
• An International Ice Patrol was set up to monitor the presence of icebergs in the North
Atlantic.
• These changes are still in place today.