A Swedish warship sank 1,300 metres into her maiden voyage and was raised almost intact

historyWikipedia1628 · Stockholm, Sweden

A Swedish warship sank 1,300 metres into her maiden voyage and was raised almost intact

the gist

Vasa was a Swedish warship ordered by King Gustavus Adolphus during his war with Poland-Lithuania, built in Stockholm in 1626-1628 and armed with bronze cannons. She was richly decorated and among the most powerfully armed ships in the world, yet she was dangerously top-heavy. On her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628 she sailed roughly 1,300 metres before a gust of wind toppled her, and she sank within minutes. She lay on the seabed for 333 years until she was raised with a largely intact hull in 1961. Today she sits in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, and over 45 million people have visited her.

so what

Vasa is the best-preserved 17th-century ship in the world, and her artifacts give historians detailed evidence of shipbuilding, naval warfare and daily life in early modern Sweden. Her sinking also shows how political pressure can override known engineering dangers.

fun fact

Most of Vasa's valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century, which is why the wreck was forgotten for centuries.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗