Britannia Ruled the Waves: An Imagological Analysis of the Battleship as a Cultural Image of the British Empire 1905-1960
Author
Moldt, Jeppe
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-06-03
Pages
79
Abstract
Mange forbinder Storbritannien med Rule, Britannia! og Trafalgar Square—symboler på en stolt flådefortid. Men landet dominerer ikke længere havene. Denne afhandling spørger, hvorfor Royal Navy (den britiske flåde) stadig fylder så meget i kulturen. Den undersøger den symbolske kraft i slagskibe—store, tungt bevæbnede krigsskibe—og viser, hvordan de formede billedet af flåden og den britiske identitet. Ikoniske skibe gjorde en forskel: HMS Dreadnought udstrålede styrke og enhed, mens tabet af HMS Hood og det uafgjorte udfald af Søslaget ved Jylland svækkede forestillingen om britisk overlegenhed til søs. Ved at følge udviklingen fra tidlige linjeskibe til de sidste aktive slagskibe viser studiet, at ideen om britisk sømagt fulgte disse skibes op- og nedture. Da slagskibene forsvandt, svandt også troen på, at Britannia herskede på havene.
Many people associate Britain with Rule, Britannia! and Trafalgar Square—symbols of a proud naval past. Yet Britain no longer dominates the seas. This thesis asks why the Royal Navy still holds such a central place in national culture. It examines the symbolic power of battleships—large, heavily armed warships—and shows how they shaped the public image of the Navy and British identity. Iconic ships mattered: HMS Dreadnought projected strength and unity, while the loss of HMS Hood and the indecisive outcome of the Battle of Jutland weakened the sense of naval superiority. Tracing the story from early ships of the line to the last battleships in service, the study finds that ideas about British sea power rose and fell with these vessels. As battleships disappeared, so did the belief that Britannia ruled the waves.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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