London Photo Gallery - National Maritime Museum Greenwich

London has no shortage of free museums. The National Maritime Museum showcases Britain's involvement in exploring the seas and its naval history. It now is a museum that showcases a lot of artwork with a maritime connection, and can be easily combined with the National Maritime Museum for a few hours of exploration. The British were avid explorers of the Canadian Arctic but those trips did not always end well. The Tudor and Stuart seafarers were in competition with the Portuguese and Spanish in exploring the seas starting from the late 15th century. These explorers re-shaped the European's view of the world and opened new opportunities for trade and settlement. The Dutch were major map-makers in the 17th century and produced many sea atlases, although the English wanted to try as well based on what the Dutch had done. This Dutch globe from around 1640 shows Australia and California as an island. Lion figureheads had oftentimes been placed on smaller warships. The Royal Navy used press gangs to force men into service due to crew shortages. This cannonball was launched during the Battle of Trafalgar. The stained glass from the Baltic Exchange Building was unveiled in 1922 to memoralize the members who died during World War I. Damaged by a terrorist bombing in 1992, they are now on display at the museum.