Lusitania

lusitania was an ancient roman province which was part of hispania tarraconensis. it includes much of modern portugal and a portion of western spain.

the people who inhabited lusitania were known as the ‘lusitani’ or, as they are often referred to by modern historians, the ‘lusitans’. they, like many non-roman peoples, were described as ‘barbaric’ and ‘savage’ by roman authors. however, we now understand that this was far from true based on the discovery of countless pieces of intricate lusitan artwork including statues and weaponry.

many people from modern portugal and even western spain view the lusitans as their ancestors. viriato, a lusitan leader and war-hero, is a national hero in portugal. there is a commemorative statue of him in viseu, portugal.
last summer my family and i traveled to portugal – modern day lusitania.
(1907-1915) a ship contemporary with the t-tanic. one of the biggest and fastest ocean liners of her time, this four-funneled luxury liner was carrying a secret cargo of military supplies for the british in wwi; germany, blockaded by the british, newly-equipped with u-boats (which churchill ordered rammed on site), and aware of this smuggling on the part of the british, warned that any british or american ship thought to be carrying war supplies would be liable to attack, regardless of the safety of p-ssengers or crew. the 1259 p-ssengers and 701 crew who boarded the lusitania on may 1, 1915, paid little attention, largely unaware of the contraband bullets and shrapnel that the ship carried.
on may 7, as lunchtime ended within sight of ireland’s south coast, the lusitania was h-t by a torpedo from a german u-boat, followed by a much bigger secondary explosion (likely a steam-pipe explosion). listing sharply toward the wound in her starboard side, she sank in only 18 minutes, taking 1195 men, women, and children with her.
123 of the 159 americans on board were killed, plus 94 of the 129 children on board (including 35 of 39 infants), indirectly goading the united states to enter the war on britain’s side.
the p-ssengers of the lusitania naively refused to believe that a submarine would attack a p-ssenger ship, let alone one as fast as the lusitania.

may 7, just 11.5 miles from the irish coast, a torpedo rocked the ship. listing sharply to starboard and continuing at full speed for two miles, she had lost control. panic ensued as she plunged under the surface, head-first.
power was soon lost, trapping many below-decks and a number in the first-cl-ss elevators.
the starboard lifeboats swung away from the ship, while the port boats swung inward; although the ship had 48 lifeboats, only six starboard boats would be safely lowered while many others tipped or were lowered on top of each other. the port boats had to slide down the hull, splintering as they snagged on rivets, while one broke loose and careened down the boat deck, crushing p-ssengers who were not already injured on the sloping decks. the maimed littered the deck and a sea that was choked with floating debris.
while parents tried to find their children in the frenzy, children squealed for their parents. many put on their life-jackets upside-down and backwards in the panic.
in less than twenty minutes, the lusitania was gone, taking the trapped to the bottom and leaving several hundred more at the surface to die of hypothermia.
the lusitania casualties were tiny compared to the soldiers who died daily at the front, but they got an immediate reaction; not even civilians were safe.
a ship based off the t-tanic that sunk by a german torpedo in world war one era.
the lusitania sunk within 20 minutes