May 20, 2025 • 31 mins
In 1688, a royal ship was embarking from Stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage. The Vasa was incredibly grand and intricate; it was also incredibly top-heavy. A few minutes after it began sailing, the ship toppeled over and sank into the sea. But its story was only just beginning.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Mankie listener discretion advised. Crowds of nobles, workers,
families all poured in from the royal Palace and the
streets of Stockholm, eager to finally see their King's pride
and joy in all her splendor. She was supposed to
(00:23):
be beautiful. King Gustavus Adolphus himself was off fighting in Poland,
but his presence was readily felt in that day's festivities, speeches,
and down at the waterfront, in the beautiful visage of
his beloved Vasa. August tenth, sixteen twenty eight was a
(00:43):
bright day, and the sun's rays illuminated her every feature,
from her meticulously carved beakhead to her gaudily painted stern castle. Yes,
the Vasa was in fact a ship, but not just
any ship. The Vasa was a hulking worship, the pinnacle
(01:06):
of Swedish naval ambitions, a floating tribute to the country's
bold ruler. This was the vessel that would make the
Swedish Empire the masters of the Baltic Sea. But the
Vasa's departure from harbor was far from majestic. With little
wind to help the ship move through Stockholm Harbor, Captain
(01:31):
Sofring Hanson ordered his crew to use ropes posts along
the shore and their vertical man powered winch known as
a capstan, to pull themselves along at a sea snail's pace. Nevertheless,
the crowd cheered on the Vasa. After all, the warship
(01:51):
was still a grand site with its double decks of
bronze cannons and all of its carved sculptures and gilded adornments.
The slow progression through the harbor actually allowed many onlookers
to keep pace along the key while calling out to
their friends and relatives on board. At long last, the
(02:13):
Vasa glided out away from shore. It fired a salute
and the crew set four of its ten available sails.
A gust of wind blew, and immediately the ship began
healing over to its port side. Screams came from the
watching crowd, as well as from some on board, especially
(02:37):
the more inexperienced crew members and honorary guests. Captain Hansen
was worried too, knowing how bad this maiden voyage was
going and how much worse it could get if his
nagging fears about the ship's seaworthiness were true, but he
barked orders and managed to even the Vasa's key. If
(03:00):
they could just complete their first leg to the alvs
Nebsen naval base further south in the Swedish Archipelago, and
thereby appease the impatient orders of the King, they could
hopefully make further adjustments to the ship. Then came the
second gust of wind. Spoiler alert. The ship sank on
(03:23):
its maiden voyage. We wouldn't be talking about it now
if it hadn't. However, the Vasa story did not end
with its dramatic and deadly foundering. Far from it. The
ship may have only sailed about thirteen hundred meters in total,
(03:43):
but its overarching journey from its rushed construction to its
epic failure to its unprecedented and incredible resurrection would effectively
canonize it as one of the most legendary ships to
even if so very briefly set sail. I'm Danish Schwartz
(04:06):
and this is noble blood. For nearly four hundred years now,
the most common question asked about the Vasa by everyone
from historians to marine archaeologists to casual observers has been
why did it sick? The answer is complicated since it
(04:30):
involves physical issues such as buoyancy, building materials, and weight distribution,
as well as classic human flaws like hubris, fear, and miscommunication.
Since the human side gives us the more psychologically compelling
entry point, let's start there with the Vasa's creation. There
(04:51):
were many fathers and several mothers, but no one figures
as prominently as King Gustavus Adolphus. The ship was his
true brainchild. Gustavus became king of Sweden in sixteen eleven
at age sixteen, and had limited margin for error since
(05:12):
his country was so frequently at war with three of
its neighbors, Denmark, Russia, and Poland. Despite some early losses,
Gustavus gained a reputation as a bold warrior and commander
who helped usher in an era that Swedish historians would
later call the Age of Greatness or quote great Power period.
(05:35):
Beyond out muscling his close rivals, Gustavus strove to push
Sweden into the top tier of European powerhouses. As a
devout Lutheran, he even hoped to staunch the influence of
the robust Catholic empires to the south. Such lofty ambitions
required enhanced military might. So, eager to boost his name
(06:00):
these firepower and to assert his control over profitable Baltic
trade routes, Gustavus sent an order to his Stockholm navy
yard in sixteen twenty five to build him four new warships.
Of these, the flagship was slated to be the most
powerful the world has ever seen. When finished, it would
(06:21):
have a stunning capacity or seventy two bronze twenty four
pounders aka cannons that shot twenty four pound balls. But
what to call this awe inspiring vessel? What name would
elicit pride from its patriots and strike fear into its foes?
(06:42):
How about bundle of sticks? That is essentially what Vasa
originally meant to be. More exact, the name comes from
the word vase, which was the heraldic symbol embraced by
the Swedish royal family heading into the seventeenth Sei entry.
It was increasingly depicted as a sheath of wheat in
(07:05):
their coat of arms, and the dynasty itself became known
as the House of Vasa. Starting with Gustavus's grandfather, Gustav
Eriksson Vasa. Thus, by dubbing his ship Vasa, Gustavus Adolphus
was in a sense both honoring his family and putting
their reputation on the line. This looming pressure only increased
(07:30):
during the Vasa's choppy formative years. Due to the time
it took for the shipyard to communicate with the king,
who was frequently off leading his army, multiple versions of
the contract were circulated. This made mastershipbuilder Henrik Hibertson's job hard.
To put it mildly, Quickly sourcing enough properly cut oak
(07:54):
beams would be tricky under normal circumstances, let alone when
stuck in a contract dispute with a temperamental monarch over
basic ship dimensions and costs. It's worth noting that although
a myth lingered for years that Gustavus's continued meddling was
a crucial factor in Vasa's ultimate failure, documents show that
(08:18):
that wasn't actually the case, at least not with the
main design. Once construction began, Gustavus did not keep trying
to change the specifications of the ship. His impatience simply
affected the build in other ways. One crucial issue was
the dissimilarities between the main shipbuilding techniques used throughout Europe
(08:41):
during this era. Shipbuilder Henrik was trained in the Dutch style,
in which workers did not rely on detailed designs or
models like they did in the English style. Instead, they
derived proportional measurements from basic parts of the ship, like
the kiel. The Dutch way saved money and time, but
(09:03):
turned out to be far riskier when utilized in Stockholm.
Under the King's urgent schedule. For example, carpenters were recruited
at home and abroad and brought differently sized tools with them.
Six wood rulers, all supposedly a foot long, were later located,
(09:23):
and none of them were the same length. The Swedish
ones were closer to a modern twelve inches, whereas the
Dutch ones were closer to eleven not exactly a recipe
for precision. Additionally, separate construction groups worked on the port
and starboard sides, which may have given the Vasa a
(09:45):
slightly asymmetric structure. As if all that were not enough,
it was tricky to judge how the immense weight of
seventy two cannons would affect the ship, because seventy two
cannons were not readily available, particularly not in the size
that King Gustavus wanted. These guns had to be cast
(10:09):
in bronze at a separate foundry in Stockholm, a task
so herculean that it was not completed. According to researchers,
only sixty four cannons ever actually made it onto the Vasa. Then,
in sixteen twenty seven, Henrik fell ill And died, his wife, Margareta,
(10:29):
Nil's daughter, took over the stressful job of running the shipyard.
With departments going far over budget and a king demanding
to see progress, other shipbuilders stepped in to help oversee things,
along with the Vasa's future captain, so Friing Hansen. In
sixteen twenty seven, they launched the Vasa a process where
(10:51):
they moved the incomplete vessel to the water to finish
its upper decks, rigging, and other features. During this phase,
workers noticed the ship's tendency to roll over, but hopefully
a seasoned captain like Hanson could manage that while sailing.
(11:13):
As we now know, Hanson could not, and on that
lightly breezy summer day in sixteen twenty eight, the Vasa
healed too far to port water rushed in and the
Vasa sank frighteningly quickly. Most crew members and passengers managed
to escape, but at least fifteen were trapped and drowned.
(11:37):
The ship may not have taken on water so quickly
if the gun ports, especially those on the lower deck,
had been closed, but they were open because a the
King wanted the might of his new warship to be
on full display, and B most of the cannons that
were ready in time were placed on the lower gun
(11:58):
deck or stabilities, and they would be difficult to reposition
on short notice. Gustavus Adolphus, furious upon hearing of the
Vasa's demise, called for an inquest. Captain Hunson and other
key figures were interrogated at the palace on September fifth,
sixteen twenty eight. Almost a month's worth of lead time
(12:21):
allowed these officers to carefully craft their defenses. According to
documents from the hearings, the defendants largely scapegoaded the dead
shipwright Henrik Heibertsen and or implied that they were simply
following the King's orders, so to punish them would be
to question the wisdom of fearsome King. Gustavus Adolphus Still,
(12:46):
it came out that Captain Hanson had been aware of
the Vasa's flaws to the point that he had had
his crew do a demonstration for one of the crown's
vice admirals. But clearly everyone was so fearful of delivering
bad news to the king that the maiden voyage went
forward anyway. Ultimately, no one was found guilty of negligence,
(13:10):
and the involved officers, nobles and craftspeople all tried to
move on with their careers and lives. King Gustavus Adolphus
got involved in the Bloody Thirty Years' War and died
at the Battle of Lutzen in sixteen thirty two. Meanwhile,
the Vasa rested at the bottom of Stockholm Harbor, seemingly
(13:33):
doomed to a disastrous legacy and a turbid decomposition. That
is until the steady evolution of nautical technology and some
long awaited luck gave the ship a chance to rise again.
Only three days after the Vasa sank, Sweden's Council of
(13:56):
the Realm granted an Englishman permission to try to salvage it.
His method involved using two floating ships as pontoons and
gradually tightening ropes attached to the wreck to pull it
up a little, drag it to shallow waters, and then repeat.
His plan was sound, but unfortunately he lacked enough mechanical force.
(14:21):
A Dutch expert tried next, as did others. At one point,
Captain Hansen was even tapped to lead a recovery effort,
but like his stewardship of the Vasa's first voyage, his
second go with the ship in its much sagier state,
also failed. Then, in sixteen sixty three, a diver named
(14:44):
Albert von Trelbin pitched an exciting new approach. Fortunately, the
king at this time, Carl the tenth Gustave, was very
interested in ships, just as Gustavus had been, so he
recognized the potential when Trailbin showed him an invention called
the diving bell. It could not enable the lifting of
(15:07):
the ship, but by trapping air underwater, the metallic chamber
allowed Trailbin's divers to recover valuable items, Namely thanks to
Trailbin's German partner's technique of using giant tongs to remove
large pieces from the gunports, the team was reportedly able
(15:27):
to recover most of the Vasa's prized bronze cannons. After that,
the vasa was mostly ignored for centuries, with the general
consensus being that the ship's materials were likely deteriorating beyond
sufficient value or usefulness. Fascinatingly, though, that wasn't the case.
(15:50):
As it turns out, in many ways, the conditions in
Stockholm Harbor were ideal for preserving a sunken ship. According
to scientists, the cold, brickish, low oxygen waters of the
Baltic kept certain organisms that wreak havoc on wood, like
the mollusk referred to as quote the shipworm, from destroying
(16:14):
the vasa more off puddingly, we also have the poor
waste removal practices of the seventeenth century to thank for
protecting the ship. Raw sewage jumped directly into the harbor
from the city's privies may have grievously poisoned the marine environment,
but in doing so it evidently also stymied wood loving bacteria. Additionally,
(16:40):
the ample sediment and clay of the harbor's seafloor encased
many structures and portions of the hull. This shielded the
vasa from erosion, but also made it extremely difficult to lift.
Because these ships settling into the muddy cushion created massive
(17:01):
amounts of suction. Fast forward to the nineteen fifties, yes,
over three hundred years after the sinking of the Vasa,
and a Swedish man named Anders Franzen becomes fascinated by
the ship. He had served during World War II studying
(17:21):
shipwrecks in his spare time, and got the Bronstrom's Shipping
Company and the Swedish Navy to back a new salvage
endeavor by winning over King Gustave the sixth Adolf. As
you may have already guessed, Sweden's recently crowned monarch, was
a fan of ships. If anything, we're making a strong
(17:44):
case here that within the last four centuries you couldn't
descend the Swedish throne and not like ships. Plus this
Gustave was exceptionally passionate about archaeology in general. For his
recovery plan, Anders Franz and his team opted to combine
new and old methods. They first used modern technology to
(18:07):
shoot jets of pressurized water below the Vasa. This created
tunnels through which they then threaded cables to make a
sturdy cradle for the ship. This was dangerous work for
divers who had to work in claustrophobic conditions, fearing that
the tunnels beneath the ship might collapse on them. Eventually, though,
(18:30):
they succeeded, and the recovery team then used an incremental
system of lifting the ship with pontoons and cable adjustments
that was remarkably similar to the strategy attempted in the
sixteen hundreds. The vasa was gradually pulled and towed into
shallower water until finally, on April twenty fourth, nineteen sixty one,
(18:55):
it emerged. Raising the vasa on to a special pontoon
platform was only part of the challenge. However, for those
first couple decades, a tricky balance had to be reached
between preservation and in depth study. Initially, workers had to
(19:15):
keep spraying the ship with water to prevent drying that
might lead to warping and cracking. A Swedish duo er
Till Centerval and Rolfe Moren, then devised a clever way
to preserve the structure, using a substance called polyethylene glycol
or PEG. When injected, this polymer replaced water while strengthening
(19:39):
wood fibers. Fun fact, this treatment was so effective that
It became standard practice with water logged wooden structures, including
the famous English warship Mary Rose that was later salvaged.
Preservation with PEG was effective, but also time consuming. Detached
(20:01):
pieces that could be submerged in this chemical mix, the
process often took from a year to eighteen months. The
main body of the vasa took way longer. The whole
thing couldn't be dunked, so conservators had to sprinkle and
inject PEG continually. This took from nineteen sixty one to
(20:25):
nineteen seventy nine. Finally, once the ship had been fortified,
eager marine archaeologists and historians were able to start fully
reconstructing and analyzing the ship. The vasa proved to be
an incredible time capsule of seventeenth century Swedish life at sea.
(20:47):
At least twenty five thousand objects were reportedly found. Clothing, shoes, games, glassware,
and coins all provided glimpses at what life was like.
The ship decorations also tell quite a story. An astonishing
number of intricate carvings survived, some with traces of their
(21:09):
original bright paint jobs. These showcased an amalgamation of artistic styles,
classic mythology, old testament iconography odes to King Gustavus Adolphus,
and plenty of mir people and mythical creatures. There were
even carvings that poked fun at rival Polish nobles by
(21:32):
showing them in compromising positions. Two of these were purportedly placed,
so they were only clearly visible to a crewman who
sat on one of the ship's main to toilets. By
modern standards, the intended living and working conditions on the
Vasa seemed pretty awful. The officers had larger cabins, but
(21:57):
most of the crew had the ship, in theory, continued
its mission, would have slept in dark, cramped conditions between cannons.
The only daylight that those on the lower decks would
have regularly seen would have filtered through cracks in the
beams above. The Vasa was supposed to carry a staggering
(22:18):
four hundred and fifty people, although it wasn't full when
it sank because the soldier regiments had not yet boarded,
so in one way, the fact that the ship failed
so immediately actually prevented even more people from suffering and dying.
Even so, as we mentioned, there were individuals who never
(22:40):
made it off the ship. Fifteen skeletons were recovered from
the Vasa wreck, it was hard to identify them since
no exact official crewe lists survived. The remains still offered
scientists a wealth of information. Though the group included sailors
likely conscripted from coastal towns or brought on from defecting
(23:03):
Danish and Norwegian crews. Since the first voyage of the
Vasa was a festive occasion, a few women and children
were also reportedly aboard. This was reflected in the skeletons.
Two of the fifteen were female. Analysis of the bones
also gave insight into height, age, matrilineal details, and nutrition.
(23:28):
Somewhat surprisingly, although those who had died had plenty of
other apparent injuries, none seemed to have been afflicted by scurvy.
The remains were actually in such good condition that detailed
facial reconstructions could be done, and eventually one skeleton could
(23:48):
be identified based on its age and clothing remnants. It
was Hans Jansen. Jansen was an experienced captain slated to
lead the Vasa, who was then replaced by Sofring Hudson.
Johnson still joined the maiden voyage, though, as corroborated by
(24:09):
officers at the inquest. The fact that even an expert
captain went down with the ship shows just how terrifyingly
fast it all happened. Further examination also shed more light
on why the Vasa sank. A critical problem was that
there were too many heavy beams, too high up the hull,
(24:32):
and too much space between decks. This, combined with apparent
asymmetries and the fact that the ship was actually too
small to effectively carry so much cargo, made it a
top heavy catastrophe waiting to happen, a catastrophe that, while
highly tragic at the time, eventually also led to a
(24:56):
stunning archaeological find that is inspired millions. The Vasa sinking
was a costly and embarrassing disaster, but it did not
seemingly dampen King Gustavus Adolphus's nautical ambitions in his remaining years.
Since the ship was such a failure, it became a
(25:19):
cautionary tail and brought sweeping changes. The Swedish Navy improved
their production process, utilizing more thorough oversight and opting to
work from detailed designs and models on future builds. Larger,
sturdier worships eventually made it out of the harbor to
see action in the long run, though no ship from
(25:42):
this period would see more action than the Vasa, which
to this day has not left Stockholm Harbor. While conservators
were working to preserve the Vasa on its pontoon platform,
a museum was built around the ship still rests there
(26:03):
on an island in Stockholm in a temperature and humidity
controlled environment, one that I actually was lucky enough to visit,
although every single photo I have is incredibly dark and blurry.
The Vasa may have struggled at sea, but since its
recovery and career pivot, it has been a smashing success
(26:26):
that continues to repay Sweden's investment, at least in terms
of tourism. The current King of Sweden, Karl the sixteenth Gustav,
who get this, has demonstrated he's both a fan of
historical ships and of promoting maritime safety, inaugurated the Vasa
(26:46):
Museum on June fifteenth, nineteen ninety. According to some sources,
it is the most visited museum in Scandinavia, attracting a
reported one point five million visitors a year, books, documentaries,
countless types of merchandise, and even a video game. Have
(27:07):
focused on the Vasa's unique history. In addition, the Vasa
has had a significant effect on popular culture in Sweden,
according to some archaeologists and historians. Despite the ship's infamous sinking,
fascination with it in recent decades has helped foster a
(27:28):
nationalistic view of the age of warrior kings and quests
for nautical glory that is similar to the sense of
modern pride at least shared cultural identity regarding the Viking Age.
In some business and technology circles, the Vasa has also
become a vivid symbol of project mismanagement. Several authors and
(27:53):
experts have used the term Vasa syndrome when discussing failed
ventures that were drastically afif affected by modern organizations, shortened timelines,
poor communication, and lack of corrective action. Such examples include
Greyhound trying to shift to a computerized bus reservation system
(28:15):
in nineteen ninety three and NASA's reportedly flawed process leading
up to the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Ultimately, it's difficult
to envision there ever being another ship like the Vasa,
thanks to its bridging of eras, linking of kings, and
legacy of mind bettening dichotomies. By sinking, it rose to
(28:39):
fame by barely traveling. It lured countless travelers. Perhaps most inspiringly,
after drowning under the weight of discord and royal expectations,
the Vasa lived on by booying cooperation and scientific innovation.
Not bad for bundle of sticks. That's the unsinkable history
(29:06):
of the Vasa. But stick around after a brief sponsor
break to get one last blast of irony from those
sought after bronze cannons. Other than firing one ammunition free salute,
(29:27):
the Vasa's bronze twenty four pounders were never actually put
to use on the Swedish flagship. In a fateful twist, however,
the cannons may have seen action decades later. Albert von Trelburn,
the Swede who if you'll remember, effectively utilized the diving bell,
(29:47):
salvaged most of the guns and passed them onto his
business partners. We know this because surviving customs records from
sixteen sixty five reveal that those men exported fifty three
of the cannons to Lubec, Germany, where there was quite
a market for secondhand weapons. Fred Hawker, the head of
(30:09):
research at the Vasa Museum makes a compelling case in
his book Vasa that some of those cannons found their
way to Denmark, since the Danish king at the time,
Frederick the Third, had sent representatives to Lubek to purchase
cannons for his own navy. Given that Denmark later battled
(30:29):
Sweden in the Scanyon War in sixteen seventy, it's therefore
possible that those same cannons were, as Hawker put it quote,
eventually fired in anger at the Swedish fleet. In other words,
after causing no end of trouble for foundry workers, shipbuilders,
(30:50):
and the Vasa crew, King Gustavus Adolphus's ubristic order of
cannons could hardly have backfired anymore on their home country's
hopes for Scandinavian supremacy at sea. Noble Blood is a
(31:14):
production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey.
Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional
writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy
Hit and Julia Melaney. The show is edited and produced
by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il KLi and
(31:37):
executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Mankie listener discretion advised. Crowds of nobles, workers,
families all poured in from the royal Palace and the
streets of Stockholm, eager to finally see their King's pride
and joy in all her splendor. She was supposed to
(00:23):
be beautiful. King Gustavus Adolphus himself was off fighting in Poland,
but his presence was readily felt in that day's festivities, speeches,
and down at the waterfront, in the beautiful visage of
his beloved Vasa. August tenth, sixteen twenty eight was a
(00:43):
bright day, and the sun's rays illuminated her every feature,
from her meticulously carved beakhead to her gaudily painted stern castle. Yes,
the Vasa was in fact a ship, but not just
any ship. The Vasa was a hulking worship, the pinnacle
(01:06):
of Swedish naval ambitions, a floating tribute to the country's
bold ruler. This was the vessel that would make the
Swedish Empire the masters of the Baltic Sea. But the
Vasa's departure from harbor was far from majestic. With little
wind to help the ship move through Stockholm Harbor, Captain
(01:31):
Sofring Hanson ordered his crew to use ropes posts along
the shore and their vertical man powered winch known as
a capstan, to pull themselves along at a sea snail's pace. Nevertheless,
the crowd cheered on the Vasa. After all, the warship
(01:51):
was still a grand site with its double decks of
bronze cannons and all of its carved sculptures and gilded adornments.
The slow progression through the harbor actually allowed many onlookers
to keep pace along the key while calling out to
their friends and relatives on board. At long last, the
(02:13):
Vasa glided out away from shore. It fired a salute
and the crew set four of its ten available sails.
A gust of wind blew, and immediately the ship began
healing over to its port side. Screams came from the
watching crowd, as well as from some on board, especially
(02:37):
the more inexperienced crew members and honorary guests. Captain Hansen
was worried too, knowing how bad this maiden voyage was
going and how much worse it could get if his
nagging fears about the ship's seaworthiness were true, but he
barked orders and managed to even the Vasa's key. If
(03:00):
they could just complete their first leg to the alvs
Nebsen naval base further south in the Swedish Archipelago, and
thereby appease the impatient orders of the King, they could
hopefully make further adjustments to the ship. Then came the
second gust of wind. Spoiler alert. The ship sank on
(03:23):
its maiden voyage. We wouldn't be talking about it now
if it hadn't. However, the Vasa story did not end
with its dramatic and deadly foundering. Far from it. The
ship may have only sailed about thirteen hundred meters in total,
(03:43):
but its overarching journey from its rushed construction to its
epic failure to its unprecedented and incredible resurrection would effectively
canonize it as one of the most legendary ships to
even if so very briefly set sail. I'm Danish Schwartz
(04:06):
and this is noble blood. For nearly four hundred years now,
the most common question asked about the Vasa by everyone
from historians to marine archaeologists to casual observers has been
why did it sick? The answer is complicated since it
(04:30):
involves physical issues such as buoyancy, building materials, and weight distribution,
as well as classic human flaws like hubris, fear, and miscommunication.
Since the human side gives us the more psychologically compelling
entry point, let's start there with the Vasa's creation. There
(04:51):
were many fathers and several mothers, but no one figures
as prominently as King Gustavus Adolphus. The ship was his
true brainchild. Gustavus became king of Sweden in sixteen eleven
at age sixteen, and had limited margin for error since
(05:12):
his country was so frequently at war with three of
its neighbors, Denmark, Russia, and Poland. Despite some early losses,
Gustavus gained a reputation as a bold warrior and commander
who helped usher in an era that Swedish historians would
later call the Age of Greatness or quote great Power period.
(05:35):
Beyond out muscling his close rivals, Gustavus strove to push
Sweden into the top tier of European powerhouses. As a
devout Lutheran, he even hoped to staunch the influence of
the robust Catholic empires to the south. Such lofty ambitions
required enhanced military might. So, eager to boost his name
(06:00):
these firepower and to assert his control over profitable Baltic
trade routes, Gustavus sent an order to his Stockholm navy
yard in sixteen twenty five to build him four new warships.
Of these, the flagship was slated to be the most
powerful the world has ever seen. When finished, it would
(06:21):
have a stunning capacity or seventy two bronze twenty four
pounders aka cannons that shot twenty four pound balls. But
what to call this awe inspiring vessel? What name would
elicit pride from its patriots and strike fear into its foes?
(06:42):
How about bundle of sticks? That is essentially what Vasa
originally meant to be. More exact, the name comes from
the word vase, which was the heraldic symbol embraced by
the Swedish royal family heading into the seventeenth Sei entry.
It was increasingly depicted as a sheath of wheat in
(07:05):
their coat of arms, and the dynasty itself became known
as the House of Vasa. Starting with Gustavus's grandfather, Gustav
Eriksson Vasa. Thus, by dubbing his ship Vasa, Gustavus Adolphus
was in a sense both honoring his family and putting
their reputation on the line. This looming pressure only increased
(07:30):
during the Vasa's choppy formative years. Due to the time
it took for the shipyard to communicate with the king,
who was frequently off leading his army, multiple versions of
the contract were circulated. This made mastershipbuilder Henrik Hibertson's job hard.
To put it mildly, Quickly sourcing enough properly cut oak
(07:54):
beams would be tricky under normal circumstances, let alone when
stuck in a contract dispute with a temperamental monarch over
basic ship dimensions and costs. It's worth noting that although
a myth lingered for years that Gustavus's continued meddling was
a crucial factor in Vasa's ultimate failure, documents show that
(08:18):
that wasn't actually the case, at least not with the
main design. Once construction began, Gustavus did not keep trying
to change the specifications of the ship. His impatience simply
affected the build in other ways. One crucial issue was
the dissimilarities between the main shipbuilding techniques used throughout Europe
(08:41):
during this era. Shipbuilder Henrik was trained in the Dutch style,
in which workers did not rely on detailed designs or
models like they did in the English style. Instead, they
derived proportional measurements from basic parts of the ship, like
the kiel. The Dutch way saved money and time, but
(09:03):
turned out to be far riskier when utilized in Stockholm.
Under the King's urgent schedule. For example, carpenters were recruited
at home and abroad and brought differently sized tools with them.
Six wood rulers, all supposedly a foot long, were later located,
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and none of them were the same length. The Swedish
ones were closer to a modern twelve inches, whereas the
Dutch ones were closer to eleven not exactly a recipe
for precision. Additionally, separate construction groups worked on the port
and starboard sides, which may have given the Vasa a
(09:45):
slightly asymmetric structure. As if all that were not enough,
it was tricky to judge how the immense weight of
seventy two cannons would affect the ship, because seventy two
cannons were not readily available, particularly not in the size
that King Gustavus wanted. These guns had to be cast
(10:09):
in bronze at a separate foundry in Stockholm, a task
so herculean that it was not completed. According to researchers,
only sixty four cannons ever actually made it onto the Vasa. Then,
in sixteen twenty seven, Henrik fell ill And died, his wife, Margareta,
(10:29):
Nil's daughter, took over the stressful job of running the shipyard.
With departments going far over budget and a king demanding
to see progress, other shipbuilders stepped in to help oversee things,
along with the Vasa's future captain, so Friing Hansen. In
sixteen twenty seven, they launched the Vasa a process where
(10:51):
they moved the incomplete vessel to the water to finish
its upper decks, rigging, and other features. During this phase,
workers noticed the ship's tendency to roll over, but hopefully
a seasoned captain like Hanson could manage that while sailing.
(11:13):
As we now know, Hanson could not, and on that
lightly breezy summer day in sixteen twenty eight, the Vasa
healed too far to port water rushed in and the
Vasa sank frighteningly quickly. Most crew members and passengers managed
to escape, but at least fifteen were trapped and drowned.
(11:37):
The ship may not have taken on water so quickly
if the gun ports, especially those on the lower deck,
had been closed, but they were open because a the
King wanted the might of his new warship to be
on full display, and B most of the cannons that
were ready in time were placed on the lower gun
(11:58):
deck or stabilities, and they would be difficult to reposition
on short notice. Gustavus Adolphus, furious upon hearing of the
Vasa's demise, called for an inquest. Captain Hunson and other
key figures were interrogated at the palace on September fifth,
sixteen twenty eight. Almost a month's worth of lead time
(12:21):
allowed these officers to carefully craft their defenses. According to
documents from the hearings, the defendants largely scapegoaded the dead
shipwright Henrik Heibertsen and or implied that they were simply
following the King's orders, so to punish them would be
to question the wisdom of fearsome King. Gustavus Adolphus Still,
(12:46):
it came out that Captain Hanson had been aware of
the Vasa's flaws to the point that he had had
his crew do a demonstration for one of the crown's
vice admirals. But clearly everyone was so fearful of delivering
bad news to the king that the maiden voyage went
forward anyway. Ultimately, no one was found guilty of negligence,
(13:10):
and the involved officers, nobles and craftspeople all tried to
move on with their careers and lives. King Gustavus Adolphus
got involved in the Bloody Thirty Years' War and died
at the Battle of Lutzen in sixteen thirty two. Meanwhile,
the Vasa rested at the bottom of Stockholm Harbor, seemingly
(13:33):
doomed to a disastrous legacy and a turbid decomposition. That
is until the steady evolution of nautical technology and some
long awaited luck gave the ship a chance to rise again.
Only three days after the Vasa sank, Sweden's Council of
(13:56):
the Realm granted an Englishman permission to try to salvage it.
His method involved using two floating ships as pontoons and
gradually tightening ropes attached to the wreck to pull it
up a little, drag it to shallow waters, and then repeat.
His plan was sound, but unfortunately he lacked enough mechanical force.
(14:21):
A Dutch expert tried next, as did others. At one point,
Captain Hansen was even tapped to lead a recovery effort,
but like his stewardship of the Vasa's first voyage, his
second go with the ship in its much sagier state,
also failed. Then, in sixteen sixty three, a diver named
(14:44):
Albert von Trelbin pitched an exciting new approach. Fortunately, the
king at this time, Carl the tenth Gustave, was very
interested in ships, just as Gustavus had been, so he
recognized the potential when Trailbin showed him an invention called
the diving bell. It could not enable the lifting of
(15:07):
the ship, but by trapping air underwater, the metallic chamber
allowed Trailbin's divers to recover valuable items, Namely thanks to
Trailbin's German partner's technique of using giant tongs to remove
large pieces from the gunports, the team was reportedly able
(15:27):
to recover most of the Vasa's prized bronze cannons. After that,
the vasa was mostly ignored for centuries, with the general
consensus being that the ship's materials were likely deteriorating beyond
sufficient value or usefulness. Fascinatingly, though, that wasn't the case.
(15:50):
As it turns out, in many ways, the conditions in
Stockholm Harbor were ideal for preserving a sunken ship. According
to scientists, the cold, brickish, low oxygen waters of the
Baltic kept certain organisms that wreak havoc on wood, like
the mollusk referred to as quote the shipworm, from destroying
(16:14):
the vasa more off puddingly, we also have the poor
waste removal practices of the seventeenth century to thank for
protecting the ship. Raw sewage jumped directly into the harbor
from the city's privies may have grievously poisoned the marine environment,
but in doing so it evidently also stymied wood loving bacteria. Additionally,
(16:40):
the ample sediment and clay of the harbor's seafloor encased
many structures and portions of the hull. This shielded the
vasa from erosion, but also made it extremely difficult to lift.
Because these ships settling into the muddy cushion created massive
(17:01):
amounts of suction. Fast forward to the nineteen fifties, yes,
over three hundred years after the sinking of the Vasa,
and a Swedish man named Anders Franzen becomes fascinated by
the ship. He had served during World War II studying
(17:21):
shipwrecks in his spare time, and got the Bronstrom's Shipping
Company and the Swedish Navy to back a new salvage
endeavor by winning over King Gustave the sixth Adolf. As
you may have already guessed, Sweden's recently crowned monarch, was
a fan of ships. If anything, we're making a strong
(17:44):
case here that within the last four centuries you couldn't
descend the Swedish throne and not like ships. Plus this
Gustave was exceptionally passionate about archaeology in general. For his
recovery plan, Anders Franz and his team opted to combine
new and old methods. They first used modern technology to
(18:07):
shoot jets of pressurized water below the Vasa. This created
tunnels through which they then threaded cables to make a
sturdy cradle for the ship. This was dangerous work for
divers who had to work in claustrophobic conditions, fearing that
the tunnels beneath the ship might collapse on them. Eventually, though,
(18:30):
they succeeded, and the recovery team then used an incremental
system of lifting the ship with pontoons and cable adjustments
that was remarkably similar to the strategy attempted in the
sixteen hundreds. The vasa was gradually pulled and towed into
shallower water until finally, on April twenty fourth, nineteen sixty one,
(18:55):
it emerged. Raising the vasa on to a special pontoon
platform was only part of the challenge. However, for those
first couple decades, a tricky balance had to be reached
between preservation and in depth study. Initially, workers had to
(19:15):
keep spraying the ship with water to prevent drying that
might lead to warping and cracking. A Swedish duo er
Till Centerval and Rolfe Moren, then devised a clever way
to preserve the structure, using a substance called polyethylene glycol
or PEG. When injected, this polymer replaced water while strengthening
(19:39):
wood fibers. Fun fact, this treatment was so effective that
It became standard practice with water logged wooden structures, including
the famous English warship Mary Rose that was later salvaged.
Preservation with PEG was effective, but also time consuming. Detached
(20:01):
pieces that could be submerged in this chemical mix, the
process often took from a year to eighteen months. The
main body of the vasa took way longer. The whole
thing couldn't be dunked, so conservators had to sprinkle and
inject PEG continually. This took from nineteen sixty one to
(20:25):
nineteen seventy nine. Finally, once the ship had been fortified,
eager marine archaeologists and historians were able to start fully
reconstructing and analyzing the ship. The vasa proved to be
an incredible time capsule of seventeenth century Swedish life at sea.
(20:47):
At least twenty five thousand objects were reportedly found. Clothing, shoes, games, glassware,
and coins all provided glimpses at what life was like.
The ship decorations also tell quite a story. An astonishing
number of intricate carvings survived, some with traces of their
(21:09):
original bright paint jobs. These showcased an amalgamation of artistic styles,
classic mythology, old testament iconography odes to King Gustavus Adolphus,
and plenty of mir people and mythical creatures. There were
even carvings that poked fun at rival Polish nobles by
(21:32):
showing them in compromising positions. Two of these were purportedly placed,
so they were only clearly visible to a crewman who
sat on one of the ship's main to toilets. By
modern standards, the intended living and working conditions on the
Vasa seemed pretty awful. The officers had larger cabins, but
(21:57):
most of the crew had the ship, in theory, continued
its mission, would have slept in dark, cramped conditions between cannons.
The only daylight that those on the lower decks would
have regularly seen would have filtered through cracks in the
beams above. The Vasa was supposed to carry a staggering
(22:18):
four hundred and fifty people, although it wasn't full when
it sank because the soldier regiments had not yet boarded,
so in one way, the fact that the ship failed
so immediately actually prevented even more people from suffering and dying.
Even so, as we mentioned, there were individuals who never
(22:40):
made it off the ship. Fifteen skeletons were recovered from
the Vasa wreck, it was hard to identify them since
no exact official crewe lists survived. The remains still offered
scientists a wealth of information. Though the group included sailors
likely conscripted from coastal towns or brought on from defecting
(23:03):
Danish and Norwegian crews. Since the first voyage of the
Vasa was a festive occasion, a few women and children
were also reportedly aboard. This was reflected in the skeletons.
Two of the fifteen were female. Analysis of the bones
also gave insight into height, age, matrilineal details, and nutrition.
(23:28):
Somewhat surprisingly, although those who had died had plenty of
other apparent injuries, none seemed to have been afflicted by scurvy.
The remains were actually in such good condition that detailed
facial reconstructions could be done, and eventually one skeleton could
(23:48):
be identified based on its age and clothing remnants. It
was Hans Jansen. Jansen was an experienced captain slated to
lead the Vasa, who was then replaced by Sofring Hudson.
Johnson still joined the maiden voyage, though, as corroborated by
(24:09):
officers at the inquest. The fact that even an expert
captain went down with the ship shows just how terrifyingly
fast it all happened. Further examination also shed more light
on why the Vasa sank. A critical problem was that
there were too many heavy beams, too high up the hull,
(24:32):
and too much space between decks. This, combined with apparent
asymmetries and the fact that the ship was actually too
small to effectively carry so much cargo, made it a
top heavy catastrophe waiting to happen, a catastrophe that, while
highly tragic at the time, eventually also led to a
(24:56):
stunning archaeological find that is inspired millions. The Vasa sinking
was a costly and embarrassing disaster, but it did not
seemingly dampen King Gustavus Adolphus's nautical ambitions in his remaining years.
Since the ship was such a failure, it became a
(25:19):
cautionary tail and brought sweeping changes. The Swedish Navy improved
their production process, utilizing more thorough oversight and opting to
work from detailed designs and models on future builds. Larger,
sturdier worships eventually made it out of the harbor to
see action in the long run, though no ship from
(25:42):
this period would see more action than the Vasa, which
to this day has not left Stockholm Harbor. While conservators
were working to preserve the Vasa on its pontoon platform,
a museum was built around the ship still rests there
(26:03):
on an island in Stockholm in a temperature and humidity
controlled environment, one that I actually was lucky enough to visit,
although every single photo I have is incredibly dark and blurry.
The Vasa may have struggled at sea, but since its
recovery and career pivot, it has been a smashing success
(26:26):
that continues to repay Sweden's investment, at least in terms
of tourism. The current King of Sweden, Karl the sixteenth Gustav,
who get this, has demonstrated he's both a fan of
historical ships and of promoting maritime safety, inaugurated the Vasa
(26:46):
Museum on June fifteenth, nineteen ninety. According to some sources,
it is the most visited museum in Scandinavia, attracting a
reported one point five million visitors a year, books, documentaries,
countless types of merchandise, and even a video game. Have
(27:07):
focused on the Vasa's unique history. In addition, the Vasa
has had a significant effect on popular culture in Sweden,
according to some archaeologists and historians. Despite the ship's infamous sinking,
fascination with it in recent decades has helped foster a
(27:28):
nationalistic view of the age of warrior kings and quests
for nautical glory that is similar to the sense of
modern pride at least shared cultural identity regarding the Viking Age.
In some business and technology circles, the Vasa has also
become a vivid symbol of project mismanagement. Several authors and
(27:53):
experts have used the term Vasa syndrome when discussing failed
ventures that were drastically afif affected by modern organizations, shortened timelines,
poor communication, and lack of corrective action. Such examples include
Greyhound trying to shift to a computerized bus reservation system
(28:15):
in nineteen ninety three and NASA's reportedly flawed process leading
up to the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Ultimately, it's difficult
to envision there ever being another ship like the Vasa,
thanks to its bridging of eras, linking of kings, and
legacy of mind bettening dichotomies. By sinking, it rose to
(28:39):
fame by barely traveling. It lured countless travelers. Perhaps most inspiringly,
after drowning under the weight of discord and royal expectations,
the Vasa lived on by booying cooperation and scientific innovation.
Not bad for bundle of sticks. That's the unsinkable history
(29:06):
of the Vasa. But stick around after a brief sponsor
break to get one last blast of irony from those
sought after bronze cannons. Other than firing one ammunition free salute,
(29:27):
the Vasa's bronze twenty four pounders were never actually put
to use on the Swedish flagship. In a fateful twist, however,
the cannons may have seen action decades later. Albert von Trelburn,
the Swede who if you'll remember, effectively utilized the diving bell,
(29:47):
salvaged most of the guns and passed them onto his
business partners. We know this because surviving customs records from
sixteen sixty five reveal that those men exported fifty three
of the cannons to Lubec, Germany, where there was quite
a market for secondhand weapons. Fred Hawker, the head of
(30:09):
research at the Vasa Museum makes a compelling case in
his book Vasa that some of those cannons found their
way to Denmark, since the Danish king at the time,
Frederick the Third, had sent representatives to Lubek to purchase
cannons for his own navy. Given that Denmark later battled
(30:29):
Sweden in the Scanyon War in sixteen seventy, it's therefore
possible that those same cannons were, as Hawker put it quote,
eventually fired in anger at the Swedish fleet. In other words,
after causing no end of trouble for foundry workers, shipbuilders,
(30:50):
and the Vasa crew, King Gustavus Adolphus's ubristic order of
cannons could hardly have backfired anymore on their home country's
hopes for Scandinavian supremacy at sea. Noble Blood is a
(31:14):
production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey.
Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional
writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy
Hit and Julia Melaney. The show is edited and produced
by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il KLi and
(31:37):
executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Host
Dana Schwartz
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