From sail to steam power

150 years ago, steam power was replacing sail power for ships. Wooden-hulled ships, which had been used for thousands of years, were being replaced by iron-hulled ones. JMW Turner's painting, The Fighting Temeraire, is symbolic of this process, showing the final journey of the Temeraire. The Temeraire, an old ship used in important battles, is being towed by a steam boat on its way to be broken up. It is unlikely that Turner witnessed this event, but he has imagined it to make the point that seafaring was changing.