The Great Michael: Scotland's Supership That Sank a Kingdom

In 1511, King James IV of Scotland commissioned the largest warship in Europe—the Great Michael, a floating fortress that cost the equivalent of a naval fleet to build. This episode dives into the fascinating story of Scotland's ill-fated superweapon: the ship that was meant to project Stuart power across the North Sea but instead hastened the kingdom's ruin. We explore James IV's naval ambitions, the ship's staggering dimensions (240 feet long, carrying 300 guns, crewed by over 1,000 men), its brief career as the terror of the seas, and its ultimate fate as a rotting hulk sold to France after Flodden. We also examine the broader context of Scottish naval power in the early 16th century, the economic strain of maintaining such a vessel, and how the Great Michael symbolizes the overreach that preceded Scotland's catastrophic defeat at Flodden Field in 1513. Along the way, we touch on the ship's Scottish master shipwright, Jacques Terrell, the influence of the ship on contemporary naval architecture, and what the Great Michael tells us about James IV's vision for Scotland as a European power. #GreatMichael #JamesIV #ScottishNavy #Flodden #RoyalScotland #16thCentury #NavalHistory #Shipbuilding #Supership #Edinburgh #FirthofForth #MaritimeHistory #Stuart #Renaissance #History #FexingoHistory #Scotland #Warships Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo