Broadside entitled 'Total Wreck of the Britannia'

Commentary

This report begins: 'An account of the melancholy loss of the Britannia Steam Boat, which was lost on her passage from Newry to the Broomielaw, early on Monday morning last. -Glasgow, 15th October, 1829.' This account was sourced from the Glasgow Courier of the same date and was published by John Muir of Glasgow.

This broadside includes a further story entitled 'THE STATE OF IRELAND', in which a group of 'Rockites' attacked a farm belonging to Sir Henry Parnell MP. The 'Rockites' was a name given to those involved in the 'Whiteboy movement' in Cork during the 1820s. The 'Whiteboys' were a secret society which originated in Limerick in the 1760s. They were strongly opposed to changes that were taking place in Irish agriculture at this time. They were renowned for their direct action, which often included targeting those in authority and sabotaging farmland.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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