Work / monument · artifact

Nemesis (1839)

1839 · 19th century

Nemesis was an iron-hulled paddle steamer built by John Laird at Birkenhead in 1839 for the East India Company, the first ocean-going iron warship. With a shallow draught and heavy guns, she served in the First Opium War from 1840, destroying Chinese war junks and leading British forces up rivers to Canton and the Yangtze, showing the power of steam warships against Qing defences.

Nemesis (1839)
Image: S. Bull (engraver) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Nemesis (1839). In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nemesis-1839
MLA
“Nemesis (1839).” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nemesis-1839. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Nemesis (1839).” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nemesis-1839.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Nemesis (1839)’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nemesis-1839 (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻