http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/sir-cloudesley-shovell-shipwrecked Turki Almutairi Mr. Downs World History I 22 April 2015 The Chronometer Imagine going on a sea voyage in search of new land or rare spices. Here is the thing, though; there is no way for you or your crewmates to determine your longitude. This means that you do not know where you are, north or south; you could be at the equator or the Arctic Circle and you would not know. You would be at risk of getting lost at sea, or getting shipwrecked. That was the case in all marine transportation prior to the Renaissance Era. What revolutionized this particular type of transportation was John Harrison’s invention of the chronometer, an accurate timekeeper. The chronometer gave sailors the facility they needed to determine their longitude. It allowed people and goods to be transported overseas in a much safer and more efficient manner. Prior to the European Renaissance, sailors could not determine the longitude …show more content…
This was an effective step in the future of transportation. The chronometer was designed to “have long-term accuracy that it can be used as a portable time standard on a vehicle” (1). Latitude could be determined easily in relation to finding longitude, by calculating the sun’s angle at noon (1). Since the chronometer was immune to the motion of the ship, ships could travel from place to place and not get lost. The invention meant that “navigation at sea required a chronometer for safety” and that utilizing the chronometer “saved both lives and ships” (2). Renowned British explorer James Cook used a close replica of the H-4 on a long voyage to the island of Tahiti. The one he used was made by Larcum Kendall, a clockmaker, and was called the K-1. Cook returned to England and was “full of praise for…[the] replica”
used by the boat was essential for communication and the safety of its passengers. The Titanic,
The Early Modern Era saw great change in the field of naval technology. Exploration and the desire to expand trade fueled the development of new, more effective naval vessels. These vessels, in turn, contributed to the growth of worldwide trade and interconnection that marked the period.
The sudden loss of all these men led to the British Parliament passing the Longitude Act of 1714. The parliament offered a prize of 20,000 pounds to anyone who could have brought them a “practical and useful” way of determining longitude. A panel of judges known as the Board of Longitude was given the task of finding the best fix to the problem and awarding the winner the money. There was a widespread belief that longitude would be able to be determined by the use of celestial objects. As a result of this King Charles built the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. John Flamsteed was put in charge of the observatory and given the title as Royal Astronomer. People also looked at timekeeping as a way to determine longitude, but it was not reliable at the time because the clocks on ships were not precise because of the changing conditions that occurred. Scientist throughout the world worked on many unconventional ways to try to determine longitude for example, putting a special powder on a dog so it would bark at certain
Traveling by boat was cheaper minimal resources were wasted on making the earliest cargo ships. The creations of boats and early cargo ships made natives travel to distant places more frequently than on land. Sea trade also made trading easier and expanding territory. If boats weren’t invented, different parts of the world wouldn’t have the different resources they have now and possibly wouldn’t even know they existed like the Americas.
During the European exploration, which was in the 15th and 16th century, explorers were sailing around to explore, trade, spread, or get new things. These places were throughout Europe (Spain, Portugal, etc.), America (The colonies), and through Asia. These explorers were sailing through the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These explorations started from Portugal with Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama and this time of exploration spread to different countries and other explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortez and more. All this exploration was all done with new sailing innovations and navigation schools (which was created by Prince Henry) which taught people to explore and sail across the sea. Some major points of European exploration were the discovery of the new world (America), which was a new place never explored by the Europeans. The exploration of the coastlines of the Indian Ocean and the China Sea, as well as explorers trying to find new and faster sea routes to different places, which was also important. European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries was motivated by God (spreading Christianity), gold (wealth), and glory (becoming glorious for your country
There were many important events in Spain that paved the way for the colonization of the New World. For example, Europeans craved the spices of the East, but due to warfare in Asia, they tried to find new trade routes . At the time, Europeans knew that the Earth was round, but they did not know how far the ocean stretched, let alone the existence of other continents beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The demand for such spices allowed for many expeditions to occur, including Christopher Columbus. In addition, the explorers of the time were considered “renaissance men” who used new navigation tools such as the globe and sextant, and also referred back to Greek and Latin maps . The Renaissance and its innovations and new ways of thinking are responsible for the expeditions and the ambitiousness of the explorers. As the explorers were traveling in all sorts of directions around the world, they gained more knowledge and improved the maps, which are key aspects of the Renaissance. Furthermore, after the re-conquest of Grenada, the men of Spain still had a frontier mentality that carried over to the New World . As Spain used the plantations on the Az...
exact, the time was only able to be told by the hourly chiming of the
Like the Arabs, the Europeans sometimes let their religion come between them and the truth. The best example of this is what Boorstin refers to as the “Great Interruption,” a time in the Middle Ages where theological, rather than geographical, accuracy was prioritized in mapmaking. Rather than continuing the work of Ptolemy and refining his rectangular coordinate system, cartographers “spent their energies embroidering a neat, theologically appealing picture of what was already known, or was supposed to be known.” (Boorstin, 100) Maps depicted the world as a circular disc divided into three parts, the three parts being the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, separated by a T-shaped flow of water. Jerusalem was always in the center of the maps; the justification came from a verse in Ezekiel saying that God had placed Jerusalem in the midst of the nations, which was interpreted literally. Allowing Christian dogma to determine the shape of the earth was a major failing in Boorstin’s eyes; nevertheless, the episode was only an “interruption,” and Europe eventually resumed discovery. Firstly, Boorstin credits the west for the modern clock and calendar. Although earlier versions of clocks from other parts of the world are mentioned, the author focuses primarily on the contributions of westerners to its development. When missionary
Sea routes were used by sailors to find new trading partners. However during this time, travel by sea, which was mainly in unchartered territory, was very dangerous. In fact, most voyages were quite lengthy and often resulted in fatalities. Since goods were in such high demand, sailors needed the fastest and most efficient way to get to their destination. The most difficult route was to get from Europe to Asia. Previously, people would travel by land between these two countries but it was long and inefficient. The need for shorter trade routes resulted in people investing in finding a way to get to Asia by
One factor that gave the Europeans the ability to expand their control while facing domestic conflict was their ability to advance exponentially in technology. These advancements in technology allowed them to understand certain trade routes as well as discover new lands to colonize. Some of these technological advances were the advancement in nautical technology such as the magnetic compass, and improvements in ship construction to make ships better equipped to face the harsh conditions of the open sea. The use of the magnetic compass allowed European explorers to understand navigation in a whole new
Scientifically, when the cultures of 15th century Europe and the natives in the Americas are concerned, the two are fairly alike. In Europe,a great deal of work was done in astronomy. Of course this was because it was a necessity for navigation. From the studies of the heavens, the Europeans were also able to have calenders and a reliable way to keep time. Perhaps the best instrument was the astrolabe(a flat model of the night skies). (McGovern ,61). Despite these achievements, tables used for planetary positions were still very inaccurate. At the time of Columbus, the Earth was still the center of the universe and the planets revolved around it. It would be another 40 years before the Copernican system of the sun being the center of the universe was even suggested(McGovern, 66).
Political factors in the 18th century involving the Islamic conquest of Spain, France, North Africa and parts of the Mediterranean, successfully hindered European expedition to the Far East for succeeding centuries. This made many early explorers like Christopher Columbus and Vasco de Gama look for new trade path to the East. Ocean expeditions were very treacherous at this time. The weather could not be predicted, the navigation techniques were still primarily ancient and maps were scandalously unre...
Hawaiian Navigation How did the Polynesians find their way to Hawaii, over two thousand miles from any other land? Was it over population at home, or political turmoil? Whatever reason for leaving, these people used amazing knowledge and skill of the ocean and of the sky to navigate them to this new land. They faced the unknown and braved the wide-open ocean for long periods of time. The real focus in this paper is on the navigation techniques that they used in these voyages throughout the Pacific.
Experienced sailor Coiumbus first proposed the idea of sailing west to reach the East, by joining information from personal sea voyages and drawing knowledge from ancient cosmographers who tentatively mapped
The Age of Exploration began as a result of new technologies that guided explorers during sea voyages. Explorers used many tools and technologies during The Age of Exploration, to explore and make discoveries. Technology and tools that explorers used, included, caravels, compasses, astrolabes, and even sponsors. A sponsor is a person who gives money for an undertaking, such as a voyage. A sponsor would also provide money for materials needed for the voyage, such as, caravels, and other necessities. A caravel is probably the most important material needed for a voyage. A caravel is a ship designed for long voyages. Caravels have both square sails, and triangular lateen sails. However, they each provided/allowed different things. Square sails provided power, when lateen sails allowed quick turns. The compass, a Chinese invention, allowed sailors to track their direction. On the other hand, an astrolabe, an ancient Greek invention, improvised by the Arabs, would measure the angle of the stars above the horizon. This would help sailors find their s...