1st Edition
Geography, Cartography and Nautical Science in the Renaissance The Impact of the Great Discoveries
The transformation of the medieval European image of the world in the period following the Great Discoveries of the 15th and 16th centuries is the subject of this volume. The first studies deal specifically with the emergence of the concept of the terraqueous globe. In the following pieces Dr Randles looks at the advances in Portuguese navigation and cartography that helped sailors overcome the obstacles to the circumnavigation of Africa and the crossing of the Atlantic, and at the impact of the Discoveries on European culture and science. Other articles are concerned with Portuguese naval artillery, and with attempts to classify the indigenous societies of the newly-discovered lands and to map the interior of Africa.
Biography
W.G.L. Randles (Author)
’W.G.L. Randles has established a formidable reputation as a historian of geographical thought, cartography, and navigation during the 15th and 16th centuries...Anyone interested in the early modern age of discovery will welcome the ease of access to Randles’s many important articles that Geography, Cartography and Nautical Science in the Renaissance provides.’ 16th Century Journal, Vol. XXXII, No. 3 (2001) 'Historians not directly involved with the history of navigation and maritime cartography will find that many of Randles' articles have been "hidden away." This volume makes up for this and should attract the attention of scholars writing on early European discoveries.' International Journal of Maritime History 'Forty years worth of scholarly activity by the author is brought together in this collection of papers covering a variey of topics relating to maritime discoveries in the early modern period... of great interest to any scholar who is curious about early modern geography, cartography or navigation.' Metascience '... the assembly and translation of the [articles] from a variety of journals, and most importantly, symposium volumes, many of which are scarce on many library shelves, is a fine contribution to scholarship. This is particularly so when they are from such an erudite and accomplished scholar.' Imago Mundi '... provides a most useful window into the work of a distinguished historian whose work has not only crossed several fields but also several linguistic and national traditions of Renaissance scholarship.' Renaissance Quarterly ' The extensive footnotes to texts principally in Latin, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, French and German, reveal the immense scope of Professor Randles' research and the depth of his erudition... Randles writes with clarity and rigour... The volume [...] is very valuable in preserving formidable scholarship...' Mariner's Mirror