Mastery of the sea has been crucial in European history: the transition from the medieval to the modern world was marked by the emergence of European ships from their home waters out into the Atlantic, Indian & Pacific Oceans. Solving the problem of ocean navigation was an essential prelude to achieving international powers. In their sea-charts the maritime nations left a unique visual record of their response to the challenge of the sea. In succession Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French & English mariners used their charts to express their claims to sovereignty of the seas & territories newly revealed by their naval explorers. This revised & updated book traces the history of charts as eloquent witnesses to the discovery of the world beyond Europe, & to man`s evolving knowledge of the oceans. These charts employed a vivid artistic idiom which expressed man`s passionate feeling for the sea: the gilded compasses, the nightmarish sea-creatures, the stately ships, the royal crests
- all these were fused into a unique artistic practice, which flourished for four centuries. Featuring new photography of the British Library`s most important maritime maps, Charting the Oceans is the definitive guide to this majestic art form.