Western Civilization I / Unit 16 WC1 1501 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Caravel, Compass, Astrolabe: What Made Ocean Sailing Possible
Captions available
The idea
By about fourteen hundred Europeans had the caravel, small and oceangoing with lateen and square sails, the magnetic compass, the astrolabe for latitude, and coastal charts. Sailing out into the Atlantic wind system, not along the coast, was the practical key.
In practice
Instruments borrowed from the Arab world and China.
Where people slip
Technology enabled the voyages; motive sent them. Video 1502.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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