Technology and ocean‐scape: Defining the deep sea in mid‐nineteenth century

The ocean's profound inaccessibility makes it impossible to comprehend except through the mediation of technology. The first investigators to explore the great depths were hydrographers whose work was animated by mid‐nineteenth century growth of political, economic, and cultural interest in the oceans. While submarine telegraphy certainly boosted ocean science, interest in this field derived first from commercial concerns related to whaling and shipping as well as the intellectual pursuits of physical geography and questions about the existence of life at great depths. Hydrographers’ developing conception of the oceanic environment never represented a clear translation from technology. Dramatic changes in the understanding of the shape of the deep‐sea floor testified to the complexity of interaction between sounding machines, methods, and interpretations of depth. The shifting image of the sea floor not only reflected increasingly accurate measurements, but also mirrored shifting human motivations for studying this unexplored territory.     

Sailing virtual canoes across Oceania: revisiting island accessibility

Understanding sailing conditions is a basic requirement for understanding the two periods of settlement of the distant islands of Oceania, initially from the Bismarck Islands off New Guinea as far as Samoa and later from Samoa throughout East Polynesia. The question of a “navigational threshold” between these two worlds is the focus of this paper. A computer simulation is presented that quantifies the difficulty of sailing virtual canoes in the differing wind conditions in both areas. The model demonstrates substantial differences in ease of voyaging up to and beyond Samoa. That this measure is so markedly different between these two worlds gives support for the hypothesised pause between the discovery and settlement of islands West and East of Samoa.     

Their Body is Different,Our Body is Different: European and Tahitian Navigators in the 18th Century

This paper examines exchanges of navigational knowledge between Tahitian navigators and European explorers in the mid‐18th century. Although Tahitian and European sailors accomplished way‐finding at sea in ways based on very divergent assumptions about the ocean, the cosmos and persons, Tahitian navigators were able to board European ships, and pilot them safely through the islands. At first each side drew upon their own familiar practices to make sense of the other; using ostension or pointing, linguistic exchange and experience of each other’s vessels as bridgeheads to produce a kind of rough intelligibility. Much was lost, however, in these partial and approximate exchanges. Here, exchanges between European and Tahitian sailors and their very different knowledge systems are used to explore the intricacies of cross‐cultural encounters.     

The Locus of Carthage: Compounding Geographical Logic

North Africa’s Phoenician city of Carthage was above all a logical place from which the well-informed maritime Phoenicians colonized and controlled the Western Mediterranean. The leading important factors affecting the founding of Carthage were mostly geographical: overall centrality along the southern coast of the Western Mediterranean; proximity to the island bridge of Italy via Sicily; nascent oceanographic knowledge of water currents and wind gyres as well as shoals such as the Gulf of Sidra and the shelter of the Gulf of Tunis itself; and important local topography and religious landmarks.     

中国古代“行船更数”考

中国古代航海过程中,“更”是一个重要名词,与针位、航线标志物及天星共同构成安全航海的几大要素。因此,将中国古代对“更”的相关记载进行综合分析,进而正确解读古代更路簿和海图,有其必要性。在此,欲从“一昼夜为十更”、“定更之法”、“更数应用”和“更数今读”等方面作一论述,希望能引起专家学者们的注意与重视。     

Navigation and the seventeenth-century draining of the Fens

Draining the Fens in the seventeenth century led to serious conflicts with navigation, conflicts which have not been properly understood in some important literature. Contrary to common belief, Vermuyden's scheme did incorporate navigation locks at Denver and elsewhere. Trade at King's Lynn and over the inland waterways did expand during the second half of the century. These facts lead to a re-assessment of the drainage/navigation interests, focussing on specific issues such as the funding arrangements for drainage and the damage to embankments by horses hauling vessels. Hence arise further questions about the understanding and motives underlying the public positions adopted by stakeholders.