Page 5 - Bulletin 8 2004

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The advice given appeared to be more on the spiritual plane than the practical. The
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information was recorded in a geographical format only about the 6 century BC, and those
that ventured into totally unknown waters and off foreign coastlines were worthy of the
term “intrepid”. Some navigators were attracted by the lure of the unknown and self-

aggrandisement but the overwhelming majority were merchant princes, traders or officials

of the state. It is evident that knowledge of the oceans and coasts was generally restricted to
private or state ownership for the use of their vessels only.

This situation prevailed through the adventurous voyages of the Vikings, Venetians, Arabs,

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Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, and the English until the late 18 century. It can be assumed
that the predominance of trading and the subsequent colonial activity by Spain, Portugal,

the Netherlands, and England might have occurred as a result of their experiencing

frustration and the curtailment of territorial expansion in Europe. They were the smaller
states, and the system of independent states was finally becoming established in Europe and

their territorial boundaries fixed. The combination of this, foreign trading, and colonisation

resulted in most of the earliest cartographers coming from these states.

Merchant houses and states would employ editors and cartographers to compile and
illustrate the information brought back from these voyages. This would be in the form of

sailing directions, known initially by the Dutch word as “rutters”, charts and other
complementary publications. The information was sparse, not always reliable, and could be

regarded as only general information. No responsibility was accepted for errors or

omissions, except perhaps for disciplinary measures that may have taken place internal to
the organisations involved.

As trade developed and the numbers of routes and vessels expanded, it became obvious

that, if only for monetary reasons, the production of accurate charts and sailing directions
was of the utmost importance. While there had been charts and sailing directions before, the

earliest work on hydrography or nautical charting, of the type that was to prevail in the