A new book was published “A carta de navegar: antologia de textos, 1464-1599”, by Bruno Almeida

On December 16th, was published the book “A carta de navegar: antologia de textos, 1464-1599”, by Bruno Almeida. This anthology is one of the expected outputs of the Project MEDEA-CHART. It brings together fundamental texts about nautical charts, composed in Europe between 1464 and 1599. Each text is preceded by a short introduction and notes were added about technical aspects, etc. The texts were kept in the original idiom (Portuguese, Castilian, French, and English) but where modernised, following practical criteria. The many notes, Introduction and Joaquim’s Preface are also written in Portuguese.

These are the first known documents where pilots, cosmographers and scholars systematically addressed the techniques for their construction and use and, essentially, identified and examined their geometric problems. When combined and analysed globally, this documentation reveals the effort invested in understanding the characteristics and properties of nautical cartography and exposes the scientific discussions that were generated around these magnificent artefacts.

The MEDEA-CHART Project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC), through the R&D Horizon 2020 program of the European Union (n.º 714033-MEDEA-CHART/ERC-2016-STG). The edition was supported by the official Organisation for the Commemoration of the 5th Centenary of the First Circumnavigation Voyage.