Neotechnology's Impact On The Voyage Of Christopher Columbus
¨Technology's Impact On The Voyage of Christopher Columbus¨
Throughout time, transportation and the technology revolving around it has been nothing but ever changing, making certain processes and procedures much more convenient. Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, famous for his voyages and accidental discovery of North America, crossed the Atlantic using multiple navigation methods, which, in comparison to what we have in today’s technological world, was fairly basic. During Columbus‘s time period, the 15th century, many civilians, voyagers, etc used more traditional means to navigate and travel such as the compass and hand written maps. Now, if Columbus were to have the technology we have today such as more efficient boats, satellites,
etc. his voyages would have been much more successful. However, if Columbus were to use for example, a GPS, he would have reached the East Indies instead of accidentally ending up in the West, possibly never discovering the West Indies to begin with. Therefore, while the newer technology would possibly alter Columbus’s travels significantly, they would also provide him great benefits in his voyages.
Christopher Columbus was resourceful when it came to the tools he had available to him. For instance, he used something known as celestial navigation. Celestial navigation is a navigation method conducted by the observer who observes the celestial bodies, such as the moon, stars, sun, and so on to determine the longitude and latitude of said observer's location. The tool used by Columbus, the quadrant, was his most important instrument. The quadrant was used to basically verify or at least, come close to the presumed latitude. Although, Columbus found this method rather difficult; It resulted in false readings. However, using celestial bodies and tools relating to it weren’t his only tools to aid him in his voyage. He used a sandglass, to measure the time spent on the voyage(s) as well as a nocturnal, which was used to tell the time of night by the rotation of the stars. Columbus used self written maps, which were surprisingly accurate considering the time and perspective of the people of that time.
While the tools/methods used were efficient enough for Columbus to navigate, albeit inaccurate at times, the devices we have today would have resulted in much more successful results. The GPS, Global Positioning System, is one of the most used devices today in terms of navigation. Using a satellite that constantly orbits the Earth, users of the GPS can accurately discover their location as well as their destination
Throughout time, transportation and the technology revolving around it has been nothing but ever changing, making certain processes and procedures much more convenient. Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, famous for his voyages and accidental discovery of North America, crossed the Atlantic using multiple navigation methods, which, in comparison to what we have in today’s technological world, was fairly basic. During Columbus‘s time period, the 15th century, many civilians, voyagers, etc used more traditional means to navigate and travel such as the compass and hand written maps. Now, if Columbus were to have the technology we have today such as more efficient boats, satellites,
etc. his voyages would have been much more successful. However, if Columbus were to use for example, a GPS, he would have reached the East Indies instead of accidentally ending up in the West, possibly never discovering the West Indies to begin with. Therefore, while the newer technology would possibly alter Columbus’s travels significantly, they would also provide him great benefits in his voyages.
Christopher Columbus was resourceful when it came to the tools he had available to him. For instance, he used something known as celestial navigation. Celestial navigation is a navigation method conducted by the observer who observes the celestial bodies, such as the moon, stars, sun, and so on to determine the longitude and latitude of said observer's location. The tool used by Columbus, the quadrant, was his most important instrument. The quadrant was used to basically verify or at least, come close to the presumed latitude. Although, Columbus found this method rather difficult; It resulted in false readings. However, using celestial bodies and tools relating to it weren’t his only tools to aid him in his voyage. He used a sandglass, to measure the time spent on the voyage(s) as well as a nocturnal, which was used to tell the time of night by the rotation of the stars. Columbus used self written maps, which were surprisingly accurate considering the time and perspective of the people of that time.
While the tools/methods used were efficient enough for Columbus to navigate, albeit inaccurate at times, the devices we have today would have resulted in much more successful results. The GPS, Global Positioning System, is one of the most used devices today in terms of navigation. Using a satellite that constantly orbits the Earth, users of the GPS can accurately discover their location as well as their destination