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Alexandre Bontemps (French pronunciation: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ bɔ̃tɑ̃]; 1626–1701) was the valet of King Louis XIV and a powerful figure at the court of Versailles, respected and feared for his exceptional access to the King.
Apr 14, 2015 · By the dawn of the sixteenth century, the ancient art of navigation had begun to develop rapidly in response to oceanic explorers who needed to find their positions without landmarks, to determine the locations of their discoveries, and to establish routes between the new-found lands and home.
Alexandre Bontemps, Valet and Special Agent. Born on 9 June in 1626 in Paris, Alexandre Bontemps rose to be one of the most powerful men at the court of Louis XIV. His father, Jean-Baptiste Bontemps, was originally from Marseille and was made first surgeon to Louis XIII in 1633 and in 1643, he became premier valet de chambre ordinaire by ...
- Overview
- 1. Caravel
- 2. Carrack
- 3. Galleon
- 4. Falconet
- 5. Traverse Board
- 6. Backstaff
- 7. Astrolabe
- HISTORY Vault: Columbus the Lost Voyage
These fast ships and navigational tools aided European sailors between the 15th and 17th centuries.
The Age of Exploration was a period from about the 15th to the 17th centuries in which European powers traveled to and colonized territories around the globe. Portugal and Spain were the dominant seafaring and colonizing powers in the beginning of this period. By the end of the Age of Exploration, the principal European colonizers were Britain, France and the Netherlands.
The ships of Christopher Columbus, from left to right: the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria.
In the 15th century, Portugal started producing a new kind of ship called the caravel. These medium-sized ships had two or three masts with triangular sails and only required a small crew. They became one of the key types of ships that Portuguese and Spanish sailors used to traverse unfamiliar routes during the Age of Exploration.
The carrack ships that Portugal produced during the 15th century were larger than caravels and had three or four masts with square and triangular sails. Carracks were slower and less maneuverable than caravels, but they were sturdier in rough waters. Because they had much more storage space than caravels, Portuguese and Spanish crews used them for longer trips to Asian spice markets.
One of the most famous carrack ships from the Age of Exploration is the Victoria, the first known ship to circumnavigate the globe. The Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan led this journey from 1519 until his death in 1521 (he died while trying to attack an island in the Philippines). The ship continued its journey without him and completed its circumnavigation in 1522.
The Manila galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed across the Pacific Ocean between Manila (Philippines) and Acapulco (New Spain).
In the 16th century, large galleon ships began to replace carracks. Galleons could carry cargo as well as heavy cannons, yet were faster and easier for crews to maneuver than the smaller carracks. An even larger version of the galleon, the Spanish galleon, could hold up to 60 cannons.
The falconet was one of the many types of cannons that European ships carried during the Age of Exploration. The falconet was a light cannon on wheels that sailors could use at sea or on land.
Another cannon on these ships was the culverin, a medieval field cannon that sailors started using at sea during the Age of Exploration. There was also the lombard cannon, which the crew on Columbus’ 1492 voyage reportedly fired to alert the ships that a lookout had spotted land.
A ship's traverse board dating to the 18th century.
One of the tools that European seafarers used to navigate while sailing their caravels, carracks and galleons was the traverse board. Crew members used these boards to keep track of a ship’s speed and direction.
The backstaff was another important navigational tool for seafarers. Sailors used the backstaff to measure altitude by looking at the shadow of the sun. It was an improvement compared to previous tools for measuring altitude like the quadrant and the cross-staff, which required the user to stare into the sun.
The English sailor John Davis invented one of the most well-known versions of the backstaff in 1594 while searching for a Northwest Passage through the Arctic. Because of this, the backstaff is also known as the “Davis quadrant.”
Another navigational tool sailors used during the Age of Exploration was the astrolabe. Like the backstaff, the astrolabe was a form of celestial navigation, so-called because these tools used celestial bodies in the sky to take measurements and determine a ship’s position.
Sailors used astrolabes to measure the angle between the horizon and a celestial body in the sky, such as the sun, the moon or a star. They used these measurements to determine the ship’s longitude and latitude.
Ten years after his 1492 voyage, Columbus, awaiting the gallows on criminal charges in a Caribbean prison, plotted a treacherous final voyage to restore his reputation.
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- Becky Little
- 2 min
Oct 10, 2018 · Did the Society's instrument provision vary over time? Who made use of these instruments, and to do what sort of scientific work?
- Jane A. Wess, Charles W. J. Withers
- 2019
May 19, 2017 · Navigating the open seas required the use of devices that relied on the stars, moon, sun, and planets. Mariners were able to venture across vast oceans and explore the entire planet. These devices led to the advancement of trade routes and growth of coastal cities.
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As navigation skills advanced, explorers reached the area now known as the Straits of Magellan. The Straits of Magellan are located south of Chile and Argentina. at the southernmost point of Brazil. between the South China Sea and India. at the southern tip of Africa.
