Los primeros instrumentos de navegación que viajaron a América

Abstract

The Quatri partitu en cosmographia pratica i por otro nombre llamado Espejo de navegantes by Alonso de Chaves (b. ca. 1492 - d. ca. 1586) is a Spanish treatise on navigation considered to be an exceptional text because, for the first time, it collects all the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary for the instruction of the new pilots appointed by the Seville Casa de Contratación [The House of Trade] (1503-1790). The Casa was the institution in charge of assessing a candidate’s proficiency for the post of piloto mayor (chief pilot), the indispensable position for navigating to the New World. After a period of internal discussion, the Casa de Contratación stated to teach with a new point of view, abandoning the pre-eminence of the practical knowledge based on the experience of sailors for a more scientific approach to the development of navigational tools (i.e., nautical charts and instruments). Quatri partitu en cosmographia pratica is the expression of that change, halfway between medieval tradition and the new period that opens to the science of astronomy and cartography in the Age of Discovery.

Keywords

• sixteenth-century Spanish navigation
• Casa de contratación of Seville
• Alonso de Chaves
• Piloto mayor (chief of navigation)
• Cosmógrafo mayor (chief cosmographer)
• Astronomical and nautical instruments