page_title: Iberian nautical sciences, 1400–1600
section_title: The quadrant
hierarchical_section_title: Iberian nautical sciences, 1400–1600 / The quadrant
caption_attribution_description: Original image description from the Deutsche Fotothek Geometrie &amp; Vermessung &amp; Quadrant &amp; Messrahmen
context_page_description: Throughout the early age of exploration, it became increasingly clear that the residents of the Iberian Peninsula were experts at navigation, sailing, and expansion. From Henry the Navigator's first adventures down the African coast to Columbus's fabled expedition resulting in the discovery of the new world, the figures that catalyzed the European appetite for expansion and imperialism heralded from either Spain or Portugal. However, merely a century earlier, nautical travel for most peoples was resigned to keeping within sight of a coastline and very rarely did ships venture out into deeper waters. The period's ships were not able to handle the forces of open ocean travel and the crewmen had neither the ability nor the necessary materials to keep themselves from getting lost. A sailor's ability to travel was dictated by the technology available, and it wasn’t until the late 15th century that the development of the nautical sciences on the Iberian Peninsula allowed for the genesis of long distance shipping by directly effecting, and leading to the creation of, new tools and techniques relative to navigation.
context_section_description: Another latitude-divining instrument was the quadrant. Although their functions were the same, they were developed independently for separate use; the kamal was nautical while the quadrant was astronomical. The idea was born with Ptolemy in the 1st century, and was once again pioneered by the Arabs; its intended purpose was to solve trigonometric functions dictating celestial movement. However, the dual sighting mechanism of the period was too complicated, time consuming, and required too many men for practical use aboard a ship, as a result Iberian captains stripped it down to its most basic parts in order for it to be applied to navigation. The apparatus itself was either a wood or brass quarter circle with degree measurements painted along its length and a length of string attached to the point to serve as a plumb bob. Serving the same purpose as the kamal, only magnitudes more accurate, it was used by suspending it from the string and measuring celestial degrees along its lower arc. It was not until arriving within Europe that the technology itself was altered and made available to seafarers due to the necessity of accurate latitudinal measurement.
caption: The design of a simple Mariner's Quadrant
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