The astrolabe, The sea and the empire

Abstract

Based on certain texts written by Portugal’s cosmographers of the kingdom between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, we bring to light the technical and scientific foundations for the European maritime expansion, highlighting the relationships between them and the making and use of the mathematical instruments used in ocean navigation. Our objective is not just to underline the scientific aspects of the artefacts used for these measurements, but also to ascertain how science and knowledge acquired a practical, strategic and symbolic meaning within the context of Portugal’s expansion overseas.