If you go sailing, remember your nautical chart 10 Find out about Abraham Cresques and what he contributed to cartography. 11 Look at the portolan chart. What part of the world does it show? Which geographical features can you see? Think about the meaning of the straight lines drawn on the map. What do they represent? Which aspects of Cresques' portolan chart stand out the most? Why? Give your opinion. 12 Compare this portolan chart with a present-day map of the same area. How are they different? 13 MAKE CONNECTIONS. Think and compare. In which situations do you think someone from the 15th century might need a nautical chart? What about today? How do you think a portolan chart was made? How did cartographers obtain information? How do you think nautical charts are made today? You must have heard of the Titanic. It sank in 1912, during its first ever voyage. More than 1,500 people died . The impact it caused was so great that in 1914, a conference was organised to discuss maritime safety. This conference was the start of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea . The convention established nautical charts as a fundamental tool for safe navigation . A nautical chart is a map which shows navigable waters and the surrounding land to scale. It usually indicates aspects such as the depth of the water, the composition of the seabed , the coastline, the high and low tides, and harbours. It also identifies navigational aids, such as lighthouses, as well as hazards, such as rocks or reefs. Today, both paper and digital nautical charts are available. The first charts were created in the 13th centur y. These were hand-drawn on parchment and were called portolan charts. Portolan charts were the first nautical charts in histor y. At a time when trade was growing, they were made to identify routes for the transport of goods. They were used until the 17th centur y. Portolan charts showed coasts, sea routes (marked with straight lines) and obstacles that could make navigation difficult. For inland areas, only elements that helped navigation from the sea were displayed on the chart, such as mountains, capes and river mouths. H I S T O R Y I N M Y L I F E 31. Part of Abraham Cresques' portolan chart, made between 1370 and 1380 144
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