This is the story of the evolution of the sailing ships that gradually linked Australia to Europe. This book explains how the navigational problems of Australia's huge coastline were conquered by ships that were at the cutting-edge of technology for their time. The story covers the period from antiquity until the arrival of Britain's First Fleet at Botany Bay in January 1788. It highlights the rapid improvement of ship construction after the European Renaissance began the trend to reasoned experiment that replaced ignorance and dogma and made possible long return voyages to the ends of the earth.
The author has been able to draw upon his experience in measurement technology to show that the improvements in ship design after the Middle Ages arose principally from the invention of increasingly precise measuring instruments such as the accurate clock and the lenses used in microscopes and telescopes. The ship's wheel, copper hull sheathing, antiscorbutic diet to county scurvy and the sextant were all invented not long before the British colonized Australia.
The book contains numerous maps and illustrations that highlight the maritime technology inherited by the British from the ships of Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and France who pioneers the ocean pathway to Australia.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. An Unapproachable Land
2. Searching for Longitude
3. Challenging the Atlantic
4. Portugal Challenges Asia
5. Europe Finds the Pacific
6. The Unknown Southland
7. Carracks, Galleons and East Indiamen
8. The Dutch Arrive in Asia
9. The Discovery of Western Australia
10. Unveiling the Great Southland
11. Tragedy and Triumph in the Southland
12. Evolution of the Full-Rigged Warship
13. Britain Arrives in New Holland
14. The Longitude Problem Solved
15. The Discovery of New South Wales
16. The Race to Colonize the Pacific
17. Maritime Science After the Enlightenment
Appendix 1. Hessel Gerritsz's Map of the Pacific Ocean
Appendix 2, Details of Other Rare Maps
Appendix 3. Movement of the Centre of Shipbuilding from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Coast of Northern Europe Around 1500
Appendix 4. Movement of the Centres of Shipbuilding in Northern Europe Between 1500 and 1900
Recommended Reading
Endnotes
List of Illustrations
Index
- General
- Persons
- Ships
