Browsing by Subject "shipbuilding"
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Item Instrucci??ica (1587) by Diego Garc?de Palacio: an early nautical handbook from Mexico(2009-05-15) Laanela, Erika ElizabethIn 1587, an ambitious colonial bureaucrat in Mexico City published a handbook titled Instrucci?n n?utica. Although navigational books were common throughout the 16th century, the Instrucci?n n?utica was the first printed volume that included an extensive discussion of ship construction and design, and its publication was thus a significant event in the history of early modern nautical technology. While the work is frequently cited in discussions of 16th-century Spanish ship construction and seafaring, little in-depth analysis of the text has been undertaken to verify its accuracy. In order to understand the significance of the book, a critical evaluation was undertaken of its context and content and of the motivations and background of its author. Analysis of documents written by, about, and to Diego Garc?a de Palacio reveals that he held positions of academic, religious, and political power in New Spain, that his motives for publishing the book were complex, and that he consulted a range of disparate sources. Significantly, archival correspondence suggests that Garc?a de Palacio was an observer and administrator of navigation and ship construction, rather than an expert practitioner. Nonetheless, comparison of the technical content of the book with other sources of information for 16th-century ships and seafaring, including contemporary treatises, iconography, and archaeological materials confirms the overall accuracy of the text. The navigational materials included in the Instrucci?n n?utica reflect information adapted from existing texts, providing a solid overview of the most common techniques of navigation in use at the time. While useful, Garc?a de Palacio?s discussion of ship design was clearly intended for a non-specialist audience. Perhaps the most original technical contributions are his descriptions of the rigging of Spanish ships. The brief discussion of naval strategy is historically significant due to its juxtaposition between the last of the great naval battles fought primarily with boarding tactics, and the movement toward increasing reliance on the broadside. By comparing Garc?a de Palacio?s text to other sources of information, this study has confirmed the reputation of the Instrucci?n n?utica as one of the most comprehensive and accurate written descriptions of 16th-century Spanish seafaring practices.Item Standardization of Spanish Shipbuilding:Ordenanzas para la Fabrica de Navios de Guerra y Mercante - 1607,1613,1618(2009-05-15) Rodriguez Mendoza, Blanca MargaritaDuring the first two decades of the 17th century King Philip III (1598-1621) of Spain and Portugal launched an effort to standardize all shipbuilding in the Iberian Peninsula. These efforts of standardization constitute an important collection of information about Iberian shipbuilding practices of that period. This thesis will analyze the content of the three sets of ordinances, issued in 1607, 1613 and 1618, in the context of the history of the Iberian Peninsula, the regulation of the Carrera de Indias (Indies Trade), and Spanish shipbuilding practices based on written sources of that period.Item The Immortal Fausto: The Life, Works, and Ships of the Venetian Humanist and Naval Architect Vettor Fausto (1490-1546)(2014-06-11) Campana, LiliaAt the beginning of the sixteenth century, the maritime power of the Republic of Venice was seriously threatened by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I in the East, and by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the West. In order to regain its naval power in the Mediterranean, the Republic of Venice strongly encouraged Venetian shipwrights to submit new designs for war galleys. The undisputed founder and champion of this naval program was not a skilled shipwright but a young professor of Greek in the School of Saint Mark named Vettor Fausto (1490-1546), who in the heat of this renewal programme, proposed ?naval architecture? as a new scientia. In 1529, Vettor Fausto built a quinqueremis whose design, he claimed, was based upon the quinquereme ?used by the Romans during their wars? and that he had derived the shipbuilding proportions ?from the most ancient Greek manuscripts.? The recovery of Classical traditions resulted in major changes in many fields. It included shipbuilding practices as well, especially after Fausto introduced in the Venetian Arsenal a new scientia, that of ?naval architecture?, in opposition to the fabrilis peritia, the empirical shipbuilding practice. This study examines several Renaissance sources and archival material in order to illuminate the technical features and the design of Fausto?s quinquereme. Based on the study of the anonymous sixteenth-century Venetian manuscript Misure di vascelli etc. di?proto dell?Arsenale di Venetia from the State Archive of Venice, this dissertation presents a general overview of Fausto?s life and his cultural background in order to better understand the humanistic foundations that led him to propose the construction of the quinquereme. Also presented here is a theoretical reconstruction of Fausto?s quinquereme along with other types of vessels built by Fausto, namely light galleys and great galleys. Furthermore, it will be suggested that the anonymous manuscript Misure di vascelli records the shipbuilding instructions to build the ships that Fausto designed during his tenure in the Arsenal of Venice.Item Transitions in Medieval Mediterranean Shipbuilding: A Reconstruction of the Nave Quadra of the Michael of Rhodes Manuscript(2010-01-14) Valenti, Vincent N.The subject of shipbuilding in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages is an integral aspect of the maritime history of this region. Characterized primarily by a fundamental shift in shipbuilding techniques, this phase also included significant developments in other seafaring practices. Yet, unlike the preceding Byzantine era, there is a very limited body of archaeological evidence available for study which can be utilized to illustrate these changes. Therefore, one must turn to alternative sources of information regarding the construction of ships in the Mediterranean, such as iconography and literary evidence. Perhaps the most informative and useful example of the latter is the group of nautically-themed treatises and manuscripts composed between the 14th and 16th centuries. The earliest of these to describe ship construction in any detail is the 1434 manuscript of Michael of Rhodes, which will serve as the main subject of study for this thesis. The primary purpose of this research is to propose a reconstruction of the nave quadra described in the manuscript, though this will be preceded by explanations of several topics pertinent to ship construction in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages. The discussion of such fundamental issues, like the transition from shell-based to frame- based construction and the concept of recording and conveying these processes in a didactic manner, is essential in providing a basis for this study. Once this foundation has been established, it will then be possible to present the reconstruction of the nave quadra of the Michael of Rhodes manuscript. With this background information laid out, the significance of both the manuscript and the nave quadra in the broader context of medieval seafaring in the Mediterranean should be discernable. In addition to the proposed reconstruction, this task of elucidating key aspects such as the transition from one construction technique to another and the compilation of written material on this subject will be essential to providing as comprehensive a picture of medieval seafaring in the Mediterranean as possible.