Resumen de Land, Ho! Maritime Navigation through the Early Nineteenth Century as Represented by the Mardi Gras Shipwreck
At the time the vessel referred to as the Mardi Gras Shipwreck sailed (estimated to be between 1808 and 1820), advances in the tools used for accurate navigation on the open ocean had transformed navigation from an art to a science. Access to materials, the formation of merchant guilds, and a demand for more-accurate navigation tools due to increases in vessel losses, which coincided with the increase of exploration and exploitation during the 17th and 18th centuries, all contributed to instrument improvements. The navigation equipment identified on the Mardi Gras Shipwreck provides a glimpse of the indispensable tools used to successfully navigate the open ocean in the early 19th century.
