During the 18th century, British and French expeditions ploughed the great Pacific Ocean to carry out missions with both colonial and cognitive intentions, thanks to the scientific and technological support of their respective National Academies of Science. From the second expedition (1772-1775), which aimed to verify the existence of the southern continent, the Terra Australis Incognita, Captain Cook was able to take advantage of technological progress, represented by the new Larcum Kendall K1 marine timekeeper, which proved to be very reliable for measuring longitude: since half a degree of longitude is equivalent to about fifty-five kilometres on the equator, it is clear that calculation errors caused enormous problems for the certainty of the route and the safety of the voyage and prevented the exact location of a place from being determined
Collection: Images
Project: 9. Travels and travelers: economic, social and cultural connections.
Chronology: XVIII
Scope: Secondary Education, Higher Education
Link: https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-79143
Resource type: Image
Format: Image
Source: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Language: English
Date: 1769
Owner: Manuela Ghizzoni (Modernalia)
Identifier: ZAA0038
Copyright: © Royal Museums Greenwich
Abstract: The new Larcum Kendall K1 marine chronometer to be tested on Cook's second voyage
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