Nautical Charts – For centuries, the sea has been a highway of exploration, trade, and cultural exchange. At the heart of these activities lie nautical charts, the maps that guide mariners through the vast and treacherous seascape. This article explores the origins, evolution, and future of these indispensable maritime tools.
Gerardus Mercator was born on the fifth of March, 1512 in Rupelmonde in Belgium. A cartographer, geographer and cosmographer, Mercator was to contribute his own form of projection that would change the face of map mapping. Mercator set out to find a solution to the problem of displaying the world, a sphere, on a flat surface. This followed Ferdinand Magellan’s conclusive demonstration that the world was in fact a sphere and not flat.