Tracks on the ocean: maritime history and the origins of cartographical lines of movement

Why do we draw journeys as lines on maps? In this talk, historian Dr Sara Caputo will discuss how oceanic navigation and cartographical 'ship tracks', from the Renaissance onwards, have profoundly shaped our understanding of movement.

Ancient voyages, on land and especially on water, were mostly planned or recounted by describing the surrounding environment, rather than marking the voyage itself on a map. 

To understand how cartographical tracks came into being, we need to look out to sea. These lines were born from an encounter with the 'pathless' oceans, the development of navigational techniques to trace a course, the rise of the modern cartographical vision, and influences from East Asian mapping. 

From the early sixteenth century onwards, the lines were established as a powerful tool of European imperial expansion and storytelling. Track lines are tied to notions of discovery and ‘who comes first’, territorial occupation, surveillance, and modernity’s supposed mastery over the environment.  

About the speaker

Dr Sara Caputo is the Director of Studies in History at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. Her book Tracks on the Ocean: A History of Trailblazing, Maps and Maritime Travel (Profile Books) was published in 2024.

About the event

This event is free and open to everyone, and will take place via Zoom. The seminar will also be recorded.

This event is part of Maritime History and Culture Seminars. Find out more

Main image: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Cim. 18 (= 2° Cod. ms. 337a), Battista Agnese, ‘Atlas Universalis’ (1542–52), f. 18. Available at Open Access LMU https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/10934/