What is it about?

This article makes a graphic reconstruction of simple instruments devised in the sixteenth century to obtain the longitude in the new American territories in order to make a complete and accurate continental map of America.

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Why is it important?

In this study, the problem of the measurement of longitude in the scientific horizon of the 16th century is explained in a simple, understandable way by a non-specialized public.

Perspectives

With a clear objective: the reconstruction of invented instruments to measure longitudes in the sixteenth century, the reader will find an overview of the state of consmography during the second half of the sixteenth century. At a time when the accuracy of the maps had great repercussions in the territorial disputes between the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, one of the methods used to obtain accurate representations of America using the observation of the moon eclipses is analyzed.

Dr Manuel Morato-Moreno
Universidad de Sevilla

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This page is a summary of: La medición de un imperio: reconstrucción de los instrumentos utilizados en el proyecto de López de Velasco para la determinación de la longitud, Anuario de Estudios Americanos, December 2016, Departmento de Publicaciones del CSIC,
DOI: 10.3989/aeamer.2016.2.09.
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