Mastery of the sea has been crucial in European history: the transition from the medieval to the modern world was marked by the emergence of European ships from their home waters out into the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Solving the problem of ocean navigation was an essential prelude to achieving international powers. In their sea-charts the maritime nations left a unique visual record of their response to the challenge of the sea. In succession Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French and English mariners used their charts to express their claims to sovereignty of the seas and territories newly revealed by their naval explorers. This revised and updated book traces the history of charts as eloquent witnesses to the discovery of the world beyond Europe, and to man's evolving knowledge of the oceans. These charts employed a vivid artistic idiom which expressed man's passionate feeling for the sea: the gilded compasses, the nightmarish sea-creatures, the stately ships, the royal crests - all these were fused into a unique artistic practice, which flourished for four centuries.Featuring new photography of the British Library's most important maritime maps, Charting the Oceans is the definitive guide to this majestic art form.

Peter Whitfield is an independent scholar and leading expert in map history and exploration. His other books include The Mapping of the Heavens, London: A Life in Maps, Cities of the World and Travel: A Literary History.