The Brussels Map Circle

HomeEvents → On the Origin and Evolution of the Nautical Chart
International Workshop

On the Origin and Evolution of the Nautical Chart
International Workshop


online, Lisbon, Portugal
Organisation: Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia (CIUHCT)​
The main objective of the workshop is to bring together researchers interested in the history of nautical cartography. In this third meeting the scope has been enlarged to include not only the genesis and evolution of the medieval portolan chart but also nautical charts in general. The proposed themes of the workshop are:
  • When, where, how and why the earliest nautical charts were constructed, and how they evolved over time;
  • The mutual influence between medieval portolan charts and traditional maps of European and non- European origin;
  • How the first latitude charts were constructed following the introduction of astronomical navigation, and how they evolved over time;
  • The use of pre-Mercator nautical charts at sea;
  • The role of multidisciplinary approaches to the research on old nautical charts: cartometric methods of analysis, numerical modelling, multispectral analysis, material characterization, carbon dating, etc.;
  • Any other subject related to the history of nautical cartography, especially concerning pre-Mercator charts.
Online via Zoom or a mixed format will be considered. ​
Venue: Instituto Hidrográfico Marinha Portuguesa
Rua das Trinas, 49
1249-093 Lisboa
E-mail: portmeeting@ciuhct.org
URL: