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Sixteenth-century magnetic compass

Type Object Region Europe Time 1590–1599

By the sixteenth century the European maritime magnetic compass had become a standard navigational instrument with a compass rose, card and gimbal mo…

Timeline

  1. 1590–1595Amsterdam · North HollandDutch and Low Countries instrument makers produced maritime magnetic compasses with 32-point cards, gimbal rings and sight vanes, which became standard equipment on merchant ships.
  2. 1595–1599North Atlantic routes · Europe–Americas routesThe magnetic compass, together with Mercator charts and celestial observation, supported Dutch merchant and privateer fleets in maintaining rhumb-line sailing across the Atlantic and Baltic, reducing navigational uncertainty.

Sources