INDEX

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.

Page numbers in bold refer to captions, diagrams and photographs.

Académie des Sciences 36, 50, 60, 120

Adams, John 147

Admiralty 45, 77, 82, 93, 114, 124–5, 133, 137, 184, 185, 188, 192, 197, 217

Admiralty Chart 188

Adventure (ship) 122, 128, 131, 134–5, 210

Africa

charting 202–7, 203, 204–5, 206

Airy, George 175–7

Aleutian Islands 137

Alexander (ship) 197

Alimari, Dorotheo 70, 70

American Philosophical Society 155

Analytical Engine 175–7

Andrews, Henry 113

Anne (Queen) 56, 73

Anson, George 82, 96, 128–9, 137, 216

Apian, Peter

Cosmographica (1524) 51

Introductio Geographica (1533) 51, 52

Apollodoro, Francesco, Galileo Galilei (c.1602–07) 48

Arbuthnot, John 76

Arctic 199, 202

Arnold, John 166, 171–2, 175

John Arnold and family (Davy, c.1783) 164

marine timekeepers by 116, 119, 121–2, 133, 150, 154, 155, 166, 167, 212

no. 23(c.1784) 167

no. 294 (c.1807) 216

Arnold, John Roger 171

no. 36 (1778) 165, 166

artificial horizon 94, 95, 216

Association (ship) 29

Astrolabe (ship) 151

Atlantic Ocean 19

Australia 19, 211, 217

charts 24, 25

coastal survey 150, 214

colonisation 145

shipwreck 30

Austrian Succession, war of the 82

Babbage, Charles 175–7, 176

Specimen of Logarithmic Tables (1831) 177

see also Difference Engine,

Analytical Engine

Backhuysen, Ludolf 16–17

backstaff 22, 23, 31, 93, 94, 95

Baffin, William 53

Baffin Bay 197

Baily, Francis 175

balance spring, helical 166

Banks, Joseph 129, 145, 150, 166, 171–2, 178, 197

Barbados 66, 99–101, 100–1, 102, 122, 144

Barracouta (brig) 202

Barrow, John 192, 197–8

Batavia (ship) 30

Bayly, William 131, 133

Beagle (ship) 206–7, 208–9, 208–17, 210–11

beam compass 173

Beaufort, Francis 214, 220

Bedlam 74–5, 76

Berthoud, Ferdinand 119–20, 151, 154, 164

horloge marine no.8 (1767) 117

Besson, Jacques 99

Best, William Philip 96

Bidstrup, Jesper 173–5

Billingsley, Case 70

bimetallic strip 88

Bird, John 116, 173

marine sextant (c.1758) 96, 97

transit instrument 110, 112

Bishop, Robert, lunar-distance form (1768) 123

Blackheath 42, 73

Bligh, William 145–7, 146–7, 150, 181

Board of Longitude 124, 126, 147, 157–8, 177–8, 192, 199

and the Bounty 145

and the construction of affordable timekeepers 108-9, 117, 119–22

and Cook’s voyages 133

disbanded 185, 197

and Henry Constantine Jennings 184

and John Arnold 166, 171

and John Bird 173

and Jupiter’s satellites 181

and longitude measurement, training in 124–5, 150

and magnetic variation 181–4

miscellaneous schemes presented to 185

and the Nautical Almanac 110, 112, 113

and Ramsden’s dividing engine 173

reworked (1818) 197

and Thomas Earnshaw 171–2

and Thomas Mudge 164–6

and timekeepers 108–9, 117, 119–22

see also Commissioners of Longitude

Bombay (Mumbai) 193

Bond, Henry 45, 53

Botany Bay 151

Bougainville, Louis-Antoine, Comte de 150–1

Bounty (ship) 145–7, 146–7

Bourne, William 12

Boussole (ship) 151

Bradley, James 93, 96, 98

Bradley, John 185

Brazil 129

breadfruit 145, 145, 150

Brest 188

Bridgetown, Barbados 100, 101

Brisbane, Thomas 156

Britain 31, 50, 65

chartered companies 16

Industrial Revolution 158, 162

manufacturing expertise 186

see also England

British Mariner’s Guide 108, 113, 129

Brocklesby Park 77

Brouncker, William 45

Bruce, Alexander, Earl of Kincardine 58, 60

Bruhl, Count 120

Brunel, Marc Isambard 174, 175

Buchan, David 197

Burden, Monsieur 32

Burke, Edmund 122

Busy Body 99

Campbell, John 96

Camus, Charles-Étienne 119, 120

Cape Blanco 28

Cape Colony 202

Cape of Good Hope 19, 25, 99, 133, 150, 193

Cape Guardafui 202

Cape Horn 30, 82, 83, 96, 131, 210–11, 216

Cape Newenham 140

Cape Noir 82

Cape Spartel 31

Caribbean 25, 28

Carlyle, Thomas 158

Carteret, Philip 147

Cassini, Giovanni 50

Cathcart, Charles 186

celatone 45–50

Centurion (ship) 77, 80–1, 82, 82, 83, 96, 128

Cervantes, Miguel de 36

Chandos, Duke of 73

Charles II 31, 53

Charlton Island 28

chart 14–15, 18–19, 19, 21–2, 24, 25, 28, 45, 46–7, 83, 128, 129, 131, 136–7, 142, 149, 151, 154, 204–5, 208–9, 214, 216–7, 218–9, 221

unreliable 25, 31, 137

charting 21, 137–44, 202–7

Chatham (yacht) 93, 150

Chavasse, William 179, 181

China 150, 181, 186–7

chinaware 17

Christian, Fletcher 145–7

chronometer 73, 156–7, 162–72, 186–7, 189, 192, 193, 197–8, 206–7, 214, 216, 221

see also specific makers

Cinque Ports (ship) 30

Clairaut, Alexis 96

Clark, William 155

Clement, Joseph 175

clock 39, 57–63, 58–62, 66, 70–3, 172

bimetallic strip 88

caged roller-bearing 86, 88

effects of motion at sea on 77

friction 77, 88

grasshopper escapement 77, 78, 88

gridiron pendulum 77, 88

Harrison’s 76, 77–89, 78, 82, 85, 87, 92

isochronism 77

pendulum 57–8, 63, 76, 77

remontoire 85–7, 88

temperature compensation 77, 88, 166

Thacker’s 72, 73–6

see also specific makers

coal 158

coffee-houses 69, 71, 73

Collins, Greenvile, Great Britain’s Coasting Pilot (1693) 24, 25

Colson Nathaniel, New Seaman’s Kalendar 31

Columbus, Christopher 28

Commission for the Discovery of Mr Harrison’s Watch 116

Commissioners of Longitude 39, 42, 45, 53, 65–6, 69–73, 77, 125, 178

and the 1765 Longitude Act 104

and the construction of affordable timekeepers 116–17, 119, 122

and Irwin’s marine chair 99, 104, 108, 114

and the Harrisons 82, 88, 92, 101–3, 114, 122

making longitude techniques available 104, 108, 114

and Nevil Maskelyne 101–2

and timekeepers 116–17, 119, 122

and Tobias Mayer 96, 99

see also Board of Longitude

Compagnie Française pour le Commerce des Indes Orientales (French East India Company) 17

compass (beam) 173

compass (magnetic) 22, 22, 94

amplitude compass (1780) 43, 45

azimuth compass (c.1793) 181–4, 182, 198

insulating compass (c.1818) 184, 184

compensation balance 166

Connaissance des Temps 98, 99, 108, 151, 154

Cook, James 119, 122, 128–33, 137–44, 147, 188, 197

Captain James Cook (Dance, 1775–76) 128

‘Chart of the Island of Otaheite [Tahiti]’ (1769) 129

Chart of New Zealand (1772) 142

Copley Medal 88

death 144, 145

first voyage 128–31

journal on Resolution 131

second voyage 122, 126, 128, 130, 131–3, 132–3, 137, 140–1, 142, 145, 166

third voyage 128, 128, 137–44, 138, 143, 145, 150

Couch, John 185, 185

Council of the Indies 25

Croaker, Henry 185

Croker, John Wilson 197

Crosley, John 150, 171

cross-staff 22, 51, 53, 93

Cruickshank, George, ‘Landing the Treasures ...’ 198–9, 199

currents 30, 31

Daily Courant (newspaper) 73

D’Alembert, Jean 96

Dalrymple, Alexander 154, 166

Dampier, William 25, 30, 82, 129

Dance, Nathaniel

Captain James Cook (1775–76) 128

Thomas Mudge (c.1772) 162

Dandridge, Bartholomew, John Hadley (early 1730s) 92

Darwin, Charles 210

Davy, Robert, John Arnold and family (c.1783) 164

dead reckoning 22, 25, 28, 31, 45, 82, 98, 131, 131, 147, 156, 157, 178, 192

Defoe, Daniel 69, 162

Robinson Crusoe (1719) 30

Demainbray, Stephen 121

Deptford (ship) 92

depth sounding 24, 25, 178

Desaguliers, John 73

Descubierta (ship) 154

D’Evreux de Fleurieu, Charles-Pierre 120

Dickens, Charles, Dombey and Sons (1848) 175

Difference Engine 175–7, 176

dip circle 138, 202, 202

Discovery (ship of Cook’s expeditions) 128, 140–1

Discovery (ship of Vancouver’s expeditions) 150

disease 202, 207

Ditton, Humphry 39–42, 45, 57–8, 73, 76

dividing engine 171, 173–5

Dodd, Robert, ‘The Mutineers turning Lt Bligh and part of the officers and crew adrift’ (1790) 147

Dollond 154, 187

Dolphin (ship) 129

Dorothea (ship) 197

double reflection

principle of 93–5, 96

instrument 93–5, 93

Drake, Francis 99

Dryden, John, Annus Mirabilis (1667) 19, 22

Du-Val, Pierre, Carte universelle du commerce (1686) 14–15

Dunthorne, Richard 110

Tables Requisite ... 109, 110–12, 147

Eagle (ship) 29

Earle, Augustus 210

‘Life on the ocean ...’ (c.1820–37) 194–5

Earnshaw, Thomas 150, 166–72, 175

escapement model (1804) 169, 171

no. 512 (c.1800) 168

no. 524 (c.1800) 168

Thomas Earnshaw (Schee, c. 1808) 166

Earth, as timekeeper 57

Earth’s magnetism 42–5

magnetic inclination 43–5, 73, 202

magnetic variation 43–5, 46–7, 73, 181–4

East India Company 16–17, 98–9, 156–7, 166, 184, 186, 192–3

Eckebrecht, Philipp 25

eclipses

Jupiter’s satellites 39, 45–51, 53, 92, 99

lunar 25–8, 45, 96, 112

solar 25–8, 45, 73, 112, 129

Edwards, Eliza 114

Edwards, John 113–14

Edwards, Mary 113–14

electric telegraph 221

Elliot, John 95

Elliott, John 126

Elton, John, backstaff with artificial horizon 94, 95

Emerson, William 125

Emery, Josiah 187

Endeavour (ship) 128, 129–30

England 16, 36

trade 16–17, 17, 19

Englefield, Sir Henry 198

English Channel 25, 31

equal altitudes 93

Equator 20–1, 112

escapement

Earnshaw’s 169, 171

grasshopper 77, 78, 88

spring-detent 166, 171

Euler, Leonhard 96, 103

Faraday, Michael 197

Fernando Po 207

Ferrner, Bengt 99

Ferro (El Hierro), Canary Islands 20

fever 202, 207

Fidler, Peter 155

Firebrand (ship) 28–9

FitzRoy, Robert 196, 208–9, 210–16, 211, 215

Flamsteed, John 21, 31, 50, 53–7, 70, 73, 77

flax 144

Flinders, Matthew 150, 156, 188, 202

Flinders, Samuel 150

‘fluid quadrant’ 77

Folkes, Martin 73

Forster, Georg 144

France 16, 36, 109, 126, 150–4

clock and watchmaking 63, 119–21, 151, 154, 166

coastline maps 50, 51

and the lunar-distance method 51

monarchy 60

navigation schools 31

trade 19

Franklin, Benjamin 25, 89

Franklin, John 197, 199, 200, 202

French, John 73

French Revolution 145, 173

friction, reduction of 77, 88

Funnell, William 30

Galapagos Islands 25

Galilei, Galileo 48

clocks 57

journal 49

observations of Jupiter and its satellites 45–50, 49

Gellibrand, Henry 28

Gentleman’s Magazine 105

George II 73, 96

George III 117, 121–2, 125, 129, 166

George, Prince of Denmark 56, 73

Gilbert, Joseph, ‘Part of the Southern Hemisphere...’ (c.1775) 137

Gilbert, William, De Magnete (1600) 43

Glendon, John 13

Godfrey, Thomas 93–5, 93

Graham, George 63, 77, 164, 173

astronomical regulator 110, 112

grasshopper escapement 77, 78, 88

gravity, inverse square law of 96

Great Lakes 202

Green, Charles 99–101, 129–31, 141

Greenland 53

Greenwich Hospital for Seamen 31, 197

Greenwich Meridian 20, 188, 221

Greenwich Observations 112

Greenwich time 109, 193, 212

gridiron pendulum 77, 88

Griper (ship) 199

Hack, William 19, 18–19

Hadley, George 93

Hadley, Henry 93

Hadley, John 92, 93–5

John Hadley (Dandridge, early 1730s) 92

Hadley quadrant/octant 92, 95, 98, 124, 139

Hague, The 60

Halley, Edmond 31, 43, 45, 56

and double reflection 93

Edmond Halley (Murray, c.1690) 44

and John Harrison 77

and Whiston’s rocket scheme 73

world chart showing magnetic variation (1702) 46–7

Hamilton, Archibald 94

Hampstead Heath 42

Hanmer, Thomas 73

Harper’s New Monthly Magazine 176

Harrison, James 77

Harrison, John 66, 77–92, 99, 101–3, 104, 125, 162, 164, 166, 173

John Harrison (King, c.1765–66) 89, 89

H1 (1735) 77, 78–9, 82, 82, 89

H2 (1737–39) 84–5, 88, 89

H3 (1740–59) 86–7, 88, 88–9, 92

H4 (1755–59) 89–92, 90–1, 101, 102–3, 108, 114–17, 114, 119–20, 121, 162, 164

H5 (1770) 120, 121–2, 121

medallion portrait (Tassie, c.1776) 122

precision long-case regulator (1726) 76, 77

Principles of Mr. Harrison’s Timekeeper (1767) 115, 119, 120–1

Harrison, John (grandson of John) 121

Harrison, John (ship’s purser) 129

Harrison, William 91, 92, 101–2, 121–2

Hawkesworth, John, An Account of the Voyages Undertaken ... in the Southern Hemisphere (1773) 145

health at sea 22

Heath, William, ‘March of Intellect ...’ (1829) 160–1

Hecla (ship) 199

Herschel, John 175, 220–1

Hipparchus of Nicaea 20

Hitchens, Malachy 113, 114

Hobbs, William 73

‘Horologe’ 73

Hodges, William

Cook’s Resolution in the Marquesas Islands (1774) 130

‘View of Maitavie Bay’ (1776) 134–5

View of Point Venus and Matavai Bay, Tahiti (1773) 132–3

Hodgson, James 73

Hogarth, William 89

A Rake’s Progress 74–5, 76

Holland 65

see also Netherlands

Holmes, Robert 60

Home, Robert, Jesse Ramsden (c.1791) 170, 173

Hooke, Robert 45, 53, 60, 93

horizon 22

Hornsby, Thomas 164

House of Commons Committee 39, 43

Houtman, Frederik de 30

Houtman Abrolhos 30

Howe, Lord 99

Howells and Pennington, no. 4 (c.1794) 163

Howells, William 166

Hudson’s Bay Company 16, 155

human error 28, 31

Hunter, John 150

Huygens, Christiaan 57, 58, 60–3, 60, 77

Hydrographic Office 188, 197

hydrographic surveying see surveying

Illustrated London News 192

India 17–19, 25

Indian Ocean 16, 24, 30, 202

Indonesia 19

Industrial Revolution 158, 162

Inman, James 150

innovation 158, 161, 162, 175

International Meridian Conference, Washington D.C. (1884) 221

Investigator (sloop) 150

Irwin, Christopher 66, 99–101

marine chair 66, 99, 101, 181

Isabella (ship) 197

isochronism 77

Jamaica 92

James II 19

James, Thomas 28

Java 30

Jefferson, Thomas 155

Jefferys, John 89, 117

Jennings, Henry Constantine 184–5

insulating compass (c.1818) 184, 184

mercury log glass (c.1817) 183, 184

Jervas, Charles, Isaac Newton (1717) 38

Jervis, John 145

Johnson, Samuel 158

Juan Fernandez archipelago 30

Jupiter’s satellites 73, 99–101, 109, 137

Chavasse’s observing platform (1813) 179, 181

eclipses 39, 45–51, 53, 92, 99

marine chair for the viewing of 66, 99, 101, 181

Parlour’s shoulder-mounted apparatus for observing (1824) 180, 181

Kamchatka 151–4

Kater, Henry 198

Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii 144

Keech, Joseph 113

Kempthorne, Rupert 13

Kendall, Larcum 116

K1 (1769) 116, 117–19, 121–2, 133, 139, 140–1, 145

K2 (1771) 119, 145–7, 145

K3 (1774) 119, 121, 141, 148, 150, 154, 154–5

King, John Lawrence, log of the Owen Glendower 212–13

King, James 137–40, 141–4

King, Philip Parker 210, 214

King, Thomas, John Harrison (c.1765–66) 89, 89

Lacaille, Nicolas Louis de 99, 108

Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep) 25

Lalande, Jérôme 119, 120

Lapérouse, Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de 151, 152–3, 154

latitude 12, 73, 92, 93, 216

definition 20–1, 20

errors in the measurement of 31

latitude sailing 25, 30, 133

measurement 20–2, 20–1, 23, 25, 42–5, 109, 184

plotting geographical position by 20, 21

Le Dieu, Franciscus 61

Le Roy, Pierre 166

montre marine 118, 120

lead and line 24, 25

Lenoir, Étienne 173

Lesseps, Jean-Baptiste Barthélemy de 151–4

Leven (sloop) 202

Lewis, Meriwether 155

lignum vitae 77, 78–9, 85–7

Lisbon 60

trial of H1 to 77, 82

Livorno 50

Lochard, Lieutenant 23

log

log book 22, 23, 31, 82, 82, 157, 212–13

chip-log (ship-log) 22, 25, 31

mechanical 178, 178

Logan, James 93

London Magazine 99

long-distance travel 12, 16–19, 25, 96–101

longitude

by dead reckoning 22, 25, 28, 82, 98, 131, 131, 178

definition 20–1, 20

determining at sea 21, 25–8, 32, 76, 96, 98, 133, 156, 212–13, 221

determining on land 21, 25

by Ditton and Whiston’s method 39–42, 45

early measurement attempts 25–8

errors in the measurement of 28

importance of 16–19

by Jupiter’s satellites 39, 45–51, 53, 66, 73, 92, 99–101, 99, 109, 137, 179–80, 181

by magnetic inclination 43–5, 73, 202

by magnetic variation 43–5, 46–7, 73, 181–4

octant, use for determining 92, 93–5, 94

plotting geographical position by 20, 21

problem of determining 12, 19, 21, 22, 32–3, 34, 36, 76

rewards for a solution to the problem of 36–9, 65, 69–70, 73, 76, 77, 82, 99, 101, 102–3, 104, 108, 114, 116, 121, 122, 164, 166, 173, 199

see also lunar-distance method of longitude measurement; timekeeping method of longitude measurement

Longitude Act 164 1714 (British) 33–4, 36–9, 37, 53, 65–6, 68, 69–73, 76, 82, 96, 102–4, 108, 114, 121–2, 197 1765 (British) 103, 104, 117, 122

lookout 22, 25

Louis XIV 50

Ludlam, William 116, 117, 166

lunar occultation 96

lunar distance

form to aid calculation 123

French trials 151

method of longitude measurement 39, 51–7, 66, 92–3, 95–101, 103–4, 117, 126, 150, 156–7, 178, 212–3

use on the Cook expeditions 129–31, 131, 133, 137–44

Lyons, Israel 110

Lyttelton, George 76

Macartney, Lord George 186–7

Madagascar Strait 19

Madeira 92

Madras (now Chennai) 193

magnetic inclination 43–5, 73, 202

magnetic variation 43–5, 46–7, 73, 181–4

Magnificent (ship) 188, 192

Malaspina, Alejandro 154–5

Maldives 25

Manila galleons 17

Maori 131

Mapson, John 110

Margaret, Lady Clive 114

Margetts, George, marine chronometer (c.1790) 203

marine timekeepers

affordable 157, 158, 162–4

value 145–7

see also chronometer; clock; watch

see also specific makers

Mars 28

Marshall, John, navigational workbook 193–6, 196

Martens, Conrad 210–11

The Beagle in Beagle Channel (c.1834) 206–7

‘Portrait Cove, Beagle Channel’ (c.1834) 210–11

Maskelyne, Nevil 98–102, 124

and the construction of affordable timekeepers 108–9, 116–17, 119

and Cook’s voyages 129, 131–3, 138

death 175, 197

and magnetic variation 181

and Mr Harrison’s Watch 116, 122

and the Nautical Almanac 109–14, 112–13, 192

Nevil Maskelyne (Russell, c.1776) 98

Nevil Maskelyne (van der Puyl, 1785) 111

and the observation of Jupiter’s satellites 101, 109, 181

observing suit 110, 112

and the Tables Requisite 109, 110–12, 147

and The British Mariner’s Guide (1763) 98–9, 98

and Thomas Earnshaw 171–2

and Thomas Mudge 164, 166

and timekeepers 108–9, 116–17, 119

mass production 172, 175

Massey, Edward 178

mechanical log 178

Matavai Bay, Tahiti 132–3, 134–5

Matthews, William 116

Maudslay, Henry 174, 175

Mauritius 150, 193, 202

Mayer, Tobias 66, 94, 95–9, 101–3, 104

Germaniae atque in ea Locorum Principaliorum Mappa Critica (1750) 95, 96

repeating circle 96, 96

mechanical log 178, 178

mechanization 162–77, 187

Medici family 50

mégamètre 151

meridian 14–15, 16, 20, 214, 221

Merlin (ship) 92

Mexico 19

Michaelis, Johann David 96

Mitchell, John 116

Mombasa 207

Montevideo 214

Moon

eclipses 25–8, 45, 96, 112

effect of the Sun on the motion of 56, 56, 96

Mayer’s map 96

transits 112

see also lunar-distance method of longitude measurement

moondial 25

Moore, John Hamilton 147, 196

Moore, Jonas 53

Moore, Joshua 113

Morin, Jean-Baptiste 51

mortars 41, 73

mortising machine 174, 175

Mouat, Thomas 166

Mozambique 202, 206

Mudge, Thomas 116, 120, 162, 164–6

‘Blue’ 164

‘Green’ (1777) 162, 164

Thomas Mudge (Dance, c.1772) 162

Mudge, Thomas junior 164, 166

Murray, Thomas, Edmond Halley (c.1690) 44

Muscovy Company 16

Napoleonic Wars 188

Narborough, John 28

natural hazards 17

nautical almanac 104, 108

Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris 104, 108–14, 108–9, 124, 131, 138, 145, 154–5, 157, 175, 188, 192, 197, 212, 214

Nautical Magazine 192–3

navies 19, 154

see also Royal Navy

navigation 12

by animals, birds and plants 22, 25

by coastal features 22

by man-made features 22

drive to improve navigational knowledge 31

mistakes 28

pilots (rutters) 22

Polynesian 131

practice of 22–5

workbook (Marshall) 193–6, 196

see also dead reckoning; Jupiter’s satellites; latitude; longitude; lunar distance; timekeeper method

Navy Board 150

Netherlands 16, 30

longitude research 36, 43

trade 17, 17, 19

see also Holland

New Holland (Australia) 150

New South Wales 150

New Spain (Mexico) 17

New Zealand 131, 141, 142

Newton, Isaac 31, 32, 39

and double reflection 93

and Flamsteed 56

inverse square law of gravity 96

Isaac Newton (Jervas, 1717) 38

and the measurement of longitude 42–3, 45, 56–7, 70–3

Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica 56, 56, 96

and the three-body problem 56, 96

Niebuhr, Carsten 96–8

Nootka Sound 128, 140, 140–1

Crisis 150

Norfolk Island 145

North, Lord 122

North America 155

north magnetic pole 202

North Pole 20, 145, 197, 199

North Sea 25

North-West Passage 28, 53, 128, 150, 184, 197–9

Norton Sound 140

Nunavut, Canada 28

observing platform (Chavasse, 1813) 179, 181

occultations, lunar 96

octant 96, 147, 194, 212

development 92, 93–5, 94

Hadley quadrant/octant 92, 95, 98, 124, 139

scales 172–5

see also Godfrey, Thomas,

Hadley, John

oil 92

Oman, Sultan of 207

Oosterwijck, Severyn 58, 60

Orford (ship) 82

Owen, Richard 189, 206–7

Owen, William Fitzwilliam 202, 206–7

Owen Glendower, log of the 212–13

Pacific islands 214

Pacific Ocean 16, 19, 28, 30, 82, 119, 128–33, 137, 137, 150–1, 154

palm oil 205, 207

parallel rule 211, 211

Paramore (ship) 45

Paris Observatory 36, 50, 50, 51

Parlour, Samuel 180, 181

Parramatta Observatory 214

Parry, Edward 197, 199, 200

Patagonia 210

Patterson, Robert 155

pendulum 57–8, 63, 76, 77

Pennington, Robert 166

Pepys, Samuel 22, 31

Tangier Papers (1683) 19

Philadelphia 25

Philip II of Spain 36

Philip III of Spain 36

Philip, Arthur 145, 151

Philippines 17, 19

Philosophical Transactions (journal) 25, 129

Phipps, Constantine 145

Pitcairn Island 147

Place, Francis, The Octagon Room at the Royal Observatory (c.1676) 57

plants 22

Point Venus, Tahiti 132–3, 134–5

polar exploration 197–202

Pole Star 21, 22

Pond, John 113, 114, 192

Porpoise (ship) 150

Port Desire 28

Port Essington 217

Port Jackson 150

Port Royal, Jamaica 92

Portsmouth dockyard 174, 175

Portsmouth harbour 192

Portugal 16, 17–19, 31

trade 19

Post Man 73

Price’s candles 205, 207

Prime Meridian 221

see also Greenwich Meridian

Prince Henry (ship) 98

Princess Louisa (ship) 101

Principles of Mr. Harrison’s Timekeeper (Harrison, 1767) 115, 119, 120–1

privateers 17, 30, 128

British 19

French 25

Proctor, John 82, 82

Providence (ship) 150

Ptolemy 20

quadrant

astronomical 139

Hadley 92, 95, 98, 124, 139

see also octant

Racehorse (ship) 145

Ra’iatea 129

Ramsden, Jesse 147, 154, 187

dividing engines of 171, 173, 175

Jesse Ramsden (Home, c.1791) 170, 173

sextant 143

Regiomontaus, Ephemerides 25

remontoire 85–7, 88

Resolution (ship) 122, 126, 128, 130, 131, 132–3, 134–5, 137, 140–1

Cook’s journal 131

Rio de Janeiro 214

Robbins, Reuben 113

Robertson, John 196

Robinson, John 122

rockets 73, 76, 206

Ross, James Clark 199, 202

Commander James Clark Ross (Wildman, 1834) 202

Ross, Captain John 184, 197, 199, 200

Rowe, Jacob 77

Royal Africa Company 16

Royal Commission 45

Royal Danish Expedition to Arabia 98

Royal Institution 197

Royal Mathematical School, Christ’s Hospital 31, 39, 193

Royal Naval Academy 193, 196

Royal Naval College, Portsmouth 192, 196–7

Royal Navy 95, 104, 129, 157, 178, 207, 217, 220

and the azimuth compass 184

and the Beagle voyages 210, 214

chronometer stock 192

First Fleet 145, 151

and Irwin’s marine chair 99

and magnetic variation 45

Masters of Navy ships 124–5

Scientific Branch 197

shipwrecks 30–1

and the slave trade 202

special expeditions 126

training 31, 150, 188, 193–7

see also Admiralty

Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope 197, 214

Royal Observatory, Greenwich 36, 50–1, 53, 56, 56, 70, 73, 99, 106, 188, 221

and John Arnold’s timepieces 166

chronometer testing 192

lunar observations 112

and the Nautical Almanac 108

Octagon Room 57, 57

and the production of affordable timekeepers 108–9, 116–17, 119

and Thomas Earnshaw’s timepieces 171

and Thomas Mudge’s timepieces 164

time ball 192–3, 192

under the jurisdiction of the Board of Longitude 197

Royal Society 25, 34, 36, 39, 45, 50, 53, 56, 60, 63, 65, 70, 73, 120

and the Astronomer Royal 112

and Cook’s voyages 129, 133

and the Difference Engine 175

and John Hadley 93–5

and John Harrison’s clocks 77, 88

Rupert’s Land 155

Russell, John, Nevil Maskelyne (c.1776) 98

Russia 126

St Agnes lighthouse 24, 25

St George (ship) 30

St Helena 98, 133, 193

St Julian, harbour of 28

St Pierre, Le Sieur de 51, 53

Samgoonoodha harbour 137

Sandwich Sound 140

Saron, Jean-Baptiste Gaspard Bochart de 173

scales, divided 172–5

Scarborough Castle 22

Schee, Martin Archer, Thomas Earnshaw (c.1808) 166

Schetky, John Christian, ‘Loss of the Magnificent, 25 March 1804’ (1839) 190–1

science 34, 220–1

Scilly, Isles of chart of 24, 25

shipwreck 28–9, 30–1, 42

scoring machine, 174, 175

Scriblerus, Martinus (satirical character) 76

sea otter 144, 144

Selkirk, Alexander 30

Seller, John, Practical Navigation (1672) 24, 31

Senhouse, Joseph 181

Seven Years War 99, 129, 150

sextant 133, 139, 141, 147, 150–1, 155, 188, 194, 213, 214, 216

by John Bird (c.1758) 96, 97

by Nathaniel Worthington (c.1840) 172

by Ramsden (c.1772) 143

by Worthington & Allen (c.1831) 215

of John Lort Stokes 211

scales 172–5

Ship Cove, Nootka Sound 128, 140, 140

shipwreck 28–31, 28–9, 32–3, 42, 82, 188

Shooter’s Hill 41, 73

Shovell, Cloudesley 28–9, 30–1, 32–3, 42

Sirius (ship) 145

Sisson, Jeremiah 99

Sisson, Jonathan 94

slave trade 145, 202, 207

Sloane, Hans 73

Smith, Caleb 76

Snellen, William, marine timekeeper 119, 121

Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce 158, 177–8

Solar System, scale of 98

South America 28, 83, 154

South Pole 20

South Sea Bubble 69

South Seas 145

Southern Continent 128, 137

Southern Ocean 137

Spain 16, 19, 25, 31, 36, 43, 65, 126, 128, 154–5

Manila galleons 17

navy 154

and the Nootka Sound Crisis 150

trade 19

Spanish East Indies (Philippines) 17

Spanish Succession, war of the 39–42

speed of ship, measurement 22, 178, 184

see also log

spices 17

Sprat, Thomas, History of the Royal-Society of London (1667) 59, 60

spring-detent escapement 166, 171

Squire, Jane 73

stars 53

clock stars 112

observations of 112

States of Holland 36

steam power 158, 162, 221

Stokes, John Lort 211–14, 214–15, 217

Stokes, Pringle 210

storms 17, 19, 28, 30, 82

Strait of Gibraltar 31

Strait Le Maire 131

Streatfeild, Thomas, deck scene (1820) 193

Stukeley, William 77

Sully, Henry 62, 63, 77

Sun 21, 22, 45, 93

eclipses 25–8, 45, 73, 112, 129

effect on the motion of the Moon 56, 56, 96

transit of Venus across 98, 128, 129

transits of the 112

surveying 50, 137–44, 150, 154–5, 192, 202–7, 211–21, 223

Swallow (ship) 129, 147

Swift, Jonathan 66, 76

Tables Requisite 109, 110–12, 147, 155

Tahiti 128–9, 129, 131, 132–3, 134–5, 151

breadfruit 145, 145, 146–7

Tartar (ship) 101

Tassie, James, medallion portrait of John Harrison (c.1776) 122

tea 17

telescope 45–50, 50, 73, 137, 138, 194

temperature compensation 77, 88, 166

terrella 42, 43

Thacker, Jeremy, The Longitudes Examin’d (1714) 72, 73–6

theodolite 215, 216

Thomson, John, New General Atlas (c.1830) 200

three-body problem 56, 96, 98

Ticknor, George 175

tides 31

Tierra del Fuego 30, 82, 208–9, 210

timber 144

time ball 192–3, 192

timekeeper see chronometer; clock; watch

timekeeper method of longitude measurement 39, 57–63, 58–62, 70–3, 93, 104, 114–25, 114–21, 126, 156–7, 178, 192–3

affordable timekeepers 108–9, 116–17, 119–22, 157–8, 162–72

French trials 151

John Harrison on 76, 77–89, 78, 82, 85, 87, 92, 102–3

method 212–13

Nautical Almanac for 108

Spanish trials 154–5

testing on Cook’s voyages 131, 133, 137–44, 145

Thacker on 72, 73–6

and the value of marine timekeepers 145–7

Vancouver’s testing of 150

Timor 147

Tompion, Thomas 57

Tories 42

trade 12, 16–19, 17, 28, 144, 186, 188, 221

trading companies 16–17, 19

see also specific companies

travel, long-distance 12, 16–19, 25, 96–101

Trent (ship) 197

triangulation 216

Trueman (sloop) 93

Tupaia 129

Tyburn 158

United States of America 155

Van de Velde, Willem, the Younger 26–7

Van der Puyl, Louis François Gérard, Nevil Maskelyne (1785) 111

Van Keulen, Johannes, The Great and Newly Enlarged Sea Atlas or Waterworld (1682) 24

Vancouver, George 150, 188

‘A Chart showing part of the Coast of N.W. America’ (1798) 149

Vancouver Island 128

Vanikoro reefs, New Caledonia 151

Venice 65

Venus, transit of 98, 128, 129

Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) (Dutch East India Company) 17, 30, 36, 45, 60

Véron, Pierre-Antoine 150–1

Victoria River, Australia 214

Waddington, Robert 98, 99

Wales, William 110, 131, 133, 157

Walker, Ralph 181–4, 181

azimuth compass (c.1793) 181–4, 182

Wallis, Samuel 129

Ward, William 76

warfare 25

watch 39, 57–63, 58–62, 66, 89, 172

affordable 108–9

and Cook’s voyages 133

by John Arnold 116, 119, 121–2, 133, 150

by William Snellen 119, 121

see also specific makers

water power 158

Wauchope, Robert 192–3

weather 17, 19, 28, 30, 31, 42, 82, 216

Webber, John

Resolution and Discovery in Ship Cove, Nootka Sound’ (1778) 140–1

‘Sea Otter’ 144

‘Various articles at Nootka Sound’ (1776–80) 128

Werner, Johann 51

West Indies 99, 117, 144, 145

Westall, William, ‘Wreck Reef Bank’ (1803) 151

Weston, Thomas 31

whales 144, 198

Wheldon, John 66

Whigs 39, 42, 122

Whiston, William 39–43, 40, 45, 57–8, 73, 77

A New Method for Discovering Longitude (1714) 39–42

rocket scheme 73, 76

The Longitude Discovered (1738) 41

Whitby 22

Wickham, John Clements 211

Wildman, John R., Commander James Clark Ross (1834) 202

Williams, Zachariah 73

Windward Islands 25

Witchell, George 110

Wollaston, William Hyde 198

Wood, John 28

Worthington, Nathaniel parallel rule 211

sextant 172

Wreck Reef 150

‘Wreck Reef Bank’ (Westall, 1803) 151

Wren, Christopher 53

Wright, Robert, ‘Viaticum Nautarum (The Sailor’s Vade Mecum)’ (1726) 69

Young, Thomas 192, 197

Zacuto, Almanach Perpetuum 25

Zumbach de Koesfelt, Conrad 61, 63

Zumbach de Koesfelt, Lothar 61, 63