A visit to the Marine Institute in Lisbon, Portugal, reminded me of the Portuguese navigator Prince Henry, who encouraged brave sailors to sail the oceans, far from the safe shores of their home country. My photo shows a model of a Portuguese square-rigged sailing ship. Before the 1400s, most European sailing ships had a single lateen sail for navigating around the Mediterranean Sea. They were swift, and the sail was easy to move to take advantage of the wind’s changing directions. To navigate, mariners used portolan charts, maps that showed coastlines and ports.
Once Spanish and Portuguese sailors dared to travel further from shore into the ocean, they developed nautical maps which showed ocean currents and sea routes, not just outlines of the coasts. They preferred the large square sails for their larger ships.
Sea captains were tempted to take chances on the open seas in pursuit of gold, silver, silk, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, pepper, and ginger. Portuguese ships followed the currents west and arrived in South America, claiming the land that is now Brazil as a colony for their country. Spain sent Columbus and other explorers west, but they landed further north, establishing colonies in what is now Mexico, Florida, and the Southwestern states to California, along what they named the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico in search of gold and silver, but also discovered another treasure for Europe, chocolate.
The larger ships were also needed for whaling. Whale hunting for food dates back to prehistoric times, but later, commercial whaling ships sailed all the oceans and chased whales for their oil. Whale oil was valued for lighting and lubricating machinery. Whaling was not only dangerous but also nauseating when sailors boiled the blubber to extract the oil. In the 1800s, Captain William A. Richardson arrived in Alta California on a whaling ship. After surviving severe weather, a churlish captain, and treacherous whale hunts, he had less trouble deciding on his future.