Mathematics and Navigation: Globes, Textbooks, and the Normalization of Mathematics

The sixteenth and seventeenth century have long been seen as fundamentally important to an understanding of the changing study of nature. The changes in this period have been variously categorized by historians as philosophical, methodological, or mathematical, among other explanations. A move to the mathematization of nature has been seen by philosophers and historians as an important marker of this change. However, the change to a mathematical understanding of nature occurred at a much more mundane and yet fundamental level, through the work of men who were using mathematics in their everyday work – mathematical practitioners. In this paper, I will examine the work of mathematical practitioners and mathematical instrument-makers, particularly in 16th and 17th century London, in the development of navigation and mapmaking. What expertise did they offer their clients? What claims did they make about the importance of this expertise? Did mathematics become more commonplace in the instruction of navigators and sailors over time? I will argue that the trade in mathematical knowledge and instruments in late 16th and 17th century London encouraged an interest in a mathematical understanding of the natural world, in the utility of such knowledge, and the creation of a varied and vibrant discursive community that would encourage the furthering of natural investigation in the years to come.