Sara Caputo – Tracks on the Ocean

A vivid history of how the marks left on maps by travellers tell the story of the modern world.

From their first appearance on Renaissance maps, linear tracks representing maritime voyages have shaped the way we see the world. But why do we depict journeys as lines, and what is their deeper meaning? Historian Sara Caputo charts a hidden history of the modern world through the tracks left on maps and the sea by explorers and sea voyagers through the ages. With an illustrated talk, Sara takes us from ancient Greek itineraries to twenty-first-century digital mapping, via the voyages of Drake and Cook, the decks of Napoleonic warships and the boiler rooms of ocean liners, revealing how marks on maps have changed the course of modernity. 

History Sponsor:  Vindolanda