In the event navigators could find its latitude (its status north otherwise southern of the equator) on sea by evaluating the brand new altitude of your own sunshine and/or polestar, the newest air failed to offer such as a simple provider for getting longitude. The resulting navigational errors rates seafaring nations dearly, not just in expanded voyages also within the death of life, ships and products. The seriousness of it predicament try put home to british bodies in 1707, when a keen admiral of your own collection and most step 1,600 sailors perished from the damages off four Regal Navy boats off the coastline of Scilly Islands. Therefore, into the 1714, thanks to a work regarding Parliament, Great britain considering good honors to possess basic methods to selecting longitude from the sea. The biggest honor, 20,000 (which is comparable to regarding the twelve mil today), could well be supplied to the latest inventor regarding a device which could influence an effective ship’s longitude in order to contained in this 1 / 2 of a diploma, otherwise 30 nautical kilometers, whenever reckoned at the conclusion of a voyage to help you an interface from the Western Indies, whoever longitude might possibly be precisely determined having fun with ended up residential property-established procedures.

The great reward attracted a deluge from harebrained plans. Read more