How Did Christopher Columbus Voyages

The Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, traveled four major voyages in his lifetime, proving it possible to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Believing he was sailing to India, Columbus actually ended up establishing the first European settlement in the Western Hemisphere on the Island of San Salvador. Modern sailing technology could have benefited Columbus in planning and carrying out his voyages in many ways. However, three modern sailing advances that would have benefited him the most would be latter-day timekeeping techniques, more precise location devices, and techniques of recording voyage data more efficiently. Therefore, even though Columbus had sufficient sailing technologies, today’s modern advances could have made his voyages more …show more content…
The sandglass was the primary source of timekeeping. Also known as an hourglass, this device consisted of two glass bulbs stacked upon each other, one filled with sand. An assigned sailor flips the sandglass on the top of every hour when the sand empties from one bulb to another. Failing to flip the sandglass at the right moment would result in miscalculations of work schedules and navigation. In addition to the sandglass, Christopher Columbus used the nocturnal. This instrument could determine the time at night using the positions of the stars and constellations. Columbus’s methods of timekeeping were sufficient, but could easily be disturbed or misjudged. Today, many sailors use the marine chronometer, which provides a more accurate report of the current time based on the sun’s angles. Navigators use the marine chronometer as a portable time standard in more recent navigations. Digital time is also a key component of modern timekeeping. With today’s access to electricity, keeping time is accurate to a greater extent. Columbus had adequate means of timekeeping, but present-day development could have provided him a more precise hour, minute and