134 • "The Atlantic 



the shores of England, Ireland and Scodand. Finally they had made 

 the passage to Iceland, Greenland and the American coast. All this 

 they did in ships that were well designed and sturdily built and sea- 

 worthy but that had no comforts or conveniences. They did it by 

 primitive methods of navigation. They did it without benefit of sci- 

 entific instruments or much help from previously organized knowl- 

 edge. Their earliest voyages were made in open waters and under the 

 tempering influences of the Gulf Stream, but their remote voyages 

 were made in cold waters, in cold weather and often against adverse 

 winds. Considering all their relative disadvantages it is wonderful evi- 

 dence of their courage and independence that they traveled so far. 



By contrast, the Portuguese and the Spaniards of the early fifteenth 

 century had many advantages. They had ships that ran to as much as 

 200 tons burden that already were decked over and had permanent 

 protection for the crew against wind and weather, and also protected 

 space for storage. These vessels had three masts carrying lateen sails 

 which were handier going to windward than a square sail hung from 

 an awkward yard. 



On the geographic side they had many advantages. They enjoyed 

 relatively mild climate, their ocean and their inland waters as well 

 were free of ice throughout the year. They had many rivers and good 

 harbors. Spain had ports on the Bay of Biscay, like San Sebastian, Bil- 

 bao and Gijon. Portugal on the Atlantic itself had harbors from 

 Coruna and Vigo in the north to Lagos and the mouth of the Guadi- 

 aiia in the south. In between lay Oporto on the Duero River and the 

 Tagus rolled down past Lisbon. Spain again had Huelva, the Guadal- 

 quiver which made a seaport even of Seville and the wonderful harbor 

 of Cadiz which had been a shipping center since the days of the Phoe- 

 nicians. Once at sea, they had the advantage of northeasterly winds, 

 sometimes called the Portuguese trades, and provided they were go- 

 ing south and west, as indeed they did, they had advantage also of 

 an ocean current moving in that direction. A glance at charts show- 

 ing surface currents and prevailing winds will show how the ocean 

 favored the Iberian navigators on the courses their ships so natu- 

 rally selected. 



They also had the advantage of some early knowledge of the sci- 

 ence of navigation, including the use of the compass. The compass 

 seems to have come into use in Europe during the twelfth century. 

 It was found first among the Genoese and Venetian sailors who were 

 trading with the Saracens and other Eastern peoples. 



Early European compasses were litde more than small magnetized 



