A message to today’s youth, “…don’t worry about not knowing what’s awaiting you;” it
wasn’t that long ago (1772) that no one knew what opportunities the northwest rim of the Pacific Ocean held – and the World was a dark place then too. Imagine sailing into an area totally unexplored! The explorers relied upon the Old Testament’s first command in Genesis 2:15: acknowledging the Lord’s sacrifice, intent on caring for and exploring the Earth with a sextant. The Spaniards thought they owned it, being gifted by the Pope. The English were exploring and intent upon taking over the World (with the advantage of having a clock to determine longitude). The Russians were looking for otter furs to keep them warm. And the Americans were looking to make a buck.
https://plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Spanish-Explorers.pdf
https://plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/WA-History-Starts-Here.pdf
https://plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/English-Explorers.pdf
Most explorers could determine their position from the equator by looking at the North Star and estimating the angle to the horizon (better yet, using a sextant). The explorers that could determine their position east-west (longitude) were the:
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