Original scientific paper
Islands in the Eastern Adriatic as Perceived by Foreign Travelleres from the XVIth to the XVIIIth Centuries
Milorad Pavić
; Odjel za povijest Sveučilišta u Zadru, Zadar, Hrvatska
Abstract
This paper addresses the topic of the Adriatic islands and island space as perceived by foreign travellers in the Early Modern Age. By consulting numerous sources, the attempt was made to find out the main reasons for their frequent wrong perception found in the documents of that time and indicate to the crucial moments in changing such perception. It may be stated that at first, this perception was not only influenced by late-mediaeval portulans, but also strained by the heritage from ancient times as witnessed on numerous maps dating from the late XVth and the first half of the XVIth century. A significant development toward a more authentic way of perceiving the eastern Adriatic coast and islands was recorded from the mid-XVIth century onward, when many travel books describing this area were written, accompanied by cartographic material enabling the confirmation and correction of the said geographical objects in maritime practice. Nevertheless, a more visible improvement in this respect did not come about before the end of the XVIIth century, with the systematic collection of as accurate as possible field data and the first surveyor’s works, primarily conducted to be included in maps; however, these corrected information were very soon included in the texts of geographical works as well. On the other hand, there were still many authors who accepted at face value information from their predecessors.
The shape of the islands played in this context an important though not crucial role. The longest islands – Hvar and Cres – had been considered to be the largest ones. Cres indeed is the largest island; however, Pag, which is only slightly smaller and shorter than Hvar, had been described as a significantly smaller island. This fact, along with depreciating the size of the island of Brač, undoubtedly indicates to the strong influence that the closeness of the main Adriatic navigation line exercised on the spatial perception of the islands in the Adriatic.
In some of the cases, the cause for the wrong perception of the islands and their intentionally incorrect presentation on the maps was the practicality of the navigation aspect. Important for the improvement toward a more realistic presentation and perception of the islands at the end of the XVIIth and during the XVIIIth century were surveyor’s works, which were carried out in particular parts of the Adriatic waters. By perfecting these works, as well as by changing the evaluation and treatment of the surface shape, the islands began to be perceived in their entirety and creating a more realistic notion of the island size was enabled.
Keywords
the Adriatic islands; spatial perception; geographical and statistic descriptions; travel books; Early Modern Age
Hrčak ID:
94336
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2012.
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