What Makes A Maritime History Documentary So Interesting
Maritime history is a fascinating subject. It covers a long period using a global approach, though regional and national developments are also important. Various disciplines can be included within this field that involve man’s relationship with the sea; this includes whaling, fishing, naval history, ship design and building, navigation and exploration, trade, yachting, shipping, maritime literature and art, as well as lighthouses. One of the best ways to learn more about this interesting area is to choose a maritime history documentary. But before you do so it helps to understand a little more about the subject.
The history is split into various sub groups or eras. As a whole it is an extensive and vast field; but through focusing on specific ages you will find it easy to get a handle on all the changes and developments that have taken place.
To start we should go far back in time to the ancient period. Our ancestors would have used a form of dugout canoes. These were the very first boats. Stone Age man would have had used such craft as a means of hunting as well as in migration. It is surprising the skill of the people even back then. The largest relics found are more than sixty feet in length; these are likely to have had a religious significance. The oldest boats found have been dated as old as 50,000 year.
Somewhere between four thousand and two thousand years ago came a greater use of boats and sailing craft as vessels of exploration. In Arab lands as well as India, the Dhow was used to transport people and goods from the coast of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf to India’s western seaboard. Around the year 1000 AD, the Vikings became famous throughout Northern Europe and the Baltic regions for their skill as boat men.
It is thought that around the same time the Chinese were also building large vessels for world exploration. Of course, most of these boats would not have used a compass; instead they would have been guided by the stars. It was the Chinese that first introduced the magnetic compass at the end of the eleventh century.
The age of discovery was just around the corner. For a period of two hundred years starting at the beginning of the 1500s, European rulers sent their ships on journeys far and wide around the globe in search of new lands and riches. One of the most well known explorers from this era was Christopher Columbus. It did not take long for every land mass and ocean on the planet to become mapped.
The increase in the number of craft on the oceans led to various famous battles that have become entrenched as part of our national heritage. The next ages in maritime history led to the development of various new means of powering boats such as steam and then the modern combustion engine.
Maritime history is a very large and fascinating topic. There are many documentaries you could watch that will explain in greater depth the importance of the oceans and seas on the history of mankind.
