crossing thousands of years ago
1 and the early human settlement of places as far
afield as the Americas, Australia and the Pacific islands shows that seafaring skills
such as celestial navigation, the reading of wind and water patterns, and the tracking
of the behaviour of birds, fish, and whales have been shared by many seafaring
communities.
2 Early navigators needed to collect, share, and mentally retain large
amount of knowledge in informal and non-standard ways. In these ancient times, the
lack of instruments and documented resources to support navigation required
enhanced observation skills and memorising abilities. In such contexts, on-the-job
training, mentorship and experience-sharing were vital for the transmission of
cognitive, as well as psychomotor and affective skills.
3 Navigation required and
still requires experience and knowledge as well as affective and physical capacities
to adapt to the unique maritime context—both in terms of the harsh physical external
environment and the specific nature of the profession.
4
During the middle ages, a nautical revolution
5 triggered by tide computation, the
compass, portolan charts and the astrolabe, required additional education.
6 Furthermore, the conquest of the Atlantic
7 and European expeditions modified the range and
nature of ship operation from coastal navigation to long open-ocean crossing, the
latter requiring the expansion of traditional seafaring skills. The eagerness to harvest
the benefits of sea-based commerce and an increasingly national predatory mentality
boosted European fleets which, in turn, required more seafarers with better education. One manifestation of this need to enhance navigational skills, was the collection of nautical knowledge organized by Henry the Navigator and his successors in
1419, with the intention/goal of merging science and experience. All this occurred in
national settings where the development of laws, regulations, and instructions for
maritime education evidenced an evolution towards more formalization and centralized governmental control. France is an epitome of this evolution, where the first
major public efforts to enhance/control the training of seafarers and particularly
shipmasters and ‘pilots’ resulted in the creation of an examination board in 1584. It is
noteworthy that it is the political will to entrench maritime commerce and develop
superior naval protection
8
—as part of the re-organization of the State initiated by
Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) and Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683)—which
influenced national maritime policy and its consequential educational component.
The Cardinal Duke of Richelieu established the first naval academy in 1627 and
with the promulgation of a maritime act in 1629, he imposed on maritime cities the
1 Strasser et al. (2010), p. 145.
2 Paine (2014), p. 18.
3 Buchet and Balard (2017).
4 Buchet et al. (2017).
5 Ibid.
6 Paine (2014).
7 Braudel (1992).
8 Larrieu (2010).
472
M. E. Manuel and R. Baumler
1 and the early human settlement of places as far
afield as the Americas, Australia and the Pacific islands shows that seafaring skills
such as celestial navigation, the reading of wind and water patterns, and the tracking
of the behaviour of birds, fish, and whales have been shared by many seafaring
communities.
2 Early navigators needed to collect, share, and mentally retain large
amount of knowledge in informal and non-standard ways. In these ancient times, the
lack of instruments and documented resources to support navigation required
enhanced observation skills and memorising abilities. In such contexts, on-the-job
training, mentorship and experience-sharing were vital for the transmission of
cognitive, as well as psychomotor and affective skills.
3 Navigation required and
still requires experience and knowledge as well as affective and physical capacities
to adapt to the unique maritime context—both in terms of the harsh physical external
environment and the specific nature of the profession.
4
During the middle ages, a nautical revolution
5 triggered by tide computation, the
compass, portolan charts and the astrolabe, required additional education.
6 Furthermore, the conquest of the Atlantic
7 and European expeditions modified the range and
nature of ship operation from coastal navigation to long open-ocean crossing, the
latter requiring the expansion of traditional seafaring skills. The eagerness to harvest
the benefits of sea-based commerce and an increasingly national predatory mentality
boosted European fleets which, in turn, required more seafarers with better education. One manifestation of this need to enhance navigational skills, was the collection of nautical knowledge organized by Henry the Navigator and his successors in
1419, with the intention/goal of merging science and experience. All this occurred in
national settings where the development of laws, regulations, and instructions for
maritime education evidenced an evolution towards more formalization and centralized governmental control. France is an epitome of this evolution, where the first
major public efforts to enhance/control the training of seafarers and particularly
shipmasters and ‘pilots’ resulted in the creation of an examination board in 1584. It is
noteworthy that it is the political will to entrench maritime commerce and develop
superior naval protection
8
—as part of the re-organization of the State initiated by
Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) and Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683)—which
influenced national maritime policy and its consequential educational component.
The Cardinal Duke of Richelieu established the first naval academy in 1627 and
with the promulgation of a maritime act in 1629, he imposed on maritime cities the
1 Strasser et al. (2010), p. 145.
2 Paine (2014), p. 18.
3 Buchet and Balard (2017).
4 Buchet et al. (2017).
5 Ibid.
6 Paine (2014).
7 Braudel (1992).
8 Larrieu (2010).
472
M. E. Manuel and R. Baumler