Through September 15

John Carter Brown Library hosts new maritime history exhibit

The John Carter Brown Library is hosting a new exhibit, titled The European Conquest of the Oceans, 1450 to 1830: A Selection of Original Sources on Maritime History from the John Carter Brown Library, now through Sept. 15, 2001.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Colonial life on the high seas is the subject of a fascinating new exhibit at the John Carter Brown Library. The European Conquest of the Oceans, 1450 to 1830: A Selection of Original Sources on Maritime History from the John Carter Brown Library is on display to the public now through Sept. 15, 2001.

John Hattendorf, the Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History at Newport’s Naval War College, is curator for the new exhibit, which includes 56 items from the library’s extensive collections illustrating nearly 400 years of global exploration and colonization by European mariners.

The exhibits demonstrate how mariners expanded knowledge of the world’s geography in this period through their exploration and use of astronomy and mathematics – and how, with improved instruments and charts, they navigated more safely and directly. Hattendorf has included exhibits to illustrate ship construction, voyage preparation, crew training and shipboard life, as well as artistic representations of shipwreck narratives and poetry. Visitors will be offered a glimpse of the diverse printed materials generated during the Age of Exploration, including imaginative images of sea monsters, navigational manuals, devotional and teaching texts, maps, survival accounts from mariners and passengers, and panoramic views of important ports such as Lisbon.

Editors: A digital image of an early maritime map is available through the News Service.

The John Carter Brown Library, located on The College Green at the corner of Brown and George streets, is an independently funded and administered institution for advanced research in history and the humanities, including a variety of maritime historical topics. It has been located at Brown University since 1901, and is open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. For further information about the library, visit www.JCBL.org. For additional information about the exhibition, call (401) 863-9030.