Accession Number

1986.008.0613

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

A set of bronze dividers from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. These dividers were likely used by the pilots on the ship and were used to plot distances on a chart. The hinge and upper part of the arms are bronze, and the lower portions, including the now missing points, are iron. The iron points were likely removable and interchangeable.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023): 

The Pilot

Aboard a Spanish ship, the pilot was third in seniority and would have had over sixteen years’ experience. His training included mathematics and celestial navigation. He also had to be familiar with charts of the overall voyage and those of the fleet’s destination in detail. He needed to understand changes in cloud patterns, shifts in ocean currents, and the quality of the ocean floor along different coastlines.

Aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the pilot, Martin Jiminez, secured his chest carefully. It was still intact when it was discovered by Mel Fisher’s divers almost 400 years later. It held plotting dividers, a small sundial, a cross staff, a jar, gold and silver coins, and gold chains. Most importantly, it held the astrolabe shown here as well as four others. The astrolabe was used to determine latitude. Certainty about the ship’s latitude combined with the pilot’s other knowledge, meant that the ship would reach its destination safely and on time. 
 
Object Caption (2023):

Dividers
Bronze (c.1620)
Gifts of Jamestown Inc., James A.Snyder
1986.008.0580, 1986.008.0613, 1986.008.0729, 1986.012.0003

Dividers were used to plot distances on a chart.