Skip to Main Content

Historical Travels: Travel Before 1800

Reconstructing journeys from the past

Travel before 1800

Print of English ships of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. Image ID 814708

When looking into historic travels before 1800, maps show the many different ways that cartographers were envisioning the world as their knowledge about the geographical landscapes - whether internationally or at home - were growing. As more voyages were undertaken on an international scale, the resulting knowledge would inform other travelers how to travel throughout the world. As such, maps from this era could answer: 

  • What routes were available, if machinery (ex. railroads/steamboats) was not available?
  • What areas were considered viable for travel, before the availability of machines? What areas were not considered regions of safe travel?
  • What were the routes used for? Settlement or trade? 
  • From the perspective of the cartographer, what were areas that were considered to be "discovered"?
  • What were the navigational tools available, at the time?

See below for a list of examples of pre-1800 maps that you can start your research with.

English ships of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. Image ID 814708

Catalog Tips

When searching the Online Research Catalog for travel before 1800, we recommend utilizing the Advanced Search function and typing the following suggestions into either the Keyword Field or Subject Field.   

Note: To search for these materials via this time frame, you can either use

  • the Date facet in the Advanced Search to indicate the specific years that you are interested in for a more specific search
  • you can add Early Works to 1800 to your keyword/subject search for a more broad range of result

For the purposes of this research guide, we are showing examples using Early Works to 1800 to restrict the time frame of results- however, for your research, you are able to use either date method listed above. Please see below for some recommended search terms: 

General Travel and Mapping

Under Format in the Advanced Search function, we recommend that you do the following searches with "Cartographic" checkmarked.

Voyages and Explorers

Under Format in the Advanced Search function, we recommend that you do the following searches twice- with "Cartographic" checkmarked and uncheckmarked. Relevant information will often be located in both maps and books.

Travel by Land

Under Format in the Advanced Search function, we recommend that you do the following searches with "Cartographic" checkmarked.

Travel by Water

Under Format in the Advanced Search function, we recommend that you do this search with "Cartographic" checkmarked, unless otherwise noted. 

  • Coasts [Location of Interest]
  • Inland Navigation  
  • Portolan Charts [Location of interest] 
    • Under Format in the Advanced Search function, we recommend that you do this search twice- with "Cartographic" checkmarked and uncheckmarked. 
    • Because of the nature of portolan charts, you do not need to include a date range or "Early Works to 1800" as part of your keyword search.
    • Keyword Search: Portolan Charts
  • Nautical Charts [Location of interest] 
    • Please note that not all of the results for the above search will be portolan charts. However, for charts that are not indexed as "Portolan Charts," this is an alternative subject heading. 
    • Keyword Search: Nautical Charts Early Works to 1800 Africa

A Selection of Pre-1800s Early Travel

Please note that there are additional examples of road maps from before 1800 in the Road Maps tab.

Portolan charts were created by hand during Medieval Europe until the early eighteenth century, when printing maps became the standard. These "handmade" charts are typically created on either vellum or animal skin, and utilize rhumb lines for navigational purposes. For information on portolan charts, we do recommend reading the following resources to better understand the significance of these charts, before viewing suggestions in NYPL's collection: 

Please see below for a list of recommended portolan charts at NYPL.