ia_2009_d_paige

=D. Analysis (500-650 words) [Tips]=

John Harrison’s model H-4 watch, and eventually his model H-5, were revolutionary inventions. These were timekeepers so accurate that barely a second was lost, precision and the ability to keep time at sea was the key with the design of this instrument; something which was thought impossible previous to the 18th Century. Thanks to John Harrison, the world of timekeeping has revolutionised. Its relevance today is outstanding, without Harrison, we would be without navigational GPS systems, wristwatches, alarm clocks; the list goes on and on. Moreover, one of the biggest issues that we would still face would be finding our longitudinal coordinates at sea. Thanks to Mr Harrison, that problem has already been solved.

Over a century ago, longitude was the greatest navigational problem that faced sailors. Without it, seamen were unable to exactly ‘pin-point’ their location. Longitude was “Utterly unobtainable”[1] to previous generations, this, of course, resulted in thousands of deaths at sea from miscalculations by pompous, liquor smuggling, ‘know-it-all’ captains of the British Navy. But were John Harrison’s designs a turning point in History? They would have, of course, certainly influenced the navy’s navigational accuracy by a considerable amount. Estimations as to whether they were on the correct heading were no longer a problem, uncertainty was no longer an issue and the British navy were instantly at an advantage over their enemies. “This technological advantage helped Britain's navigators conquer the oceans and consolidate its vast empire.”[2] Creating a profile of John Harrison, the website 'UKTV' certainly understood that without Harrison’s dedication to this project battles such as the Bombardment of Acre in 1840 and the bombardment in the Gulf of Finland in 1855 wouldn't have been nearly as successful.[3]

In relevance to the purpose of this investigation, in terms of historical significance, did John Harrison truly alter how successful the British Navy were? There's that ever so popular phrase, 'Well, if he hadn't invented it, someone else would have'; and in actual fact, depending on a historian's point of view, I'm sure that that statement may well have come true. Sobel states in her 'true-life thriller' that, "the clock of heaven formed John Harrison's chief competition"[4] Oroving to us that many methods were being considered, and rightly so, with the government's generous financing of these projects. What one can definately deduce is that Harrison saved the British, a considerable amount of time with this huge leap in scientific and tecnological innovation.

In order to aid the entire world with this technological masterpiece, he gave up years. Having completed three other successful timepieces, then being delayed by the war with the French, and finally the model H-5, John Harrison was up against a panel of astrologers who believed that the answer to this problem, ‘lay within the heavens’. And so, due to neglectful and dismissive bodies on the board of Longitude, Harrison had a mere three years to celebrate his full prize reward before his death in 1776. What this tells oneself is that the 18th century was the age of discovery, what they didn’t know at that time was that anything was possible, and John Harrison had the key.

[1] Taken from the film, “Longitude”. A Granada Film Production, 2000. Based on the book by Dava Sobel. //(3mins16secs)// [2] [|http://uktv.co.uk/documentary/item/aid/539122]//(Accessed August 25th '08)// [3] [|http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3840//(Accessed] //(Accessed August 25th '08)//

[4] Sobel, D., (1998). //Longitude: the True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time//. New York: Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-571-7 (//Pg. 89//)