Master and Cartographer

This is a book about maps and map-making, about power and class, and about war, seamanship and navigation. It is a study of wealth, patronage and money, in an England riven by religious disorder and toxic politics.

Greenvile Collins (1643–94) was a naval warrant officer who caught the attention of a King. His seagoing career took him from Patagonia to the Arctic, into battles against Dutch men of war and Barbary corsairs, and to the slave markets and Silk Road ports of the Mediterranean. A scientific navigator, his professional drive drew him to Shetland, the Scilly Isles and all points in between, as he undertook the most ambitious hydrographic survey of the British coastline yet attempted.

Then, even as he laboured to complete his monumental sea atlas, he was summoned yet again to the service of the Crown. The Glorious Revolution was a campaign of crisis for a deeply conflicted Royal Navy, and a crucial test of loyalty for Greenvile Collins and his fellow officers.

About the Author

Alan Harper was born in Scotland, raised in East Africa and educated in England. He is an RYA Yachtmaster, maritime journalist, and magazine editor, and has contributed articles on yachting, aviation, seamanship, navigation and travel to publications throughout the English-speaking world. His previous books include Waiting For Buddy Guy: Chicago Blues at the Crossroads, which won the ASCAP Foundation Award and was a Living Blues book of the year.

Praise for Master and Cartographer

'Fascinating and elegantly written, Master & Cartographer introduces a largely-forgotten naval hero of Stuart England.'
– N.A.M. Rodger, author of The Safeguard of the Sea, The Command of the Ocean and The Price of Victory

'Greenvile Collins emerges as a sympathetic hero, who served three kings while compiling invaluable charts and navigational data for his fellow sailors. Not since Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels have I enjoyed such rollicking armchair adventures at sea.'
– Dava Sobel, author of Longitude

'A triumph. Far more than just the man who charted Britain, Greenvile Collins developed faster survey techniques, commanded ships, fought in battle, and ended his career as the leading hydrographer of the Navy. Alan Harper's major contribution places Collins in a critical series of events, linking charts and navigation with wars and the fast-paced transitions that occurred after 1688, adding a significant new dimension to the naval side of that tumultuous year.'
– Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History, Kings College, London

'Very worthwhile – the author has an excellent grasp of his material, writes well, and his seagoing experience adds colour and interest to a compelling narrative.'
– Dr David Davies, author of Pepys's Navy and Kings of the Sea, chair of the Society for Nautical Research