Title page of 'Short compendium of the world and of the art of navigation', 1551.

Book open, showing title page. The 'Breve compendio de la sphera y de la arte de navigar' ('Short compendium of the world and of the art of navigation') by Martin Cortes (1532-1589) was published in 1551. It consists of 54 chapters in three parts: the first twenty chapters deal with the composition of the world and the universal principles of the art of navigation; the second twenty chapters consider the movements of the sun and the moon and the effects they produce; and the final fourteen chapters deal with the construction and use of instruments and the rules of the art of navigation.