Ideas on a history project

 

Hi, I am new here.
I am documenting the life of a Royal naval officer. I am using original log books from the ships he served on to trace where he has been and where he went. I would like to find a way to create a map with the locations he was at and date he was there. I am able to use Qgis to get background maps from the period that are roughly geo referenced . I need a little guidance on how to include the location layer with a date. The log books use a reference to a landmark if they are close to land and Hour/Minute long and lat when not close to land.

What is the easiest way to get long/lat from a reference to a known location. Example 7 leagues Ssw of the Lizard.

What format do I create the file in to import to Qgis to create a layer that has the points, date, and line connecting them?

Is Qgis the best for this?

If there is a better forum for this type inquiry, please educate me.

Thank you

MikeTheMean

Boyd on GPSReview forum

Forum member Boyd over in the GPSReview forum is quite knowledgeable in map making. I don't know if he would be willing or able to help with your project, but it would be worth your time to try to get in contact with him.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Here's what I would do...

This may not be the most efficient for your overall project but go to the point you reference in Google maps. Using "Lizard" and making the assumption of Lizard Island in the south Pacific see the map at https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lizard+Island/@-14.6665133,145.4426559,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x699e205993f49e11:0xe4c65c12490a080c!8m2!3d-14.6680433!4d145.463777.

Right click the starting point for the distance measurement. I'm going to use the center of the island where the "pin" is located. Select Measure Distance and measure off roughly 24 miles (7 leagues) at an angle corresponding to SSW. Right click the end point and select "Whats here" and you will get the latitude and longitude, -14.830773 x 145.397054.

Using Google Earth, you can zoom to any given point and the latitude and longitude appear in the lower right of the screen. Depending on the APP I think you can also measure distance. The iOS for iPad can do it but I'm not sure about Android.

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John from PA

the lizard

The Lizard is a peninsula in southern England.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Lizard-Peninsula

Lizard

Thank you. But I do know about the Lizard. I am also learning about all sort of navigation reference locations such as the Lizard. . I have to use maps from the period because names have changed.