Maybe the real reason why time traveller, Doctor Who, has a continuing pre-occupation with sorting out problems with aliens in the City of London is not really to do with ever shrinking location budgets at the BBC, but more to do with the fact that Greenwich is the centre of time. A recent news item celebrating the 125th anniversary of the decision to make the Greenwich Meridian the centre of time, reminded me of a history lesson that I still remember from my school days. Co-incidentally, it also has an interesting link with the Canary Islands. Maybe this was the true beginning of my journey to this wonderful island.
The Greenwich Meridian is an imaginary and arbitrary line that cuts through Spain, UK, France, Algeria and Ghana. It divides the Earth into east and west in much the same way as the Equator divides it into north and south. It enables us to navigate the globe as well as synchronising the world’s clocks. However, this has not always been the case.
Before the all-important decision 125 years ago to make Greenwich the centre of world time, many countries and, indeed, large towns kept their own local time. This was based upon the hours of daylight and there were no international rules as to when the day would start or finish. With the growth of railways crossing international borders and marine activity, it became essential to set a global time. Before an important meeting in Washington took place in 1884 there were, in Europe alone, some 20 different meridians - you can imagine the confusion!
The Washington meeting, naturally, brought with it many different views, no doubt based upon national self-interest. The final conclusion was to make Greenwich the standard for setting time with a vote of 22 to one, with only San Domingo voting against and Brazil and, predictably, France, abstaining. France suggested that the new agreed meridian should run through the Canary Islands, and this suggestion was not just French awkwardness - it had some foundation.
Back in AD 127, the Greek astronomer, Ptolomy, made astronomical observations from Alexandria in Egypt. Ptolomy selected the Fortunate Islands (the Canaries) as the physical location of the prime meridian when he created an accurate grid system upon which the location of individual cities from the farthest known land west to the farthest known land east could be accurately placed. From that time onwards, early Mediterranean navigators used the meridian through the Canaries, as their first, or prime, meridian as they were then thought to be the most western part of the habitable globe. During the 15th and 16th centuries, when the peoples of Western Europe emerged as sea traders, almost every maritime nation used as a prime meridian a meridian passing through its own territory. The French, for example, used the meridian of Paris; the Dutch, that through Amsterdam; and the English the meridian through London. You can only imagine the chaos and confusion and inconvenience caused to mariners by the existence of a multitude of prime meridians!
So you see the Canary Islands have a strong place in history in setting the centre of world time. Imagine the prestige (and confusion) if the world’s clocks were set to Canaries Mañana Time and not Greenwich Mean Time!
About the Author: Barrie Mahoney was a teacher, head teacher and school inspector in the UK, as well as a reporter in Spain, before moving to the Canary Islands as a newspaper editor. He is still enjoying life on his island in the Atlantic Ocean as a writer and author.
If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie’s website: www.barriemahoney.com or read his latest novel, ‘Journeys and Jigsaws’ (ISBN: 9781843865384).
© Barrie Mahoney
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