With the experience acquired in years of navigation, the English Admiral Sir Robert Dudley (1573-1649) assumed a leading role in the promotion of Medicean nautical activity, supervising Leghorn's port fortifications, naval constructions, and everything pertinent to navigation - from map-making to instrumentation, from definition of oceanic routes to military techniques. His collection of nautical instruments, many of his own design, was an important resource for the Medicean fleet.