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This map reflects Christopher Columbus’s (c. 1451-1506) geographical assumptions prior to his first Atlantic voyage in 1492, undertaken during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon (reign 1479-1516) and Isabella I of Castile (reign 1474-1504). Columbus relied heavily on the cosmographical ideas of the Florentine scholar Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli (letter of 1474), whose projection underestimated the circumference of the Earth and exaggerated the eastward extension of Asia. Although ancient scholars such as Eratosthenes (3rd century BCE) had calculated the Earth’s circumference with remarkable accuracy, Columbus adopted smaller estimates derived from later sources and conflated different units of measurement, producing a significantly reduced westward distance between Europe and Asia.
By Columbus’s calculation, Cipangu (Japan) lay roughly 2,500 nautical miles (c. 4,000 km) west of the Canary Islands, within what he believed to be feasible sailing range for late 15th-century caravels. In reality, the distance to East Asia exceeded 10,000 nautical miles (c. 19,000 km). His voyage succeeded not because his calculations were correct, but because the American continents lay unexpectedly between Europe and Asia.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2021, October 01). Map of the World According to Christopher Columbus c. 1490. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14664/map-of-the-world-according-to-christopher-columbus/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the World According to Christopher Columbus c. 1490." World History Encyclopedia, October 01, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14664/map-of-the-world-according-to-christopher-columbus/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the World According to Christopher Columbus c. 1490." World History Encyclopedia, 01 Oct 2021, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14664/map-of-the-world-according-to-christopher-columbus/.
