When this map was first published by the German cartographer
Sebastian Munster in 1540, European map makers thought
that the recently discovered western hemisphere would
be little more than a narrow strip of land.
Contrary to modern-day opinion, neither Christopher
Columbus nor any of his educated contemporaries believed
the earth was flat. Historian Jeffrey Russell claims
that the flat earth myth was largely an invention
of early-nineteenth-century writers, in particular
Washington Irving and Antoine-Jean Letronne, and unfortunately,
this myth has remained in most popular literature.
Prior to Columbus, westward voyages from Europe to
Asia had been contemplated, but never tried because
the estimated distance between the two shores was
believed to be too great for ocean-going vessels of
the period. Significantly, European navigators had no way of accurately
measuring east-west distances, or longitude, for another
three centuries. Nonetheless, Columbus was allowed to proceed
on such a voyage, because he had developed
a new set of calculations which greatly reduced the
western ocean.
Soon after the discovery of the New World, European
map makers of the early-sixteenth century simply inserted
the Americas as a narrow strip into the available
ocean space. The result placed the New World temptingly
close to the treasures of the Orient (Cathay) and
left Japan (Zipangri) just off the coast of California.
