Post by Zadkiel on Jan 12, 2016 23:33:18 GMT
It is not correct that Christopher Columbus went west to prove that Earth is spherical, because all cartographers and navigators knew this at that time. Columbus also brought an early version of Martin Behaim's world globe on his first voyage in addition to many maps of America. He had explored Northeastern Canada in his youth and his flag captain Martin Alonso Pinzón had already visited the Caribbean twice before. If Columbus had intended to go to Asia, he would also have brought with him valuable commodities, instead of cheap merchandise. What eventually caused him to doubt if he really had reached Asia and finally made him arrive at the erroneous conclusion that this really might be the case, was the fact that the old maps were so inaccurate that the Florida Peninsula could be taken for Korea, while the nearby islands resembled Taiwan and Japan. Posterity has, however, tried to make it appear as if Christopher Columbus did not know America and that he only arrived there by accident.
