11 de febrero:

Today's class is based on mapping and the changes that have been suffering in the maps under a century.Todos these changes to a new geography and a new mindkind.  To this end, we have based on the commentary of ten different maps. There is a new picture of the world. The new mentality is based on new discoveries with old worldview.

The first image is a map of Ptolemy, dated 1492. The knowledge about the earth in Europe is always the same, more or less. The Mediterranean world is the half of the world, approximately. On this map there is a lot of information and a lot of details. The Mediterranean world is almost perfect in this map. Out of this space there is worst information. It is a fantasy, not reality. The limit of the knowledge is the north of Africa. They are picturing Sahara with a lot of rivers. The west of Africa is empty. They more or less can locate where is India, Sr. Lanka... They didn´t know nothing about the end of the earth. They think that the major part of the earth was land. The same amount of land that is in the North should also be located in the south, to compensate for the balance that has to have the land.

The second image is a map of Henricus Martellus, dated 1490. On this map, Scandinavia has an incorrect location. Part of Europe seems almost perfect, but in the north the lands are distorted. This map is a copy of the first map. There is a difference between the west coast and the east coast of Africa. You can identify most of the reals landforms in the west coast of Africa, but in regard to the east coast , they have no idea. The end of Africa is out of the map. By the time Martellus was doing this map, there were expeditions that had resulted in giving new Portuguese discoveries. The rest of the mao, moreless is the same. At that time, there were three Indias. In this map the earth has a end, because Marco Polo travelled there, so they know that at the end of China was a sea. This coast and the sea were very similar to those that were in America. So Columbus and the early explorers who came to America, the Asia mixed up.

The third image is a map of Juan de la Cosa, dated 1500. On this map, you can see Madagascar. There is a good description of Africa. Asia is the same that in the previous map. The  Caribbean is quite good. There is a good description of the coast of Caribbean. It is the first mention of the discoveries made in America on this part of the world. On this map, we can´t see the end of Asia, because Asia joins and extends across the map, interpreting the Caribbean like some islands across Asia.

The fourth image is a map of Cantino, dated 1502. The changes that occur in these maps are very fast. Africa is well described, more or less. The east coast of Africa is perfect. The big change in this map is that the Indian Peninsula is perfect, as same as the east coast of Africa. On this map Brasil and Florida appear. There is a wrong location of the end of Canada. Next to Brazil we have the first mention of a new continent, which is no longer identified with Asia. The part of Asia is described based on Ptolemy's map, but the Portuguese and Spanish discoveries are shaping geographical differences and innovations on the map.

The fifth image is a map of Rusych dating from 1507. In this case, the first idea is how to incorporate the new discoveries in ptolemaic knowledge. The idea of "terra incognita" is still alive. Europe is perfect. A new discovery can be fit with the old knowledge. They interpret a new land, that it´s America, and do not know where it ends. The end of Asia is well represented.

The sixth image is a map of Waldeseemüller. The south of Africa is out of the map. Africa is not well known. Europe is also a bit distorted. In this map the name of America appear. Waldeseemüller just copy rhe map of Martellus. It is the old map of Martellus with the discovery of America. Vespucio had discovered that there was another continent.

The seventh image is a map of Piri Reis, dated 1513. It is the first representation of an American map made outside Europe. We can see a part of the west coast of Africa, with several islands. It is a good description. There is a mythical island in the middle of the map, and it is a knowledg of the medieval times. On the other part of the map, we can identify the coast of Brasil. At the top of the map is Japan, near Brasil. It is a result of the old knowledge.

The eighth picture is a map of Diego Rivera, dated 1529. There is a good description of Africa and Madagascar. The coast of America is almost perfect, more or less. By this moment, the ptolemaic influence have disapperared. There is a difference between the west coast and the east coast of America. They have no idea of the west coast of America.

The ninth image is a map of Givanni Battista, dated 1534. This map is the same idea. The description of the east coast of Africa is clear in this moment.

The tenth picture is a map of Mercartor dating from 1564. There's a better knowledge of the sea in Asia. Africa and Europe seems to be perfect described. They keep with the idea of "terra incognita". The north part of America is distorted. When they don´t know about a sapce or a land, they merely place a drawing instead. We also can see "tierra del fuego". There is a big difference between the two sides of the map.

The eleventh picture is a map of Ortellius dated 1570. By the end of this century more or less the lands have a good location.

30 de enero

Today in class we talked about the basis on which the geographical discoveries arre supported , which are based on: geographical knowledge, advances in technology and economic reasons. Respect to geographic knowledge, the base is the sphericity of the earth. Greek scientists discovered the sphericity of the earth, but they had no technology, so the question is how they got to find out. The Egyptians relied on the accuracy of the sun, and the obelisks used to know. An obelisk was located in Alexandria and one in Syene. These obelisks was 7.2 °, ie 800 km.

At the begining, we have this knowledge, but in the medial time we lose this information. If the earth were flat, we could see a boat on the sea becoming increasingly smaller, but never disappear. However, if the earth is curved, as it really is, we would see a ship in becoming increasingly small bar, but in this case the end it does see that boat would stop. 

In this world we can find maps both Greeks and Romans. However, the maps used by the Greeks were wrong dimensions. Ptolemy's map has a good description of the Mediterranean world, as well as some locations in Africa and Asia, although the latter are not entirely correct.

In many cases the land is regarded as the center of the universe. In mythical geographies, we find among the maps appear vuales many different islands. These islands are mythical islands, such as Atlantis. When Columbus reached the Atántida, he thought it was on an island across from Asia. Other mythical lands are Antilia Sete Cidade, usually located somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. This island also commonly has another name: Seven Towns.

Another of these mythical lands is Brasilia, which is supposed to be a very large island. The name Brazil comes from the idea that Brasilia was located Earl is currently located in Brazil. San Brandon is another mythical island, that it was a very dangerous wild animal.

After the classical period, a recovery of the knowledge they had the classics produced by Muslims. This occurs after the oblivion of the geographical knowledge of the Classics. 

In the ninth century we know that the island of Iceland was discovered and populated. The monks settled Christian communities in these islands. They began to explore the Atántida. The Vikings settled communities in Greek lands, and from there began shipments and installation of communities in North America.