actually, there IS evidence that he had seen such maps. he thought them innacurate, and another side of china. hence his belief that he could find a shorter trade route.
On 7/5/05, Stephen A. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Mike Carrell wrote: > > >In the early 1400s China was *the* great power and an immense fleet was > >built and launched to map the world and bring it under the Chinese tribute > >system. The world was mapped, and America discovered in 1421. Philip the > >Navigator of Portugal and Columbus had seen copies of the Chinese maps. > > > > Really? Columbus had seen Chinese maps showing America? Then why was > he so confused about the size of the world and so totally ignorant of > the possibility that there might be another continent lurking between > Europe and China? > > Surely he must have realized the Chinese had not encountered Europe by > sailing east -- people in Europe would have noticed the arrival of the > Chinese fleet, and they manifestly had not. So a big bunch of land > located far, far off the Chinese coast could only have been another > continent. > > -- "Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write" Voltaire
