From strange maps comes this map of the Atlantic Ocean and its surroundings, authored by Florentine mathematician and astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli in the 15th century.

Toscanelli was no explorer, but he proposed to the Portuguese king that he send an expedition to sail west as a shortcut to reach the fabled Spice Islands. He was not successful, but his map inspired Columbus, who took the above map with him on his first transatlantic voyage in 1492, and resulted in Columbus being perhaps the only person to land in the Bahamas on the belief that he had reached Japan.

The actual dimensions of North America are superimposed in light blue.

“Cippangu” is the name by which Japan had been known in Europe since Marco Polo’s eastern trek. The name derives from an early Chinese word for Japan, Ribenguo, and Polo described the island as being extremely rich in silver and gold. Although highly inaccurate, this triggered the imagination of Europeans for many years to come. (Cathay was labeled as the northern Chinese kingdom by Marco Polo, with southern China being Manji. Cathay probably comes from Khitan, a tribe in northern China.)

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