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Ostrich-Egg Globe Believed Oldest To Show New World
The National Post is carrying a report of an exciting discovery for cartographic historians: an ostrich-egg globe purchased last year at the London Map Fair is now believed to be the oldest to show any part of the New World. "In a lengthy essay published in the latest issue of The Portolan, the peer-reviewed journal of the Washington Map Society, Belgian map collector and historical researcher Stefaan Missinne argues that the ostrich-egg globe not only predates the Hunt-Lenox Globe but was probably used as the model for casting the more famous copper object. If true, then the small, unnamed island shown to the far north in the 'Mundus Novus' portion of the egg-globe’s western hemisphere — a crude depiction of the 'New World' as it was understood just a few years after the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus, John Cabot and others — is the earliest image of Newfoundland or any other part of Canada on any surviving globe in the world."
More at the Washington Map Society's page.
one very clever ostrich
I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
There are strong evidences that the Portuguese discovered America long before Columbus.
Not really *strong* evidence. More like *dubious* evidence.
As someone who lives near "Dighton Rock" and has visited it and done some research related to it,
well.., there is a reason that only Portuguese people seem to have heard about it. Any credible evidence of anything has long been destroyed, and the most likely source of the markings on it is from native american activity.
On the other hand, we KNOW that some Vikings were in North America ~1000 AD, well before Portugal existed as an independent nation. (Viking artifacts have been found in 2 sites in Labrador, and there is less definitive evidence in Quebec). I don't see any good reason to contest their claim to being the first European contact.
Not surprisingly, that is one of the alternate explanations for some of the markings on Dighton rock. This is also very unlikely.
Discovery credit often goes to the first person to successfully exploit the thing discovered. People make similar claims about the first airplane to fly, yet it was the Wrights who both flew early AND created the Wright Company to capitalize on their new invention -- therefore they get the lion's share of the credit. There are strong arguments to be made for Mozhaysky, Ader, Maxim, and others to have beaten the Wrights to be the first to fly a heavier-than-air craft, yet they didn't "get off the ground", so to speak.
So did the Vikings or Portugese establish trade with the Americas? Did they bring back bars of silver or gold, or native American artifacts? Make maps or ostrich-egg globes? Were they celebrated with parades upon their return, something that others emulated and wrote about? Even if they were the first to arrive on the shores, nothing happened as a result.
In other words, "history is written by the winners."
John
Everybody was fishing off the Grand Banks and trying to keep it a secret. Although throughout the beginning of the Age of Discovery maps were kept top secret.
About the same time "Christopher Columbus" discovered the what he mistook to be Cathay, the island natives of Guanahani (Bahamas) discovered a Portuguese pretending to be an Italian in a Spanish sail boat whom they mistakenly welcomed.
It was not a great day for clarity.
In 1755, the strongest earthquake Europe had ever seen wiped out half of Portugal, including its main historical archives and an immensely valuable art collection, located in the King's riverside palace. If you think Japan had a tsunami, try having half of a 300 ft tall hill wiped out, 20 miles away from the sea.