Columbus wasn't the only one that knew the earth was round

[daveleau]

I saw on the history channel that Columbus and those who sent him on his voyage all knew the earth was round. The idea that Columbus was the only one who thought this was from a 19th century biographer of Columbus who got his facts wrong. Are they still teaching the flat world idea regarding Columbus' voyage in schools?

http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/medmyths.html

Wasn't it Copurnicus that was like, excommunicated because he said the Earth was round? There were tons of people that knew it long before Columbus ever tried to get rich off the idea. Because that's why Columbus wanted to do it, to get rich. Yay rich.

[Creatures]

well the chinese already knew it some hundret years before the europeans and the rest did they just found the chinese maps!

my friends reads a book about this, if someones interested i gonna ask him about the title

Creatures

[Rand Dusing]

When I have kids, and they are still teaching Columbus discovered America, I'm going to complain. First the Europeans were probaly the Vikings, and the first people in the world where probaly the people who crossed the Baltic Sea ice bridge or whatever.

[originel]

yeah...i was first taught that in like 2nd or 3rd grade too. but i learned more in middle school or so that columbus in fact wasn't the first to america.

Americano Vespucci. I think that's how it's spelled.

[Gomer]

Amerigo Vespucci

[Blazer06]

I though it was Eric the Red who first visited the east cost of the americas (nothern)

but the "indians" were here first, so it was not discovered, just discovered by the eurpian population, which in our bias history books is the only thing that matters, coming after the american point of viiew that is.


Blaze

[RayH]

daveleau Learned people of the world knew the world was round and had accurately calculated the circumference.

Creatures A book called "The Pale Ink" by Henriette Mertz details two pre Columbian explorations of America by the Chinese using ancient Chinese texts.

Recently, in "1421: The Year The Chinese Discovered America," Gavin Menzies tries to explain how the Chinese circumnavigated the world before Columbus.

To better understand Menzies' position, one has to have some understanding of China's technological advantage and naval superiority of the time.

While the Chinese fleet was sailing, great calamities befell China. It was taken as an omen. The fleets were recalled, destroyed, along with all records. There is no dispute these Chinese fleets sailed at least to the east coast of Africa. What becomes disputed is whether or not they sailed around the Horn of Africa and into the Atlantic.

All this really means is that the European explorers weren't sailing as blind as thought in trying to find the Orient. Somehow, they managed to get hold of some maps via the Middle East.

Unlike today, in olden days, nobody was telling anybody where anything was or where to find anything. Europeans wanted spices, silk, and porcelein from Asia.

What you also have to understand is that when the Mongolian Genghis Khan sent his troops west, it varified for Europe that a great civilization did in fact exist in the East!

[whitebeard21]

When I was in school we were taught man could never go to the moon because at 450 mph it would take too long and there was no oxygen so engines couldn't run in space and all that buck rogers stuff was crap.
About 15 years ago my fatherinlaw visited me and had a book I started reading on history which said Columbus had traveled to South America on a Portugese ship before he whispered in the queens ear that he had already been there. I can't remember the name of the book but would like to finish reading it.
It stated that the Portugese were bringing gold back and sailing past Portugal and Spain way out to sea and then running in close to shore and beating back north to make Spain think the gold was coming from Africa.
Spain had a stronger navy so ther was no way to stop them from taking over the Portugese colonies.

If you look at a prevailing wind and current chart that makes sense.
The Pope finaly was bribed to let Spain have America north of the equator and Portugal south.