In 1507 a map of the world was published. It was by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller. It was called the Waldseemuller Map (no surprise there) or the Universalis Cosmography. It is known for a couple of interesting aspects to it. The first is that it was the first map to write the word America on it. It was located in South America and was named after the Italian Amerigo Vespucci.
The second and at first strange thing is that it shows the Pacific Ocean. Why would it not? You may ask. Because it was not discovered until Vasco Nunez de Balboa reached and recorded it in 1513, six years after the map. Up until then, maps had the east coast of America and the east coast of Asia were part of the same landmass. Waldseemuller showed they were separated which meant there was an ocean between them.
This has all the makings of a great puzzle until we delve deeper into the subject. The map was drafted onto a modified projection that the Greek philosopher Ptolemy had produced. It would be E G Ravenstein who set the record straight. He took the Ptolemy projection and redrafted it in the more familiar Equirectangular Projection, it now appeared in line with other maps of the same projection. The Pacific Ocean would have to wait another six years to make its appearance.
John Pullen 