Although engraved in fine detail the terrestrial globe contains many geographical errors compared with reality. Even so Mercator wanted it to provide a revised image of the world, in the wake of Gemma Frisius. This revision of terrestrial geography was not unanimously accepted at the time, however, particularly as regards South Asia.
Influences and sources
Mercator was influenced by Ptolemy and Marco Polo but he did not bow to them. He knew how to use their writings while also rectifying and surpassing them […]
Measuring the world
On his terrestrial globe Mercator divided the known world into five parts: Europe, Africa, Asia, America and Quinta, a newly discovered southern continent […]
Europe
Mercator decisively corrected the outline of the Mediterranean basin by reducing the longitudinal overextension inherited from Ptolemy […]
Africa
To draw Africa, Mercator no doubt referred to Martin Waldseemüller’s Carta marina navigatoria […]
Asia
In Asia, Mercator tried to make the most recent discoveries fit with the representation inherited from the ancient geographers […]
America
In Mercator’s day, America was a largely unexplored continent whose coastlines were still only vague. Despite the dearth of information, it is represented as completely as possible […]
Quinta
Mercator tried to prove that this fifth landmass existed and was huge, as if it were necessary to counterbalance the weight of the other continents […]
