My school taught me that most people in Columbus’ time thought that the Earth was flat and that Columbus would fall off the face of the earth during his voyage.
I’m too lazy to double check now, but afaik the problem with his voyage was the exact opposite. People knew that the earth was round and its approximate radius, so they knew that going all the way around the other side to India would be much too long of a voyage. What they didn’t know was that there was a whole other continent in the way.
I was in college when I learned Columbus thought it was pear shaped, as opposed to the globe idea that was most popular (and true). He though the northern hemisphere was smaller than the southern which is why he expected to sail to India in a relatively short distance.
My school taught me that most people in Columbus’ time thought that the Earth was flat and that Columbus would fall off the face of the earth during his voyage.
I’m too lazy to double check now, but afaik the problem with his voyage was the exact opposite. People knew that the earth was round and its approximate radius, so they knew that going all the way around the other side to India would be much too long of a voyage. What they didn’t know was that there was a whole other continent in the way.
I was in college when I learned Columbus thought it was pear shaped, as opposed to the globe idea that was most popular (and true). He though the northern hemisphere was smaller than the southern which is why he expected to sail to India in a relatively short distance.
Augh I hate that myth so much