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Strait Of Anián
The Strait of Anián was a semi-mythical strait, documented from around 1560, that was believed by early modern cartographers to mark the boundary between North America and Asia and to permit access to a Northwest Passage from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific. The true strait was discovered in 1728 and became known as the Bering Strait. The Strait of Anián had been generally placed nearby, but sometimes appeared as far south as California. History The source of this idea is unknown. The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1506 or 1507 shows America and Asia separated. A 1562 map by Paolo Forlani shows Asia and North America joined north of about the latitude of San Diego. The strait probably took its name from Ania, a Chinese province mentioned in a 1559 edition of Marco Polo's book. The name probably first appeared on a map issued by the Italian cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi in 1562. It appeared on maps by Abraham Ortelius (1564), Bolognini Zaltieri (1567) and Gerardus Mercator (15 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' (''Theatre of the World''). Along with Gemma Frisius and Gerardus Mercator, Ortelius is generally considered one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and geography. He was a notable figure of this school in its golden age (approximately 1570s–1670s) and an important geographer of Spain during the age of discovery. The publication of his atlas in 1570 is often considered as the official beginning of the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. He was the first person proposing that the continents were joined before drifting to their present positions. Life Ortelius was born on either 4 April or 14 April 1527 in the city of Antwerp, which was then in the Habsburg Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). The Orthellius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathay
Cathay (; ) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. During the early modern period, the term ''Cathay'' initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which was a reference to southern China. As knowledge of East Asia increased, Cathay came to be seen as the same polity as China as a whole. The term ''Cathay'' became a poetic name for China. The name ''Cathay'' originates from the word '' Khitan'', a name of a para-Mongolic nomadic people who ruled the Liao dynasty in northern China from 916 to 1125, and who later migrated west after they were overthrown by the Jin dynasty to form the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) for another century thereafter. Originally, this name was the name applied by Central and Western Asians and Europeans to northern China; the name was also used in Marco Polo's book on his travels in Yuan dynasty China (he referred to southern China as '' Mangi''). Odoric of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shangdu
Shangdu (, ), also known as Xanadu (; Mongolian: ''Šandu''), was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty of China before Kublai decided to move his throne to the former Jin dynasty capital of Zhōngdū () which was renamed Khanbaliq ( present-day Beijing). Shangdu is located in the present-day Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia. In June 2012, it was made a World Heritage Site for its historical importance and for the unique blending of Mongolian and Chinese culture. Venetian traveller Marco Polo described Shangdu to Europeans after visiting it in 1275. It was conquered in 1369 by the Ming dynasty army under the Hongwu Emperor. In 1797, historical accounts of the city inspired the famous poem ''Kubla Khan'' by the English Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Descriptions Shangdu was located in what is now Shangdu Town, Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia, north of Beijing. It is about northwest of the modern town of Duolun. The layout of the capital is roughly square shaped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Knowledge Of The Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest coast of North America was one of the last coastlines reached by European explorers. In terms of sailing time from Europe, it was one of the most distant places on earth. This article covers what Europeans knew or thought they knew before the area was explored by Captain Cook in 1778. It is not clear what the Chinese and Japanese knew of the area to the north. The accuracy of the Strait of Anián story implies that they may have known something. The Spaniards sent some expeditions north from Mexico but found little to interest them. In 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo reached a point north of San Francisco. In 1579 Drake landed somewhere on the coast above 43 degrees N latitude. In 1592 Juan de Fuca may have reached Puget Sound, Washington. In 1602 one of Sebastián Vizcaíno's ships reached Oregon. This was the last northward exploration for 150 years. Strait of Anian: From about 1562 many European geographers thought there was a Strait of Anián, perhap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulliver's Travels
''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirising both human nature and the "travellers' tales" literary subgenre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature. Swift claimed that he wrote ''Gulliver's Travels'' "to vex the world rather than divert it". The book was an immediate success. The English dramatist John Gay remarked: "It is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery." In 2015, Robert McCrum released his selection list of 100 best novels of all time in which ''Gulliver's Travels'' is listed in third place as "a satirical masterpiece". Plot Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. ;4 May ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brobdingnag
Brobdingnag is a fictional land, which is occupied by giants, in Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels.'' The story's main character, Lemuel Gulliver, visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off course. As a result, he becomes separated from a party exploring the unknown land. In the second preface to the book, Gulliver laments that the publisher misspelled the land's name, which Gulliver asserts is actually called Brobdingrag. The adjective "Brobdingnagian" has come to describe anything of colossal size. Location Swift describes the location of Brobdingnag and its geography in Part II of ''Gullivers Travels'' and provides a map showing where it is. However, the accounts are somewhat contradictory. The map printed at the beginning of Part II indicates that Brobdingnag is located on the northwest coast of North America, in probably what is now British Columbia. The map shows (from south to north) Point Monterey, Port Sir Francis D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannes Van Keulen
Johannes van Keulen (1654 in Deventer – 1715 in Amsterdam) was a 17th-century Dutch cartographer. He published the influential nautical atlas the ''Zee-Atlas'' and the pilot guide ''Zee-Fakkel'' (meaning Sea-Torch in English). In 1678 Johannes van Keulen established himself in Amsterdam and in 1680 he obtained a patent from the States of Holland and West Friesland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a co ... allowing him to print and publish maritime atlases and shipping guides. These were books of maps and descriptions of itineraries, used by helmsmen for safe navigation. The patent was a kind of protection against illegal copying of produced books and charts. This was especially important for the atlases which were made with extensive initial costs. Van Keulen named h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Of California
The Island of California ( es, Isla de California) refers to a long-held European misconception, dating from the 16th century, that the Baja California Peninsula was not part of mainland North America but rather a large island (spelled on early maps as "''Cali Fornia''") separated from the continent by a strait now known as the Gulf of California. One of the most famous cartographic errors in history, it was propagated on many maps during the 17th and 18th centuries, despite contradictory evidence from various explorers. The legend was initially infused with the idea that California was a terrestrial paradise, like the Garden of Eden or Atlantis. History The first known mention of the legend of the "Island of California" was in the 1510 romance novel ''Las sergas de Esplandián'' by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo—the sequel to Montalvo's more famous tales of Amadís de Gaula, father of Esplandian. He described the island in this passage: Know, that on the right hand of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman Moll
Herman Moll (mid-17th century – 22 September 1732) was a London cartographer, engraver, and publisher. Origin and early life While Moll's exact place and date of birth are unknown, he was probably born in the mid-seventeenth century in Germany or the United Provinces. The earliest extant mention of Moll was made by the natural philosopher Robert Hooke, who recorded in 1678 that Moll was working in London as an engraver. Moll later specialized in engraving maps, and went on to produce maps and globes from his studies of the work of other cartographers. Cartographic work Early years in London Moll probably sold his first maps from a stall in various places in London. From 1688 he had his own shop in Wanley's Court in London's Blackfriars. Between 1691 and 1710 his business was located at the corner of Spring Gardens and Charing Cross, and he finally moved along the River Thames to the Strand where he remained until his death. In the 1690s, Moll worked mainly as an engra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juan De Fuca
Juan de Fuca (10 June 1536, Cefalonia 23 July 1602, Cefalonia)Greek Consulate of Vancouver,Greek Pioneers: Juan de Fuca. was a Greeks, Greek maritime pilot, pilot who served Philip II of Spain, PhilipII of Spanish Empire, Spain. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Aniánnow known as the Strait of Juan de Fucabetween Vancouver Island (now part of British Columbia, Canada) and the Olympic Peninsula (northwestern Washington (state), Washington state in the United States). Name "Juan de Fuca" is a Spanish language, hispanicization of the Greek language, Greek name or Phokas (), Latin language, latinized as . However, his exact name is somewhat uncertain. Some sources state that his actual name was Apostolos Valerianos (). It is possible that he was baptismal name, baptized as Apostolos and later adopted the name Ioannis or Juan because ' is not a common Spanish name. It is known that his father and grandfather bore the name Focas, so it seems likely that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
