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| This is the view of the world as shown on Martin Behaim's 1492 globe. Behaim's globe, the oldest surviving world globe, represents the world prior to the epic voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the view of Ptolemy, who had calculated the circumference of the world to be a third less than it is, Behaim's geography shows a relatively short distance between Europe and the East Coast of Asia. It was these same calculations upon which Columbus based his argument for the existence of a short sea passage to "Cathay" across the Atlantic Ocean. |
