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But remember also that northern hemisphere navigators like the Portuguese also had to align their maps in a different direction as they crossed the equator and

But remember also that northern hemisphere navigators like the Portuguese also had to align their maps in a different direction as they crossed the equator and lost their main reference star on their way around Africa. They soon discovered how to navigate by then aligning with a group of stars called "Cruzeiro do Sul", the Crux constellation[1], which means that it could be reasonable to actually start aligning the maps southwards (and the portuguese were the ones mapping the whole coast of Africa at the time). But I guess that by that time (around the 1470s), they were already too used to aligning northwards... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crux Edit: I meant northern hemisphere navigators, instead of northern european.

danmaz74 13y ago
If Portugal is in northern Europe, who is then in southern Europe??
- einhverfr 13y ago
  Roman North Africa? ;-)
einhverfr 13y ago
One of the most interesting beliefs one runs into in the Middle Ages is the idea that although the world is round, it is impossible to travel across the equator by sea or land. This factors into medieval accounts of Alexander the Great for example.
- DrStalker 13y ago
  What did they think prevented this?
  - einhverfr 13y ago
    At least from the medieval literature I have read, it seems like there was a sense that divine retribution would prevent it. I.e. not necessarily about physical barriers but because it was hubris to attempt such a feat.
- miguelpais 13y ago
  Well, the portuguese navigators did have a lot of trouble crossing it. This was due to the fact that they mostly always sailed with the coast in sight, but when they reached the equator, there was just no winds or currents to keep pushing them, so they would just get stuck. It took them a couple of years to find a way out of that point, by making huge turns westwards into the atlantic (which eventually led them to end up in Brazil, but that's another story...)

danmaz74 13y ago

If Portugal is in northern Europe, who is then in southern Europe??

einhverfr 13y ago
Roman North Africa? ;-)

einhverfr 13y ago

One of the most interesting beliefs one runs into in the Middle Ages is the idea that although the world is round, it is impossible to travel across the equator by sea or land. This factors into medieval accounts of Alexander the Great for example.

DrStalker 13y ago
What did they think prevented this?
- einhverfr 13y ago
  At least from the medieval literature I have read, it seems like there was a sense that divine retribution would prevent it. I.e. not necessarily about physical barriers but because it was hubris to attempt such a feat.
miguelpais 13y ago
Well, the portuguese navigators did have a lot of trouble crossing it. This was due to the fact that they mostly always sailed with the coast in sight, but when they reached the equator, there was just no winds or currents to keep pushing them, so they would just get stuck. It took them a couple of years to find a way out of that point, by making huge turns westwards into the atlantic (which eventually led them to end up in Brazil, but that's another story...)