He Concludes By Expressing His Firm Belief That The Sea Surrounding
The Southern And South-Eastern Part Of The World Is Navigable; And That The
Indian Sea Is Ocean, And Not A Lake.
We may observe, by the bye, that in
another passage inserted in the margin, he expressly declares that the
Indian ships had no compass, but were directed by an astronomer on board,
who was continually making his observations.
It is evident that the two accounts are at variance, as the first asserts
that the passage was round Cape Diab, at the termination of Africa, and the
second that it was round Cape Sofala, fifteen degrees to the north of the
extremity of this quarter of the world: but without attempting to reconcile
this contradiction, it is abundantly evident that Mauro, by noticing the
Portuguese navigators, as having reached 2000 miles to the south of
Gibraltar, and adding that 2000 miles more of the coast of Africa had been
explored by an Indian ship, meant to encourage the further enterprises of
the Portuguese, by the natural inference that a very small space of
unsailed sea must lie between the two lines, which were the limits of the
navigation of the Portuguese and Indian vessel. The unexplored space was
indeed much greater than Mauro estimated and represented it in his map to
be; but, as Dr. Vincent remarks, his error in this respect manifestly
contributed to the prosecution of the Portuguese designs, as the error of
the ancient geographers, in approximating China to Europe, produced the
discovery of America by Columbus.
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