Map of the New World, 1540
This map of the Americas, the first to show them as two connected continents not connected to any other landmass, first appeared in Sebastian Münster's edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia in 1540. This version appeared in an Italian edition of the Geographia in about 1571.
This map shows Europeans' evolving ideas about the New World, and especially about North America. The mythical Sea of Verrazano is depicted, splitting the North American continent in two, and both North America and the Pacific Ocean are far too narrow.
Public Domain
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