Mercator Publishes His Projection

1569

The Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator unveiled a new world map using a cylindrical projection that turned lines of constant compass bearing into straight lines. Navigators loved it. Greenland looked enormous, Africa small, but ships could plot a course on paper without complicated calculation. Trade followed. The projection's influence on Western geographical perception, distorting northern countries' relative size, has been criticized as unconscious cultural bias.