SCIENCE AND REVOLUTION 



some hitherto untried route, it was not long be- 

 fore exploring trips were undertaken. It is true, 

 no scientific proofs of the unsoundness of the 

 Ptolemaic system had as yet been produced. But 

 the practical navigators did not wait for the the- 

 oretical proofs of its unsoundness. On a south- 

 ward trip made by Bartolomeo Dias in the years 

 1486 and 1487, the Cape of Good Hope was dis- 

 covered and the map of the world considerably 

 extended. On October 12, 1492, Columbus 

 landed on San Salvador, Bahama Islands. In 

 1497, John Cabot discovered the mainland of 

 North America. The year after that, Sebastian 

 Cabot went in search of a Northwest passage to 

 China, and Vasgo de Gama landed in India after 

 a successful trip around the Cape of Good Hope. 

 In 1499, Ojeda and Vespucci sailed along the 

 east coast of South America. 



The earth had suddenly grown to twice its for- 

 mer size. Columbus had made good his claim 

 that it was a round globe, not flat. The discov- 

 eries of other navigators clinched his proof. 

 While the wise men were still debating this stu- 

 pendous revolution of their ideas, the trading 

 class vigorously pushed forward into the newly 

 discovered territory and began to gather untold 

 wealth. The church winked its eye and pocketed 



44 



