2 CONCEPTIONS OF COLUMBUS 



ated with the name of the Arab geographer Al-Far- 

 ghani, known to Western Europe as Alfraganus. 

 The question for consideration here does not concern 

 either the origin or the currency of the figure given; 

 it arises from the statement of Columbus that he 

 had verified the estimate of the 56^ miles by deter- 

 mining it himself.^ The truth of this statement has 

 been called in question by almost every modern critic 

 on the ground that it was practically impossible for 

 Columbus to have made the calculations necessary 

 for the verification. What is implied in this criti- 

 cism is that Columbus had not at his disposal the 

 means elaborated in modern times for the measure- 

 ment of a terrestrial degree; what is overlooked is 

 that Columbus must have carried out his verifica- 

 tion, if at all, by following the accepted practice of 

 his own time. 



Vignaud's Criticism of Columbus 



As a point of departure we may take the state- 

 ment of Henry Vignaud, the latest writer to discuss 

 the matter in detail. In his ''Histoire critique de 

 la grande entreprise de Christophe Colomb" Vignaud 

 says :^ 



Nous arrivons a la plus importante des observations 

 que Colomb dit avoir faites au cours de ses voyages de 

 Guinee: celle qui aurait eu pour resultat la constatation 

 que le degre terrestre ne mesurait, a I'equateur, que 



3 See, below, pp. 9-10, statement VII. 



* 2 vols., Paris, 191 1; reference in \^ol. i, pp. 63-67. 



