BELIEF IN ASIA 89 



finem Indie per terram est multo plus quam medietas 

 terre, videlicet gradus i8o." According to the geog- 

 raphers, the distance eastward from western Europe 

 to the farthest known east (Lisbon to the east 

 coast of China) in degrees of longitude was as fol- 

 lows :^2 



Marinas of Tyre (loo A. D.) 225° 



Ptolemy (150) I77° + 



Catalan atlas (1375) 116° 



Genoese map (1457) 136° 



Fra Mauro (1459) 125° 



Henricus Martellus (1489) 196° 



Laon globe 250° 



Behaim (1492) 234° 



Columbus (1502) 289° 



Actual extent 131 



o 



Of course, the farthest east of Asia included more 

 land in the later maps than in those of Marinus and 

 Ptolemy, both of whom understood that there was 

 more land beyond the farthest known world. One 

 need only consider for a moment the variants just 

 cited to realize that neither Columbus nor any one 

 else in his day knew the distance to the extremity of 

 India extra Gangem. Instead of knowledge there 

 was a very wide difference of opinion among those 

 who had given thought to the subject. Columbus 

 rejected all the lower figures ; and his discoveries had 

 in a remarkable manner confirmed his estimates. 

 Had Thacher given due thought to pre-Columbian 



63 Mainly according to Ravenstein, op. cit., p. 64, note 4. 



