66 MAPS AND THEIR MAKERS 



features of the Indian Ocean and eastern Asia. We are justified 

 in assuming on these and other grounds that Behaim had not 

 gone directly to the authorities he quotes, but had merely 

 amended an existing world map. No special knowledge of 

 Conti's narrative is shown, but a certain Bartolomeo Fioren- 

 tino, not otherwise known, is quoted on the spice trade routes 

 to Europe. South-east Asia is represented as a long peninsula 

 extending southwards and somewhat westwards beyond the 

 Tropic of Capricorn. This feature is a remnant of Ptolemy's 

 geography, evolved when the Indian Sea was opened to the 

 surrounding ocean. The placing of Madagascar and Zanzibar 

 approximately midway between this peninsula and the Cape 

 must be another feature of some antiquity. Fra Mauro displays 

 far more up-to-date knowledge of this area. 



The new knowledge displayed is confined to Africa, or 

 rather to the western coast for the names on the east coast, save 

 for those taken from Ptolemy, are fanciful. The main features 

 of the west coast are more or less recognizable, though Cape 

 Verde is greatly over-emphasized. To Cape Formoso, on the 

 Guinea coast (true position 4° 12' N., 6° IV E.) the nomen- 

 clature differs little from contemporary usage. Beyond it, 

 though a good deal can be paralleled in the two other con- 

 temporary sources, Soligo and Martellus, there are elements 

 peculiar to Behaim, e.g. the 'Rio de Behemo', near Cape 

 Formoso, and the Tnsule Martini', identified by Ravenstein 

 with Anobom, with others of a less personal character. The 

 coast swings abruptly to the east at *Monte negro', placed 

 by Behaim in 38° South latitude. This is the point reached by 

 Cao in 1483, and its true position is 15° 40' South. A Portuguese 

 standard marks the spot. On the eastward trending coast, there 

 are names which seem to be related to those bestowed by Diaz, 

 and the sea is named 'oceanus maris asperi meridionalis', a 

 phrase which doubtless refers to the storms encountered by j 

 him. Owing to the exaggeration of the latitudes, 'Monte ' 

 negro' falls fairly near the position which the Cape of Good 

 Hope should occupy. It is noticeable that the Soligo chart 

 ends in 14° S. which is near the limit of Behaim' s detailed 

 knowledge. We might conclude therefore that Behaim's 

 contribution was to reproduce this coast from a similar chart, 



