ee ee ey 
Notes on the earliest discoveries in America. 309 
by the time of the fall of Constantinople, his captains had 
reached Cape Verde, lat. 14° 45’ N., probably a few degrees be- 
yond, and had exploded the old theory of a boiling belt about 
the equator, 
In all ages there had been a prevailing notion that one might 
sail round Africa; but when once it was demonstrated that Por- 
tuguese sailors could cross the equator and survive, Prince 
Henry's vague idea of reaching the land of spices by this route 
was confirmed. At all events, he was schooling hardy sailors, 
and training them for bolder work, so that soon after the date 
of the fall of Constantinople, Italy and Portugal had reached that 
turn for adventure and enterprise, which spread like wildfire 
throughout the other states of Europe, and caused the entire 
Tevolution in the commerce of the world. : 
n 1453, Columbus was a lad of six years at Genoa, Vespucci 
of two at Florence and John Cabot a youth at Venice. The 
of Europe and Africa from Iceland to Cape Verde. But above 
all, the Cadaiedie of the sphericity of our earth was no longer 
confined to philosophers. Alexander had told Aristotle what 
he knew of the Kast, and Aristotle had written down that there 
in a few days with favorable winds) Pomponius Mela and 
Macrobius put in like testimony, with certain difficulties about 
properly reduced the globe into 360 degrees of latitude and 
ioneita e. In latitude he was as correct as he was incorrect in 
18 longitude, Roger Bacon, an Englishman, again summar- 
ized these theories in his Our Majus, in the thirteenth century ; 
and in the fifteenth century, Pierre d’Ailly, a Frenchman, re- 
viewed the whole question, bringing Paar the opinions of 
.€ ancient writers named, as well as the fathers of the church, 
cluding modern philosophers, travelers, and theologians, es- 
