I don't get where this idea that Columbus thought the world was smaller than it was is coming from.
What Columbus got wrong was accepting really flawed primary source materials, such as Marco Polo. Using the data from Marco Polo and other travelers, he came to the conclusion that China was not that far off the coast of Spain.
Bio1590 posted... There's a reason an Italian/Genoan basically had to shop himself around until he finally found someone willing to sponsor it in Spain, who only did so because they were that desperate to obtain a W.
WTF are you talking about? Spain just came off a massive W with the Reconquista, which literally ended with Granada capitulating on January 2, 1492. They were the spearhead of Christiandom, driving the Moors off the Iberian Peninsula for good. This was 18 years after Isabella and Ferdinand unified Castille and Aragon making the defacto Spain. What Spain was now desperate to do is find new trading opportunities and they had missed out on the atlantic island discoveries as they were busy conquering land on the home front for the time being.
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The big wiggle equals ratings.