Explorers\' Tales Blog
I’m starting a new blog topic on the history of maps. This first one is about the oldest of all maps…the mental map. Maps are one of those things we take for granted, and we seldom try to imagine how humans ever functioned without maps. The simple answer is that humans have never been without maps. To support that statement we first need to understand what constitutes a map. Most maps…
L'Orient exploding after being caught in crossfire from English ships. Roger M McCoy A long period of colonization by European countries, especially England and France, began in the late eighteenth century and continued into the mid-twentieth century. Africa was the final major uncolonized area, and in the eighteenth century it became a major target for colonists. &n [...]
The top three images are some of the disguises Sir Richard Burton used to mingle with crowds anonymously. The bottom image is Burton is his natural appearance. Roger M McCoy Search for [...]
Current ethnic groups of Africa Roger M McCoy Prior to the migration of Europeans in to Africa in the eighteenth century, Africa had many different societies with well-developed cultures and powerful kingdoms, e.g. Mali, Benin, and Songhai in Western Africa during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, plus many sites along the lower parts of the [...]
This 1554 map shows many imaginary features in the unknown continent. Note a one-eyed giant sitting on a mountain in the mythical region of Monoculi. Notice also the dense forest in the Sahara; the Niger River begins and ends in lakes; and the Nile River originates in the imagined Mountains of the Moon. The crown and scepter symbols indicate imagined kingdoms. No coastal towns are shown even…
Painting by Louis Le Breton showing two corvettes careened for cleaning at Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea. Public Domain From National Archives, United Kingdom Link to American Riverboats of 19th Century Roger M McCoy Life at sea in the sixteenth century was a hard life, which many sailors began by the age of nine. They worked and slept in cramped space with the conditions of…
Muhammed al-Idrisi’s interesting world map made in 1154 A.D. This view is inverted as the original map had north at the bottom. Wikimedia Commons Roger M. McCoy We sometimes think that Columbus was the first to consider sailing westward to Asia in 1492, but we find that others tried many years before Columbus. In 1154 the Arab geographer and cartographer, Muhammed al-Idrisi, compiled information…
The San Xavier del Bac mission was established by Father Kino in 1692. Construction of the current structure was completed in 1797. Wikimedia North America drawn in 1650 by Nicholas Sanson (1600-1667). California is shown as an island despite Ulloa’s discovery 111 years earlier. Wikimedia. Roger M. McCoy Wealth, power, and fame were the usual factors driving men to explore unknown lands. Some…
After an ancestor showed the Spanish king an unknown pass through the mountains in 1212, the king's army won a decisive victory. The ancestor was granted a title and this Cabeza de Vaca coat of arms, which reflects that the way to the pass was marked with the skull of a cow. Route of Cabeza de Vaca. Map by Lencer. (Wikimedia Commons) Roger M. McCoy NOTE TO READERS: After March 21st 2023 the URL…
Viking ship on display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. View is from right rear of ship. Wikipedia Commons. Roger M McCoy Two types of evidence support the presence of Norse in North America up to five hundred years before Columbus. There are tales of even earlier Europeans In the New World, e.g. Saint Brendan, the Irish monk who, by legend, is believed to have sailed as far as the New…