Abstract: The shape of Africa on Iberian nautical charts of the late-fifteenth and earlysixteenth century is surprisingly mature. The portrayal of the outline of Africa on the Cantino planisphere of 1502 is so good that it was not surpassed in the next two, possibly three centuries. The African coastline on the Cantino planisphere is a mosaic of accurate regional charts on the plate-carrée projection, each with its own scale and orientation. The same holds for its berian predecessors. The shape of the parts of Africa depicted on these regional charts wa...
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Topics: 
Cartography
Regional science