Every exploration buff knows that made-up geography often appeared on ancient maps. The most famous example ... power of wishful thinking. When 16th-century explorer Giovanni da Verrazano peered ...

While history books detail past events that shaped the world ... Land at the end of the 16th century. While there, he ...

What to do? He decided that a magnificent gift—a lavish map of the world—might maneuver him into the new king’s good graces. D’Annebault hired Pierre Desceliers, one of the best ...

Alberto Cantino, an Italian spy, acquired a Portuguese map showing stunning finds in the New World ... Album The journeys of 15th- and 16th-century European explorers are depicted on Cantino ...