19. Fact or Fiction: Did People in Christopher Columbus’ Day Think That the Earth Was Flat?
Fiction. An oft-repeated narrative surrounding Christopher Columbus’ historic 1492 voyage is that he faced considerable resistance from those who thought that his ships would fall off the edge of a flat Earth. There is no basis, in fact, for that story. While Columbus faced many detractors who thought his planned voyage was folly, their doubts were not based on the belief that the Earth was flat. The notion that the Earth was a sphere was known for about two thousand years before Columbus. In his day, educated people knew that planet was round.
What the skeptics criticized was not Columbus’ belief that the Earth was round, but Columbus’ math. When Columbus sailed westward from Spain in 1492, he was convinced that he was less than 3000 miles away from Japan. A little more sailing beyond that, and he would reach the Indies, with their rich spice trade. In fact, Japan is about 12,000 miles away from Spain, not 3000. The reason Columbus thought it was closer was because he made a mistake in calculating Earth’s size, and concluded it was smaller than it actually is. It was one of history’s most momentous mistakes.