Waldseemüller’s cosmography, the conceptualization of “America”, and its relation with Copernicanism

Abstract

In this article we propose a series of hypothesis on Martin Waldseemüller’s enigmatic cartographic representations of 1507, highlighting the connections between his cosmography and Copernican cosmology. The beginning of the conceptualization process regarding a “fourth part” of the world, which Waldseemüller called “America”, implied a thorough review of the philosophical speculations on the tradition related to the characteristics of the Earth. By covering 360° degrees, Waldseemüller world map doubled the Ptolemaic representation and encouraged the re-examination of the measurements of both the Earth and the universe. In turn, this strengthened the widespread idea of the earth’s movement; two key issues in the development of Modern science. Furthermore, exploring the intersections between the work of Waldseemüller and Copernicus, will allow us to consider the typical achievements and contradictions of Renaissance science, to discuss their peculiar way of understanding the discovery of new lands, and to determine the consequences of how information was processed