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No one believed the Earth was flat (beyond present day "Flat Earthers"). This is a myth that has been perpetrated in education because of a mistake made by an early 20th century text book author. Many people were aware that the Earth was a sphere by the 3rd century B.C. Both Claudius Ptolemy and Marinus of Tyre (early geographers) proved that the Earth is a sphere. Working from data compiled centuries before, their calculations, while still inaccurate, where a great improvement on earlier work.

Christopher Columbus did not set out to prove that the world was round, but rather set out to find a faster trade route to Asia, discovering that the Earth was larger than anyone originally believed and discovering North America on behalf of European civilization. North America had been discovered by other populations before then, including the Vikings and of course the Jomon (ancestors of the Japanese), but Columbus' discovery was probably more relevant to modern civilization.

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Related Questions

What did English people believe in the 1600?

that the earth was flat


Who are flat earthers?

people who believed the earth is flat, not a sphere like most people believe.


What did people believe before Copernicus?

that the earth was the center of the universe and that the earth wAS FLAT


What did people believe in olden days about earth's shape?

They thought that the Earth was flat and not spherical.


Why do some people say that the earth is flat?

Some people believe the Earth is flat due to mistrust in scientific consensus, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. Despite overwhelming evidence supporting Earth's spherical shape, flat Earth beliefs persist in some corners of the internet and society.


When did people believe the Earth was flat?

During ancient times, many people believed the Earth was flat until around the 6th century BC when Greek philosophers like Pythagoras and later Aristotle proposed that the Earth was round.


What shape did renaissance people think the earth was?

Round. Most people by the time of Columbus did not believe the Earth was flat, despite what some history books will tell you.


Why did people once believe the earth was flat?

People once believed the Earth was flat because it appeared that way to the naked eye. Travel and exploration were limited, so many individuals did not have access to evidence proving otherwise.


Why was the earth flat long ago?

The Earth was never flat. The Flat Earth society believe they have proof that the Earth is flat but other no individuals or organisations have ever seriously considered that the Earth was not round since the ancient Greeks.


How did people find out that earth was not flat?

People have known the Earth is not flat since ancient times.


What did people believe about the shape of the earth?

In ancient times, many people believed that the Earth was flat. This belief persisted until the 6th century BC when Greek scholars, such as Pythagoras and later Aristotle, theorized that the Earth was a sphere based on observations of the stars and shadow patterns during lunar eclipses.


Did most of the educated people in Columbus and rsquo time thing the earth was flat?

No, most educated people in Columbus's time did not believe the Earth was flat. By the 15th century, ancient Greek scholars had already proven that the Earth was a sphere. Columbus's challenge was not convincing people the Earth was round, but rather estimating its size and the distance to Asia.