Quote:
Originally Posted by u crank
His fear was based on the fact that he had not found what he had promised to find; the riches of China.
|
I haven't seen anyone speculate about it in print, but I've always wondered if Columbus himself had a pretty good idea of the truth of his discoveries, but never dared admit it for that very fear. He had after all claimed the world was much smaller than his opponents did, and his claims were based on the work of Martinus of Tyre, which gave a much smaller estimate than did the findings of Ptolemy two hundred years later.
I also wonder if he didn't use the computations for a smaller earth intentionally, convinced that he would never get backing if he admitted the voyage might have been longer than was feasible at the time.