Gerardus Mercator

Gerardus Mercator was born March 5, 1512 in modern day Belgium. Later at the age of 82, he died on December 2, 1594 in modern day Germany. Mercator is known for his world map of 1569 titled (in an English translation) New and more complete representation of the terrestrial globe properly adapted for use in navigation, and the way it was made (that he invented). This kind of flat map was called a Mercator Projection. This map took into account the curvature of the Earth, making it better for navigators. This curvature was achieved on a flat surface because what he did, was extend the land the farther it was from the equator. Although this provided the curve of the Earth, it made the land sizes very inaccurate. For example, Greenland looked as big (if not bigger) than Africa, when in reality, Africa is much larger than Greenland. This new way of mapmaking lead to Mercator making his own map titled (in an English translation) The New and More Complete Representation of the Terrestrial Globe Properly Adapted for Use in Navigation. This was the newest, most accurate map at the time (even though it was technically inaccurate). It was a huge breakthrough in the world of cartography. As I said, this kind of map was better for navigators. Why? Because a sailor could draw a straight line from point A to point B, and the curvature of the Earth was already taken in, so there was no need to draw weird curved lines. This way, one only needed to set sail in the correct direction, and continue so until land. This was obviously much easier for sailors because it saved them the pain of drawing the course correctly along with constantly making sure that they were still headed in the correct direction. Mercator's contribution to the Renaissance specifically, was his new-and-improved map of the world. But to the world, his new kind of map for navigators. This made him very important to the Renaissance because of how it helped navigators/sailors sail the seas in an easier manner than before, making a huge impact for not only sailors, but also cartographers. This lead to the people at the time becoming more accurate and detailed about different things. The ideal of cartography was improved upon by Mercator due to his amazing deeds.

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