detailed records of their voyages that land-based mapmakers used to create the first nautical charts called Portolan Charts. The charts, created on sheepskin or goatskin, were rare and very expensive, often kept secret so that competing mariners would not have access to this knowledge. What they lacked in accuracy they made up for in beauty. Lands and ports on the chart were highly decorated.

The size of the lands on the chart was more a reflection of their importance to trade routes than their actual geographical size. The charts did not have latitude or longitude lines but did have compass roses indicating bearings between major ports. They were, of course, not very accurate because the ability to measure distances at sea had not yet developed, nor was there an accurate method to portray the spherical surface of the earth on a flat piece of material.

MERCATOR’S COLONIAL PROJECTION
In the 16th Century, Mercator created a map which was of great use to mariners since straight lines on the projection represent lines of constant compass bearing which are perfect for 'true' direction. However, this map has often been termed the 'colonial power map' because it makes Europe look a lot bigger then it really is. It is actually a poor projection because of its rectangular qualities and because the sizes of the countries are not accurate.

NEWTON’S HERETOO!
In the 17th Century, Newton said that due to its spinning motion, the earth bulges at the equator and flattens at the poles. He concluded that the earth is not a true sphere, but a spheroid. In the

19th Century, Europeans used the metric system, which proved to be a simpler and more universal language for map scaling. The Greenwich prime meridian was established.