The Map Makers - Discovery: The Waldseemüller Map (1507)

A map is more than a geographical representation of a land. It is an image which mirrors a society's political, religious and cultural vision of itself. The Map Makers tells the story of maps through history and explores major developments in map making.

Discovery: The the Waldseemüller Map (1507)

The first episode in the series is a story of a map which changed the way man viewed the world. It is the tale of a ten million dollar map which has become known as the 'birth certificate of America.' Within the lines marked on its surface can be traced the first discoveries of the 'new world', by sixteenth century explorers such as Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. But why were the new lands called America, and who were the men who first named the new continent on the famous Waldseemüller map? The intriguing history behind the map is revealed.