[CarolinaGuitarman]

"Maybe not well established but was thought so as many others as the ones who thought the earth was round."

Among educated people, the idea that the Earth was round in 1492 was almost universal. It had been known in the times of the Greeks that this was so.

"So, not completely false or they wouldn't have it in text books,..."

Sure they would. It's an old myth that still gets taught that Columbus faced opposition to his voyage because others thought the world was flat. They (the people who he had to deal with) didn't . They thought that Columbus' figures for the size of the Earth was wrong. Columbus' maps had the Earth to be about 25% smaller than was commonly accepted; therefore it would be easier to sail across the ocean, which would be smaller. The navigators of his time thought he would have to cross an ocean of about 5-6 thousand miles.

Columbus was wrong. The only thing that saved him was the existence of the Americas, which nobody expected.

[tgambill]

Yep....you are correct thanks for replying. I remember my history teacher telling us that before Columbus they all thought the world was flat...and that he proved them wrong. I never thought about it since.

[tgambill]

Oh,..my history teacher in the 1960's.....when the Earth was flat...:) some time ago.