In 1569 the Flemish cartographer and mathematician Gerardus Mercator published a new world map under the title “New and more complete representation of the terrestrial globe properly adapted for use in navigation.” The title of the map points to Mercator’s main claim for its usefulness, which he expounded upon in the map’s legends. Mercator presented his map as not only an accurate representation of the known world, but also as a particularly useful map for the purposes of navigation....
