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Because back in the Middle Ages they didn't have satellites. They just estimated the landscape. So that is why the were not perfect.

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βˆ™ 11y ago
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tiya kachhapati

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this isn't the best ans its the worst
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βˆ™ 14y ago

The map makers didn't know what was there. People didn't travel long distances in the middle ages and the trade routes were along the Coastlines so they hadn't gone across vast oceans. Not only didn't they have the ability, but there were superstitions that kept them close to home. One was that there were islands in the oceans that were made of magnets and if a ship got too close it would pull out all the nails sinking the boat. There was also no real need to want to explore.

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βˆ™ 3y ago

Because back in the Middle Ages they didn't have satellites. They just estimated the landscape. So that is why the were not perfect.

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Q: Why were European maps in the middle ages inaccurate?
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Why were maps important to early explorers in the Western Hemisphere?

Maps and where there were no or inaccurate maps were vital to properly explore the Western Hemisphere. As exploration progressed in the New World, more accurate maps were made which helped European colonists understand the new lands they had discovered.


Was the first map of the known world created in the Middle Ages?

World maps were common in the Middle Ages, though they were never very accurate. The more accurate maps of the time called portolans were not maps of the known world, as far as I know. World maps of earlier times were also not uncommon, but were no better. There is a link to a world map of Posidonius, dating to 130-150 BC, below.


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He didn't take maps. The area was unknown so there were no maps made and the ones there were made were inaccurate. The early explorers were truly exploring.


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because religion was the bases of society so they put it at the top because it had highest importance on the map


What were the large unexplored areas of the world called during the middle ages?

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When These persons who created very accurate maps of the world played an important role in European exploration who are? When These persons who created very accurate maps of the world played an important role in European exploration who are?


Did maps exist in the middle ages?

AnswerThe tools cartographers use today are much more advanced than those which the people in the middle ages had, so they were not able to measure nor create maps as easily as we can today. Also, back then, a lot of the world had not yet been explored, leaving vast expanses of area either empty or made up on their maps. People back then also were much more superstitious, and do not have te scientific knowledge that we do tofay... Hence the sea mosters and serpents on the maps. Also, you may note that there are many other mythological creatures on their maps, tHe products of their fear of unexplored orbwild seas. Another thing that is notable on middle ages maps is the number of landmasses that we know today that remain partial or unfinished on the maps. If the land had not been circumnavigated there was no possible way for them to know what it looked like in it's entireity. AnswerNot all maps of the Middle Ages were very inaccurate. There were several different kinds of maps of the Middle Ages, but one specific kind, called a portolan chart, was intended for mariners and was fairly accurate.These maps have been studied because the technology used to produce them was greater than any for which we have any record from the time. The technology of the portolan maps was finally exceeded in the 18th century, but did not exist in the late 16th or 17th, and there has been much speculation about what it might have been, and when it was used.The problem for mapmakers of the time was that while it was fairly easy to find latitude, how far north or south of the equator you were, there was no easy way to find longitude, position on the east-west axis. In the northern hemisphere latitude could be found just by measuring the angle between the horizon and the north star. But for longitude, the method used was to try to find the time of day of a astronomical event, as seen from different places. For example, we might try to have observers in Madrid and Mexico City observe the occultation of a moon of Jupiter from, measure the times at which it happened, and compare. Clocks being what they were, and observers being what they were, the distance from Madrid to Mexico City was off by 1400 miles.What was required was a really good clock, so mariners could keep track of times of noon, and compare these with a standard time at a particular place, for instance at Greenwich. Once they could do this, they could know, within a couple of miles, where they were. And so they could draw accurate maps. This is the technology that developed in the 18th century. But the portolan charts showed something analogous had existed during or before the Middle Ages.There is a link below.