In the 1500s three provinces, Beach, Maletur, and Lucach, were added to Australia. Note that the Europeans talking about Australia had not yet discovered it yet. Australia was a concept, a possibility, and somehow it already had named provinces. The names were corruptions of real places which were mentioned in Marco Polo’s book. Later European readers mistakenly placed them south of Java. And somehow the myth took on a life of its own.
The most important of the three was Beach, which appeared on many maps with the enticing title provincial aurifera, or “gold-bearing land.“ Sailors often referred to the continent of Australia as "Beach.”
Maletur was given the title scatens aromaibus, or a region overflowing with spices. Lucach was said as late as 1601 to have received an embassy from Java. These three places were believed to exist in Europe during the 1500s. In fact, in 1545 Spain even appointed a governor of the nonexistent Beach – a certain Pedro Sancho de la Hoz, who was one of the conquistadors of Chile.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário