The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 01 of 55: 1493-1529; Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 01 of 55: 1493-1529; Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
[Here follow the different calculations of the length of a degree and
the circumference of the earth, beginning with Aristotle. Briefly
these are as follows: Aristotle, 800 stadia to a degree, making
the terrestial circumference, 12,500 leagues; Strabo, Ambrosius,
Theodosius, Macrobius, [189] and Eratosthenes, each 700 stadia to the
degree, and a circumference of 7,875 leagues; Marinus and Ptolemæus,
500 stadia to the degree, and a circumference of 5,625 leagues;
Tebit, Almeon, Alfragano, Pedro de Aliaco [190] "in the tenth
chapter of _De imagine mundi_ and the author of the sphere in the
division of the zones," Fray Juan de Pecan "in the fourth chapter of
the treatise of the sphere," and the "first Admiral of the Indies,
[191] as is evident from many papers made by him," each "fifty-six
and two-thirds miles" or "fourteen leagues and two-thirds of a mile"
to a degree, and a circumference of 5,100 leagues. "If no opposition is
given to this latter _ex adverso mere voluntarie_," continues Colon,
"then necessarily we must have recourse to verify it by experience,
which is hindered by many obstacles." In further reasoning he says:]
It is clear from the above, that, supposing the measurement of the
degrees to be conclusive, it is not reduced to such practical form
that the place where such and such a number of leagues correspond
to a degree can be told, nor is it easy to determine this; so that
it will be necessary, both sides concurring, to select persons and
instruments and the place for making the test. After these men had
been ordered to proceed, instruction and advice must be given them,
which being a huge matter and outside of the present discussion, I
shall not dwell upon. If such practical experience is not acquired,
then rightly and quite reasonably the measurement or size of degrees
used by the authors of tables, or of almanacs and daily calculations of
the stars, should be accepted; and such a view seems quite conclusive
to whomever is not obstinate, since it is proved that the diversity
of the relative positions of the superior bodies proceeds from the
difference between the places of observation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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