126
What if America never existed
(i.imgur.com)
Maps have been around for centuries- they help us know what cultures were aware of in terms of their neighbors, other lands, and so on. Map making continues today, as we map other planets, the bottom of the seas, and continually produce high quality maps here that measure various aspects of culture, demographics, and geography.
We would if the focus of the map was to depict the routes of the first explorers.
Very good point!
Knowing the right distances would be extremely important for them. Columbus thought the world map looked like this, which is why he set out on his trip and why almost everyone in Portugal and Spain (rightfully) thought he was an idiot. He got lucky there was an entire continent between Europe and Asia.