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Five countries whose names were foolishly invented
1. Greenland.
No one has ever wondered why Greenland is a huge island, often covered with glacier, called Greenland (Norwegian Grönland), which means “Green Land”. It seems that the Vikings who discovered it, a little overwisted with geographical landmarks and confused it with Ireland or Britain. But sources tell us a more interesting story. . .
According to the chronicler Ari the Wise, who lived in the XI century, Greenland got its name from the light hand of its discoverer Eric the Red, who wanted a promising name to attract colonists there. After all, even the Vikings needed a reason to swim.
However, there is another version, according to which in the X century the climate in Greenland was indeed more hospitable than today, and the coastal areas of the southwest of the island, which Erik saw, were covered with dense grassy vegetation.
2. Madagascar. Madagascar owes its name to the Italian traveler Marco Polo, who confused it with the peninsula. Apparently, studying the sources, he correlated in his descriptions "Madagasikaru" (the island of Madagascar) with the territory of Mogadishi - the current name of the capital of Somalia. This is not surprising, because despite his colorful descriptions of the local nature and fauna, he himself has never been there.
3. Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands in Melanesia were discovered by the Spaniard Medanha de Nera in the XVI century. Having exchanged gold from local residents, he compared the new land with the legendary biblical land of Ophir, from where jewels and diamonds were allegedly brought for the temple of Solomon. According to the Holy Scriptures, ships to Ophir were sent just in this direction from the ports of the Red Sea.
Whether Medanya really believed that he discovered the land of the mines of King Solomon, or just by the way he had a beautiful story, is unknown. But, it is worth noting that the legend of Ophir was really common in those days.
4. Australia. The name of Australia did not live up to the expectations of its discoverers, who believed that they had finally found Terra Australis Incognita, the southernmost Earth, traditionally depicted on maps from ancient times to the XVIII century. Its outline disappeared from the maps after the voyage of James Cook in 1772, who stated that if the southern mainland existed, it was located very close to the polis and was of no value.
Before that, the people of Europe believed that the southern land was suitable for life. Its outlines on ancient maps were accompanied by images of mountains, rivers and lakes. In 1770, shortly before Cook’s discovery, the English navigator Alexander Dalrymple wrote a work in which he gave evidence that the population of the southern continent exceeded 50 million people.
In general, thanks to the well-known and popular myth, Australia remained Australia, translated as “Southern Land”. This term was used by the traveler, Matthew Flinders, who first explored the Australian coast.
5. Brazil. Brazil also owes its name to the legendary land - the island of Brasil (O'Brasil and Hy-Brasil) from Irish mythology. At least that’s what one version says. The mythological island in the Atlantic Ocean was plotted on many maps of the XIV-XVII centuries. Most often he was depicted west of Ireland.
The legendary island promised great prospects, as it was considered the island of the Blessed, the Promised Land. Therefore, expeditions in search of him were undertaken repeatedly. He also represented many newly discovered lands. One of them, obviously, could be Brazil, which amazed the discoverers with its abundance.
According to another version, the name “Brazil” appeared in 1510, when a Lisbon merchant established a trade of local red wood with the mother country. The Portuguese called the valuable tree pau-brasil (from the Portuguese brasa - heat, coals), because they decided that they found the place from which the Arabs took the red tree, known in Europe since the XII century.
source:nlo-mir.ru
Source: /users/1
No one has ever wondered why Greenland is a huge island, often covered with glacier, called Greenland (Norwegian Grönland), which means “Green Land”. It seems that the Vikings who discovered it, a little overwisted with geographical landmarks and confused it with Ireland or Britain. But sources tell us a more interesting story. . .
According to the chronicler Ari the Wise, who lived in the XI century, Greenland got its name from the light hand of its discoverer Eric the Red, who wanted a promising name to attract colonists there. After all, even the Vikings needed a reason to swim.
However, there is another version, according to which in the X century the climate in Greenland was indeed more hospitable than today, and the coastal areas of the southwest of the island, which Erik saw, were covered with dense grassy vegetation.
2. Madagascar. Madagascar owes its name to the Italian traveler Marco Polo, who confused it with the peninsula. Apparently, studying the sources, he correlated in his descriptions "Madagasikaru" (the island of Madagascar) with the territory of Mogadishi - the current name of the capital of Somalia. This is not surprising, because despite his colorful descriptions of the local nature and fauna, he himself has never been there.
3. Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands in Melanesia were discovered by the Spaniard Medanha de Nera in the XVI century. Having exchanged gold from local residents, he compared the new land with the legendary biblical land of Ophir, from where jewels and diamonds were allegedly brought for the temple of Solomon. According to the Holy Scriptures, ships to Ophir were sent just in this direction from the ports of the Red Sea.
Whether Medanya really believed that he discovered the land of the mines of King Solomon, or just by the way he had a beautiful story, is unknown. But, it is worth noting that the legend of Ophir was really common in those days.
4. Australia. The name of Australia did not live up to the expectations of its discoverers, who believed that they had finally found Terra Australis Incognita, the southernmost Earth, traditionally depicted on maps from ancient times to the XVIII century. Its outline disappeared from the maps after the voyage of James Cook in 1772, who stated that if the southern mainland existed, it was located very close to the polis and was of no value.
Before that, the people of Europe believed that the southern land was suitable for life. Its outlines on ancient maps were accompanied by images of mountains, rivers and lakes. In 1770, shortly before Cook’s discovery, the English navigator Alexander Dalrymple wrote a work in which he gave evidence that the population of the southern continent exceeded 50 million people.
In general, thanks to the well-known and popular myth, Australia remained Australia, translated as “Southern Land”. This term was used by the traveler, Matthew Flinders, who first explored the Australian coast.
5. Brazil. Brazil also owes its name to the legendary land - the island of Brasil (O'Brasil and Hy-Brasil) from Irish mythology. At least that’s what one version says. The mythological island in the Atlantic Ocean was plotted on many maps of the XIV-XVII centuries. Most often he was depicted west of Ireland.
The legendary island promised great prospects, as it was considered the island of the Blessed, the Promised Land. Therefore, expeditions in search of him were undertaken repeatedly. He also represented many newly discovered lands. One of them, obviously, could be Brazil, which amazed the discoverers with its abundance.
According to another version, the name “Brazil” appeared in 1510, when a Lisbon merchant established a trade of local red wood with the mother country. The Portuguese called the valuable tree pau-brasil (from the Portuguese brasa - heat, coals), because they decided that they found the place from which the Arabs took the red tree, known in Europe since the XII century.
source:nlo-mir.ru
Source: /users/1
