For a modern person who knows what the Earth looks like not only from a bird's eye view, but also from space, it is difficult to imagine that there were times when young humanity did not have the slightest idea about the oceans, continents, or peoples , inhabiting them. When did everything change? And who were the first sailors who risked going out to the open sea? But all the sacrifices and efforts of the brave discoverers would have been in vain if people had not learned to make maps and navigate by the stars. So who owns the honor of creating the science of cartography and the first navigation manuals? Well, when full-fledged maps were created, the boundaries of the world expanded and the natural result of this was the discovery of the New World. So what were Europeans looking for in the New World? And do fairy tales always lie?