IS THE ISLAND OF HY BRASIL REAL? Famous mistakes on old maps | A phantom island | History Calling

Today we ask, is the island of HY BRASIL real, or is this one of many famous mistakes on old maps and an example of a phantom island? The evidence for and therefore the history of the island of Hy Brasil, is rooted in its appearance on old maps from the 14th to the 19th centuries, but despite numerous expeditions to find it, it has never been located. Thanks to cartographers’ persistence in showing it however (usually off the west coast of Ireland and sometimes joined by the equally fanciful island of Mayda, aka Demar), along with some reported sightings and the occasional work of fiction dressed up as fact, an entire legend has grown up around what is supposedly a paradise inhabited by an old living in a castle and black rabbits and which only appears out of the mist on one day every seven years. What seems more likely is that was one of the countless mistakes on maps created before modern navigational instruments and that that the mythical island of Hy Brazil (as it is also sometimes spelt) is just that, a myth.

In this video from History Calling, we look at the evidence for the island of Hy-Brasil, including some beautiful old maps and written publications, as well as what modern science shows us through satellite images from NASA. Maps studied will include the Mapamondi of 1387, a portolan chart of Europe by Grazioso Benincasa from 1470, an image created by Abraham Ortelius (1570) and a 1769 map of Europe. By the end of the video we’ll have an answer to the question, what is Hy Brasil? Island, rock or legend? This video will also include a discussion of the famous but fictional story which many mistakenly cite as though it’s a real historical source, ‘O-Brazile or The inchanted island’. This was published in 1675 and written by Richard Head, but attributed to the invented figure of William Hamilton.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historycalling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historycalling/

SUBSCRIBE with NOTIFICATIONS switched on for new videos every Friday.

LEARN MORE:

Edward Brooke-Hitching, The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps (2016) https://amzn.to/3zs8XqK (UK LINK) OR https://amzn.to/3Au35yt (US LINK)

FREE article from the BBC website “'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker” [an amazing optical illusion caused by a temperature inversion]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-56286719

FREE transcript of Richard Head, O’Brazile, or the Enchanted Island, being a perfect relation of the late Discovery, and wonderful Dis-inchantment of an Island on the North of lreland, &c. (1675) http://research.ucc.ie/celt/document/T100076?segment=2

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

HISTORICAL MYSTERIES’ PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0H723r8TXWbRIoTnpAX1CGk

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF BENJAMIN BATHURST https://youtu.be/1sHq8c81NPY

THE STORY OF THE AMBER ROOM: LOST TREASURE OF WORLD WAR 2 https://youtu.be/DGvq4N1OhyE

THE 140 YEAR OLD COUNTESS OF DESMOND https://youtu.be/MhF97H4E0hs

WHY DID PEOPLE DANCE THEMSELVES TO DEATH? https://youtu.be/nWImzWylwCw

WHAT HAPPENED TO QUEEN ANNE’S CHILDREN? https://youtu.be/qUc0wmJGTgg

THUMBNAIL: Map of Northern Europe and the Arctic Sea. From the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Abraham Ortelius, UCLA Library digital collections, public domain (cropped)

NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.

Creative Commons licenses used see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Видео IS THE ISLAND OF HY BRASIL REAL? Famous mistakes on old maps | A phantom island | History Calling канала History Calling