VMS -- Early Voyages

["Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bartolomeo Dias was the first Portuguese captain to set sail in 1487 to
voyage around the tip of South Africa into the Indian Ocean, followed by
Vasco da Gama who embarked from Lisbon in 1497 and contined his journey
around South Africa all the way to India. I do not find it unrealistic
to believe that the Botanical drawings identified in the VMS were based
on the observation of real plants, especially in light of recent close
'matches' to known plants. I still favor the 16th Century (probably the
second half) for the major development of the manuscript. It might have
taken a very long time to complete the document which may even have been
set aside for quite some time before being 'completed'.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/education/fact_explorer.html
http://www.thornr.demon.co.uk/kchrist/phenry.html
http://www.lex5.k12.sc.us/lmes/Explorers/sld044.htm
http://www.columbia.edu/~tdk3/chronology.html

Regards,
Dana Scott