This is a map of the world as it was in 1492, prior to Christopher Columbus's voyage that discovered the American continent. The map shows the countries in existence at the time, as well as their borders. Fuzzy borders indicate less surety of the actual location of the boundary. Also shown are established cities, indigineous tribes that did not have centralized governments (countries), and important people. People shown fall into the categories of rulers, explorers, artists, and philosophers.