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Chapter 05 of 5

The Erasure of the World

The high-stakes hunts that finally scrubbed the map of its ghosts.

1. The Great Cleanup

   Cartographic Exorcism

   By the late 18th century, the era of 'filling' the map ended. The new mission was to delete the ghosts of the past.

2. Turning Point

   Captain Cook’s Scythe

   Explorer James Cook didn't just find new lands; he spent years sailing 'through' where islands were supposed to be.

3. The South Sea

   Deleting Terra Australis

   Cook's second voyage finally proved the massive, fertile southern continent was a myth, replacing it with the icy reality of Antarctica.