Note 377 — Chapter IX · 1504-1524.

In Verrazzano’s geographical explanation of the voyage, he assigns 62½ miles to a degree and 4 miles to a marine league. According to this data, 15⅝ marine leagues equal a degree. On Thevet’s map of the fourth part of the world, printed in 1575, is a scale of leagues which shows that a marine league was double the length of a French league. With this information it is easy to ascertain the length of a degree in French leagues of Verrazzano’s day; 31¼, according to his explanation, equalling a degree. Columbus made 56⅔ miles equal an equinoctial degree and 60 miles equal to 15 leagues. Pigafetta assigned 17½ leagues to a degree. “The land-league is three miles,” he says, “the sea-league is four.” The modern nautical league is one-twentieth of a degree, or three equatorial miles or 3.45785 statute miles. A sea-mile, according to the United States standard, is equal to 1.152664 common statute or land-miles. One degree of longitude at the equator is equal to 69.160 land-miles. A French geographical league, according to Verrazzano’s reckoning, equals 2⅕ land-miles of the United States standard.