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Why Was Traditional Navigation Impossible in the South Atlantic?

Traditional Navigation required EITHER regular winds and currents OR
an easy-to-follow continental shelf. The South Atlantic had neither.
  1. No Winds or Currents to follow

    The South Atlantic had neither trade winds nor predictable set of currents that could be followed southward. Instead currents and winds flowed contrary to the southward direction navigators wanted to sail. Folk traditions of nautical star maps or traditional sailors' knowledge were also absent.
     

  2. No Continental Shelf to follow

    Africa's narrow continental ledge provided no alternative for sailors attempting to sail southward in the face of countervailing winds and currents.   Africa's narrow continental ledge | South China Sea's Coastal Shelf | Ocean Currents | Atlantic Ocean Winds | Home page