Controversial Peters projection On the traditional Mercator-projected world map, Europe appears much larger than South America, even though in reality it covers only a third of its area. Additionally, the map by the 16th-century geographer Mercator gives more emphasis to the northern hemisphere. East German cartographer Peters challenged this Eurocentric view by introducing a new world map in 1967. This map sought to accurately represent surface areas, resulting in Africa taking its rightful place at the centre of the map.
