How Did Mercator End Up In The 1538 World Map?

In the year 1538 Gerard Mercator was a young cartographer who was on his way to becoming an influential figure in not only cartography but in his history as well. Gerard Mercator is responsible for many new ideas in the fields of cartography, geography, and cosmography. In 1538 he created a piece labeled World Map 1538. This double cordiform map shows a differentiating style for maps during the 16th century. This map has influences from previous maps and cartographers. But also has many things that have stayed with maps through time and have helped influence future cartographers and geographers. But how did the pieces in this map end up in the 1538 World Map? And how did these features help or deter future maps that Mercator and others would create in the coming centuries?
This map shows an early workings of Mercator and his map making that he would continue with and create other well known maps such as the World Map 1569. This World Map was created on paper, not vellum like the Leardo Mappamundi. This map was created most likely for a non-religious person of the time. During this time period the Reformation was happening and the Catholic Church was going though reform. But this meant that the Church was on the look out for people perceiving to be taking part in a form of heresy. “To make a heart-shaped map in the first half of the sixteenth century was a clear statement of religious dissent.” This type of map making was thought to have people begin to question themselves and to wonder about the universe around them and how it actually may look compared to what the church was wanting them to believe. The person that commissioned Mercator to make this map was someone who wasn’t close with the church and didn’t feel a threat from them for having such a