Eric Bender: What fun!

Not all islands on vintage maps do actually exist.

Brazil

Once upon a time, there was an island called Brazil south east of Ireland:

• 1542 brazill in gold
• 1562 Isola de brazil
• 1572 von Abraham Ortelius
  • Frislandia does not exist either
• 1586 eine namenlose Insel
• 1586 Brasijl
• 1613 Basil
• 1630 Brazil
  • maybe it does: Frisland again
• 1650 Brazil
  
  
• In case you wonder: Here was Brazil in 1828
• Today, the Porcupine Bank, 200m below sea level, is associated with the phantom island of Brazil.

Bonus: Brazil – the movie

California

When California was an island:

• CaliFornia von Johannes Vinckeboons, um 1650
• Le Nuoveau Mexique 1656

down here :: The definitive idea of California as an island originated in the mind of a Carmelite Priest, Father Antonio Ascension, from the tale of a pilot, Morena, who told his tale to Sir Francis Drake.
Father Ascensio, in 1620, had drawn a map, picturing his idea of the geography, and sent is back to his headquartes in Spain. On the long sea trip, the Spanish ship was overhauled and captured by Dutch pirates, and among other treasures was taken this chart. Strangely enough, the pirates thought it important and evidently carried it back to Amsterdam, then the map-making center of the world.

• America 1684
• Americae von Johannes Homann, 1715
• America von Iean Covens ca. 1730
• America cum Supplementis Poly-Glottis 1730

In a sense this predicts the St. Andreas Fault by aeras

Korea

Even the peninsula of Korea looked like an island here:

• Korea 1650

Other Projects of the Chrono Research Lab

• 
  Chronoscope World – 8.850 vintage maps
• 
  Chrono CityTour
• 
  Projekt Sternschanze
• 
  ChronoVolcano3D