Why do world maps always show the Americas on the west and Asia on the east?

Question

If the world is round can we make any point of the world the center in maps? Or is there a specific reason all the world maps show the continents in the same orientation?

In: 6

Answer 1

You can make maps any way you want, and there do exist maps in other arrangements such as Chinese maps tending to be centered on China. But most world maps you encounter are going to be in the same orientation not only because of European influence but because the Pacific Ocean is enormous and it is better to put the break on either edge of the map in an ocean than on a continent.