It is unintentional since the Mercator map is designed for accurate sea navigation, and its very easy to reproduce and print on a flat paper map, so the size of the continents is just due to mathematics. However there is definitely an anglo-centric influence as to why the map is propagated to the degree it is.
Also if you want to have a Mercator map that doesn’t split any continents in half, I think centering it close to the Atlantic or the Pacific are the only ways to go.
It is unintentional since the Mercator map is designed for accurate sea navigation, and its very easy to reproduce and print on a flat paper map, so the size of the continents is just due to mathematics. However there is definitely an anglo-centric influence as to why the map is propagated to the degree it is.
Behold, Nipponcentrism
Also if you want to have a Mercator map that doesn’t split any continents in half, I think centering it close to the Atlantic or the Pacific are the only ways to go.