World map prepared by ortelius11/17/2023 After the extensive lands south of the Caribbean were recognized to constitute an entirely new continent-called America-Europeans still thought of the little known northward lands as being the Asian islands. Münster’s title, Novae Insulae or “new islands,” reflects the initial belief that Columbus had reached the supposed islands off Asia. It also includes a very early appearance of the Straits of Magellan, along with his ship Victoria in the Pacific Ocean. Münster’s Novae Insulae, the most widely disseminated and influential map of the Americas during the mid-sixteenth century, is the earliest map to show all of North and South America in a truly separate, continental form. In contrast to the geographic sophistication of Novaya Zemlya and Asia, the map also contains the mythical island of Frisland (Friesland) in the northwest Atlantic, the mythical Estotiland of the apocryphal 14th-century voyage by the Venetian brothers Zeno, as well as thirty-four illustrations of sea monsters.ĭeliniatio Cartae Trium navigationum per Batavos, ad Septentriionalem plagam, Norvegiae, Moscoviae, et novae Semblae…Willem Barents van Amstelredam de vermaerde Piloot It exhibits a sophisticated understanding of the polar coasts of Europe as far east as Novaya Zemlya (“New World” in Russian.) Further to the east, beyond the speculated coasts of Asia, lies the apocryphal Strait of Anian, the supposed gateway to the North West Passage. Universalior Cogniti Orbis Tabula ex Regentibus Confecta ObservationibusĪ major landmark in Arctic cartography, this map depicts the details of Barentsz’ third voyage of 1596-7, including many of his geographic discoveries, such as Spitsbergen. The treatment of India, Eastern Asia and Africa are all considerably modernized from the maps of Ptolemy. Interestingly, the island above Norway shows remarkable similarities to Svalbard, which would not be discovered until 1597 by Willem Barentsz. The polar regions show four large land masses in the Polar Sea, constituting the first serious attempt to depict these regions on a printed map, partly based on reports in the book Inventio Fortunata of the English friar Nicholas of Lynne. The explored regions of North America ( Terra Nova, Venlant, etc.) indicate John Cabot’s exploration of Newfoundland, but remain attached to the Asian continent consistent with the theories espoused by Christopher Columbus. Ruysch adopts Amerigo Vespucci’s name Mundus Novus (New World) in South America as well as Terra Sanctae Crucis. Universalior Cogniti Orbis Tabula…, 1507ĭepicted using Ptolemy’s first projection (coniform), Ruysch’s world map incorporates the discoveries of the Portuguese, Spanish, and English explorers in America as well as information from Marco Polo’s account of his travels. Additionally, the island of Zampagv (Japan) appears for only the second time on a printed map.ģ. The islands of Cuba and Hispanola appear overly large and surrounded by numerous small, unnamed islands. South America, of which only the eastern coast is shown, is named Terra Sanctae Crucis, but bears no additional place names. The world map that Sylvanus produced was the first in an edition of Ptolemy’s Geograhia to show the newly discovered Americas. The resulting effect was an unusual hybrid of classical and modern information. Sylvanus set out to update Ptolemy’s maps with modern information, often from contemporary manuscript sources. This 1511 world map is the first to use Sylvanus’s distinctive cordiform (heart-shaped) projection and is from the first atlas to use two-color woodblock printing. Twelve windheads ring the map, each of which is named. However, the Portuguese discoveries in Africa are omitted and the map retains a land-locked Indian Ocean, with a land bridge or unknown southern continent connecting Asia and Africa. It follows the manuscript map of Germanus from the 1470s and includes information about Scandinavia, based on Caudius Clavius’s map of 1427. While Ptolemaic in construction, the map does reflect some modern updates. It is a map of many firsts: the first map of the world printed north of the Alps the first to appear in color and the first world map signed by its engraver, Johanne Schnitzer. This version of Ptolemy’s 1482 world map is possibly the most famous and highly sought-after of all 15th-century world maps.
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