Map Museum Project-Molly, Melanie, Julianne

Map Museum Project

Molly Feher, Melanie Herbert, Julianne Martin

Sea Chart for Europe and Northwest Africa

Melanie Herbert

The Sea Chart for Europe and Northwest Africa was made by Lucas Waghenaer in 1586 with a detailed coast line. Lucas Waghenaer was Dutch, and he was probably a type of sailor or navigator due to the immense detail on the coast as well as naming probably almost all significant ports throughout Europe and northwest Africa. However, it is important to note that it is not completely drawn to scale for example Denmark is larger than it actually is which might be partly because he is Dutch, his bias.

The map itself was probably also made for sailors or navigators like Lucas Waghenaer, although there is a small attempt at cartography. In this map there are multiple ports listed, this suggests that it was made for sailors or merchants who are trying to go to a specific port. On the other hand, the map has a detailed coast, that would allow sailors or merchants to know generally where they are if looking at shoreline. Moreover, the map was a part of a navigation reference book which means it will be read by all types of people; therefore, it makes sense that the map can be used universally by any sailor or merchant because it does not rely on the person looking at the map to understand all of the words written. Another unique attribute of this map is that it doesn’t use a grid lines; instead it uses a series of diagonal lines that create center points. I believe these center points could have to do with being a common sea root taken to get to certain places; therefore, I think these lines are more effective for this type of map because it could help sailors or merchants find the best root to get to different ports.

A little before the time period that Lucas Waghenaer made this map, Magellan goes around the world which demonstrates to the world that international trade is completely possible by sea. Also, a little after Lucas Waghenaer made this map, Dutch becomes very important in commercial activity, and is at its height of commercial activity starting around the year 1630. This map reflects this time period because it shows how many countries are expanding their horizons, and trading more by sea than ever before due to the age of exploration starting around the beginning of the 1500; therefore, it demonstrates that this map is an essential part of illustrating where different ports are and the type of terrain around them.

Palestine

Molly Feher

One can learn so many things from just observing and inferring a map. By looking at this map of Palestine circa 1475, I made some inferences about who the cartographer was, who the intended audience was, and the common cultural language of the map.

This Map of Palestine was printed in Germany in Augsburg in 1475. It was designed by a currently unknown cartographer. Whoever the cartographer was, he/she must have been all around Palestine. I can infer that this is the case because of the careful placement of the cities and their drawings paired with the names. He/she also must have visited city long enough to find out the religions of each city. The map also depicts conflict by showing all of the different religions near each other and the religions being different.

The possible audience for this map were most probably monks or pilgrims due to the locations and names of cities as mentioned earlier. This map also shows Bethlehem as the center and draws the eye there. This illustrates the map’s religious focus. Also due to the distance between the major cities depicted in the map, it demonstrates yet another reason why it could be useful for either monks or pilgrims. Although the sea and ports are not well represented, the map could still be used to somewhat guide where the cities are relative to the ports.

This map reflects the “cultural language” by expressing the time period it was made in through the look and information of the map. Because of the Great Schism in 1450 people were less reliant on their belief in the church so this map could have been used to encourage faith and trust in the church. We know this because Bethlehem is at the center of the map and it is very eye-catching because of its different color and size. This is a mostly religion centered map, so the spread of the Gutenberg Bible could have helped the monks and pilgrims in their travels.

It is interesting that this map is so accurate due to the fact that it was made before Columbus’ voyage in 1492. This map could have been used by many different types of people and it could have been made by any number of cartographers. This keeps the spirit alive and provides for more enjoyment of the map.

North America by Paolo Forlani (1565)

Julianne Martin

The transparent map project was designed to teach us how to put maps in context so that we could gain greater knowledge from them than simply the location of certain places. Although this map of North America is relatively accurate in comparison to others we had seen, it becomes much richer with the addition of historical background. The historical background we have found on this not allowed us to assess the theories and motivations of the cartographer, as well as the theories and motivations of the intended audience for the map.

At the time this map was created, Forlani had just changed his theory regarding the connection between North America and Asia. Whereas in his previous works Forlani had shown what is now Alaska being connected to the East Coast of Russia, this is the first map in which Forlani shows a strait separating the two. In addition to a simple lack of knowledge,there may have been economic motivations for the theory that North America and Asia were connected. Had this been the case, there would have been an easier flow of goods from Eurasia to North America and vice versa, allowing for greater economic prosperity throughout the world, but especially for the Western Europeans. Forlani may have made the strait separating North America and Eurasia especially small to keep the dream of easy trade between Eurasia and North America alive.

Although Forlani was originally Italian, he was commissioned by the Spanish crown to produce this map. The Spanish may have chosen to commission an Italian cartographer because Italy was the center of innovation in cartography after Ptolemy’s groundbreaking use of gridlines in his work. This map was specifically requested to record the expeditions of the Spanish conquistador, which explains the use of topographical details so as to help later explorers prepare for their journeys. Additionally, this map is the first to introduce the name Canada, which may have been coined by the conquistador and his men.