Map Museum Project

Map Museum

Sam Severe and Kieran Jha

Map prior to 1492:

           

The map we chose prior to Columbus’s journey was a world map from Ptolemy’s book, “The Geographia”. This map was printed by Conrad Sweynheym and Arnold Buckinck in 1478. The common cultural language for this map is Latin because it was made in Rome and that was the language spoken during this time. There are allot of interesting things about this map, first of all a new process called copper plate engraving was used to produce and reproduce the map. The copper plate engraving processes was similar to the printing press. This map was for sale to the general public, because it could be reproduced so inexpensively. It is much more accurate and comprehensive than earlier maps, but it does have a few blatant faults.

In the map, the Indian Ocean is landlocked and that Shri-Lanka is the size of India and vice versa. The fact that the Indian Ocean was landlocked on this map shows that this was a time before anyone ventured into the Indian Ocean. What was included in this map gives people today an idea there was not much international trade because of their lack of knowledge of how the world was laid out. What struck us most about this map was that it is called a “world map” but only has Africa, most of Asia, and Europe. The map reflects the time period because they utilized the recently invented printing press and, even though the renaissance is coming to an end, the idea of questioning everything lead Ptolemy to create the most comprehensive and accurate map of the time. It also reflects how much of the world they discovered.

Map 16^th-18^th century focusing on Europe:  

          

  The map we chose the focuses on Europe during the 16^th-18^th century was a map made by Vincenzo Coronelli in 1688. The common cultural language of this map was Italian because Coronelli was from Venice. In 1678, Coronelli was commissioned to make a set of large globes and maps for the Duke of Parma which established his reputation as a fine mapmaker. The audience for this map in particular would most likely be someone of royalty or a noble.

What made us interested in this map was that this map differed from the previous map we chose because it was in color and the countries were represented more clearly. The use of color emphasizes borders and makes the map easier to be read accurately. This Map was made during the age of exploration, during which there was a lot of recorded travel. The map reflects this because it is in great detail and very accurate, even for today’s standards.

The map also agrees with the economics at the time. One example is that it shows America in the top left of the map, because during this time the Americas were an important part of the mercantilist system (especially England and Spain) and by putting America there it again represents the age of exploration. During this time period maps were held to a higher value because of their use for exploration and artistic expression. This lead to more accurate and artistic maps paid for by nobles and princes. This map is also very interesting because of the drawings and pictures that are within the map like the angels in the corners or the boat and sea monster in the North Sea. The use of pictures really shows the artistic side and how maps were not only used to figure where something was but to show the beauty of the world or whatever the map is focused on.

Map 16^th-18^th century: North America

           

We chose a map of North America which shows California as an island. This map was made by Henry Briggs in 1625. The common cultural language for this map is English because it was made by Briggs who was an English mathematician. The audience for this map was the King of England and his patrons. What interested us most about this map was that California was shown as an island. At first we thought that made California was actually at one point an island but after hearing the story of this map we knew the real reason. When this map was made no one had crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains so they just assumed California was an island. Henry Briggs was the first person to portray California as an island in a map, and since it agreed with the political agenda of England and Spain, it became widely known as a fact. Many mapmakers after Briggs made California an island because of his map. This went on until 1746 when the Spanish ruler decreed that California was not an island. This is a great example of the accuracy of the maps at this time.