1. World Map 
For a map that dated before 1492, we decided to analyze The World Map (Ptolemy) by Johann Schnitzer, which was published in either 1482 or 1486 in the German city of Ulm. Johann Schnitzer of Armsheim was the woodcutter or engraver of the map, but not the actual cartographer. This world map is based on a map of a German geographer named Nicolaus Germanus. The map of Germanus was based on the world map of Ptolemy, which was created about a thousand years before Schnitzer’s map was published. Ptolemy (c. 90 AD - c. 168 AD) was a writer, mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. He was from the city of Alexandria, Egypt, which was part of the Roman Empire at the time of his life.
The way in which Schnitzer’s map varies from the world map of Ptolemy, is that Schnitzer's map extends North past the frame of the original world map by Ptolemy. Schnitzer’s map extends the Northern Sea above Europe to include Scandinavia, which creates a very interesting and unique looking map. This northern protrusion is one of the reasons why this map caught our eye. The common cultural language of this map was Latin, and all of the words in the map are written in Latin. A possible reason for why this map was written in Latin might have been due to Catholicism. This map was published prior to the occurrence of the protestant reformation in 1517, and thus all of Western Europe was united by the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity at the time when the map was published. The official language of the Church was Latin, and so Latin was a common language throughout Europe. The audience of the map is probably the people of Europe, but we think especially Northern Europe. This was the first world map published north of the Alps, and thus it was probably published for Northern Europeans.
The map itself reflects the time period. This map does not have a water passage between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans below Africa. This would make sense because the first European to discover that it was possible to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean via the southern tip of Africa was Diaz in 1488, after this map was published. This map also shows how important Christianity was at the time. The map is surrounded by what seems to be 12 angels, and they are the ones who are blowing and are responsible for the wind on Earth. Christianity is such a large part of people’s lives that they believe the angels are actually responsible for the wind. This “world map” of course is missing a very large part of the world, the Americas, because it was published before 1492, when Columbus “discovered” the new world. Finally, at the time when this map was published, Europe was coming out of its dark ages and was becoming more and more interested in the rest of the world. Europe was entering its age of exploration and thus maps like this one were probably becoming very popular and more in demand.
2. Lion Map
Our group decided to choose the map The Low Countries in the Form of a Lion for the map from the 16th-18th century focusing on Europe. The cartographer of the map from 1617 of The Low Countries in the Form of a Lion was Petrus Kaerius, also known as Pieter Van der Keere. Kaerius was born in Ghent but left for London, England for a time because of his religious beliefs. He eventually moved back to the Low Countries where he continued his trade as an engraver and cartographer. The common cultural language used on the map at that time was Latin, which was generally used on formal documents. Part of the map is written in that language. However, this map was often printed in other languages, depending on which country used it for their travels. The audience was likely the people of the Low Countries because the map focused on their territories. This map could have also been for explorers or traders who needed to know which routes to travel by to get to their destination safely. What originally got our attention to choose this map was the unusual shape of the lion. With the many maps in the museum in ordinary configurations, the lion’s different format made us stop to look at it. The shape of the lion, as mentioned in the paragraph posted on the wall, is to resemble the growing power of the Low Countries, specifically Netherlands, when they were finally becoming successful in their wars against the Spanish. What strikes us most about this map is that through research we discovered that the Dutch East India Company, originally created for trade, was established in the Netherlands in 1602, around the same time as the map. We can infer that the huge success of the Dutch East India Company created a huge need for accurate maps and charts for the purpose of trade and international travel to new colonies and possibly for exploration. The shape of the lion’s figure not only looks like the lion’s back, but also mirrors the shape of the sea coast of the area. This sea contains some sailing ships, as most would expect, but what a surprise to see a big sea monster exploding from the water which was a common belief of that time! It is interesting to note that the landmass by the lion’s tale is England, which shows how close it was to the Low Countries. Kaerius also included figures at the base of the map dressed in clothing of that era which not only decorates the map further, but also gives the viewer a glimpse into what people wore in that time period. Some historians believe that the anger in the lion’s pose and the shape of the mouth resembles the shape of Germany at that time, possibly demonstrating that the relationship between the countries wasn’t exactly on the greatest terms.
3. North America Map 
Our group decided to do the map North America for the section that focuses on a region other than Europe in the 16th - 18th. This map of North America by Louis Hennepin in 1698 breaks from his earlier maps by making California into a island. The audience for this map would be other cartographers and explorers seeing yet another view of how North America was laid out. The common cultural language was probably French due to Louis Hennepin’s connections and the fact that many of the places marked on the map are written in French. It strikes us that this map is really quite accurate for that time except for a huge error depicting California as an island apart from the rest of the mainland. The configuration of most of the North American territory and especially the Caribbean is very similar to the maps we see today. We also noticed that while the North American territory as a whole is very precise to what it looks like today, the territories inside it, like Florida, are slightly different to what they are today, with certain ones being larger or in slightly different places. It is interesting to note that the top of South America seems to be accurately shaped as well, and is also placed where modern maps generally locate it. An insert at the top left corner of this map represents a small section of Asia. Even at this early time so many locations could be identified and drawn out which is pretty amazing considering the technology available at this time. There had been much debate over the subject of whether California was attached to the mainland at the time, but many cartographers were convinced California was an island. This is because of the voyages of Sebastian Vizcaino and Father Antonio de la Ascension who had written a journal of their voyages, claiming that California was separate from the American continent. This claim led to the start of the practice of mapping California as an island in 1622, and the map North America is an example of a map that did so. Although it was supposedly known, the idea of California being an island wasn’t universally accepted until the commercial Dutch publishers believed in the claim of California being an island. California had been depicted on maps as an island for more than 100 years and it wasn’t until 1741 when Ferdinand VIII proposed a royal edict declaring California a part of the mainland.
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