The historical maps show the evolution and territorial expansion of Brazil and the Western Hemisphere from the discovery to the independence of Brazil.
Learn about the historical facts that made Brazil emerge from a continental archipelago.
When Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on the coast of the land that would become Brazil, on 22 April 1500, his goal was not to conquer new lands – the essential goal of the Portuguese Crown was then the control of the eastern spice route.
Map of the Western Hemisphere of 1550
In order to consolidate the Portuguese settlement in this colony, it was necessary to face the threat of new rivals, the French adventurers, navigators mainly from Normandy, who established trading posts and concluded alliances with the indigenous people.
This rivalry led the Crown to undertake a policy of systematic colonisation and was one of the reasons for the creation of the “hereditary captaincies” in 1532.
By assigning vast portions of the new colony to Portuguese nobles, the king hoped that they would be able to confirm by 1559 his sovereignty, the scope of which was limited, over a few points of coastal settlement between Itamaracá (north of the present-day city of Recife) and São Vicente (São Paulo).
It was in this context that risky attempts at colonisation by France and the Netherlands took place, until the latter turned to the Antilles and transformed them into the “sugar islands”, thus largely causing the crisis of the Brazilian sugar economy.
The continent was then much less interesting, and the new colonial powers, France, Holland and England, were satisfied with the Guianas.
It was therefore thanks more to the disinterest of its rivals than to its own energy that Portugal was able to consolidate a vast continental empire.
One cannot underestimate a famous period in colonial history, the bandeiras, those expeditions launched across the continent, with the distant blessing of the Crown, which contributed greatly to extending Portuguese rule.
Their main focus was a settlement born around a college founded by the Jesuits. São Paulo.
From this village, where more Tupi than Portuguese was spoken, expeditions set out, made up of a handful of whites grouped around a flag, a few dozen mestizos and, above all, allied Indians, who knew the old trails and the natural resources that could be used along the way better than the Portuguese.
Favoured by the topography, since the tributaries of the Paraná led them inland, these expeditions lasted for years, during which the bandeirantes travelled hundreds of kilometres, sometimes stopping to plant corn or manioc… and wait for the harvest.
From the tributaries of the left bank of the Paraná, these long-distance expeditions travelled south to the Rio de la Plata, west up the tributaries of the right bank, or north via the Amazon network.
The reason for these adventures was obviously the hope of profit, because they wanted to capture Indians for the sugar cane plantations on the coast. The bandeirantes soon came into conflict with Portuguese Jesuits and, above all, the Spanish, because the mission villages where they tried to gather and catechise the Indians were tempting prey.
Later, they turned to prospecting for precious metals and stones, discovering the gold deposits of Minas Gerais at the end of the 18th century, followed by those of Goiás in 1718 and Mato Grosso in 1725.
However, other reasons must be considered, such as the taste for war and violence. So much so that in the conflicts against the Indians in the interior of the Northeast, as well as in the war against the Dutch, the Paulistas were present, volunteers or summoned. Finally, there was the taste for adventure and exploration.
How can we understand without it these endless and dangerous wanderings in totally unknown territories?
The bandeiras played a fundamental role in the expansion of Portuguese rule and contributed greatly to giving the country, which was born in 1822, an extension close to that of today.
Without them, the successes of the Portuguese diplomats who obtained de jure et facto recognition of the occupation would obviously not have been possible.
The battle, however, was not yet fully won, for this immense country remained fragile and was at risk if royal authority weakened. Napoleon I was one of the – unwitting – artisans of Brazilian unity at a time when the Spanish empire was breaking up.
The decision taken by the Portuguese Court to take refuge in Brazil to escape the threat of Napoleonic armies is one of the great “bifurcations” between the fate of Brazil and that of Latin America.
At the same time, the King of Spain chose to remain, which contributed to the division of his empire.
Had Dom João VI decided differently, one can imagine, given the natural diversity of Brazilian territory and the great variety of economic cells created between 1500 and 1808, that this space could have given rise to a series of Lusophone countries of a size and originality largely comparable to the old subdivisions of the Spanish empire.
In Salvador and Recife, in the cities of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, groups were ready to do as their counterparts in Lima, Mexico City, Quito and Bogotá had done.
However, the established imperial power had diplomatic power vis-à-vis England and military power vis-à-vis the separatist and abolitionist movements that broke out to maintain slavery in the unity of the new country for longer.
The “slavery weld” was of interest to the regional oligarchies who, alone and in the formation of new countries, possibly republican, would not be able to maintain the lucrative and repugnant practice of enslaving people.
The Brazil that was born with Independence, proclaimed on 7 September 1822, had everything to surprise an outside observer; indeed, foreign travellers expressed their admiration for this paradox: an immense country with marked economic and human diversity, but which at the same time maintained a profound political unity.
Yet despite this unity, and as massive and immense as it is, Brazil has long functioned (and still does, in many ways) as an archipelago.
Its economic history, for more than four centuries, has consisted, as Celso Furtado has shown, of a series of economic cycles, a succession of major productions that successively formed the bulk of its exports: sugar in the 17th century, gold at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, coffee in the 19th and 20th centuries, rubber at the beginning of the 20th century.
The formation of the Brazilian archipelago is due to this succession of speculations, because each of them affected a different region of the country: sugar, the Northeast; gold, Minas Gerais; coffee, the Southeast; rubber, the Amazon.
Each one left its mark, allowing the settlement of regions that had hitherto been almost empty, giving a style to social relations and the organisation of space in these regions.
The consequences of the formation by cycles do not end with this heterogeneity, but imply a certain functioning of the entire national territory. Throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, independent Brazil remained a collection of juxtaposed agro-export cells, a mosaic of quasi-autonomous regions formed at the height of these cycles.
Each cell centred on the production of one type of export, drained by a network of transport routes to a seaport, was in turn made up of smaller productive cells formed by large farms or plantations.
One can literally speak of a Brazilian archipelago economy, since these cells communicated only by cabotage along the coast.
This was proven when Brazil joined the Allies in the Second World War: a few German submarines were enough to cut off any link between Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, and therefore between the north and south of the country, since there was no internal route, apart from the precarious São Francisco waterway.
However, the history of the formation of the territory is not limited to these cycles. Understanding it presupposes taking into account several other factors, such as the dynamism of the bandeirantes, the efforts of the missionaries, the patient expansion of the cattle ranchers and the tenacious political and administrative will of the Portuguese Crown.
The foundations – the 16th and 17th centuries The country’s first serious economic base was sugar production. The climate and soils proved to be excellent, and the Portuguese thus found the great export product that justified and allowed a solid occupation.
The demand for this rare, light and easily stored product was intense. In fact, in the first half of the 17th century, Brazil became the world’s leading sugar producer.
The consequences of this expansion were manifold. Firstly, it was necessary to import enslaved Africans in order to cultivate sugar cane: the first arrived in 1532, and the trade continued for three centuries, until Britain enforced its ban in 1842. Starting in the Gulf of Guinea, and then Angola and Mozambique, millions of Africans were moved to work on Brazil’s plantations.
On another scale, the sugar cycle generated secondary cycles that marked other spaces. In order to pay for slaves, the Portuguese settlers in Brazil needed a commodity of exchange.
This was not the classic “triangular trade” with products from the metropolis, but direct exchange, with payment in tobacco: the Recôncavo Baiano, a region near Salvador, specialised in this production.
It was also necessary to produce food for the slaves. In the sugar region, no one wanted to waste time or space for food production and also raise oxen to drive the mills that crushed the cane.
These needs led to the creation of specialised zones: food crops in the agreste (the transition zone to the dry interior) and extensive cattle breeding in the sertão.
In this vast semi-arid zone, agricultural production was impossible, and cattle breeding made it possible to conquer it by travelling up the rivers, notably the São Francisco.
The formation of a northeastern complex, whose features have survived unchanged by any subsequent cycle, dates from this period and this economic cycle.
The first basis of the economy was therefore sugar, and the unity of Brazil owed much to the political control of the territory exercised by the Crown. However, its expansion was thanks to its explorers and its cattle ranchers.
The task of actually extending the territory, of occupying it, of tracing certain and lasting routes, was the task of the cattle ranchers. There was a fulminant conquest, a veritable territorial explosion, whose consolidation and valorisation came thanks to their patient efforts to establish roads, farms and inns. Present since the sugar era, the cattle ranchers had occupied the semi-arid forest of the sertão, raising oxen to supply the plantations of the coast with dried meat, leather and the animals needed to turn the mills of the mills.
The gold mines also needed them, and the expansion of cattle breeding continued inland, to the north and south.
Cattle ranchers, who had already occupied the upper São Francisco before the discovery of gold, strengthened their presence because the mines were new markets. This cattle breeding, supported by the established roads and markets, gave a decisive impetus to the extension of Portuguese rule to the south against the Spanish.
It was therefore livestock farming, rather than gold, that helped expand the Brazilian territory, so much so that it lasted after the collapse of the gold rush, creating roads and stable support points: the ranches were fixed, lasting establishments, useful supports in these immense expanses.
From there, cattle travelled to the coast along fixed paths from river to river, the “boiadeiras” (cattle roads), comparable to the trails of the American West.
Along these tracks, which laid down the layout of today’s roads, villages offered stages, pastures for resting or fattening and periodic fairs.
Many of them became large cities, such as Feira de Santana (Bahia) or Campina Grande (Paraíba). A world without slaves, violent but more egalitarian than the world of plantations and mines, the world of cattle breeding extended the sugar and gold zones – a mobile but organised frontier where the pioneering spirit of the bandeirantes was maintained, consolidating and homogenising the space they had conquered.
Expansion and consolidation – 18th and 19th centuries
However, the immense Amazon basin had yet to be conquered to give the country its current size, and this was done from the end of the 18th century onwards. The Portuguese Crown had taken possession of the mouth of the Amazon in response to the threat of foreign corsairs.
Then there was a double movement, that of the military and the Jesuits, both of whom set up their establishments, forts or missions further and further upriver.
They were both anxious to advance as quickly as possible, because at the same time other soldiers and other missionaries were also making progress in the Amazon basin – the emissaries of the King of Spain.
Thanks to this dispute, which continued even when the crowns of Spain and Portugal had united (Iberian Union: 1580 -1640), progress was rapid, despite meagre resources.
The fort of Manaus was founded in 1669, and missions spread along the entire river from the mid-17th century onwards. When the Jesuits were expelled in 1661, the conquest was practically complete.
In the 18th century, the movement expanded, progressing along the tributaries.
Economic exploitation was limited to hunting and the extraction of certain plants, roots, rubber and resins, and dreams of wealth, fuelled by recurring myths (Lake Pari-ma, the Eldorado), never materialised.
The driving force behind the conquest was the desire of the Portuguese, agents of the Crown and the Church, to extend their dominion.
Two factors favoured this ambition. On the one hand, it was easier to advance upstream, benefiting from the free navigation of the Amazon basin, while in Spanish domains the Andes mountain range constituted a formidable obstacle.
On the other hand, Spanish resistance was weak and discontinuous, because the Amazon had little weight in an empire based mainly on the populations and mines of Peru and Mexico, whose lines of communication passed more through the Caribbean and the River Plate than through this remote and uncomfortable river.
In 1750, in the Treaty of Madrid, which defined and delimited the Spanish and Portuguese empires in certain areas. The territorial expansion since Tordesillas is notorious.
The 19th and early 20th centuries were marked by the latest “cycles”, which undoubtedly contributed most to shaping the territory.
The shortest was the rubber boom. World demand for tyres grew very quickly with the development of the motor car, and a whole system was set up to satisfy it.
At the top were the import-export houses of Belém and Manaus, and at the bottom were the rubber tappers.
Most of them came from the north-east, less attracted by rubber than driven out by the terrible drought that devastated the sertão from 1877 onwards.
More than a million northeasterners thus came to settle in the Amazon, and many stayed after the collapse of the rubber system. This was proof that the Brazilian population had reached its critical mass and was already large enough to feed internal currents from the more consolidated regions to the new lands, without relying entirely on immigration.
From 1910 onwards – when the Amazon was producing 80% of the world’s rubber – the English and Dutch plantations of South-East Asia reached maturity, and their production was more regular and less expensive than Amazonian extraction.
During this short period, the Brazilian Amazon was explored and expanded, and the pioneering advances were made official by treaties with most of the neighbouring countries, such as the one of 1903, which allowed the annexation of Acre.
It was also populated: its population rose from 300,000 to 1,500,000 between 1872 and 1920. Deprived of rubber resources, it fell into lethargy, which it only emerged from in the early 1970s.
In the same period, the coffee boom transformed the south of the country and ensured its economic take-off.
Introduced to Brazil in the 18th century, coffee developed magnificently.
At a time when world demand for the new beverage was increasing, the country could offer climates and soils well suited to the requirements of this delicate plant, thus finding the new resource it lacked to boost the economy again.
This new crop could also utilise the old systems, those of sugar cane, and initially did not cause any change in structure. The coffee plantations, originally near Rio de Janeiro, gradually spread to Minas Gerais and, especially through the Paraíba do Sul valley, to São Paulo.
Coffee found its favourite land in the western highlands, where, under intact forests, fertile soils, the famous terra roxa, the earth reddened by the decomposition of basalt, extended.
However, the coffee cycle was not a late, southern replica of the sugar cycle.
The plantation slave system, dominated by the casa-grande, was already an unbearable anachronism in the 19th century.
Externally, Britain, for various reasons, some noble and others not so noble, was leading the campaign for the abolition of slavery and imposing a ban on trafficking on all seas.
It was also unbearable internally, for the intellectual elites, whose point of view, supported by humanitarian and practical considerations, ended up influencing the emperor’s decision.
The fall of the Empire followed the abolition of slavery, proclaimed in 1888, and this not fortuitous conjunction marked Brazil’s entry into a new era on all levels.
Coffee growing was initially disrupted by the end of slavery, but the answer was quickly found: the poorly qualified and obviously unmotivated slave labour force was replaced by a salaried or contract labour force made up essentially of Europeans, whose immigration was organised and partly funded by the farmers and the São Paulo government.
This sudden influx of population made it possible to extend the plantations and, in a short time, the whole system was organised around the railway, which made it possible to advance the deforestation front and export coffee.
A network of regularly spaced towns was built on the spikes of the western plateaus.
This new economic cycle profoundly altered the country’s structures. Like the previous cycles, it dominated the national economy almost exclusively, shaped a new region, and then began to decline.
However, new factors had been introduced which would allow the development process to continue on other bases, and the former coffee region is now notable for many other activities which ensure it an overwhelming supremacy in the Brazilian economy.
This long succession of cycles has left the country deeply marked in its regional structure and in its style of development.
Traces of the cycles are still clearly visible in the Brazilian archipelago, as the shift in the centre of gravity has left behind three types of regions. Those that are just ruins of previous cycles, those that were able to survive their end and, finally, those in which dynamic activities, resources and power are accumulated.
The regional imbalances that are so evident in Brazil are largely products of this contrasted history.
The current organisation of Brazilian space therefore incorporates the legacies of its economic history, the genesis of its economy and society.
After the coffee cycle, the Southeast benefited from the accumulated conditions that were fundamental for the industrial development that changed the rhythm of Brazilian economic history.
Historical maps showing the territorial evolution of the Western Hemisphere and Brazil from 1550 to 1888.
Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1550 – Sebastian Munster (1489 – 1552) was one of the three most renowned cartographers of the 16th century, along with Mercator and Ortelius. Munster’s Geographia and Cosmographia Universalis were two of the most widely read and influential books of the period. His editions of Ptolemy’s Geographia, published between 1540 and 1552, were illustrated with 48 woodcut maps, the 27 standard Ptolemaic maps complemented by 21 new maps. These new maps included a separate map of each of the known continents and marked the development of regional cartography in Central Europe. Ancient Geography was a prelude to Munster’s main work, the Cosmographia, which was published in almost 30 editions in six languages between 1544 and 1578 and then revised and re-edited by Sebastian Petri from 1588 to 1628. The Cosmographia was a geographical reference as well as a historical and ethnographic description of the world. It contained the maps from the Geographia plus additional regional maps and city views with almost 500 illustrations that made it one of the most popular pictorial encyclopaedias of the 16th century. This map of the New World is often credited with popularising the name America due to the popularity of Munster’s Cosmographia and the numerous editions published in the 16th century. The influence of Marco Polo’s explorations of Asia in the 13th century is evident with the 7,448 islands in the North Pacific and Zipangri (Japan) shown a short distance off the west coast of North America. The North American continent has a very strange shape without a California land mass and the eastern region is almost divided by a body of water, known as the Verrazzano Sea. The Yucatan is still shown as an island, Cozumel is named nearby as Cozumela, and Lake Temistitan (unnamed in this state) is connected to the Gulf of Mexico. South America has a large bulge on the west coast, the Amazon River is very short and cannibals inhabit the continent shown with the name Canibali next to a gruesome vignette with human limbs. The map is very decorative, with Magellan’s surviving ship Victoria appearing in the Pacific. The flags of Spain and Portugal represent their respective spheres of influence in the New World. This is the 5th state by Burden and the 4th state by Kershaw, with the place names Temistitan in Mexico and Insula Atlantica in South America.Map of Brazil from 1554 – This fascinating pictorial map is one of the first regional maps of Brazil available. Illustrated with north on the right, the map is filled with vignettes depicting native life, rather than focussing on geographical information. Native Indians are shown with bows and arrows, axes, llamas and hammocks, for which Brazilians are well known. The surrounding ocean is filled with French and Portuguese ships and sea monsters. Along the coast, Europeans are depicted interacting with the natives. The limited geographical information presented is rather inaccurate. The Amazon River (here called Maranon F.) and the Paraná River originate from lakes next to an erupting volcano. Mountains and spurious rivers fill the western portion of Brazil, labelled Terra non Descobrirta (undiscovered land). This woodcut map is from the first block, published in 1554 and then destroyed by a fire in Thomaso Guinti’s print shop in 1557. A second block was cut in 1565, with the notable difference of Descoperta written at the top centre instead of Discoperta. The second block was used again in 1606, distinguishable from the previous printing by the appearance of damage caused by woodworm on the printing block. Many of the blocks in the 1554 edition of Ramusio’s Delle Navigationi Et Viaggi were produced by the great Venetian cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi. ‘Brazil’, Ramusio, Giovanni Battista.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1581 – This is one of the most famous maps of America and one that had a huge influence on the future cartography of the New World. The map is mainly based on Gerard Mercator’s large multi-sheet world map of 1569. The most recognisable features of the map are the bulbous Chilean coastline and the exaggerated width of the North American continent. North America shows a long St Lawrence River crossing the continent to almost meet the fictional Tiguas River, which flows westwards. The strategically placed title cartouche hides the unknown South Pacific and thus most of the conjectural great southern continent, which is shown attached to New Guinea and Tierra del Fuego. This map is of the second copper plate which contains geography identical to the first plate [1570]. On this plate, the largest ship in the Pacific is now sailing eastwards and away from the observer. Due to religious persecution, Ortelius was forced to leave Antwerp and, as a result, there was a four-year lapse in the publication of the Theatrum. When he re-established himself in Liège, he used Christopher Plantin’s large printing press to resume publication with several revised plates. This plate had a relatively short life of only 8 years, being replaced in 1587 with the easily distinguishable plate of the revised South American form.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1587 – This is one of the most famous maps of America and one that had an enormous influence on the future cartography of the New World. Frans Hogenberg engraved this map and it is mainly based on Gerard Mercator’s large multi-sheet world map of 1569. The map presents an exaggerated extension of the North American continent, with a long St Lawrence River crossing the continent to almost meet the fictional Tiguas River, which flows westwards. The strategically placed title card hides the unknown South Pacific and therefore most of the conjectural great southern continent, which is shown attached to New Guinea and Tierra del Fuego. This is the third of the plates Ortelius used of the Americas, evidenced by the removal of the bulge on the south-west coast of South America and an added cartouche in North America. Also on this plate, the Solomon Islands are noted for the first time since their discovery in 1568, and the names California, R. de los estrechos and C. Mendocino were added to the west coast of North America. The native name of Wingandekoa was added to the east coast, originating from an unsuccessful attempt to colonise the Outer Banks by the English – ‘Americae sive Novi Orbis, Nova Descriptio’, Ortelius, Abraham.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1592 – This copper engraving is part of a remarkable series of publications illustrating voyages of discovery and voyages of exploration to various parts of the world. The project was started by Theodore de Bry of Frankfurt in 1590 and would continue for another 54 years. They became known collectively as Grands Voyages (to America and the West Indies) and Petits Voyages (to the Orient and the East Indies). De Bry died after the first six parts of the Grands Voyages were completed. The project was initially completed by his widow and two sons, Johann Theodore de Bry and Johann Israel de Bry, then by his son-in-law, Matthaus Merian, in 1644. Focussing on the Spanish possessions in the Americas, this map covers what is now the southern United States up to South America. It was published to accompany the accounts of the voyages of Johann van Stadden and Jean de Lery. The cartography is taken from de Bry’s own map of Florida and the West Indies after Jacques le Moyne. However, there is no easily discernible source for the South American cartography, with its southern regions shown very wide, but not very bulging as in Ortelius’ version. De Bry’s extraordinary engraving skills and artistic style are very evident with the large elaborate cartouches, coats of arms, two wind roses, sea monster, Spanish galleon and intricate border.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1609 – Jodocus Hondius’ map of the Americas is one of the most elaborate examples of fine Dutch cartography. The decorations, including sea monsters, indigenous birds, native canoes and sailing ships, were taken from De Bry’s Grand Voyages. Particularly noteworthy is the scene of the natives preparing an intoxicating drink made from manioc roots, derived from Hans Staden’s harrowing adventure in Brazil. The continents are presented in a stereographic projection, which became increasingly popular at the beginning of the 17th century. It shows a more accurate western coastline of South America and narrows the width of Mexico. However, North America is still too wide and Virginia has an exaggerated coastline. Newfoundland is based on Plancius. The coastlines are entirely engraved with place names.Map of South America from 1615 – Excellent folio map of the continent that was added by Jodocus Hondius for publication in his sequel to the Mercator Atlas. The interior features the great mythical Parime Lacus spanning the equator and an equally interesting river system. The huge Rio de la Plata flows south from the conjectural Eupana Lacus in Brazil, while the R. Grande flows north from the same lake to join the Amazon River. The Strait of Magellan is shown, but Tierra del Fuego is part of the great southern continent. The map is beautifully engraved with a pattern of waves on the oceans, full of ships, sea monsters and a native canoe. The continent is flanked by two elaborate cartouches; title on the right and a large internal plan of Cuzco incorporated into the distance cartouche on the left. A Native American is seen with a bow and arrow inside. ‘America Meridionalis’, Hondius, Jodocus.Map of South America from 1619 – Excellent folio map of the continent that was added by Jodocus Hondius for publication in his sequel to the Mercator Atlas. The interior features the great mythical Parime Lacus spanning the equator and an equally interesting river system. The huge Rio de la Plata flows south from the conjectural Eupana Lacus in Brazil, while the R. Grande flows north from the same lake to join the Amazon River. The Strait of Magellan is shown, but Tierra del Fuego is part of the great southern continent. The map is beautifully engraved with a pattern of waves on the oceans, full of ships, sea monsters and a native canoe. The continent is flanked by two elaborate cartouches; title on the right and a large internal plan of Cuzco incorporated into the distance cartouche on the left. A Native American is seen with a bow and arrow inside. ‘America Meridionalis’, Hondius, Jodocus.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1623 – Jodocus Hondius’ map of the Americas is one of the most elaborate examples of fine Dutch cartography. The decorations, including sea monsters, indigenous birds, native canoes and sailing ships, were taken from De Bry’s Grand Voyages. Particularly noteworthy is the scene of the natives preparing an intoxicating drink made from manioc roots, derived from Hans Staden’s harrowing adventure in Brazil. The continents are presented in a stereographic projection, which became increasingly popular at the beginning of the 17th century. It shows a more accurate western coastline of South America and narrows the width of Mexico. However, North America is still too wide and Virginia has an exaggerated coastline. Newfoundland is based on Plancius. The coastlines are entirely engraved with place names.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1628 – Jodocus Hondius’ map of the Americas is one of the most elaborate examples of fine Dutch cartography. The decorations, including sea monsters, indigenous birds, native canoes and sailing ships, were taken from De Bry’s Grand Voyages. Particularly noteworthy is the scene of the natives preparing an intoxicating drink made from manioc roots, derived from Hans Staden’s harrowing adventure in Brazil. The continents are presented in a stereographic projection, which became increasingly popular at the beginning of the 17th century. It shows a more accurate western coastline of South America and narrows the width of Mexico. However, North America is still too wide and Virginia has an exaggerated coastline. Newfoundland is based on Plancius. The coastlines are entirely engraved with place names. This is from the latest French edition of this important atlas.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1628 – Jodocus Hondius’ map of the Americas is one of the most elaborate examples of fine Dutch cartography. The decorations, including sea monsters, indigenous birds, native canoes and sailing ships, were taken from De Bry’s Grand Voyages. Particularly noteworthy is the scene of the natives preparing an intoxicating drink made from manioc roots, derived from Hans Staden’s harrowing adventure in Brazil. The continents are presented in a stereographic projection, which became increasingly popular at the beginning of the 17th century. It shows a more accurate western coastline of South America and narrows the width of Mexico. However, North America is still too wide and Virginia has an exaggerated coastline. Newfoundland is based on Plancius. The coastlines are entirely engraved with place names. This is from the latest French edition of this important atlas.Map of the Western Hemisphere of 1631 – This is the unusual and larger version of Merian’s map of the Americas. Merian’s bold engraving style copies the cartography of Jodocus Hondius’ map of 1631. North America is depicted with a prominent Virginia and a strange New England coastline. The west coast above California makes the continent very wide and there is only a suggestion of the Great Lakes. There is a large inland lake in equatorial South America. Inserts of the Polar Regions are defined on strapping cards. The map is finely decorated with a title card featuring human skulls and bones, representing the legendary cannibalism of the Americas, and the seas are filled with ships, naval battles and ferocious sea monsters.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1643 – This impressive carte-a-figures map is an excellent example of the fine art of decorative cartography and a 17th century European view of the New World. The coastal outlines generally follow Ortelius and Wytfliet with the nomenclature of a variety of explorers and settlers. Panels on the sides, each with five portraits of the native inhabitants, are taken from John White (Virginia), Hans Staden (Brazil) and other accounts of early explorers. At the top are nine city plans, including Havana, St Domingo, Cartagena, Mexico City, Cusco, Potosi, I. la Mocha in Chile, Rio de Janeiro and Olinda in Brazil. This is one of the few maps of the Americas by this famous Dutch cartographer. The map itself is similar to Blaeu’s wall map of 1608 with the additional discoveries of Henry Hudson in North America and Tierra del Fuego with the Strait of Le Maire. This is the fourth state of the plate with the imprint changed to Auct: Guiljelmo Blaeuw and some re-engravings of the sea around the ships and sea samples.Map of Cabo Santo Agostinho from 1645 – This beautiful copper engraved map shows the harbour and fortresses of Cabo Santo Agostinho. Fort Nazaré is shown on top of a hill to the right. Adorned with a compass orientating north to the top right of the map and a title cartouche in strips. ‘Afbeeldinghe van de Cabo St. Augustin ende Forten’, de Laet, Joannes.Map of Brazil from 1652 – Magnificent representation of Brazil with the north orientated to the right by a beautiful compass rose. The map is inserted with two regions of Dutch interest in the area; Baja de Todos los Sanctos and Pernambuco. The interior is devoid of geographical information, except for largely imaginary rivers and forests. Instead, the region is full of dramatic scenes of indigenous peoples, including warfare and cannibalism, and some curious wild animals. The hereditary captaincies established by the Portuguese are marked along the coast. The decorative title cartouche is flanked by a native family and the seas are adorned with sailing ships, a sea monster and a compass rose. French text on the reverse, published between 1652-58. ‘Accuratissima Brasiliae Tabula’, Hondius/Jansson.Map of Brazil divided into fourteen captaincies from 1657 – Map of Brazil divided into fourteen hereditary captaincies from 1657 – This is a reduced version of Sanson’s important map showing the Portuguese possessions in Brazil. The coastal regions were divided by the Portuguese Crown into fourteen Capitaineries, or hereditary harbour offices. The holders of these grants, called donatários, were responsible for their defence and development. A series of rivers appear in the interior. The mythical Lago de los Xarayes appears on the left, and the unknown interior is conveniently covered by the garland-style title cartouche. Sanson’s small maps of his America in various maps…, first published in 1656 and engraved by A. Peyrounin, were copied several times by various map publishers. Johann David Zunners made copies of Sanson’s maps for his German translation of Die Gantze Erd-Kugel in 1679. Johannes Ribbius and Simon de Vries published copies in 1682 and 1683, with new maps engraved by Antoine d’Winter. The plates were later sold to François Halma, who used them in 1699 and again in 1705 with the titles engraved again in Dutch. The titles on the d’Winter plates were engraved again in French and then used by Nicholas Chemereau in 1715 and by Henri du Sauzet in 1738. ‘Le Bresil, dont la Coste est Possedee par les Portugais, et Divisee en Quatorze Capitaineries…’, Sanson, Nicolas.Map of the Western Hemisphere of 1659 – This is a very rare derivative of the important Hondius map of 1618. The engraver is unknown, although it is closely copied from Picart’s version of 1644, which in turn was derived from Jansson’s map of 1623. North America retains peninsular California and there isn’t much detail along the east coast in the mid-Atlantic region. In the south-west, the famous seven cities of Cibola appear on the shores of a large spurious lake. In South America, the mythical Parime Lacus is shown south of Guyana and there are two scenes shot, one detailing a cannibal feast and the other showing a mythical giant from Patagonia. Two stylised inserts of the polar regions are placed on strip cards; the North Pole depicts Frobisher’s theory of the Northwest Passage and the South Pole shows the long-held notion of the mythical southern continent. The map is flanked on three sides with carte-a-figure borders depicting the Native Americans and their main cities. This map can be easily distinguished from Hondius’ map because the figures on the sides were inverted when they were copied by the engraver. Unlike Blaeu’s similar map, the towns at the top include three North American cities: the Indian village of Pomeiooc in Virginia, the French fort in Carolina and St Augustine in Florida.1660 Map of the Western Hemisphere – An unusual and splendid figure map of the Americas. The map combines many different sources, including Luke Foxe’s model of the island of California. The only suggestion of the Great Lakes is a small L. Content at the end of the St Lawrence River. Nieu Neder Land occupies the east coast, and there is no mention of any English settlement other than the name Virginia. In South America, a large river and lake system borders Brazil, with the mythical Lake Eupana Lacus. A second mythical lake, Parime Lacus, is shown along the equator. The decorations were taken from van den Keere’s map of 1614. The figures on the side depict the natives of Virginia, Magellan and Brazil, and the cities at the top include Cusco, Mexico, Olinda, Havana, St Dominique and Cartagena. The map is further embellished with a title card featuring a native Indian riding an armadillo and Neptune frolicking in the Pacific with mermaids and seahorses. This is the first state of this map issued separately, with the date in the title.Map of South America and Brazil from 1624 – This copper engraving is part of a remarkable series of publications illustrating voyages of discovery and voyages of exploration to various parts of the world. The project was started by Theodore de Bry of Frankfurt in 1590 and would continue for another 54 years. They became known collectively as Grands Voyages (to America and the West Indies) and Petits Voyages (to the Orient and the East Indies). De Bry died after the first six parts of the Grands Voyages were completed. The project was initially completed by his widow and two sons, Johann Theodore de Bry and Johann Israel de Bry, then by his son-in-law, Matthaus Merian, in 1644.Map of Brazil from 1630 – This beautiful map was a collaborative effort between Hessel Gerritsz, official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company, and Johannes de Laet, director of the newly formed Dutch West India Company. Their maps of South America laid the foundations for many other cartographers. The detail is limited to the coasts and includes the Capitanias. The interior is filled with a large title cartouche and distance scales, and the map is further embellished with a compass rose, orientating north to the right of the graph. ‘Provincia de Brasil cum Adiacentibus Provinciis’, Gerritsz/De Laet.Map of South America from 1638 – This is an important decorative map of the continent that is an essential piece for any South American collection. The coastlines are well detailed, but the interior is full of spurious information. Several rivers (including the Amazon and the Paraguay) rise in Lago de los Xarayes. The mythical Parime Lacus dominates Guyana’s interior. The map is richly embellished with ships and sea monsters in the oceans and vignettes of villages and animals on the continent. The large title cartouche features indigenous people and animals. ‘Americae Pars Meridionalis’, Hondius, Henricus.Map of Olinda in Pernambuco from 1640 – This map contains two views of the Portuguese sugar colonies in Brazil during the Dutch invasion in 1630. The top view shows the Dutch fleet attacking the harbour and fort. Below is a plan of the city of Olinda and its surroundings with an inside view of the operations of a sugar mill. Both visualisations contain decorative cartouches displaying the key to important locations. ‘Olinda de Phernambuco’, Jansson, Jan.Map of the Bay of All Saints from 1644 – This rare map of Salvador and the Bay of All Saints is a representation of the Dutch attack and capture of the city of Salvador in May 1624. Salvador, then the capital of Brazil, was a strategic port under Portuguese control. The Dutch, determined to take control of Brazil, formed the West India Company in 1621 and sent a large expedition to Brazil. On 8 May 1624, the Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Jacob Willekens and Vice-Admiral Pieter Heyn arrived in Salvador and attacked the city. The Dutch managed to capture the city, although the Portuguese regained control less than a year later. This map shows the city of Salvador and its fortifications, with the Dutch ships advancing on the city. The rest of the coastline is sparsely engraved with a few small towns, churches and settlements. The map is orientated with north to the left and features a beautiful strip chart that incorporates the distance scale. Published in De Laet’s account of the history of the Dutch West India Company from its beginnings until 1636. ‘Baya de Todos os Sanctos’, de Laet, Joannes.Map of the East Coast of Brazil from 1647 – This beautiful map of the Brazilian coast is adorned with a huge garland at the top with lots of native fruits and a jaguar, tapir and capybara. With north orientated to the right, the map covers the coastal region from the São Francisco south to the mouth of the Vaza-Barris river. The map traces the rivers inland with place names and topographical details along their banks. There is a naval skirmish, three Dutch ships and a canoe on the Atlantic coast. It was drawn after real research by Georg Marcgraf, Elias Herckmanns and others and was among the first maps of Brazil based on non-Portuguese data. Blaeu first issued this and its complementary maps in 1647 for Gaspar Barleus’ Rerum per octennium in Brasília. They were also assembled into a large wall map, Brasília qua parte paret Belgis. The maps then appeared in the Atlas Maior from 1662. ‘Praefectura de Ciriii, vel Seregirppe Delrey cum Itapuama’, Blaeu, Johannes.Map of South America from 1650 – This attractive map presents the continent with Sanson’s characteristic attention to detail. The relatively unknown Amazon region gets short shrift. The mythical Lac de Parime still appears with the legendary Manoa del Dora (city of gold) on its western shore; although the size of the lake has diminished from earlier representations. There is considerable detail of towns and cities and the captaincies are outlined in Brazil. Decorated with a strapwork title cartouche. Engraved by A. Peyrounin. ‘Amerique Meridionale’, Sanson/Mariette.Map of Paraíba from 1662 – Excellent map of the Brazilian coastline including the captaincies of Paraíba and Rio Grande. The map was drawn after real research by Georg Markgraf, Elias Herckmanns and others, and was among the first maps of Brazil based on non-Portuguese data. The map is richly engraved with a huge scene of a procession of Tupinambás Indians carrying a Dutch flag, part of a sugar mill and three major naval battles depicted at sea. It is also adorned with coats of arms, a compass rose and a title cartouche in strips. The series of maps of the captaincies of Brazil is unlike any other map in Blaeu’s atlases. Blaeu first issued this and its complementary maps in 1647 for Gaspar Barleus’ Rerum per octennium in Brasília. They were also assembled into a large wall map, Brasília qua parte paret Belgis; the places where the sheets overlap are marked by faint lines on the left. The maps then appeared in the Atlas Maior from 1662. ‘Praefecturae de Paraiba, et Rio Grande’, Blaeu, Johannes.Map of eastern Brazil 1664 – This beautiful map of the Brazilian coast is richly decorated with a scene of natives with a watchtower and a huge fleet of ships. With north orientated to the right, the map covers the coastal region from São Francisco to Recife. It was drawn after actual research by Georg Marcgraf, Elias Herckmanns and others and was among the first maps of Brazil based on non-Portuguese data. Blaeu first issued this and its complementary maps in 1647 for Gaspar Barleus’ Rerum per octennium in Brasília. They were also assembled into a large wall map, Brasília qua parte paret Belgis. The maps then appeared in the Atlas Maior from 1662. This example is the second state with the addition of a native in the watchtower. ‘Praefecturae Paranambucae Pars Meridionalis’, Blaeu, Johannes.Map of Brazil from 1671 – This splendid map of Brazil, including parts of neighbouring countries, was one of the 23 maps in this rare account of the Luso-Dutch colonial war. Written by João José de Santa Teresa, known among bibliophiles as Saint Teresa, it is considered one of the most sumptuous 17th century works on Brazil. St Teresa, a Portuguese Carmelite, spent twelve years in the Jesuit missions of South America and then returned to Europe where he became librarian of the Jesuit college in Rome. His account was heavily subsidised by Pedro II of Portugal, and some of the leading artists and engravers of the period, including Antonio Horacio Andreas, were hired to work on the project. It was published by Giacomo Giovanni Rossi. The map itself is beautifully drawn and provides excellent detail of the coastlines of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana from the Rio de la Plata in the south to beyond the mouth of the Amazon River in the north. Although little was known about the interior of Brazil during the period, the interior is full of mountains, rivers and the fictional Port of Kings in Brazil and Lake Parime in Guyana. A large wind rose orients the map with north on the right. The map is elaborately adorned with two cartouches, a vignette of cannibalism and an allegorical scene with Brazil’s royal coat of arms at the top with two putti holding chains containing Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazon, and Medusa. ‘Il Regno del Brasile Parte Nobilissima del Mondo Nuovo…’, St Teresa, J. J.1677 Map of the Western Hemisphere – Visscher’s map greatly influenced the cartography of the Americas, both geographically and artistically. One of the most distinctive geographical details copied by other cartographers is the large open lake in the Great Lakes region. In fact, Visscher copied this from Blaeu’s wall map mundi [1648], but popularised it on this map. California is shown as an island, on the Briggs model, but with a wider northern coastline. The map is embellished with two large cartouches that were also copied by other cartographers. The upper cartouche features a dedication to Cornelius Witsen and depicts angels fighting a demon for the soul of a Native American. The pictorial title cartouche contains scenes of gold mining, hunting and a native chief under an umbrella. This is the second state, with the addition of Vischer’s privilege.Mapa do Litoral do Brasil from 1678 – This magnificent map of Brazil is mainly a maritime chart with details confined to the coastline. Oriented with north to the left by two beautiful wind roses, it covers the Brazilian coast from the mouth of the Amazon to the Rio de la Plata, where Argentina is today. A dramatic title cartouche that fills the interior is constructed from a montage of scenes showing Portuguese and Dutch explorers and missionaries, an indigenous ceremony, mining, exotic animals and products, etc. Lines of direction cross the entire map, which is further embellished by four sailing ships. ‘Littora Brasiliae / Pascaert van Brasil’, Wit, Frederick de.Map of Recife in Pernambuco from 1679 – Brazil – Rare aerial plan of the city of Recife and its surroundings with the Dutch fortifications highlighted. Although initially founded by the Portuguese, the Dutch decided to invade several towns in Pernambuco because of the local sugar cane industry. From 1630 to 1654 the Dutch controlled the city of Recife, which became the new capital of Dutch Brazil, the city of Mauritsstad. Mauritsstad (here called Mauritiopolis) became one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world under Dutch rule and is known for housing the first Jewish community and synagogue, botanical garden and zoo in the Americas. ‘Mauritiopolis Reciffa, et Circumiacentia Castra’, Merian, Matthaus.Map of the Brazilian coast from Rio Paraíba to Cabo de Santo Agostinho from 1683 – This rare and classic maritime map covers the Brazilian coast from Rio Paraíba to Cabo S. Augustino. Augustino. It is filled with rhumb lines and decorated with a sailing ship. Off the coast, the water is full of soundings. Natives flank the title cartouche and tritons surround the distance scales. North is orientated to the right. ‘Pas-Kaart, van de Zee-Kusten, van, Brazilia, Tusschen, Punto de Lucena en Cabo S. Augustino’, Keulen, Johannes van.Engraving of the Bay of All Saints from 1690 – Engraving of the Bay of All Saints from 1690 – Beautiful copper engraving illustrating the Dutch fleet capturing the fort at the entrance to the Bay of All Saints in north-east Brazil. The scene is very active with waving cannons and small figures rushing into action. A close-up of the bay is depicted on a scroll above the scene. ‘T’Neemen van de Suyker Prysen inde Bay de Tode los Santos Anno 1627’, Leti, Gregorio.Engraving Forte dos Reis Magos from 1690 – Natal – An aerial view of the fort (now Natal) at the mouth of the River Potengi showing the Dutch invasion and capture of the Portuguese fort in 1633. The harbour is full of ships and armies are shown rushing to defend the fort. ‘Veroveringe van Rio Grande in Brasil. Anno 1633’, Leti, Gregorio.Map of Paraíba from 1690 – This panoramic map shows the Paraíba region and the Portuguese fortifications at the mouth of the Paraíba River. The scene of the Dutch attack on the region is illustrated with the Dutch fleet and the defence of the Portuguese armies. ‘Afbeeldinghe van Pariba ende Forten’, Leti, Gregorio.1690 Map of Cabo de Santo Agostinho in Pernambuco – This beautiful panoramic view depicts the Dutch fleet and the fortresses of Cabo Santo Agostinho. The strapwork title cartouche incorporates a numbered key identifying four locations. – ‘Afbeeldinge vande Cabo St. Augustin met Haer Forten’, Leti, Gregorio.Map of Brazil from 1695 – This scarce and beautiful map is Johannes Blaeu’s third map of Brazil. Designed by Joannes de Broen and engraved by Abraham Wolfgang, it was completed shortly before the great fire that destroyed the printing house and was therefore never included in Blaeu’s atlases. In 1694, Pieter Schenk acquired several copper plates from Blaeu, including this one. The map includes the captaincies along the coast and is a significant improvement on Blaeu’s previous maps of Brazil. The beautiful cartouche is surrounded by cherubs and a river god and Schenk’s mark appears below the title. ‘Nova et Accurata Brasiliae totius Tabula’, Blaeu/Schenk.Map of South America from 1694 – This beautiful map of the continent is decorated with elaborate titles and scale of miles cartouches balancing the lower part of the map with images of Native Americans, flora and fauna. One cartouche encloses the map’s title while the other presents eight different distance scales, recording the diversity of European measuring systems before the metric system was adopted during the French Revolution. Cartographically, the map shows the course of the Amazon delineated fairly precisely, but shows the source of the river in a fascinating labyrinth of intertwined waterways. The fictional Mer de Parime is named in Guyana along with the mythical Manoa el Dorado on its banks. In addition, the Paraguay River mistakenly flows into a lake called Xarayes in the middle of Brazil. An alternative Latin title appears above the map: ‘America Meridionalis in suas Praecipuas Partes Accurate Divisa, ad usum Serenissimi Burgundiae Ducis.’ ‘L’Amerique Meridionale Divisee en ses Principales Parties’, Jaillot, Alexis-Hubert.Map of the Captaincy of Espirito Santo and Porto Seguro from 1698 – This impressive map covers the coast from Rio de Janeiro to approximately Ilhéus. It was one of 23 maps in this rare account of the Dutch-Portuguese colonial war. Written by João José de Santa Teresa, and known among bibliophiles as the Santa Teresa, it is considered one of the most sumptuous 17th century works in Brazil, partly due to the incredible maps. St Teresa, a Portuguese Carmelite, spent twelve years in the Jesuit missions of South America and then returned to Europe where he became librarian of the Jesuit college in Rome. His account was heavily subsidised by Pedro II of Portugal, and some of the leading artists and engravers of the period, including Antonio Horacio Andreas, were hired to work on the project. It was published by Giacomo Giovanni Rossi. The map itself is beautifully drawn and offers an excellent view of the region with carefully delineated bays, rivers and streams. Even navigational hazards are shown along the coast. A large compass rose orients the map with north on the right. The map is elaborately adorned with putti supporting the title cartouche and the royal coat of arms, and tritons supporting the shell-shaped distance scale cartouche. ‘Provincie Dello Spirito Santo e di Porto Sicuro’, Horatius, Andreas Antonius.Map of the Province of Paraíba from 1698 – This impressive map covers the province of Paraíba and illustrates its important rivers and prosperous sugar cane plantations. It was one of 23 maps in this rare account of the Dutch-Portuguese colonial war. Written by João José de Santa Teresa, and known among bibliophiles as the Santa Teresa, it is considered one of the most sumptuous works of the 17th century in Brazil, partly due to the incredible maps. St Teresa, a Portuguese Carmelite, spent twelve years in the Jesuit missions of South America and then returned to Europe where he became librarian of the Jesuit college in Rome. His account was heavily subsidised by Pedro II of Portugal, and some of the leading artists and engravers of the period, including Antonio Horacio Andreas, were hired to work on the project. It was published by Giacomo Giovanni Rossi. The map itself is beautifully drawn and offers an excellent view of the region with carefully delineated bays, rivers and streams. There are numerous localised settlements and churches, as well as a network of ancient roads. A large compass rose orients the map with north on the right. The map is elaborately adorned with putti supporting the ribbon-shaped title cartouche and the royal coat of arms, and sea monsters supporting the shell-shaped distance scale cartouche. ‘Provincia di Paraiba’, Horatius, Andreas Antonius.Map of the Captaincy of Pernambuco from 1698 – This magnificent map of the Brazilian province of Pernambuco was one of the 23 maps in this rare account of the Portuguese-Dutch colonial war. Written by João José de Santa Teresa, known among bibliophiles as Saint Teresa, it is considered one of the most sumptuous 17th century works on Brazil. St Teresa, a Portuguese Carmelite, spent twelve years in the Jesuit missions of South America and then returned to Europe where he became librarian of the Jesuit college in Rome. His account was heavily subsidised by Pedro II of Portugal, and some of the leading artists and engravers of the period, including Antonio Horacio Andreas, were hired to work on the project. It was published by Giacomo Giovanni Rossi. The map itself is beautifully drawn and offers an excellent view of the region with carefully delineated rivers and streams. The locations of towns, missions and forts are recorded, including Olinda. Even navigational hazards are shown along the coast. A large compass rose orients the map with north on the right. The map is elaborately adorned with putti that hold the title cartouche, the royal coat of arms and the map key. ‘Provincia di Pernambuco’, Horatius, Andreas Antonius.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1700 – The sumptuous map of the Americas features a dramatically decorative title cartouche, showing an Amazon queen surrounded by riches, a sugar cane field and exotic animals. Embedded in the cartouche is a small map of the coast of New Zealand. The cartography of North America includes all five Great Lakes and the island of California on the Foxe model with two jagged bays on the north coast and a series of spurious islands off the tip of California. Above California is a huge land mass called Terra Esonis that stretches almost to Japan and Yedso. The Mississippi River is beginning to take shape with the Massourite River (Missouri) making its appearance. Sanson’s R. del Norte has been revised here so that there are two branches, one flowing properly into the Gulf of Mexico and the other flowing into the sea between the mainland and the island of California (Mare Vermio cum Mare Rubrum). Curiously, the Apache region of Novajo has moved considerably northwards, where an unnamed river flows west to the headwaters of the Mare Vermio. In South America, the mythical Lake Parime is no longer shown and the main river systems are beginning to take their proper shape. Portuguese captains are outlined along the coast of Brazil. There are several islands shown in the Pacific, including a coastline in the vicinity of Australia called Quiri Regio. This is the third state on the map according to Burden, with descriptions of the climates added to the side borders. ‘Recentissima Novi Orbis, sive Americae Septentrionalis et Meridionalis Tabula’, Allard, Carel1713 Map of the Western Hemisphere – A highly decorative and detailed map of the Americas with the island of California prominently represented with a strongly indented north coast in the second Sanson model. The British colonies are confined to the east coast by Les Cinq Nationals Iroquoises, while the French possessions extend as far west as the Mississippi River. The Spanish possession of Florida includes the coastal regions of the Carolinas, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. New Mexico and New Granada cover the entire west coast. In South America, the coast protrudes far to the east, and the Orinoco merges with the Negro River. Despite using some outdated cartographic concepts (Carl Wheat calls it a ‘retrograde’ map), it is full of detail and annotations. An excellent pictorial title cartouche features a legendary Amazon with her bow raised and a cannibal feast in the background. Drawn by J. Goeree and engraved by J. Baptist with printing on the title cartouche. A Latin title is outside the top edge, ‘America in Praecipuas Ipsus Partes Distributa ad Observationes…’1714 Map of the Western Hemisphere – Van der Aa’s unusual map of the Americas was first published in 1714 and includes interesting geographical myths. In North America, California is represented as an island at the beginning of the Sanson shape with an almost flat top starting at C. Mendocina. New Albion is seen in the northern part of the island, and Village des Canots has been inserted between P. de Carinde and P de la Conception. The north-west coast is cut by the Strait of Anian, separating the mainland from Anian. The St Lawrence River connects with a single large inland lake, which is open in the west. South America is shown with the large, mythical inland lake Parime Lacus in Guyana and Lago de los Xarayes in the centre of the continent. A partial outline of New Zealand is shown in the South Pacific. The beautiful title card features natives trading New World products with European merchants.
Captaincy of Paraíba and Rio Grande from 1720 – Excellent map of the Brazilian coastline including the captaincies of Paraíba and Rio Grande. The map was drawn after real research by Georg Markgraf, Elias Herckmanns and others, and was among the first maps of Brazil based on non-Portuguese data. The map is richly engraved with a huge scene of a procession of Tupinambás Indians carrying a Dutch flag, part of a sugar mill and three major naval battles depicted at sea. It is also adorned with coats of arms, a compass rose and a title cartouche in strips. The series of maps of the captaincies of Brazil is unlike any other map in Blaeu’s atlases. Blaeu first issued this and its complementary maps in 1647 for Gaspar Barleus’ Rerum per Octennium in Brasilia. They were also assembled into a large wall map, Brasília qua parte paret Belgis; the places where the sheets overlap are marked by faint lines on the left. The maps appeared in the Atlas Maior from 1662 and were subsequently sold to various publishers after Blaeu’s death. ‘Praefecturae de Paraiba, et Rio Grande’, Blaeu/Covens & Mortier.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1727 – This is the curious third state of this beautiful map of the Americas and an interesting version in this series of maps inspired by Nicolas Visscher in 1658. This map was first published by Justus Danckerts around 1696, but the plate was sold to Reiner and Josua Ottens by their family after Justus’ death in 1701. The Ottens reissued the plate around 1727, but strangely replaced Danckerts’ name with that of Frederick de Wit, while adding their own mark. The map follows Sanson’s geography for the interior of North America with the Great Lakes open, the island of California and the R. del Norte being a confusion between the Rio Grande (with Santa Fe located near its source) and the Colorado River (emptying into the Mer Rubrum). Added above California is a huge Terra Esonis that stretches almost to Japan, a little of which is visible near the top left edge. There are dozens of place names along this spurious coastline. The cartography of South America is based on De Wit’s own work and depicts the northern region as excessively broad. Tribal vignettes fill the interior of Brazil and Parime Lac appears at the equator. One of the most interesting features of the map is the initial appearance of Quiri Regio in the South Pacific, reflecting Dutch exploration in the vicinity of Australia.Map of Northern South America from 1730 – This beautiful and important map of the northern part of South America is full of information and annotations that speculate on the indigenous tribes and the tributaries of the Amazon. The captaincies are shown along the coast of Brazil. An annotation in Guyana records the mythical Lac de Parime on which the golden city of Manoa del Dorado was supposed to be located. The central part of the map, called Pays des Amazones, is full of indigenous names and annotations. The Grand chemin des Ingas (Inca Trail) is shown from Chuquisaca in Peru to Pasto in Colombia. The title cartouche features mythical Amazon warriors, a pot of gold and King Louis XIV as the Sun King. ‘Carte de la Terre Ferme du Perou, du Bresil et du Pays des Amazones, Dressee sur les Descriptions de Herrera…’, Delisle/Covens & Mortier.1730 Map of the Western Hemisphere – This attractive map is a revision of old Homann’s 1710 map of the Americas. After his death in 1724, his son (Johann Christoph Homann) re-engraved the plate to correct the west coast of North America, shown here extending far to the west and north, with very little detail. The coastline is called Costa Terrae Borealis and is attributed to the accounts of João da Gama, who sighted land while crossing the Pacific Ocean in 1589-90. California is no longer shown as an island, although remnants of the inland sea can be seen near Moozemleck Country, where a river almost connects with the Mississippi River system, hinting at the possibility of a Northwest Passage. The Great Lakes are taking shape, being actively explored by French fur traders and the Hudson Bay Company. The Solomon Islands are prominently located in the Pacific, considerably too far to the east. The map is decorated with two large pictorial cartouches, the top one shows the natives worshipping a terrible demon on the right, while on the left they placidly listen to a priest. The lower cartouche also shows the native landscape and fauna.Map of the Western Hemisphere from 1730 – This attractive map is a revision of old Homann’s 1710 map of the Americas. After his death in 1724, his son (Johann Christoph Homann) re-engraved the plate to correct the west coast of North America, shown here extending far to the west and north, with very little detail. The coastline is called Costa Terrae Borealis and is attributed to the accounts of João da Gama, who sighted land while crossing the Pacific Ocean in 1589-90. California is no longer shown as an island, although remnants of the inland sea can be seen near Pais de Moozemleck, where a river almost connects with the Mississippi River system, suggesting the possibility of a north-west passage. The Great Lakes are taking shape, being actively explored by French fur traders and the Hudson Bay Company. The Solomon Islands are prominently located in the Pacific, considerably too far to the east. The map is decorated with two large pictorial cartouches, the top one shows the natives worshipping a terrible demon on the right, while on the left they placidly listen to a priest. The lower cartouche also shows the native landscape and fauna. ‘Totius Americae Septentrionalis et Meridionalis Novissima Repraesentatio quam ex Singulis Recentium Geographorum Tabulis Collecta Luci Publicae Accomodavit’, Homann, Johann Baptist.1740 Map of the Western Hemisphere – This impressive map of the Americas features a prominent island of California based on the second Sanson model, with two jagged bays on the north coast. Directly above the island is the strait of Fretum Anian and the coastline of Terra Esonis incognito, which is obscured by an elaborate pictorial cartouche relating to the religious conversion of the natives. The Great Lakes are somewhat distorted, with large spurious bays on the western shores of Lakes Superior and Michigan. A hint of a Northwest Passage is suggested by a passage between rivers inspired by the accounts of Baron Lahontan. The map is full of place names and details of the trails of the main voyages of exploration of the Pacific. A series of exotic birds float above the large title cartouche depicting Native Americans fishing, cutting sugar cane, farming and paying homage to a chief. A secondary cartouche contains text recounting the important discoveries in America and the conversion of the natives to Christianity. This is the second state with Clima labels on the side edges. ‘Novus Orbis sive America Meridionalis et Septentrionalis, per sua Regna Provincias et Insulas Iuxta Observationes et Descriptiones Recentiss. Divisa et Adornata…’, Seutter, Matthias.1740 Map of South America – Beautifully engraved Italian edition of Delisle’s map of South America, stretching from Nicaragua to Tierra del Fuego. Place names in South America are mainly concentrated along the coasts and along the Amazon and Paraná rivers. Two mythical lakes still appear: Lake Cassipa Dorada (a smaller version of the better-known Lac de Parime) with the legendary city of Manoa to the south-east, and Lake des Xarayes in the centre of the continent. Central Brazil is left blank, except for a note explaining that the Brazilians claim that the S. Francesco and Real rivers run together for a long time and connect with the Rio della Plata (Paraná River). The South Pacific is also depicted with the routes of various explorers shown, including Magellan, le Maire, Olivier van Noort and Mendana, with part of the Solomon Islands represented. The large pictorial title cartouche features a mounted female inspecting galleons from a distance and a hunter trying to spear a crocodile. ‘Carta Geografica della America Meridionale’, Albrizzi, Girolamo.1744 Map of the Western Hemisphere – This attractive map is a revision of old Homann’s 1710 map of the Americas. After his death in 1724, his son (Johann Christoph Homann) re-engraved the plate to correct the west coast of North America, shown here extending far to the west and north, with very little detail. The coastline is called Costa Terrae Borealis and is attributed to the accounts of João da Gama, who sighted land while crossing the Pacific Ocean in 1589-90. California is no longer shown as an island, although remnants of the inland sea can be seen near Moozemleck Country, where a river almost connects with the Mississippi River system, hinting at the possibility of a Northwest Passage. The Great Lakes are taking shape, being actively explored by French fur traders and the Hudson Bay Company. The Solomon Islands are prominently located in the Pacific, considerably too far to the east. The map is decorated with two large pictorial cartouches, the top one shows the natives worshipping a terrible demon on the right, while on the left they placidly listen to a priest. The lower cartouche also shows the native landscape and fauna.Map of Brazil from 1747 – Copper engraved map with good detail along the coastal areas with dozens of place names. The map covers the region between northern Paraguay and north to the mouth of the Amazon. A large inset of St Katharine Island fills the empty ocean. In a long note at the end, Bowen states that he intentionally ‘omitted the imaginary Ascension Island, on the authority of Dr Halley’. The map includes several other notes, including an area that claims to ‘abound in gold and silver’. ‘A New & Accurate Map of Brazil. Divided into its Captainships Drawn from the Most Approved Modern Maps & Charts…’, Bowen, Emanuel.1750 Map of South America – Beautifully engraved Italian edition of Delisle’s map of South America, stretching from Nicaragua to Tierra del Fuego. Place names in South America are mainly concentrated along the coasts and along the Amazon and Paraná rivers. Two mythical lakes still appear: Lake Cassipa Dorada (a smaller version of the better-known Lac de Parime) with the legendary city of Manoa to the south-east, and Lake des Xarayes in the centre of the continent. Central Brazil is left blank, except for a note explaining that the Brazilians claim that the S. Francesco and Real rivers run together for a long time and connect with the Rio della Plata (Paraná River). The South Pacific is also depicted with the routes of various explorers shown, including Magellan, le Maire, Olivier van Noort and Mendana, with part of the Solomon Islands represented. The large pictorial title cartouche features a mounted female inspecting galleons from a distance and a hunter trying to spear a crocodile. ‘Carta Geografica della America Meridionale’, Albrizzi, Girolamo.1757 Map of the Western Hemisphere – This beautiful map of the Americas includes the Solomon Islands. In North America, the Pacific Northwest is left open, completely blank and labelled Undiscovered Parts. The coastline ends in the vicinity of Alaska with the notation The Alleged Strait of Annian. The British colonies are shown east of the Appalachian Mountains, with French Louisiana between them and the Spanish possession of New Mexico. The only named settlements in the West are Cenis in Texas, Santa Fe and Alamillo in New Mexico and Casa Grande in Arizona. A large Lake Superior contains several islands. In South America, the Amazon River almost connects to the Pacific, and the mythical Lake Xarayes L. appears in central Brazil. A decorative cartouche covers the North Pacific and several islands are shown in the South Pacific. ‘A New General Map of America. Drawn from Several Accurate Particular Maps and Charts, and Regulated by Astronomical Observations’, Bowen, Emanuel.Mapa do Brasil de 1750 – Este é um belo mapa italiano do Brasil baseado na cartografia de Delisle. Há detalhes muito bons ao longo da costa e uma boa quantidade de informações sobre o interior com inúmeras anotações e as localizações de tribos indígenas. O mapa é adornado com uma grande cartela de título pictórica. “Carta Geografica del Bresil”, Albrizzi, Girolamo.
Map of Brazil from 1757 – Part 1 – This pair of copper engraved maps covers the coastline of Brazil and shows the Capitanias or hereditary harbour delegations. The first map runs from Salvador to Santos, and the second goes as far as Maldonado in Uruguay. There are good interior details of rivers and mountains. The size varies slightly. ‘[Lot of 2] Suite du Bresil Depuis la Baye de Tous les Saints Jusqu’a St. Paul [and] Suite du Bresil pour Servir a l’Histoire Generale des Voyages’, Bellin, Jacques Nicolas.Map of Brazil from 1757 – Part 2 – This pair of copper-engraved maps covers the coastline of Brazil and shows the Capitanias or hereditary harbour delegations. The first map runs from Salvador to Santos, and the second goes as far as Maldonado in Uruguay. There are good interior details of rivers and mountains. The size varies slightly. ‘[Lot of 2] Suite du Bresil Depuis la Baye de Tous les Saints Jusqu’a St. Paul [and] Suite du Bresil pour Servir a l’Histoire Generale des Voyages’, Bellin, Jacques Nicolas.
Map of the Bay of All Saints from 1769 – This is a boldly engraved chart of the bay of Salvador (Bahia) with an inserted plan of the fortified city of Salvador. Navigation soundings and shallows are identified in the bay. Numerous plantations and sugar mills are marked with symbols along the coast and rivers. There is a large decorative title cartouche in rococo style and two wind roses. ‘Kaart van de Aller-Heiligen Baay waar aan de Hoofdstad legt van Brazil’, Tirion, Isaac.Map of Santa Catarina Island from 1777 – This is a rare Spanish map of the island of Santa Catalina, now the city of Florianópolis and an important tourist destination. The unspoilt island is shown here with a few small villages and several sheltered anchorages. A coastal approach view is provided at the top. ‘Plan de la Isla y Puerto de Santa Catalina situado en la America Meridional’, Lopez, D. Tomas.Map of Brazil from 1798 – This is an unusual Italian map of Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It extends to include the outskirts of Buenos Aires. It provides a good deal of detail, including extensive river systems. The large landscape-style title cartouche features Native Americans tending a fire. ‘Il Brasile ed il Paese delle Amazzoni col Paraguay Delineati sulle Ultime Osservazioni’, Cassini, Giovanni Maria.Map of Brazil from 1823Map of Brazil from 18321840 Map of South America – Part 1 – This impressive large map is taken from Louis Stanislas D’Arcy Delarochette’s monumental eight-sheet map of South America, which was used to settle numerous border disputes across the continent. It incorporates the most up-to-date geographical information and includes numerous interesting annotations. Three inserts at the bottom of the map present data from Humboldt’s report in the form of topographical profiles: ‘Section of the Andes…’, ‘Section of South America from west to east…’ and ‘Section of the road from La Guayra to Caracas’. Also included is a comparative table of distances and an index entitled ‘Civil divisions, population and extension’ for Colombia, Peru, the United Provinces, Chile, Patagonia, Brazil and Guyana. Printed on two sheets, not joined as issued – the map would measure 30 x 42.5’ if joined. ‘Colombia Prima or South America’, Wyld, James.1840 Map of South America – Part 2 – This impressive large map is taken from Louis Stanislas D’Arcy Delarochette’s monumental eight-sheet map of South America, which was used to settle countless border disputes across the continent. It incorporates the most up-to-date geographical information and includes numerous interesting annotations. Three inserts at the bottom of the map present data from Humboldt’s report in the form of topographical profiles: ‘Section of the Andes…’, ‘Section of South America from west to east…’ and ‘Section of the road from La Guayra to Caracas’. Also included is a comparative table of distances and an index entitled ‘Civil divisions, population and extension’ for Colombia, Peru, the United Provinces, Chile, Patagonia, Brazil and Guyana. Printed on two sheets, not joined as issued – the map would measure 30 x 42.5’ if joined. ‘Colombia Prima or South America’, Wyld, James.Map of Brazil from 1850Large-scale maritime chart of the region west of Rio de Janeiro from 1884 – Beautiful large-scale maritime chart of the region west of Rio de Janeiro. Complete with soundings, anchorages and navigational hazards. In the background, a view of Ilha Grande and the East Passage. The chart was first drawn by Capt Mouchez of the French Imperial Navy in 1868-69 and published by the British Admiralty in 1870. This chart was updated for 1884.
Historical Facts and Maps showing the territorial evolution of Brazil.
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![Mapa do Hemisfério Ocidental de 1581 - Este é um dos mapas mais famosos da América e que teve enorme influência na futura cartografia do Novo Mundo. O mapa é baseado principalmente no grande mapa-múndi de várias folhas de Gerard Mercator de 1569. As características mais reconhecíveis do mapa são o litoral chileno bulboso e a largura exagerada do continente norte-americano. A América do Norte mostra um longo St. Lawrence River atravessando o continente para quase encontrar o fictício Tiguas Rio, que flui para o oeste. A cartela do título estrategicamente colocada esconde o desconhecido Pacífico Sul e, portanto, a maior parte do conjectural grande continente do sul, que é mostrado anexado à Nova Guiné e à Terra do Fogo.Este mapa é da segunda placa de cobre que contém geografia idêntica à primeira placa [1570]. Nesta placa, o maior navio do Pacífico está agora navegando para o leste e para longe do observador. Devido à perseguição religiosa, Ortelius foi forçado a deixar Antuérpia e, como resultado, houve um lapso de quatro anos na publicação do Theatrum. Quando ele se restabeleceu em Liège, ele usou a grande gráfica de Christopher Plantin para retomar a publicação com várias placas revisadas. Esta placa teve uma vida relativamente curta de apenas 8 anos, sendo substituída em 1587 com a placa facilmente distinguida da forma revisada da América do Sul.](https://turismo.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mapa-do-Hemisferio-Ocidental-de-1581-scaled.jpg "Mapa do Hemisfério Ocidental de 1581")
![Mapa do Hemisfério Ocidental de 1677 - O mapa de Visscher influenciou muito a cartografia das Américas, tanto geográfica quanto artisticamente. Um dos detalhes geográficos mais distintos copiados por outros cartógrafos é o grande lago aberto na região dos Grandes Lagos. Na verdade, Visscher copiou isso do mapa mundi de parede de Blaeu [1648], mas o popularizou neste mapa. A Califórnia é mostrada como uma ilha, no modelo Briggs, mas com uma costa norte mais ampla. O mapa é embelezado com duas grandes cartelas que também foram copiadas por outros cartógrafos. A cartela superior apresenta uma dedicação a Cornelius Witsen e retrata anjos lutando com um demônio pela alma de um nativo americano. A cartela do título pictórico contém cenas de extração de ouro, caça e um chefe nativo sob um guarda-chuva. Este é o segundo estado, com a adição do privilégio de Vischer.](https://turismo.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mapa-do-Hemisferio-Ocidental-de-1677-scaled.jpg "Mapa do Hemisfério Ocidental de 1677")
![Mapa do Brasil de 1757 - Part 1 - Este par de mapas gravados em cobre cobre o litoral do Brasil e mostra as Capitanias ou delegações portuárias hereditárias. O primeiro mapa vai de Salvador a Santos, e o segundo segue até Maldonado, no Uruguai. Há bons detalhes interiores de rios e montanhas. O tamanho varia um pouco. "[Lot of 2] Suite du Bresil Depuis la Baye de Tous les Saints Jusqu'a St. Paul [and] Suite du Bresil pour Servir a l'Histoire Generale des Voyages", Bellin, Jacques Nicolas.](https://turismo.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Mapa-do-Brasil-de-1757-Part-1-scaled.jpg "Mapa do Brasil de 1757 - Part 1")
![Mapa do Brasil de 1757 - Part 2 - Este par de mapas gravados em cobre cobre o litoral do Brasil e mostra as Capitanias ou delegações portuárias hereditárias. O primeiro mapa vai de Salvador a Santos, e o segundo segue até Maldonado, no Uruguai. Há bons detalhes interiores de rios e montanhas. O tamanho varia um pouco. "[Lot of 2] Suite du Bresil Depuis la Baye de Tous les Saints Jusqu'a St. Paul [and] Suite du Bresil pour Servir a l'Histoire Generale des Voyages", Bellin, Jacques Nicolas.](https://turismo.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Mapa-do-Brasil-de-1757-Part-2-scaled.jpg "Mapa do Brasil de 1757 - Part 2")
