The representation of the portulan chart covers the Mediterranean and the European Atlantic from Iceland and the southern coast of Scandinavia to Gambia and Cape Rouge in Africa. It includes enough ocean space to depict the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. There is no section of the South American coastline. There are two longitude scales over the Atlantic, in red and blue; next to the southernmost one, the authorship and date are mentioned, stating: ‘[Rubric] Joan Vespuchi, pilot of his Highness, me fecit en Sevilla, anno de 1520 [Rubric]’. Coats of arms appear over England, Scotland and Ireland. There are symbols of major cities on seven identical monuments, red over Tunis, Milan and Belgrade (possible sources of threat) and green over Jerusalem, Venice, Genoa, Seville and over Morocco. Flags over Turkey, Crimea, France and the islands of Madeira and the Canaries. The chart, whose author is Juan, or Giovanni, Vespucci, was drawn according to the Mediterranean chart kept at the Casa de la Contratación. It introduces the theme of navigation to the west across the Atlantic by means of the double graduation system, embodied in the use of two longitude scales. The coastal outlines are very similar to Gabriel de Valseca’s chart of 1439. The coastline is drawn in sepia and green, the place names in sepia and red, and the islands in red, blue and gold.
Collection: Images
Project: 9. Travels and travelers: economic, social and cultural connections.
Chronology: XVI
Scope: Primary Education, Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University
Link: http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/show/18765?nm
Resource type: Image
Format: Nautical chart on parchment. 67 x 89 cm.
Source: Archivo General de Indicas. Mapas, planos, documentos iconográficos y documentos especiales. Europa y África.
Language: Spanish
Date: 1520
Owner: María del Mar Felices de la Fuente (Modernalia)
Identifier: ES.41091.AGI//MP-EUROPA_AFRICA,125
Copyright: MECD. Archivos Estatales (España).
Abstract: Maps and plans. The image depicts a portulan chart covering the Mediterranean and the European Atlantic.
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