Hand in hand with geographical explorations progressed the graphic transposition of the real, observed and measured data and, therefore, the production of maps to scale. This is demonstrated by the rich production of the 15th and 16th centuries, exemplified by the Padrão Real, the Lusitanian geographical and nautical map par excellence, promoted by Henry the Navigator in the first half of the 15th century, and the Spanish Padrón Real. These maps, in addition to being working tools, were the figurative representation of a constantly changing world and a seal of the power of two kingdoms that challenged each other in the search for new routes and new acquisitions. Diego Ribero (Diogo Ribeiro), a cartographer from the Casa de Contratación in Seville, but of Portuguese origin, produced the Padrón Real in 1527 (with later copies) based on empirical observations of latitude, starting with those gathered during the voyages of Magellan and Elcano. Compared to previous planispheres of the known lands, Ribero’s map accurately depicts the eastern coasts of Central and South America and, for the first time, the northern coasts as a continuous feature (probably thanks to information from Esteban Gómez’s exploration in 1525), as well as assigning the Pacific Ocean an appropriate, broad extent
Collection: Images
Project: 9. Travels and travelers: economic, social and cultural connections.
Chronology: XVI
Scope: Secondary Education, Higher Education
Resource type: Image
Format: Images
Source: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, Carte Nautiche Borgiano III
Language: Spanish
Date: 1529
Owner: Manuela Ghizzoni (Modernalia)
Copyright: Public Domain
Abstract: The Padrón Real of Diego Ribero: the cartography of the known world after the expedition of Magellan and Elcano
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